Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The State Canal Corporation has added a new kiosk and rest area with a bench and two loop-style bike racks.

The rest area is just west of the Ingersoll Street lift bridge. The new rest area is one of a dozen being installed across the trail system.

“The intent is for it to be a gateway into the trail,” said Shane Mahar, Canal spokesman. “The kiosk provides an overview of the system and some local history and information.”

The Ralph C. Wilson Foundation provided funding for the new sign, bench and the loop style bike racks.

The kiosk promotes the 750-mile Empire State Trail, which includes trails on the Erie Canal towpath, the Hudson Valley and Champlain Valley.

The sign notes the closest services after Albion are in Medina, 11 miles to the west, and Holley, 10 miles to the east.

“The Trail promotes heathy lifestyles and provides a place for friends and families to experience the Empire State’s special places and rich diversity – connecting urban centers, village main streets, and rural communities from New York City through the Hudson River Valley, west to Buffalo along the historic Erie Canal, and north to the Champlain Valley and Adirondacks,” the sign states, urging people to explore the trails.

The State Canal Corp. announced on Friday that all lift bridges and locks are now operating for the navigation season on the Erie Canal.

The Canal system is scheduled to close to navigation on Oct. 14. Maintenance was delayed this spring due to Covid-19 with canal crews operating at a reduced capacity and construction suspended.

The boating season was scheduled to open on May 15 but that was pushed back to June 26. This year is the 196^th season the canal is open.

While all the locks and lift bridges are open on the Erie Canal, the state continues to work on locks on other sections of the canal system: Lock C-12 (Whitehall), Lock O-7 (Oswego) and Lock CS-2/3 (Seneca Falls).

The Whitehall lock on the Champlain Canal is expected to open on Aug. 10. The lock in Oswego on the Oswego Canal is expected to open on Aug. 10. The lock in Seneca Falls on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal is expected to open on Aug. 3.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo this morning reported that 646 people in New York were hospitalized on Friday with Covid-19, which is the lowest number since March 18.

“New York State’s numbers continue to show progress in the midst of alarming increases in Covid-19 cases throughout the country and a renewed need to ensure compliance with state guidance here at home,” Cuomo said. “Yesterday’s numbers show New York’s hospitalizations continue to decrease and its rate of positive tests remains low, but it’s essential that we stay vigilant by social distancing, wearing masks and washing our hands as this pandemic is far from over.”

The governor reported that 10 people died from Covid-19 in the state and 750 people tested positive. Those 750 confirmed cases are out of 71,466 test results reported to the state, which shows 1.05 percent were positive.

Each region’s percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:

Courtesy of the Governor’s Office. (Orleans County is in the Finger Lakes Region.)

Assemblyman also wary of redistricting changes, Governor’s continued authorization of emergency powers

Press Release, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is calling out his state Assembly colleagues for allowing “atrocious bills” to be passed in the State Legislature late last night.

Among them is automatic voter registration, which automatically registers New Yorkers to vote whenever they interact with what are determined as “qualified” government agencies like the DMV or Department of Health.

“I’m all for ensuring we participate in our democratic society to the fullest; that’s the only way democratic societies can work,” Hawley said. “But what was done last night is simply a step too far. Superseding the state constitution and writing far-reaching bills, with few checks and balances to ensure they cannot be taken advantage of leads me to believe this will cripple the voting system more than uplift it. Well intended or otherwise, the downstate legislators need to realize they’ve just opened up a can of worms that will not yield good results.”

In addition to that, the State Legislature passed a redistricting bill that would amend the state constitution and allow for further redistricting in the state. The move comes in a suspected effort on the part of the majority to draw new districts that would be politically advantageous to them.

“It’s a gross misstep in the use of authority and Majority power, and will almost certainly mean that many voices are at risk of being unheard in the future,” Hawley said. “There really is nothing more disgraceful in politics than trying to uphold your own power and keep the people in the dark.”

Furthermore, the Assembly Majority continues its grip on its monopoly of power by refusing to remove the governor’s emergency powers that he claimed at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York. With these powers, he’s continued to hamper businesses like bars and prevent them from reopening and supporting the economy. He insists that people order food while ordering alcohol but claims that chicken wings are not substantial food for bars. He added that sandwiches were the “lowest level” of substantive food.

“Chicken wings are a Western New York food, so this feels incredibly personal to me and my constituents,” Hawley said. “We all know the governor’s ‘Big Brother’ method of governance and one-size-fits-all solutions are his modus operandi, but at a time where people are trying to responsibly reopen and follow health codes as they have been instructed, the governor and his administration continue to curtail the attempts of honest workers getting back to a normal routine. It’s despicable.”

Press Release, U.S. Attorney for Western District of New York, James P. Kennedy, Jr

BUFFALO – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced on Wednesday that Anthony Allee, 29, of Medina pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John J. Sinatra, Jr. to possessing with intent to distribute, and distributing, cocaine, and unlawful possession of a short-barreled shotgun in furtherance of drug trafficking.

The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and a $1 million fine. In addition, Allee’s wife Tashira, 37, pleaded guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises, and also faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin G. Bish, who is handling the case, stated that between April 2019 and July 22, 2019, the defendants used their Ridge Road residence in Medina, to store, sell, and use marijuana, hydrocodone, and cocaine. Anthony Allee also possessed various firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking in order to protect himself, his drugs, and his drug proceeds.

On July 22, 2019, a state search warrant was executed at the residence. Investigators seized multiple firearms, ammunition, numerous articles of stolen property, approximately 73 grams of marijuana, 247 hydrocodone pills, cocaine residue located on a working digital scale with a razor blade, two additional digital scales, a vacuum sealer with bags, and knotted baggies.

The pleas are the result of an investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, then under the direction of Sheriff Randy Bower; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; the Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Acting Sheriff Michael Filicetti; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James B. Devito; the New York State Police, under the direction of Major James Hall; and the Orleans County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Joseph Cardone.

Tashira Allee is scheduled to be sentenced on November 12, 2020, and Anthony Allee is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18, 2020.  Both sentencings will be before Judge Sinatra.

The chart says it was from July 23, but it was updated for today, July 24.

Orleans County hit a milestone today in the fight against Covid-19. For the first time in four months, there isn’t an county resident hospitalized with Covid-19. The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments reported the first hospitalization on March 24.

Since that day, there was at least one county resident in the hospital every day. On Thursday, there will two people hospitalized with Covid-19 from Orleans.

The daily briefings from the Health Departments show there were as many as 20 hospitalized from the county on May 26. A month ago on June 24 the county had 13 residents in the hospital due to Covid-19.

The Health Departments in today’s update report there is one new case of Covid-19, a person in the 50s from Albion. The positive individual was not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

The county has now had 273 people test positive for Covid-19 during the pandemic.

The Health Departments also report 8 more people are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Genesee County is reporting three more confirmed cases with residents from Batavia, LeRoy, and Pembroke. One of the positive individuals is under age 20 and two people are in their 50s.

One of the positive individuals was not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive. Genesee has now had 249 people test positive for Covid-19.

The county also has six more people on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states. No one from Genesee is currently hospitalized with Covid-19.

More from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Department:

• Travel Advisory: New York is requiring travelers from the following 31 states with high coronavirus rates to self-quarantine for 14 days: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Those violating could be subject to a judicial order and mandatory quarantine and potential fines. These states may change at any time.

• Traveler Health Form: For all out-of-state travelers from NYS restricted states, whether arriving by land or air, must self-identify by completing a traveler health form or be subject to a $2,000 fine. Click here for the traveler health form.

• Alcohol Sales Guidance: Executive Order 202.52 in effect starting July 17 requires all licensed establishments with on premises privileges (e.g. restaurants, taverns, manufacturers with tasting rooms, etc.) shall not serve alcoholic beverages unless such alcoholic beverage is accompanied by the purchase of a food item by each patron in a seated party.

In visit to Rochester, they urge CDC to clarify guidance for reopening

Press Release, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

ROCHESTER, NY — Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul visited Ibero Early Childhood Services in Rochester to meet with local child care providers and discuss the need for critical support for the child care industry.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly half of all child care providers have had to shut their doors and the industry faces a potential loss of more than 4 million child care slots, which would leave millions of families without access to essential child care services when normal work and life schedules resume. Now, with communities across the state reopening, providers are struggling to implement unclear CDC guidelines.

To support the child care industry through these challenges, Senator Gillibrand, alongside Congressman Joe Morelle, sent a letter to the CDC calling on the organization to work directly with child care stakeholders to inform and implement critical guidance that will keep children, staff, and families safe. Additionally, as the Senate negotiates the next coronavirus relief package, Gillibrand is urging Congress to invest $50 billion in federal funding to stabilize child care providers as they work to safely reopen.

“Families and providers are facing unprecedented instability and uncertainty,” Gillibrand said. “Child care providers are critical to our economy and we can’t let them face these challenges alone. To get parents back to work and care centers open, the CDC must provide clear, practical guidance and Congress must provide funding to give providers the resources needed to comply with public health guidance and keep everyone safe. These resources are essential to weather this crisis and to lay the foundation for our recovery.”

With New York in Phase 4, many businesses are reopening and parents are preparing to go back to work. However, with schools operating on part time or remote learning schedules, many parents are scrambling to find care for their students and children aged 0 to 4.

The coronavirus outbreak has decimated the child care industry and left many parents without options for daytime care. Across the nine Finger Lakes counties, at least 200 child care centers – nearly one in five – have been closed since March. Those able to maintain operations have been burdened by confusing CDC guidelines that were developed without input from the child care community and often conflict with state or local guidance.

Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Joe Morelle are leading a bicameral letter to the CDC expressing concerns over the unclear safety protocols for child care providers. To ensure they have the clear guidelines needed to reopen and operate safely, Gillibrand and Morelle are urging the CDC to work directly with state and local providers to resolve disparities between CDC guidelines and state guidelines, offer additional information about how the use of safety protocols like face shields and social distancing will impact interaction with the children; and make informed recommendations for alternating days, half days or other reduced schedules. Full text of the letter can be found here.

Additionally, to address the child care crisis exacerbated by coronavirus, Gillibrand is renewing her call to create a $50 billion Child Care Stabilization Fund, through the Child Care is Essential Act. The fund would provide grant funding to child care providers to stabilize the child care sector and support providers as they safely reopen and operate.

Despite the $3.5 billion in funding included in the CARES Act for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to provide childcare for frontline healthcare workers and other essential employees, recent estimates show that it would take at least $9.6 billion per month to keep current child care providers in business and ensure that providers who closed due to the pandemic are able to safely reopen.

The Child Care Stabilization Fund would provide grants to child care providers through the CCDBG. Grants would be available to licensed, regulated, or registered child care providers currently open or temporarily closed due to COVID-19. The funding could be used for operating expenses, staff pay, tuition relief for families, and ensuring providers have the resources needed to comply with public health guidance.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated racial, social, and gender-based inequalities that already existed in our society. Nowhere is that more present than with the child care crisis that we have struggled with for far too long,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “To get our economy back firing on all cylinders, the stress and cost of the child care burden on families and providers must be addressed. It is no longer an individual family’s problem, it’s a problem for our economic recovery, and it’s finally part of the national conversation.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: These flowers are in the downtown Medina business district. This photo was taken in front of City Hall on Main Street.

Orleans County’s unemployment rate was 11.0 percent in June. That is far more than a year ago when the rate was 4.2 percent, but the rate is going down from the high of 15.9 percent in April. It then dropped to 11.5 percent in May.

In March, before the Covid-19 pandemic peak, the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in Orleans County.

The unemployment rates for June in Western New York counties includes:

• Allegany, 10.6 percent
• Cattaraugus, 12.9 percent
• Chautauqua, 11.2 percent
• Erie, 13.5 percent
• Genesee, 9.6 percent
• Livingston, 9.5 percent
• Monroe, 11.9 percent
• Niagara, 14.6 percent
• Orleans, 11.0 percent
• Wyoming, 9.2 percent
• Statewide, 15.7 percent

The latest data from the State Department of Labor shows the number of people employed in Orleans County is up by 1,000 in June to 15,300, compared to 14,300 in April. There were 15,000 working in the county in May. In March, before the pandemic caused many layoffs, there were 16,400 people working in the county.

The number of people unemployed in the county has gone from 900 in March to 2,700 in April, and then dropped to 1,900 in both May and June. That compared to 700 unemployed in May and June of 2019.

The highest unemployment rates in the state are in New York City with the Bronx at 24.7 percent, Kings at 20.5 percent, and Queens at 21.8 percent.

The only counties below a 9-percent rate include: Tompkins at 8.9 percent, Columbia at 8.8 percent, Yates at 8.5 percent, Chenango at 8.4 percent, and Hamilton at 7.7 percent.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced they are playing the majority of their home schedule at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, home of the club’s Triple A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons.

The team isn’t able to play their home games in Toronto after the Canadian government denied the team due to concerns with international travel back and forth into the United States, where many parts of the country are seeing Covid-19 cases surge.

“We are extremely grateful to have a home in Buffalo this season, thanks to the openness, creativity and partnership of the Buffalo Bisons, Major League Baseball and the Blue Jays staff, who have worked tirelessly to prepare us for games at Sahlen Field,” said Mark Shapiro, president and CEO of the Blue Jays. “This process has no doubt tested our team’s resilience, but our players and staff refuse to make excuses — we are determined to take the field on Opening Day today, and for the coming months, with the same intensity and competitiveness our fans expect.”

The Blue Jays open the season at 6:40 p.m. today against the Tampa Bay Rays in Florida. The first home game for the Blue Jays is listed don the schedule as July 29 against the Washington Nationals, the defending World Series champion. The Buffalo News however is reporting the first home game will likely be next Friday, July 31. So far this year the Major League games are closed to fans.

Major League Baseball usually plays a 162-game regular season but that has been shortened to 60 games in 2020.

The Blue Jays in a news release thanked the Buffalo Bisons organization; Mayor Brown of the City of Buffalo and Governor Cuomo of New York State; Buffalo-area residents who have enthusiastically welcomed Blue Jays players and fans to Sahlen Field for the better part of a decade; Commissioner Manfred and Major League Baseball; and other Major and Minor League clubs that were willing to open their doors to the team.

“This year – and baseball season – will be unlike any other, and the team cannot thank Blue Jays fans enough for their heartfelt passion and support,” the club stated.

The Buffalo field is available because the Minor League season has been cancelled.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown welcomed the team in a tweet this afternoon.

‘I get here early or else it could all be gone’ – Mother of 5

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Tim Hollenbaugh of Bentley Brothers helps with the food distribution this morning in Albion in the Main Street Store parking lot.

There was a long line of cars down Chamberlain Street, McKinstry Street, East Park Street and then spilling out on Main Street when the distribution started at 8:45 a.m.

This box of dairy includes smaller containers of chocolate milk, a half gallon of milk, and containers of cottage cheese and yogurt.

One of three delivery trucks hadn’t arrived yet but organizers decided to get the line moving due to the traffic backup. The trucks delivering meats and dairy arrived, but the group was waiting on the produce truck. Each vehicle gets three boxes.

Orleans Hub talked with three people who were near the front of the line. They showed up very early.

An Albion woman, 62, was first in line. She arrived at 5:05 a.m. after getting a hot chocolate at Tim Hortons. She works part-time and shares the food with her mother and son.

“It’s hard to buy food today because the prices have gone up so much,” she said.

The woman estimated the value of the three boxes at about $80. She comes to a distribution about every two weeks and tries to be there early.

“Sometimes I get here at 6:30 and the line is already way down the street,” she said.

Today there was a new addition: a couple for a free gallon of milk.

“They keep adding things,” the appreciative woman said.

Nathan Poler of Bentley Brothers carries a box to one of the vehicles.

A 33-year-old mother of five from Albion pulled up on Chamberlain Street at 6:15 this morning. She was the sixth vehicle in line.

The woman her family has dropped from two incomes to one during the Covid-19 pandemic. The food distributions have been “extremely helpful” in feeding her family.

This meat box includes chicken patties, chicken nuggets and frozen meat balls.

The woman spends the time waiting in her car by “extreme couponing.” She checks local stores online for coupons. Those savings have also helped her family during a budget crunch.

She notices more people are showing up early for the food distributions.

“The lines are getting longer and longer,” she said. “I get here early or else it could all be gone.”

The distributions on Fridays have food for about 300 vehicles. There are also distributions the second and fourth Wednesdays at the 4-H Fairgrounds with 1,200 boxes of produce, with one per vehicle.

A 70-year-old retired woman from Albion said the food distributions have been very helpful. They ensure she has quality food.

“My medical bills pile up and you have to decide between them and food,” she said.

The woman said she shares some of the food with her son and neighbors.

She called herself an “early riser” and arrives for the food distributions at about 6:15 in the morning.

“It’s worth it,” she said.

Kim Hazel of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County helped with the distribution today. She has been a part of the efforts at the Fairgrounds. “You get a system down and then you can work well with it,” she said.

Annette Finch, community service director at Community Action, said she worries about having enough volunteers  for the weekly efforts.

She welcomed members of local sports teams to volunteer and earn some community service hours.

Volunteers are still needed for all Fridays in August. For more information on volunteering, call Melissa Blanar at the Orleans County Office for the Aging at 589-3191.

The line of vehicles stretched down Chamberlain Street this morning.

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board backed plans for a new 165-foot-high phone tower in Shelby.

Tarpon Towers II and Bell Atlantic Mobile are pursuing the project for Verizon Wireless. The tower would be a monopole and would have options for other companies to collocate.

It will be located on vacant agricultural land near a wooded area on 5093 Creek Rd., one land owned by Edward Zelazny.

“Hopefully it will improve communication in the area because I got to tell you we have a lot of dead spots,” Dan Wolfe, the town code enforcement officer, told Planning Board members.

Tarpon Towers, in the application for the tower, acknowledged there are dead spots in the area and the tower will improve phone service.

The project needs a height variance from Shelby, which caps the size of towers at 35 feet. The County Planning Board recommended that Shelby approve the variance, the site plan and a special use permit for the project.

The Planning Board also recommended the Town of Gaines approve a project at 3278 Oak Orchard Rd.

Dennis “D.J.” Button wants to move his business, Digital Ink Arts, from downtown Albion to his garage. He would like to put on a 1,200 square foot addition (30 by 40 feet) for the apparel printing business.

The town requires a 15-foot setback from the neighboring property line. Button only has 6 feet of space from the end of his garage to the neighbor’s property line. He also would need to share the neighbor’s driveway for the business.

The County Planning Board recommended Gaines approve the variance, the site plan and a special use permit for Button. The county recommended Gaines have the right-of-way agreement in writing with the neighbor regarding the driveway.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Cars and trucks are lined up on East Park Street in Albion on July 10 for a food distribution organized by Community Action, the Orleans County Office for the Aging, and Foodlink. Albion will host another food distribution Friday morning. It is scheduled form 9:30 until gone but could start earlier in the delivery trucks are done unloading.

The food distribution on July 31 is moving from the parking lot at the former Save-A-Lot to the Holley Jr. Sr. High School parking lot.

This event is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. but could start sooner if the delivery trucks are unloaded. Many people have been lining up in their vehicles well before the scheduled start time. That created a traffic bottleneck in Holley last month.

To access the event, motorists should enter the school grounds from High Street and then follow the bus garage access road that leads to the high school. After receiving the sealed boxes of food, vehicles will exit off Lynch Road. Vehicles will not be allowed to enter other than from High Street, said Roland Nenni, Holley police chief.

Signs will be posted to where vehicles should begin to line up. Nenni said the vehicles should be ready with the trunk or rear hatch open and the windows closed.

“These events draw many vehicles that cause traffic issues because of the long lines that are created,” Nenni said. “We are hoping that the plan we have developed and the location for this event will have the least impact on traffic and residential streets.”

This event is being conducted by Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, Food Link and the Office of the Aging.

”We would like to thank the Holley School District for the use of the parking lot,” Nenni said.

The schedule for the Friday distributions (all scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m.) through the end of August includes:

• July 24: Albion at Community Action Store on Main Street
• July 31: Holley at Junior-Senior High School, 16848 Lynch Rd. – no lines before 8am
• August 7: Albion at Community Action Store, Main Street
• August 14: Medina at Medina Central District – no lines before 8am
• August 21: Albion at Community Action Store, Main Street
• August 28: Holley at location to be determined

Volunteers are still needed for all Fridays in August. For more information on volunteering, call Melissa Blanar at the Orleans County Office for the Aging at 589-3191.

81 now on precautionary quarantine in Orleans

Orleans County doesn’t have any new confirmed Covid-19 cases to report today, according to the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

Orleans added 11 more people on precautionary quarantine due to travel from one of 31 restricted states. Those people need to quarantine for 14 days. Orleans now has 81 people on precautionary quarantine.

Two residents from the county remain hospitalized due to Covid-19.

Genesee County is reporting one new case of Covid-19 and has now had 246 people test positive. (Orleans has had 272 test positive.)

The new case in Genesee is a Batavia resident in the 20s. The positive individual was not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

Genesee is reporting three more recoveries for 181 total. Genesee also has 17 more people on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states for 111 total.

More from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Department

• Travel Advisory: New York is requiring travelers from the following 31 states with high coronavirus rates to self-quarantine for 14 days: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Those violating could be subject to a judicial order and mandatory quarantine and potential fines. These states may change at any time.

• Traveler Health Form: For all out-of-state travelers from NYS restricted states, whether arriving by land or air, must self-identify by completing a traveler health form or be subject to a $2,000 fine. Click here for the traveler health form.

• Alcohol Sales Guidance: Executive Order 202.52 in effect starting July 17 requires all licensed establishments with on premises privileges (e.g. restaurants, taverns, manufacturers with tasting rooms, etc.) shall not serve alcoholic beverages unless such alcoholic beverage is accompanied by the purchase of a food item by each patron in a seated party.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Gary Katsanis, a trustee on the Albion Village Board, applies stain on Albion’s new utility building at Bullard Park.

He joined Mayor Eileen Banker and Trustee Stan Farone in putting the first coat of stain on the cedar siding and wood on the building, which has bathrooms, storage, equipment and infrastructure for the spray park.

Mayor Eileen Banker spent most of Wednesday and part of today applying the stain. She said the village is doing everything it can to get the park open.

The trustees volunteered with the first coat, and will be applying another coat of stain and then polyurethane.

Banker said the Department of Public Works is busy with other projects in the village. The DPW has worked on the site last year and many months of 2020. The DPW had to work at 50 percent capacity for six weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic which put the DPW behind schedule.

There is electrical work that needs to be done before the spray park can open, and the village would like to see more grass grow by the site so mud is less likely to clog the drains. Next year sidewalks will be added leading to the spray park.

Village Trustee Stan Farone, 71, has spent several hours the past two days putting stain on the wood.

Once the utility building is done, the trustees and mayor will put the stain on the new amphitheater.

Katsanis said volunteers can’t be accepted for the projects due to liability. The board members can do it because they are covered in the village’s insurance.

Priority will be given to pre-1978 homes with children under 6, children with elevated blood-lead levels, or a pregnant female

Press Release, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments

Live in or own a home or rental unit built before 1978? Do young children living in the home? Worried about lead paint?

Most homes built before 1978 contain old lead paint. Lead is a metal that can harm children and adults when it gets into their bodies. If paint peels, cracks, or is worn down, the chips and dust from the old lead paint can spread onto floors, windowsills, and all around your home.

Young children who lick, swallow, or breathe in dust from old lead paint can develop lead poisoning. Although lead paint is the most common form of exposure, lead can also be found in water, soil, and in some products used in and around the home, such as imported china or inexpensive jewelry.

“Exposure to lead can seriously harm a child’s health and cause damaging health effects,” said Paul Pettit, Public Health Director of Genesee and Orleans Counties. “Lead has the ability to damage to the brain and nervous system, slow growth and development, cause learning and behavior problems, and effect hearing and speech. Lead can also be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy.”

These are the maximum household income limits to qualify.

The Genesee–Orleans Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program aims to identify lead hazards within the home and provide resources where they are needed most. This is a federally-funded grant program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help qualified residents in the City of Batavia and the Village of Albion remove lead from their home for little to no cost. (Click here to see the census tracts where properties are eligible in the program. Properties must be located in one of the following census tracts: 9507, 9508, 9510, and 0407.)

Certified and trained workers may replace windows, doors, fresh paint, trim, siding, flooring, and more. Eligible properties must also be built prior to 1978, have a child under the age of 6 living in or frequently visiting the home (this includes pregnant women) or have a child with elevated blood lead levels, and be found to have lead-based paint hazards.

To complete an application, please call the Genesee County Health Department at 585-344-2580 x5555. After eligibility approval, a risk assessment of your home will be conducted to identify potential lead hazards and how they can be fixed. A certified contractor with complete the work and follow up testing will be completed to make sure your home meets the safety standards.

Property owners can also receive help through the Genesee–Orleans Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program. If your rental property has no more than four apartments and was built before 1978, you may be eligible for help in testing and correcting lead hazards.

Landlords renting to families within the City of Batavia or the Village of Albion within the income limits listed above may be eligible. (Properties must be located in one of the following census tracts: 9507, 9508, 9510, and 0407.)

Priority will be given to homes where children under the age of 6 live, as well as to those that house children who have elevated blood-lead levels, or a pregnant female.

Participating owners must also agree to maintain rents at affordable levels (please see table below). Owners are required to contribute 10% of the project cost. If necessary, the program can temporarily relocate tenants while the work is being performed.

For more information on the Genesee–Orleans Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Grant Program, please email health.GOlead@co.genesee.ny.us or call 585-344-2580 x5555.