County hasn’t had a new confirmed case in past 7 days

Orleans County has made it seven straight days without a new confirmed case of Covid-19, according to the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

Orleans remains at 267 people who have tested positive for Covid-19.

Genesee County has one new confirmed case, a person in the 50s from Darien. The individual was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

Orleans and Genesee both have 11 people on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Genesee doesn’t have anyone currently hospitalized with Covid-19, while Orleans has six who are hospitalized.

(Editor’s Note: The state Department of Health lists Orleans with more cases. The local Health Department issued this response: “NYS data has been off due to some results being linked to people with one of our county’s addresses but actually don’t live in either county. These results are transferred to the appropriate county of residence, but are not reflected on the State’s daily updates.”)

More from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments:

• Precautionary Quarantine: Everyone (including children) who has traveled to/from any restricted states (for more than 24 hours) are required to self quarantine and self-monitor their health upon entering New York. This means the individual(s) cannot leave to go shopping, visiting, daycare and are only allowed to go for emergency care for the first 14 days back in New York.

Businesses including childcare providers should include a travel question in their regular health screening for their staff and clientele/children. Click here for the guidance. For general inquiries contact or call the Hotline: 1-888-364-3065 or click Ask A Question.

As of July 7, the 19 states in the travel advisory include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. Those violating could be subject to a judicial order and mandatory quarantine and potential fines.

• Masks/Face-coverings are still required to be properly worn (covering nose & mouth) for all employees who work with the public. They are to be worn with direct contact (and all food service workers are to properly wear coverings when preparing and serving food – no exceptions) with the public as well as with co-workers when social distancing of 6 feet or more is not able to be kept.

All residents over the age of 2 years old and able to medically tolerate a face-covering are required to cover their nose and mouth with a mask or cloth face-covering when in public and unable to maintain, or when not maintaining social distance of 6 feet or more.

• Social Gathering Sizes: According to Governor Cuomo’s Executive Orders 202.42 and 202.45, all non-essential gatherings of up to 50 of individuals of any size for any reason (graduation parties, celebrations, or other social events) unless otherwise designated (ex. religious gatherings) are now allowed for those regions in phase 4. This is as long as requirements are followed for appropriate social distancing, and wearing cloth masks/face coverings over the mouth and nose.

• Community Testing Sites: Check with the testing site for any specific criteria necessary for testing such as illness, contact with someone who tested positive, essential worker, required for reopening/business, etc. Many need to have a doctor referral/prescription. Always call first.

• Oak Orchard Health: 301 West Ave Albion, NY 14411. Call (585) 589-5613 to be screened and to schedule an appointment – no walk-ins.
• WellNow Urgent Care: 4189 Veterans Memorial Drive Batavia, NY 14020.
• Rochester Regional Health Urgent Care: 16 Bank Street Batavia, NY 14020. (Rochester Regional Health has transitioned Covid-19 evaluations from the tents at 127 North Street to Urgent Care.)

Albion resident helped push through construction of a new site which opened in 2012

Photos by Tom Rivers: Kevin Doherty speaks on Wednesday during the 120th annual meeting of the Swan Library Association. Doherty is speaking in front of a new mural in the Hoag Library painted by Stacey Kirby Steward. The annual meeting is usually the first Monday in May. It was pushed back due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

ALBION – Kevin Doherty has ended a 12-year tenure as a trustee for Hoag Library, including the past 11 years as the board’s president.

Doherty has reached the time limit for a trustee on the board. He is the last trustee who was on the board when Albion opened the new Hoag Library in July 2012.

Doherty was the president during the construction and the financial planning for the 14,600-square-foot site. The building allowed the library to move out of a former 6,000-square-foot mansion that lacked adequate parking and wasn’t fully handicapped accessible.

Kevin Doherty, president of the Hoag Library board of trustees, speaks during a ribbon-cutting celebration for the new library on July 7, 2012.

Terry Wilbert, a retired school guidance counselor, is the new board president. Wilbert also is an Albion town councilman.

“This is a centerpiece of the community,” Wilbert said about the library. “The meeting rooms are constantly in use. We have the book delivery program and the internet access. This is just a fantastic community asset.”

Voters on Wednesday also elected three trustees on the board. Anitrice Bennett, 77 votes, and Dan Conrad, 62 votes, were each elected to four-year terms. Joyce Riley, 55 votes, was elected to a three-year term. Those three were incumbents on the board.

There were two other candidates: Carol Miller, 43 votes, and Allyson DeBoard, 38 votes.

Doherty thanked all the candidates for their interest in serving on the library’s board of trustees. He said many other libraries struggle to find people willing to serve in the volunteer roles.

Doherty, in a message at the annual meeting, said Hoag Library has strong community support. The library is in demand for its meeting rooms, and special events, as well as access to its collection.

Doherty said generous donors continue to support projects at the library and help Hoag to pay down the debt from the mortgage for the building. The original $1.69 million mortgage from 2012 is now down to $300,000.

The library was completely done in 2012. A new electronic sign was installed last year. Solar panels were added to the roof in 2015.

Hoag also boosted its WiFi signal this year so people can have access to high-speed internet in the parking lot when the library wasn’t open.

“We added the WiFi booster because there are so many dead areas in the community where they’re trying to do distance learning,” said Betty Sue Miller, the library director.

Hoag also expects to have two charging stations installed later this summer for electric vehicles.

Donors continue to step forward for library

Doherty and Betty Sue Miller, the library director, said the community continues to give sizable donations to the library.

The library in 2019-20 received $143,246 in donations, including another $100,000 from Maurice “Mo” Hoag and his wife Courtenay. They have now given $800,000 to the library.

Betty Sue Miller, library director, speaks during the annual meeting on Wednesday.

Bob and Ann Moore also gave $10,000 for a mural of three swans in flight over the Albion countryside. That mural is in the main meeting room of the library. Stacey Kirby Steward finished that project last month. The mural was done in honor of Marion Moore, who served as director of the Swan Library from 1961 to 1973.

An anonymous donor has also given $10,000 towards the restoration of a Civil War flag that is owned by the library.

Xerox gave Hoag a $7,768 grant to purchase a book vending machine.

Another anonymous donor gave $4,000 towards a shut-in program, where library staff takes books and materials to senior citizens once a month.

A $1,000 anonymous donation also is paying for a “Book from Birth” program where children who live in the Albion school district can receive a free book on their birthday, up to age 5.

Miller, the library director, said Hoag isn’t fully open yet. It closed on March 23 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It reopened on June 1 with patrons able to order materials and have them set at the front of the building.

The building has since reopened to the community, initially from 1 to 6 p.m. The hours are now 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Friday.

The special events remain cancelled and the meeting rooms aren’t available to the public yet. The Summer Reading Program doesn’t have any in-person events but there is an online program.

Miller said the library looks to add back more services. Next week the interloan library program through Nioga is expected to return. That allows patrons to borrow books and materials from all member libraries in the Nioga system, which includes sites in Niagara, Orleans and Genesee counties.

“That’s what a lot of our patrons are waiting for,” Miller said about interloan. “We get a lot and we give a lot.”

Library asks expert how to best preserve flag for the future

ALBION – An anonymous donor has given Hoag Library $10,000 to have a Civil War flag restored.

The library is having a textile conservator and flag expert do an analysis of the flag to see how it can best be preserved and what the estimated cost would be. If the cost exceeds $10,000, the library may ask the community for additional donations for the project, said Betty Sue Miller, the library director.

If the cost seems too expensive, the library might not proceed with the restoration and the $10,000 would be returned to the donor.

Miller discussed the restoration briefly during the library’s annual meeting on Wednesday evening.

The flag was driven to Delmar near Albany by Kevin Doherty, Hoag Library president. The flag is being analyzed by Spicer Art Conservation, LLC, a firm that has cleaned and restored many Civil War flags, and even one from the War of 1812, which was a half century before the Civil War.

Gwen Spicer, owner of Spicer Art Conservation, has worked on many historically significant flags and banners, including a pre-Revolutionary War “Liberty” flag and Civil War flags. She has treated flags from every American conflict from the Revolutionary War to the present, according to the Spicer Art Conservation website (click here).

The Hoag Library board of trustees on March 13, 2019 voted to have the flag sold through an auctioneer in Dallas, Texas. Heritage Auctions estimated the flag would sell for $20,000.

The library board, however, never followed through with the sale after hearing from the community and having a donor step forward, offering to fund a restoration up to $10,000.

The flag is from a Colored Troops regiment. The 26th Regiment United States Colored Troops wasn’t for a local unit. Those troops were based out of New York City, although former County Historian Matt Ballard said the group was led by a local white soldier, Charles H. Mattison of Barre.

The library trustees in March 2019 felt it would be costly for the library to preserve the flag and then to properly display it. The trustees didn’t think the library should have the responsibility of caring for an artifact that didn’t originate in the local community.

Hoag officials last year reached out to African-American museums as well as the Smithsonian to see if they were interested in the flag. The African-American museums said they would accept it, but only if it was restored. The Smithsonian would accept it and put it in storage. It might be decades before it was worked on or displayed, Miller said.

The flag has been in a frame for many years. The white stripes in particular have deteriorated. The library trustees were concerned if the library keeps the flag, in the current frame, the flag would further wither away.

Spicer Art Conservation will likely have recommendations on the best course of action to preserve and display the flag.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Main Street in Albion is shown at about 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

It will be another hot day today, with a high temperature forecast for 93 in Orleans County. A heat advisory remains in effect until 8 p.m. Friday for Orleans County and much of western and central New York.

The 90-degree hot streak continues Friday with a high near 92. That would make it six straight 90-degree days in the county.

Saturday won’t be as hot, with a high of 85, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

The highs will be then be 84 on Sunday, 83 on Monday, 85 on Tuesday and then a return to the 90s on Wednesday with a high of 91.

Contributed Photos – The Silverbacks nickname logo for the new Roy-Hart/Barker/Lyndonville football team.

When the newly merged Roy-Hart/Barker/Lyndonville eight man football team takes to the field for the first time this coming season it will do so with a very unique and interesting nickname – The Silverbacks.

“We were looking for something that was unique and I think we found it,” said Lyndonville Athletic Director Jim Zeliff of the nickname Silverbacks which are large male gorillas.

“We wanted something that our team and our fans could get behind. We looked at a number of possible nicknames and we asked our players and this is the one they liked,” said Head Coach Joe Suhr.

“The Silverback gorilla is big, aggressive and smart,” added Suhr. “So the nickname ties into our uniform colors  of silver, black and white and it reflects the kind of team we’re looking to field.”

The Silverbacks are scheduled to open their inaugural season on September 11 at Oakfield-Alabama/Elba.

The home and away uniforms for the new Silverbacks squad

By Mike Pettinella, GCASA Publicist

Provided photo: Albion residents Nick and Cyndi Mardino worked together at GCASA.

ALBION – Whether they were spending time at their Albion home or on the job at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Albion residents Nick and Cyndi Mardino are grateful for the opportunity to share their experiences together.

The Mardinos retired at the end of May after long careers at GCASA, primarily at the Albion clinic on East Avenue but also at the Batavia campus on East Main Street.

Cyndi began employment there in 2000, the last 18 or so years as the agency’s customer service supervisor, while Nick started in 2005, first as a part-time maintenance man while he worked his full-time job as a corrections officer at Orleans Correctional Facility and then, over the past year, in a full-time role.

Driven by a mindset focused upon togetherness and teamwork, and guided by a strong faith in God, the Mardinos made a tremendous impact upon GCASA staff and clients, alike.

“Both Cyndi and Nick were excellent employees. They always went above and beyond their job duties, and they were loyal and dedicated to GCASA,” said Kathy S. Hodgins, chief clinical officer, a close friend of Cyndi.

Hodgins said Cyndi, as support staff supervisor, “treated her staff with respect and valued each one of them,” while Nick made sure “the building and grounds in Albion were always immaculate.”

Interviewed by telephone on Wednesday, the Mardinos said that working at GCASA has been “a blessing” and while they miss the work, they miss their colleagues and clients even more.

“I have enjoyed my experience with GCASA and getting to know so many people who over the years had become like family to me,” Cyndi said. “I have enjoyed working with the front staff and Beth Collee and Rachel Patten were the most amazing people to work with and they were family to me.  The front office team was a joy and I was very sad to leave.”

Nick, an Air Force veteran, said his time at GCASA was “a pleasure,” and he especially enjoyed taking on all kinds of projects with co-workers Jeff Helenbrook and Ron Hall.

And they said it was extra special to be able to interact with each other at different times.

“We always worked well together, so if somebody needed something, I would say, ‘Nick, can you do this?’ Or if one of the counselors needed something done, I would ask him and he’d always take care of it.”

Cyndi said people would ask her how she could work with her husband and then go home. “I would say, ‘You know what? He’s my best friend.’”

Nick agreed, simply stating, “We do everything together.”

Cyndi believes that working at GCASA was meant to be.

“Kathy (Hodgins) always said you’re here for a reason,” she said. “Because I grew up in an alcoholic family and my first husband was an alcoholic, so there’s always a reason.”

The Mardinos were always quick with a smile and a word of encouragement, traits of their outgoing personalities.

“I always enjoyed talking to the patients because you wanted to have a good rapport with them. I told the staff — my team – ‘Listen guys, they’re walking in here and a lot of times that first step is the hardest to do.’ When they walk in that door, they have to be treated as a human being,” Cyndi said. “They have problems and we can’t help them with that, but we can be that smiling face – that person who could be there if they have questions or if they just need someone to smile at them.”

The Mardinos were looking to retire a couple years down the road, but changed their plans, opting to close the full-time employment chapter of their lives at the young Social Security ages of 62 (Nick) and 63.

“God intervened and we said it was time,” Cyndi said.

They had anticipated to take a cross-country trip this summer, but that’s on hold due to the coronavirus.

Still, they said they have plenty of projects around the house, are welcoming family members (they have three grown children and six grandkids), love the time with Bella, their chocolate Labrador Retriever, and soon hope to be able to visit Nick’s mother who is in a nursing home.

The Mardinos met as a result of a blind date 33 years ago and were married in 1993. Cyndi lived in California, Oklahoma, Texas and Maine before returning to her hometown of Albion to stay. Nick is a native of North Collins in Erie County.

GCASA Executive Director John Bennett tried to keep the Mardinos on a bit longer, but that wasn’t in the cards. He did, however, manage to convince them to stay on as “per diem” employees.

So, in a pinch, GCASA employees may be able to share some moments with Cyndi and Nick once again – giving the Mardinos another chance to express their well-wishes, thanks and appreciation for two decades of service.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Dave Porter, a dowser from Wellsville, visited Watt Farms in Albion today, trying to summon rain. He holds a divining rod which directs him to a spot in an orchard off Route 98 near the Watt Farms Country Market.

Porter, 73, is a retired school administrator. For the past 18 years, he has been a dowser, helping people find water as a hobby. He usually is called to help find an ideal spot to drill a well or to locate a spring. Today was his first time trying to activate rainclouds.

“You have to connect yourself to the earth because the earth has all kinds of energies,” Porter said.

Porter holds a pendulum that was swinging wildly in the first row in the orchard, just south of the road behind the farm market. When the pendulum swings in a fast pace, Porter said there is a lot of energy in that location.

Then he brings out two divining rods. He asks a higher being for permission to be a dowser in that location. If the rods cross, the answer is yes. He received that OK and then requested permission to ask for rain to come to the area. The divining rods again crossed, signifying “yes.” Porter said he doesn’t cause the rods to either cross or move apart.

Porter asked if there would be significant rain in a week? The divining rods moved apart, for a “no” answer. He asked if it would be in five days, and the rods stayed apart. He asked if it would be four days – again they wouldn’t cross.

When Porter asked if there would be a significant rain in three days, the divining rods slowly crossed.

He asked if it would rain in two days, but the rods stayed apart.

He believes the divining rods are predicting rain in 3 to 3 ½ days. This was on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. That would mean the area should expect rain on Saturday.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said.

Dave Porter holds the divining rods in the Watt Farms fruit orchard off Route 98 in Albion.

Karen Watt of Watt Farms invited Porter to try dowsing at the farm. She said the local farms are in dire need of rain. The region could use a major soaking. That could make a $50 million difference on the local agricultural economy, she said.

“We need a whole day of nothing but rain,” she said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – This group distributed 20-pound boxes of produce today at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.

From left include Kristina Gabalski, Orleans County CCE 4-H program coordinator; Natalie Mrzywka, a 4-H administrative assistant at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County; and Jessica Capurso, director of outreach, education and marketing at Community Partners. Robert Batt, Extension executive director, is in back.

The Extension distributed 1,200 boxes of produce, and also was able to offer 450 boxes each of dairy and meat. The dairy and meat was a big draw with cars lined up before 8. The distribution was advertised to start until 10 a.m. Batt said the line of cars was the longest he’d seen since the first distribution on May 29 and for two last month.

The distribution was a USDA farmers-to-families produce initiative. James Desiderio Inc. of Buffalo serves as the distributor of the produce.

The July drive-through distribution schedule includes:

July 10: Community Action’s Main Street Store in Albion, across from Hoag Library – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

July 17: Medina Calvary Cupboard with new location at Medina Central School District – 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Enter off of West Oak Orchard Street from Main Street or West Avenue. Entry is at the Oak Orchard Elementary School, signs will be posted. No lines before 8 a.m.)

July 22: Produce distribution at 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville – 10 a.m. until gone

July 24: Community Action’s Main Street Store in Albion – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

July 31: Holley at a location to be determined – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Editor’s Note: All of these distributions may start sooner than advertised if the food is delivered and ready.

Natalie Mrzywka holds one of the face masks she made and gives away free to 4-H members, Extension volunteers and farmers. Mrzywka has made 500 masks with her grandmother Sue Lear.

Mrzywka has her own embroidery machine. She researched a design for the masks and has made them in many different fabric designs. She is wearing one with a camping theme. She also has made dog-themed masks, many with corn and several other designs. It takes her about 15 minutes to make the masks, which are adjustable.

“We do it because we know people need them,” Mrzywka said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – Jesse Farwell, left, and Kurt Dudley cook chickens this afternoon at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The barbecue is for the West Barre United Methodist Church. The chickens were headed back to the church after being cooked.

The church was hoping to sell 500 pre-sale tickets and quickly surpassed that, reaching 800. The meals are takeout and drive-in only.

The chickens cook in the pits at the fairgrounds. The church had about 10 volunteers working on the chickens for several hours today in 90-degree heat.

Dan Shuler checks the temperatures of the chicken.

9 in Orleans on precautionary quarantine due to travel advisory

Orleans County has now gone six straight days without a new confirmed case of Covid-19, the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments reported this afternoon.

The Health Departments reported for the first time that there are nine people on precautionary quarantine due to travel to one of 19 restricted states that are seeing a rise in Covid-19 infections.

Seven in the county remain hospitalized due to Covid-19.

The state Department of Health lists Orleans with more cases. The local Health Department issued this response: “NYS data has been off due to some results being linked to people with one of our county’s addresses but actually don’t live in either county. These results are transferred to the appropriate county of residence, but are not reflected on the State’s daily updates.”

Genesee has two new confirmed cases, bringing the Genesee total to 230. (Orleans has had 267 test positive.)

The two new cases in Genesee are a resident of Batavia and a resident of Darien. One is in the 40s and one is in the 60s. The two new positive individuals were not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

Genesee has one more recovery for 166 total. Genesee also has six people on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states. No Genesee residents are currently hospitalized from Covid-19.

More from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments:

• Masks: Masks/Face-coverings are still required to be properly worn (covering nose & mouth) for all employees who work with the public. They are to be worn with direct contact (and all food service workers are to properly wear coverings when preparing and serving food – no exceptions) with the public as well as with co-workers when social distancing of 6 feet or more is not able to be kept.

All residents over the age of 2 years old and able to medically tolerate a face-covering are required to cover their nose and mouth with a mask or cloth face-covering when in public and unable to maintain, or when not maintaining social distance of 6 feet or more.

• Social Gathering Sizes: According to Governor Cuomo’s Executive Orders 202.42 and 202.45, all non-essential gatherings of up to 50 of individuals of any size for any reason (graduation parties, celebrations, or other social events) unless otherwise designated (ex. religious gatherings) are now allowed for those regions in phase 4. This is as long as requirements are followed for appropriate social distancing, and wearing cloth masks/face coverings over the mouth and nose.

• Community Testing Sites: Check with the testing site for any specific criteria necessary for testing such as illness, contact with someone who tested positive, essential worker, required for reopening/business, etc. Many need to have a doctor referral/prescription. Always call first.

• WellNow Urgent Care: 4189 Veterans Memorial Drive Batavia, NY 14020.
• Rochester Regional Health Urgent Care: 16 Bank Street Batavia, NY 14020. (Rochester Regional Health has transitioned Covid-19 evaluations from the tents at 127 North Street to Urgent Care.)
• Oak Orchard Health: 301 West Ave Albion, NY 14411. Call (585) 589-5613 to be screened and to schedule an appointment – no walk-ins.

Face-to-face meetings, telehealth appointments available

Press Release, Danielle Figura, interim director of Orleans County Mental Health Department

ALBION – The Orleans County Department of Mental Health continues to be open during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The outpatient clinic continues to offer face-to-face appointments that meet the social distancing requirements. If accordance to the CDC guidelines, we will ask that all individuals who attend face-to-face appointments wear a face mask, and participate in  a health screening protocol prior to your appointment with your provider.

Additionally we are offering both audio and video telehealth appointments for individuals already engaged in treatment or for those who wish to pursue treatment services with us. To schedule an appointment or if you would like to find out more about our available and extended services at this time, please contact the clinic at (585) 589-7066.

Health Home Care Management services continue to operate and are accepting new referrals for both children and adults through Orleans County Department of Mental Health. Please contact the department at (585) 589-7066 and ask to speak with the Coordinator of Care Management Services or the SPOA Coordinator.

Additional information on the mental health resources in Orleans County and in case of a crisis, The Care & Crisis Helpline (585) 283-5200, can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The state will make an announcement the first week of August about if and how schools will reopen in the fall.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it won’t be a blanket policy for all 700 districts in the state because different regions of the state have different levels of infection from Covid-19.

New York will finalize guidance to reopen schools by July 13. School districts need to submit reopening plans by July 31, with the state to make a decision on reopening during week of Aug. 1-7.

Cuomo said student safety, as well as the health of teachers and staff, remains the priority on how schools will operate in the fall.

The governor pushed back on President Trump’s declaration that all schools need to reopen. If they don’t, Trump said he could withhold federal aid to those districts.

Cuomo said the president is pushing for schools to reopen while discounting advice and guidelines from the federal CDC.

“I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools,” Trump tweeted this morning. “While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!”

Cuomo urged the president to listen to the health experts. The president isn’t respecting how states have the role of deciding when and how to reopen schools.

The threat of withholding federal aid would hit the poorest school districts the hardest. The federal government sends about $3.5 billion in federal aid to schools in New York, out of about $70 billion in total education funding in the state.

The governor said the state has been successful in reducing the rates of Covid-19 infections, but he said that could change if people don’t adhere to social distancing and wearing masks. He also worries about many people coming to the state, about 12,000 daily, from 19 states with high rates of infection. The state is requiring people from those states to self quarantine for two weeks when they come to New York.

Those people, plus the increased activity as the state’s economy reopens, could lead to more infections, Cuomo said.

The governor said the state will be very careful with the reopening of schools.

“You’re talking about the safety of children,” Cuomo said. “God forbid you make that mistake.”

A heat advisory is in effect until 8 p.m. Friday in Orleans County and much of western and central New York. The high temperatures will be in the low 90s today, Thursday and Friday.

AAA Western and Central New York sent out an advisory today, warning people of the excessive heat the next few days.

On average, 37 children die in hot cars every year. While an overwhelming majority of these deaths are accidental, such tragedies are often preventable, AAA said.

Temperatures inside of a car, even on a moderately sunny day, can rise 20 degrees in just 10 minutes. Children are particularly at risk of suffering from heatstroke since their bodies heat up five times faster than adults.

Children and heat – follow these simple tips to make sure no child is left in a vehicle:

• Never leave a child unattended in a car, even for a minute, even if the windows are tinted or down. The same recommendation applies to pets and the elderly.
• Keep doors locked and windows closed at all times, even when the vehicle is in a garage or on a driveway. Make sure keys are safely out of reach.
• Make sure all children leave the vehicle when you reach your destination. Be certain no one is inadvertently left behind.
• When you first place a child in a car seat in the back seat of a car, also place your cell phone, purse, or important belongings back there to serve as visual reminders that a child is in the back seat as you exit the vehicle.
• If you see a child alone in a parked car, immediately call 9-1-1 for emergency assistance.

Pets and heat:

• When it comes to pets and heat, it’s best to leave them at home while running errands on hot days. Dogs can’t sweat like humans, causing them to overheat much faster. Rolling down the window does very little to keep them comfortable.

Cars and heat:

• Most drivers think battery problems occur primarily in winter, but summer heat can negatively impact your car’s battery even more than the bitter cold of winter – have your battery tested by AAA.
• Automobile engines work extra hard in the summer, and it is the cooling system’s job to protect the engine from overheating – proper cooling system maintenance is vital to keep the engine cool.
• Driving on under-inflated tires not only affects the handling and braking of a vehicle, it also can cause tires to overheat and increase the likelihood of a blowout.
• Cars need fluids during extreme heat too – drivers should check all vehicle fluids including motor oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid and brake fluid to ensure they are filled to the appropriate levels.

Katie Harvey

ALBION – The county has hired Katie Harvey to be the new director of Personnel and Self Insurance. She succeeds Jack Welch, who became the county’s chief administrative officer on March 25.

Harvey worked with Welch as the deputy director of Personnel and Self Insurance beginning in March 2020. She started in the department as a personnel assistant in January 2014. Prior to working for the county, Harvey was an assistant manager of Five Star Bank in Albion.

Harvey has been trained in Albany at the NYS Civil Service Institute by the NYS Department of Civil Service. Her work with the county has included managing the Orleans County Self Insurance Plan claims, human resources for 400-plus employees as well as coordinating the scheduling of the county’s civil service examinations.

“Katie is well versed in the operations of Personnel and Self Insurance,” Welch said.

The Director of Personnel and Self Insurance is responsible for over 1,600 civil service classified positions, over 1,100 employees in the Orleans County Self Insurance Plan as well as over 600 volunteer firefighters.

“Katie has the ability to be an excellent administrator of the County’s Civil Service operations as well as the administrator of the Orleans County Self Insurance Plan,” Welch said. “I couldn’t think of a better person to lead this department in these challenging times.”

ALBION – The school district wants to hear from the community about what they want in a school superintendent.

The district is pushing to have a new superintendent in place by Jan. 1.

The district has an on-line survey that lists about 30 qualities and skills for a superintendent. Respondents are asked to rank their five most critical skills for a superintendent to be effective at Albion.

Scott Bischoping is Albion’s interim superintendent.

Ability to create a positive school culture, unquestioned integrity, strong presence in schools and community, strong commitment to student achievements and success, and outstanding written and oral communication skills are among the possible responses.

Survey respondents are asked to pick what they believe is the single, most important quality for the next superintendent.

The survey also asks respondents to consider the top three areas of focus for the superintendent in the next 3-5 years.

Some of those areas listed on the survey include budget and finance, communication with the community, instruction/student performance, contract negotiations/labor relations, building and sustaining strong sports and arts programs, improving technology, and building relationships and trust with stakeholders.

The survey, which takes less than 15 minutes to complete and is anonymous, will be online until July 24. The survey is available in English and Spanish.

The district also is forming focus groups of staff, students, parents and other community members. The groups will be asked to identify the following: desired traits, characteristics and behaviors of the new superintendent as well as challenges and opportunities the new superintendent will face.

Albion has hired the Western New York Educational Service Council, located at the University of Buffalo, to assist in the search. The consultants will meet with stakeholder focus groups on July 20 and 21. There will be an open session on July 21 for the community to hear from the consultants at a location to be determined.

Kathy Harling, the Board of Education president, said the board members take the responsibility of selecting the next superintendent very seriously.

“The Board feels it is critical to obtain community input about the desired characteristics of the next superintendent as well as the challenges and opportunities that they will encounter,” Harling said in a letter to the community.

Albion will be doing a closed search to provide confidentiality for people pursuing the position. Board members will consider the input from the community in hiring the next superintendent.

“The Board wants to ensure that the search draws a very strong field of successful candidates and understands that confidentiality is critically important for highly successful candidates who do not want to jeopardize their current positions,” Harling said.

The board wants to hire the new superintendent in November, with a start date on or before Jan. 1.

Scott Bischoping is serving as Albion’s interim superintendent. He started on Monday.

He takes over as superintendent for Michael Bonnewell, who will serve as evaluator of teachers in the his last year with the district before his retirement.

Bischoping most recently served as interim superintendent at North Rose-Wolcott Central School from Feb. 3 late June. Previously, Bischoping was an interim superintendent at Batavia City School District. He also was the district superintendent for Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES.