LYNDONVILLE – The school district will have all third-graders do remote learning until Nov. 9 after a staff member contracted Covid-19.

The Orleans County Health Department instructed the district to make the shift to remote learning so students can quarantine at home until they are able to safely resume in-person instruction, said Jason Smith, school district superintendent.

“At this time, no additional members of the third grade staff or students are symptomatic,” Smith said in a notice to the community. “The District will continue to receive guidance and direction from the Orleans County Health Department. If students and staff remain asymptomatic, they will be able to return to school on Monday, November 9, 2020.”

In Lyndonville, students are able to do in-person learning for five days a week rather than a hybrid model.

200 people from community have now recovered from Covid-19 in Orleans County

Orleans County has one new confirmed case of Covid-19 today, a person in the 60s who lives in Yates.

The individual was not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive, the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments said.

Orleans has now had 398 people test positive for Covid since March.

The county is also reporting 18 new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

The county reached a milestone today with three more people recovering from Covid and being released from the isolation list. Orleans has now had 200 recoveries from the community. (That doesn’t include people who had Covid in nursing homes and other state-regulated facilities.)

One resident remains hospitalized due to Covid.

The Health Department also is reporting a Lyndonville Central School District tested positive for Covid-19. The staff member was last in the school was Friday, October 23. All contacts have been identified and have been placed under mandatory quarantine.

In Genesee County, the 12 new cases are residents of Darien, Elba, LeRoy, Pavilion and Oakfield.

The new cases are in the following age groups: 0-19 (1), 20s (4), 30s (2), 40s (1), 50s (3), and 60s (1).

Five of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive. Genesee has now had 374 people test positive since March.

Three Genesee residents are hospitalized due to Covid.

To see an online map of confirmed cases in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties, click here. There are currently 76 active cases in the three counties with 36 in Orleans, 30 in Genesee and 10 in Wyoming.

Here is each region’s percentage of positive test results as reported over the last three days. Orleans County is the Finger Lakes Region.

State-wide Data: There were 168,353 test results reported to the state on Wednesday, a new record high for tests in one day.

The state-wide positivity rate is 1.48 percent with the positive testing rate in all focus zone areas at 3.24 percent, and the positivity rate outside the focus areas at 1.25 percent.

There were 19 deaths from Covid in state on Wednesday, bringing the state-wide total to 25,792.

Congressional candidate, speaking in Albion, urges voters to look beyond party labels

Photos by Tom Rivers: Kathy Pace wears a mask of “Animal” from the Muppets and holds a sign, “Crazy for McMurray.” She was among a group of supporters for Nate McMurray, right, at the intersection of Main and Park streets in Albion at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

ALBION – Nate McMurray made a campaign stop in Albion on Wednesday evening and he is optimistic he will emerge the victor in a Congressional race against incumbent Chris Jacobs.

The district is heavily stacked in a Republican’s favor. McMurray lost a very close race in 2018 to Chris Collins and then a special election on June 23 to fill a vacancy after Collins resigned due to insider trading. (Collins is serving his 26-month prison term at a minimum security federal prison camp in Pensacola.)

The Nov. 3 election is for a full two-year term. The district is the most Republican-leaning in the state. Republicans have a sizable edge in registered voters in the 8-county district, 194,901 compared to 153,511 Democrats.

There are also 13,957 registered members of the Conservative Party, 27,197 members of the Independence Party and 108,589 “blanks” or unaffiliated voters.

“It is a difficult district, I’m not going to lie,” McMurray said in Albion. “It was designed for any Republican to win.”

Long-time Orleans County Democratic Party leaders Jeanne Crane, left, and Aggie Recco hold McMurray signs as part of a rally along Main Street.

McMurray believes he has stronger name recognition than Jacobs, and McMurray said he has met thousands of voters while campaigning since 2018. He said he has been to Orleans County a hundred times and is very familiar with the small towns throughout the district.

“I hope people look beyond the labels,” McMurray said in an interview at Albion. “I’m a blue-collar person who is a Democrat in the old-school way, saying that we have to fight for blue-collar and working class jobs, and that’s what I’m here for.”

McMurray, speaking to supporters on Wednesday, said Albion is one of the most striking places in the entire district with the Courthouse Square, downtown and Erie Canal.

Nate McMurray greets a supporter outside the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion. About 30 people attended a get-out-the-vote rally.

McMurray addressed supporters from the pulpit at the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church. But before he did, he wanted to know the history of the church.

“How beautiful is this place?” McMurray said looking around the church sanctuary. “Can someone please give us the history of this building.”

Bill Lattin, a retired county historian, stood up and shared how George Pullman had the church built as a memorial for his parents in 1894. George grew up in Albion and moved to Chicago and made a fortune making comfortable railroad sleeping cars. The Pullman church includes 43 Tiffany stained glass windows.

McMurray, at the beginning of his remarks, also praised Jeanne Crane, who recently stepped down as chairwoman of the Orleans County Democratic Party. She has always been encouraging in a “Long fight,” McMurray said.

“Jeanne Crane is here and we love her,” McMurray said. “She is a wonderful human being.”

Crane said McMurray has frequently been to the county and reached out to local Democrativ leaders.

“He came to us early and attends many of our functions,” Crane said. “He is down to earth and cordial.”

Jim Renfrew of Clarendon holds a McMurray sign up high.

McMurray, an attorney and former Grand Island town supervisor, said he will need more than Democrats to win. He said he has been close in the past two elections due to conservatives and independents crossing over.

He urged Republicans to give him a chance.

“I feel if I could meet every single person I would win,” McMurray said. “But party labels go a long way still. Party-line politics has caused problems for Western New York.”

He has been hindered in connecting with voters because so many festivals, county fairs and parades have been cancelled due to Covid-19.

He has been active on social media, connecting with 10,000 followers on Facebook and 20,000 followers on Twitter.

Nate McMurray addressed supporters from the pulpit of the Pullman church. He marveled at the beauty of the church and also said Albion is one of the prettiest towns in the 27th Congressional District with its striking Courthouse Square, downtown business district and Erie Canal.

McMurray said when people meet him, he doesn’t fit the stereotypes depicted in the ads the past three years from his opponents.

“I think the message is out there but it’s hard to fight $10 million in negative advertisements, because that’s what they’ve thrown at me the past three years,” McMurray said. “Some people think I’m a devil or something but when they meet me they’re like, ‘This guy is a nice guy.’”

He has used grass roots support, about 4,000 small donations, to fund the campaign. His volunteers also sent out 70,000 hand-written postcards.

“You find me a campaign that has ever done that in the country,” McMurray said.

He blamed President Trump for fueling divisions in the country. The president also has offered an incompetent response to the Covid-19 pandemic and Jacobs has refused to offer any criticism for Trump’s handling of the crisis, McMurray said.

The country needs Joe Biden, “a decent man” who would bring the country together and work for all Americans, McMurray said.

“I believe in America,” McMurray told his supporters at the Pullman event. “America can redeem itself.”

LYNDONVILLE – The school district has been notified by the Orleans County Health Department that a staff member has tested positive for Covid-19.

The staff member was last at the school campus on Oct. 23, District Superintendent Jason Smith wrote in a letter to the community.

“We have spoken to the Health Department and if your child is deemed a ‘close contact,’ you will be contacted by New York State Contract Tracers and provided with further direction,” Smith said. “If your son/daughter is contacted and is put on mandatory quarantine, please call our school nurse, Mrs. Kurz, at 765-3124.  We will work with your child about being fully remote during the quarantine period. Please note it is not necessary to take action unless you are personally notified by the Health Department.”

Lyndonville is the second of the five school districts to have a staff member test positive. Holley had a teacher test positive last Friday.

Lyndonville hasn’t had any students test positive for Covid so far this school year.

“We are committed to providing our students and staff with a safe and healthy environment,” Smith said in his letter. “I assure you, our building will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. I continue to be proud of our staff and students for adhering to the safety protocols we have in place. Our cleaning, social distancing, barriers and face covering are effective in preventing the spread of the virus on our campus. I ask that you please continue to wear face masks, maintain social distancing and wash your hands frequently.”

Lyndonville will continue to have in-person classes five days a week.

“We will monitor the situation closely and will notify you immediately if the Department of Health determines there is a need to close school—right now, this is NOT the case,” Smith said.

ALBION – Hoag Library will be closed to library patrons on Tuesday, Nov. 3, when the building is used as a polling site for the Town of Albion from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The library wants to reduce large-scale social contact at the site so it is making library services unavailable. (Patrons can still return items to the outdoor book drop and WiFi is always accessible 24-7 from the parking lot.)

Hoag Library leaders said closing the building for library services is being done to help protect the health of patrons, library staff and election workers.

Photo by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The traffic light at West Oak Orchard Street and Gwinn Street was changed to a flashing red light. The Village Board on Monday voted to make the intersection a four-way stop. The signs will be added soon.

The Village Board voted to experiment with a flashing red light to start this school year and board members say it has worked well.

Medina built a new road through the campus and that has moved a lot of traffic, including some buses, away from the West Oak Orchard-Gwinn intersection, making it no longer necessary to have a traffic light, said Police Chief Chad Kenward.

The village will keep the flashing light in place for as long as it keeps working. The unit is an older light and the village said it is difficult to find parts if it malfunctions.

• In other action, Medina Fire Chief Matt Jackson said the department has four vacancies and will be interviewing nine candidates this week.

Cody Doran, a career firefighter, announced he is resigning from Medina FD to join the Henrietta Fire District. His last day in Medina is Nov. 16. He thanked the Medina community for the opportunity to serve the community as a firefighter. Doran said he is leaving Medina due to a residency requirement.

There would be five vacancies but the Village Board welcomed back Bob Urtel, a former Medina firefighter who is leaving the Lockport Fire Department to return to Medina.

ALBION – A former corrections officer who was to be sentenced in Orleans County Court on Wednesday was found deceased at his home the day before he was due in court.

James W. Castonguay, 30, of Amherst pleaded guilty in Orleans County Court on Aug. 6 and could have been sentenced to time in the county jail and on probation.

Castonguay worked at the Albion Correctional Facility, a women’s prison. He pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sex act against two different female inmates. He admitted in court to forcing two inmates to give him oral sex while he was working at the prison.

Orleans County District Attorney Joe Cardone formally dismissed the charges in court on Wednesday, which is the norm when a defendant dies before a case is concluded.

Castonguay was charged in September 2019 by the State Police with third-degree criminal sexual act, official misconduct and third-degree rape.

Castonguay also was one of several corrections officers named in a $25 million federal lawsuit that alleges cover-ups of rape and sexual assault reports at Albion Correctional, Bedford Hills, Lakeview Shock Correctional and Taconic Correctional.

ALBION – Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson made a plea to the public to support local businesses.

Lynne Johnson

Many of the locally owned operations have struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic, with more people choosing to do online shopping. The state’s restrictions have also reduced capacity at restaurants to 50 percent for indoor seating and to 25 percent for gyms.

Many businesses had to close early in the pandemic when Gov. Cuomo and the state would only allow essential businesses to be open.

“We need a united effort to save local businesses,” Johnson said at the conclusion of Wednesday’s County Legislature meeting. “As winter nears, many local businesses continue to operate with severe restrictions placed on them in the effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.”

Johnson said the seven county legislators receive the most phone calls and messages from the public regarding concerns over state restrictions on businesses.

“These restrictions are already having a devastating economic impact locally,” Johnson said. “We all need to realize just how hard it is to sustain a business over a number of months if not longer when you can only operate at 25 percent of your space, as in the case with fitness facilities, or 50 percent of your space with restaurants.”

The upcoming holiday season will be critical for many businesses to survive well into the new year.

“Let’s join together to save our locals,” Johnson said. “We are stronger together in Orleans County.”

Kye will call it a career on Nov. 13 after 8 ½ years with Medina PD

MEDINA – They lined the sidewalks along the bus loop at Oak Orchard Elementary School today at about 1 p.m., holding signs with hand-drawn images of Kye and messages of love for the Medina Police Department’s retiring K9.

Kye, a Belgian Malinois, has been a part of the department since 2012, working with handler Todd Draper, a lieutenant with the Medina PD. Draper and Kye stop by the school every year with Draper reading the book, Officer Buckle and Gloria, a story of a school safety officer upstaged by his canine partner.

About 275 students made posters with messages for Kye.

Draper would typically read the book in the auditorium to a large group of students. This school year, so far larger group gatherings aren’t allowed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Draper instead recorded a video of him reading the book that was shared with students last week. He and Kye attend many community events and have met many of the students, teachers and staff at the school over the years.

“He has been our special guest every single year at Oak Orchard,” Julie Webber, the school principal, said about Kye and Draper.

Kye and Lt. Todd Draper were popular guests at the school this afternoon.

She wanted the school to show their appreciation to Medina’s K9 team. The students were out on both side of the bus loop to say goodbye to Kye. There are 275 students in grades Pre-K to 3 at Oak Orchard this year, not counting the students who are full time remote learners.

When Draper let Kye out of the police vehicle at the start of the bus loop, the school played “Who Let the Dogs Out” on the loudspeaker. Then the school played “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang.

Draper kept the dog in the middle of the bus loop where he couldn’t be petted by the students, another Covid restriction.

Draper had Kye did some tricks with his Kong toy and a rolled towel to the delight of the students.

The community can say goodbye to Kye and meet the new K9, Phoenix, from 3 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 13 at the Medina Dog Park on North Gravel Road. The new K9 handler will be Medina police officer Jacob Reeves.

Nov. 13 will be the last official day for Kye. Reeves and Phoenix will start that day as the new K9 team.

In his retirement, Kye will stay with Lt. Draper and his family, but no longer will be joining Draper at work.

Draper said he has built many relationships with Medina students and community members through Kye. Kye’s main duties have been tracking, drug detection, building searches and criminal apprehension. Kye and Draper have attended many public events and visited local schools and done many demonstrations for the community.

“There’s no doubt I’ve been able to have many positive interactions with kids and adults because of Kye,” Draper said. “They don’t know my name but they know Kye’s name.”

These students included artwork with their posters for Kye.

NYS Department of Health will license processors and retailers, set quality control standards

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the New York State Department of Health has filed proposed regulations to regulate cannabinoid hemp products in New York State.

In accordance with legislation signed earlier this year by the Governor, the Department is creating a Cannabinoid Hemp Program. The Program will license both cannabinoid hemp processors and retailers and set quality control standards that all cannabinoid hemp products must meet.

“These regulations are the next step toward regulating the growing hemp industry in New York in a way that protects consumers and helps ensure the industry’s long-term viability,” said Governor Cuomo. “Establishing the State’s Cannabinoid Hemp Program to regulate production and sale of hemp and hemp extract will help protect both consumers and farmers.”

The Cannabinoid Hemp Program will organize and legitimize the cannabinoid market in New York State by creating a licensing framework for cannabinoid hemp processors and retailers, and by establishing basic manufacturing, packaging and labeling and laboratory testing standards. Currently, applications for cannabinoid hemp processing and retailing licenses are under development, and NYSDOH intends to make them available in early 2021.

In 2015, the Governor launched the Industrial Hemp Agricultural Research Pilot Program, supporting farmers and further boosting economic development in upstate New York. Since then, New York’s hemp program has expanded significantly, making New York one of the leading hemp producing states in the country, with more than 700 farmers and 100 manufacturers of hemp products.

Hemp is a sustainable, carbon-sequestering crop that is capable of being transformed into hundreds of products including textiles, furniture, fuel, food, construction materials and personal care items.

Some hemp products that have been growing in popularity include cannabinoid hemp products such as Cannabidiol, or CBD, which can be found online or in retail stores throughout the state. While regulations exist at the federal level for the growth of hemp, there are currently no federal regulations for the processing and manufacturing of cannabinoid hemp products, resulting in the cannabinoid hemp marketplace lacking basic consumer protections that are common in similar industries.

There are published reports of cannabinoid hemp products that do not contain any cannabinoids but contain unspecified or inconsistent levels of THC – the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant – or are contaminated with harmful toxins.

The proposed regulations fill this regulatory void and create a system allowing for the use of hemp-derived cannabinoids in certain foods, beverages, topicals and dietary supplement products, provided regulatory requirements are satisfied.

All cannabinoid hemp products must be manufactured using good manufacturing practices based on the end product’s intended use. The label must contain the total amount of cannabinoids in the product, number of cannabinoids per serving, a nutritional or supplement fact panel, information about whether the product contains THC and appropriate warnings stating the product is not intended for children, its use may cause the failure of a drug test, the product has not been evaluated by the FDA and if pregnant or nursing, to consult a healthcare provider before use.

Additionally, cannabinoid hemp products are required to be laboratory-tested before entering the market, with testing for their cannabinoid profile, heavy metals, microbial impurities, mycotoxins, pesticides and residual solvents. This information is required to be retrievable by the consumer in the form of a QR code or corresponding link on the product label.

Retailers are prohibited from selling inhalable cannabinoid hemp products, such as vape products, to consumers under 21 years of age. Processors are prohibited from making claims suggesting the product will diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent disease.

“When you purchase a product, you should have confidence that what is stated on the label is actually in the product,” said New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker. “With the increased production and use of cannabinoid hemp products, New York State could not wait for the federal government to act to institute basic consumer protections to protect the health and safety of New Yorkers.”

For more information on New York’s Cannabinoid Hemp Program and to view the proposed regulations, click here.

Residents urged to continue to fight Covid spread so counties not identified as hotspot

Press Release, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments

On October 6, Governor Cuomo announced a new cluster action initiative to address Covid-19 hotspots that have or may be identified in certain areas of New York.

“Under the Governor’s initiative to prevent cluster activity it is important to understand the detrimental impact having a cluster can have on our counties,” stated Rochelle Stein, Genesee County Legislative Chair. “Currently, neither Genesee nor Orleans counties have any such clusters/hotspots.”

We can take simple steps to continue our low positivity rates going forward. According to the Governor’s release, the state has developed a science-based approach to contain these clusters and contain any further spread of the virus, including new rules and restrictions directly targeted to areas with the highest concentration of Covid-19 cases and the surrounding areas.

• Under Executive Order 202.68, certain actives in cluster zones are restricted, and any permitted activities in such zones (Red, Orange, Yellow), must be conducted in strict adherence to Department of Health guidance.

• For more information go to the Empire State Development guidance and the New York Forward website for updated information on locations of and operating restrictions within the clusters.

The Cluster Initiative will take the most significant action within the cluster (Red zone), moderate action in the area surrounding the cluster to stop the spread (Orange zone), and precautionary action in the outlying communities (Yellow zone).

Fines for the sponsors of mass gatherings in violation of state public health rules will be increased to $15,000. To see the restrictions within the clusters, click here.

“As we continue to move forward through this pandemic and begin to see an increase in both testing and positive cases, we can expect to see changes in the cluster hotspots,” said Paul Pettit, director of Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments. “Generally the zones are identified as a hotspot for a period of 14 days, but that is also subject to change if the hotspot doesn’t show improvement during that time.”

GO Health continues to remind our residents of the relevant Executive Orders and Public Health Laws to:

• Limit gatherings, (the state maintains no more than 50 at any non-essential gatherings, fines may be levied to those ignoring this order);

• Properly wearing mask/face coverings (nose and mouth covered) whenever in public indoors and outdoors, especially when physical distancing is difficult to maintain;

• Frequently wash hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water or use hand sanitizer (that contains at least 60% alcohol) if soap and water are not readily available;

• Consider alternatives to family and friend gatherings to decrease the risk of spreading the virus.

• With the impending flu season, it is also important to get this year’s flu vaccine to help lower the risk of being hospitalized with serious complications of the flu.

• As always, if you are experiencing any Covid-19 or flu symptoms – STAY HOME!

Symptoms for both Covid-19 (may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus) and the flu (generally sudden onset) can be similar and may include any of the following: fever or chills; cough; shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; fatigue; muscle or body aches; headache; new loss of taste or smell (Covid-19); sore throat; congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea. Talk with your primary care provider before going to the office. If you are experiencing difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, and/or have bluish lips or face, seek emergency care immediately.

“We all want this to be over, but it will take time,” stated Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislative Chair. “We can get through this together if we take care of our health, limit contact with non-household members and be respectful and wear a mask/face covering when in public.”

Press Release, Orleans County Undersheriff Michael Mele

CLARENDON – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office today received a report of a missing 15 year old female and her 2-month-old infant from the Town of Clarendon.

After an investigation and due to circumstances that took place in Wayne County, an Amber Alert was activated. As a result of this Amber Alert the infant was found to be safe with extended family in Auburn, NY. The infant is currently in the care and custody of Orleans County Child and Family Services.

It was learned that the infant was left at this family member’s residence in Auburn by the runaway parents, Alyssa Bel and Kevin Huntington. After leaving the infant, Alyssa Bel and Kevin Huntington then left on foot and are still missing at this time.

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office is looking for any leads in regards to their whereabouts.  Please call 585-589-5527 with any pertinent information.

This ongoing investigation is being handled by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the New York State Police, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Newark Police Department and Orleans County Child and Family Services.

County has had 80 people test positive so far in October

Orleans County has six new confirmed cases of Covid-19 today, including one who is a student at the Albion Middle School.

The county has now had 80 people test positive so far this month and 397 since March.

The six new positive cases are residents of Carlton, Barre, Shelby and Murray. The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 40s, 60s and 70s.

None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive, the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments said.

Orleans also has 16 new individuals on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

The county has two people hospitalized due to Covid, and also has two more people who have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.

The Albion Middle School student is a hybrid learner who was last in the school on Thursday, Oct. 22. All contacts have been identified and have been placed under mandatory quarantine, the Health Department said.

Genesee County has four more confirmed cases and has had 362 positive cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Batavia, Bergen, Darien and LeRoy. The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 40s, 60s and 70s.

One of the individuals was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

Genesee also has 13 new individuals on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Genesee currently has three people hospitalized due to Covid.

The Health Department also has been notified that an Elba elementary student has a confirmed case of Covid-19. The last date the student was in school was Oct. 23. The Genesee County Health Department will be in touch with the students that were identified in contract tracing efforts. Elba’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten program will be going to a 100% distance learning model until Nov. 9.

HOLLEY — An Amber Alert has been cancelled for a missing 2-month-old baby from Holley.

Natalie Huntington, the baby, was last seen on Tuesday. An Amber Alert was issued at 2:22 p.m. today and then cancelled at 3:30 by the State Police, which reported Natalie had been “recovered safely.”

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and the National Center for Missing Children and Exploited Children earlier today also asked for the public’s help in finding a Holley teen and the baby who were last seen on Tuesday.

Alyssa Bel, 15, of Holley hasn’t been found yet, the Sheriff’s Office said.

She is believed to be in the company Kevin A. Huntington Jr., a white male who is about 16 years old with blonde hair and blue eyes. They may be headed to Florida, the Sheriff’s Office said.