STAT Act requires courts to compile and publish racial and other demographic data of all low-level offenses
Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed policing reform legislation requiring state and local law enforcement officers to report within six hours when they discharge their weapon (S.2575-B/A.10608); requiring courts to compile and publish racial and other demographic data of all low-level offenses (S.1830-C/A.10609); and requiring police officers to provide medical and mental health attention to individuals in custody (S.6601-A/A.8226).
“Police reform is long overdue in this state and this nation, and New York is once again leading the way and enacting real change to end the systemic discrimination that exists in our criminal justice and policing systems,” Governor Cuomo said. “These critical reforms will help improve the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve and take us one step closer to righting the many injustices minority communities have faced because of a broken and unfair system.”
The Police Statistics and Transparency Act – or STAT Act – requires courts to compile and publish racial and other demographic data of all low-level offenses, including misdemeanors and violations. The data collected must be made available online and updated monthly. The new law also requires police departments to report any arrest-related death to the Department of Criminal Justice Services and to submit annual reports on arrest-related deaths to the Governor and the Legislature.
Senator Brad Hoylman said, “The Police Statistics and Transparency (STAT) Act, a recommendation of President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, requires law enforcement to collect and publicly report demographic information ranging from low-level arrests to in-custody deaths. Because of this legislation, we’ll finally have the data necessary to identify and root out the systematic and discriminatory policing practices that law enforcement uses to target Black and Brown New Yorkers.”
This new law requires that any law enforcement officer or peace officer who discharges their weapon, while on or off duty, where a person could be struck by a bullet from the weapon is required to verbally report the incident to his or her supervisor within six hours and prepare and file a written report within 48 hours of the incident.
Senator Jamaal T. Bailey said, “I would like to thank the Governor for signing this crucial piece of legislation, which requires law enforcement officials to report within six hours whenever they have discharged their weapon and could have struck an individual, and a written report within 48 hours. It is important to have this transparency within a department to foster a better public trust, ensure accountability, and improve community police relations.”
Providing Medical and Mental Health Attention to Individuals in Custody (S.6601-A/A.8226)
This new law requires police officers, peace officers and other law enforcement representatives and entities to provide medical and mental health attention to any individual in custody. Police can be liable for damages for anyone who does not receive medical attention and suffers a serious physical injury or has their injury exacerbated by the lack of care.
Senator Jamaal T. Bailey said, “I would like to thank the Governor for signing my bill, which would require law enforcement to call for medical attention if requested by the individual apprehended. Regardless of whether an individual is in custody or not, if they need medical attention it should be provided to them. In far too many of these cases, adequate medical assistance has been denied to these individuals or been so delayed that individuals have suffered needless, pain and suffering. In the most egregious cases, indifference or neglect of some persons’ conditions have even lead to senseless deaths, like that of Andrew Kearse, a young man whose pleas for medical attention went unheard.”
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 15 June 2020 at 12:24 pm
Museum hopes to host train rides later this year, including Day Out With Thomas
MEDINA – The recent Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a devastating blow to the entire nation, not only affecting businesses, but museums and tourist attractions.
Like other museums, the Medina Railroad Museum, whose operation relies solely on public events, has had to completely shut down during this time. But in spite of that, its leaders are positively moving ahead with plans for the future.
Events on which the museum heavily depends are Day Out With Thomas, Santa and Reindeer Trains and Polar Express, along with Fall Foliage Excursions and a Blues Festival. Day Out With Thomas, which was canceled in May, would have been the 16th year for Thomas in Medina. This year is the 75th Anniversary Celebration Year and Thomas’ birthday, according to museum director Janien Klotzbach.
“A lot of special additions were planned for that event,” Klotzbach said. “We have been working closely with Mattel through this process with weekly conference calls since mid-March. We are staying on top of all government and CDC guidelines and safety regulations, with hopes of still being able to host the event. We have tentatively rescheduled for late August, however, with the timing of reopening in Phase 4 and extreme limits on capacity and attendance allowances for social distancing, it is likely we will not be able to host the event this year.”
Plans for Polar Express and Santa and Reindeer trains are still up in the air, but the museum is hopeful they can take place as usual.
When the pandemic hit, the board and Klotzbach were discussing one of the biggest endeavors since the museum was founded – the purchase of the five coaches owned by the Western New York Railroad Historic Society, which the museum rents for its excursions.
Provided photo: Rick Henn is president of the board of directors for the Medina Railroad Museum.
This pandemic couldn’t have occurred at a worse time, said board president Rick Henn.
Last fall, Henn approached the Western New York Railroad Historic Society with a proposal to purchase the five coaches. The two organizations began discussing the sale and had come to an agreement, when the pandemic put the brakes on everything.
The WNYRHS has agreed to sell the five cars for $450,000 and the Railroad Museum has a donor who will contribute the $50,000 down payment. The museum was originally going to make bi-annual payments at a low interest rate, but with the pandemic creating the possibility of no income for at least a year, the board has reservations about committing to a purchase. The railroad museum realizes, however, having those coaches available is absolutely crucial to their operations and plans for future expansion.
Henn and board member Don Owen met recently with the WNYRHS and discussed a rent-to-own agreement in which Medina would pay the down payment and take possession of the cars. Then, if cars are used for an excursion, which typically cost the museum $1,500 a day, that amount is removed from the principle. If the museum runs no excursions, they only have to pay the interest.
“The deal will definitely benefit both groups,” Henn said. “With Medina in control of the cars we can, as funds become available, start making necessary upgrades to bring them more into line with our passengers’ expectations. WNYRHS will derive income and be relieved of the burden of maintaining the cars. It is truly a win-win situation.”
The WNYRHS facility is located at 100 Lee St. in Buffalo and is called the Heritage Discovery Center. It has displays of railroad memorabilia, but is probably best known for its extensive collection of local railroad personnel files that are available to be researched. There is also a large library operated by the Buffalo Irish Geneological Society which features railroad-related books and genealogical books, as well as other topics. They share the building with the Steel Plant Museum and other not-for-profit organizations.
“The opportunity to purchase these five historic New York Central Bud passenger cars that we lease from WNYRHS is very exciting news, as these cars have been a part of our museum for many, many years,” Klotzbach said. “It is important to both our organization, as well as the WNYRHS, that these very special cars remain in our area and continue to be enjoyed here for many years to come. It is my hope we can acquire these gems, not only to keep them as well preserved as they already are, but also to work toward cosmetic upgrades. Adding air conditioning to the cars would allow us to expand our excursion season into the warmer summer months, which is the peak of the tourist season. This would be an amazing opportunity, not only for us, but for our local community.”
The Medina Railroad Museum will be looking for other donations and grants to help with the purchase.
In addition to purchasing the coaches, the Medina Railroad Museum is working with noted historic structure restoration architect Clinton Brown to determine and maintain the structural integrity of the historic museum.
In the meantime, Klotzbach continues to come up with a plan for reopening, which is difficult because information keeps changing and is sometimes contradictory. At the same time she is trying to balance the costs associated with reopening without knowing how much income the museum can expect. With help from other museum employees, she has created a survey which was sent to everyone on the museum’s e-mail list in early June. Next, she will send it to all their contacts on Facebook.
Hopefully, according to Henn, that will give them some direction in their decision making.
Thanks to a grant from the Small Business Association, the museum has been able to move forward on cataloging and processing the massive collections in the museum’s possession. Just prior to the Covid-19 stay-at-home order the collections manager Kat Schepis and several employees began reorganizing and upgrading the cataloging of the museum’s collections, working toward plans to display artifacts on a rotating basis, as well as having a special featured “artifact of the month,” said Klotzbach.
“We had to halt that process due to the pandemic and have had to wait until restrictions were lifted to allow a very limited staff back into the museum,” Klotzbach said. “We will continue the process, respecting all safety guidelines.”
Henn said one of the most important things the museum has to do is determine what they want the future of Medina Railroad Museum to look like. It had always been founder Marty Phelps’ dream to create a museum campus with artifacts paying tribute to railroads, firefighters and veterans. The museum today is full of displays honoring all three.
“For me it gets tricky because I know we have to upgrade our displays, but I do not want to completely lose the ‘Marty’ influence,” Henn said.
Klotzbach is Phelps’ daughter, so moving the museum forward and carrying on her father’s legacy is of extreme importance to her.
“My father was always thriving to make the museum bigger and better to reach a ‘world class’ level,” Klotzbach said. “His main objective was to create a place to preserve and commemorate the history of railroading, the fire service and our military – a place for all to enjoy with the best experience possible. This museum is already a pretty remarkable place and with the remarkable team we have and our committed trustees, we believe the Medina Railroad Museum can reach this level, as we all share in his dream and strive to carry our his mission. I believe my father would be very happy to see where is museum is today, and I am very much looking forward to out future growth, even with the challenges we face with this pandemic.”
Viennah, 1, is held by Josh Nickerson of Gerry, near Jamestown, while the bubble machine generates lots of bubbles at the Thomas event in May 2016 at the Medina Railroad Museum. In addition to riding the train, there are numerous activities at the museum and on its grounds for children.
Improvements to the layout are ongoing, with many already made to make it more alive and easier to view. Lights have been installed in buildings on the layout, street lights are operating in little villages and there is a “fire” in the blast furnace in the steel plant.
New track installation, which required some major tear-down and rebuilding of scenery will allow for more variety in routing trains, Henn said. Much of that work is overseen by museum board member Dan Koneski and staff member Jerry Kwiatkowski. A very complex project they are working on is installation of a new signaling system on the layout that will accurately mimic the operation of real railroad signals.
Klotzbach explained a new rail line was added, allowing the model trains to move closely to the edge of the layout for up-close viewing for small children and customers in wheelchairs, who would otherwise struggle to see them in action.
“Adding a new line requires added scenery around that area, and that process takes a great deal of time,” Klotzbach said. “It requires a patience and knowledge to achieve and we are grateful to have such skilled people willing to do this for our museum and for our visitors to enjoy.”
When Phase 4 re-openings are allowed, Medina Railroad Museum will announce its re-opening date on social media pages, as well as on their new website at MedinaRailroadMuseum.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 June 2020 at 12:16 pm
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that the state is increasing the maximum size of social gatherings from 10 to 25 for regions in Phase 3. That includes Orleans County, which is in the Finger Lakes Region.
Cuomo said the positive health data in the fight against Covid-19 convinced him to increase the size of crowds. For example, on Sunday there were 1,608 people hospitalized in the state from Covid-19, that is the lowest level of hospitalizations in the three months the state has bene battling the coronavirus with social distancing, school closures and restrictions on businesses and public events.
The governor also announced today that the Western New York region will enter Phase 3 on Tuesday. The WNY region includes Niagara, Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Allegany counties.
The governor praised state residents for taken the virus seriously the past three months. Those efforts have paid off, with the state going from the highest rate of infection three months ago to the lowest rate right now.
Cuomo said the state continues to reduce infections even as it reopens.
“That is a tremendous exception,” Cuomo said. “The other states are seeing it go up.”
Provided photo: Peggy Burgess holds a lunch tray that includes cheese wedges from Yancey’s Fancy in Corfu.
MIDDLEPORT – Students, parents, families, and members of the Royalton-Hartland community are enjoying over 400 pounds of Yancey’s Fancy famous cheese wedges.
This delicious donation was made possible by a partnership with the “SAY CHEESE” philanthropic effort and the Royalton-Hartland FFA Chapter. SAY CHEESE is a new effort designed to provide nutritious extended shelf life dairy products to people in need, and at the same time, support and promote the dairy industry.
Thanks to the donations of Western New York agriculturists, over 775 Yancey’s Fancy cheese wedges have been shared with the Royalton-Hartland community.
There were 550 cheese wedges provided to Roy-Hart students and families through the school’s weekly bagged meal pick-ups. Additionally, the FFA Chapter donated over 100 wedges to both the Middleport and Gasport food pantries.
The effort was coordinated by the Royalton-Hartland FFA Chapter, under the direction of Matthew Sweeney, Roy-Hart Agriculture Teacher/FFA Advisor; Julie Feurch, Royalton-Hartland Food Service Director; and Feurch’s food service team.
During these challenging times, Sweeney urges the public to continue to support our farmers by purchasing locally sourced food products.
The Royalton-Hartland FFA Chapter strives to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. FFA is an intra-curricular activity open to all Royalton-Hartland students grades 5-12.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 June 2020 at 10:05 am
ALBION – There were 30 Orleans County residents who cast ballots in early voting over the weekend, with 20 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday, according to the County Board of Elections.
Orleans County is having nine days of early voting at the County Administration Building on Route 31 in Albion.
There are primaries at the local level (Orleans County Clerk, Republican Committees in Murray and Ridgeway), and federal positions (special election for NY-27th and Republican Primary for NY-27th) and the Democratic Presidential primary.
The County Board of Elections encourages voters to wear a mask for early voting.
The early voting schedule today through Sunday includes:
Urgent need for blood donors to help prevent summer shortage
Press Release, American Red Cross
Beginning today and for a limited time, the American Red Cross is testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for Covid-19 antibodies, providing donors insight into whether they have been exposed to this coronavirus.
At the same time, there continues to be an urgent need for blood donations as hospitals resume surgeries and treatments that require blood products.
Antibody testing will indicate if the donor’s immune system has produced antibodies to this coronavirus, regardless of whether they developed symptoms. Donations will be tested using samples pulled at the time of donation and sent to a testing laboratory where they will also undergo routine infectious disease testing. A positive antibody test result does not confirm infection or immunity.
Covid-19 antibody test results will be available within 7 to 10 days in the Red Cross Blood Donor App or donor portal at RedCrossBlood.org. The test has been authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“As an organization dedicated to helping others, the Red Cross is pleased to provide more information about Covid-19 to our valued donors,” said Dr. Erin Goodhue, executive medical director of direct patient care with the Red Cross Biomedical Services. “If you are feeling healthy and well, please schedule an appointment to not only help saves lives but also learn about your potential exposure to Covid-19.”
The Red Cross is not testing donors to diagnose illness, referred to as a diagnostic test.
The Red Cross will be in and around the Orleans County area over the next two days and appointments are preferred to cut back on waiting times.
Local upcoming blood drives in our area:
Middleport Fire Hall – Monday, June 15 – 1 to 6 p.m.
Medina Sacred Heart Club/Medina Masons – Tuesday, June 16 – 2 to 7 p.m.
Kendall Town Hall – Tuesday, June 30 – 2 to 6 p.m.
Donation appointments can be made by downloading the free Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Thanks to Amazon, all those who come to give June 1 to June 30 will receive a $5 Amazon.com gift card via email.
HOLLEY – The Holley Rotary Club has awarded five scholarship to graduating seniors, including a new Jessica Mandigo Service Above Self Award.
While a student at Holley, Jessica attended a Rotary-sponsored youth leadership camp. She returned from that weekend inspired to start an Interact Club, which she did. Jessica is now a Rotarian.
Each year a new honoree will be selected and their name engraved on the plaque that bears her name. It will be displayed at the high school. The awardee will also receive a $250 scholarship.
Morgan Cary
Kohl Morgan is the first to receive this new honor. Kohl has been an active member of our Interact Club and is always there to assist. He’s the first to step up and lend a hand, without prompting. His presence is nearly a given at community events and volunteer opportunities. Where you find Kohl, you find laughs and you find his peers drawn to him. He’s a natural leader.
Megan Harrington
The Holley Rotary Club also awarded four $500 scholarships for graduating seniors. They are Morgan Cary, Megan Harrington, Olivia Radford and Tyler Jones.
Morgan Cary was a Class Officer, Editor of the Yearbook, played 2 sports, and was an active Interact Club member. She will be going to GCC next year.
Olivia Radford
Megan Harrington was extremely active in Interact and has been from the beginning. She is an officer this year and worked very hard at planning the Day of Caring. She has helped with many Rotary dinners, participated in Slapshot, and also went to Canada last year with Rotary to talk about Interact Club. Megan is going to Ohio State University next year.
Tyler Jones
Olivia Radford was active with Interact during her 8th-10th grade years. She is a very active girl overall as a 3-sport athlete, National Honor Society member, and a volunteer with the Salvation Army, Hamlin animal shelter, Catholic Charities as well as a local food bank. She is going to St. John Fisher next year for nursing.
Tyler Jones recently joined the Interact Club and has been a very active member. For the Day of Caring he and his mom worked to drop off a ton of donations. He is always asking how he can help, what he missed at a meeting, or what is coming up. He will be going to SUNY Brockport next year to major in Political Science.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2020 at 9:45 pm
Plans must include policies for use of force, crowd management, community policing, implicit bias awareness and de-escalation training, restorative justice practices, community outreach, and a transparent citizen complaint procedure
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a new executive order on Friday that requires all law enforcement agencies in the state to adopt plans for community policing.
Those plans need citizen input and must be adopted by April 1, or that department could lose its state.
Cuomo’s executive order is called the New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. It mandates all of the state’s roughly 500 law enforcement agencies must discuss with the community if policing strategies need to be reinvented.
“Our law enforcement officers are essential to ensuring public safety — they literally put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect us,” Cuomo said. “This emergency regulation will help rebuild that confidence and restore trust between police and the communities they serve by requiring localities to develop a new plan for policing in the community based on fact-finding and meaningful community input.”
Cuomo said some communities make be happy with how their law enforcement agencies are currently functioning. Those departments need to affirm that response from the community and send that as a plan to the state.
Other communities may want significant changes in how a department operates, including with the number of officers, equipment and the allocation level of tax dollars used to fund that department.
“The protests taking place throughout the nation and in communities across New York in response to the murder of George Floyd illustrate the loss of community confidence in our local police agencies — a reality that has been fueled by our country’s history of police-involved deaths of black and brown people,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo, speaking today at a news conference, said a village or city mayor may drive the process for the plan and getting citizen input, or a County Legislature leader, council president or Public Safety chairman could take the lead.
Cuomo wants frank discussions among communities and the law enforcement agencies, and a clear understanding of the impact to the local taxpayer for the police.
Cuomo said the following need to happen for a law enforcement agency to be in compliance with the executive order:
Police forces must adopt a plan by April 1, 2021 to be eligible for future state funding and certify that they have:
Engaged stakeholders in a public and open process on policing strategies and tools;
Presented a plan, by chief executive and head of the local police force, to the public for comment;
After consideration of any comments, presented such plan to the local legislative body (council or legislature as appropriate) which has approved such plan (by either local law or resolution); and
If such local government does not certify the plan, the police force may not be eligible to receive future state funding.
The governor has signed about 10 executive orders regarding the police since the death of George Floyd on Memorial Day.
Cuomo’s “Say Their Name” agenda includes allowing for transparency of prior disciplinary records of law enforcement officers by reforming 50-a of the civil rights law; banning chokeholds by law enforcement officers; prohibiting false race-based 911 reports and making them a crime; and designating the Attorney General as an independent prosecutor for matters relating to the deaths of unarmed civilians caused by law enforcement.
Cuomo said the demonstrations have already led to changes in policing.
“All the great activists in history will tell you protest is a means to an end,” he said today. “The end is change, the end is reform. Protest is not for the sake of protest. Demonstrations are not for the sake of demonstrations. It’s to make a point, it’s to communicate, it’s to get attention, and then it’s actually make change.”
The New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative ‘s a “game changer” that will serve as a national model, Cuomo said.
“Every community in this state gets to redesign its police department,” he said. “Every community in this state gets to determine what is the appropriate public safety function in 2020.”
Cuomo said many law enforcement agencies don’t have the trust and respect of the communities they serve.
He expects to see communities develop different plans for police departments, which range in size from one officer to 38,000 with the New York City Police Department.
“There is no such thing as a statewide police department, that’s the state police,” Cuomo said. “Every community has its own police department, its own wants, its own needs … Different communities have different needs. They have different opinions. They have different ideas. Fine, make the police department work for you, but do it. Do it.”
Cuomo said it’s now up to the community leaders across the state, law enforcement officials, activists and other citizens to get together.
The plans must address the law enforcement agency’s use of force, crowd management, community policing, implicit bias awareness and de-escalation training, restorative justice practices, community outreach, a transparent citizen complaint procedure and other issues specific to each community, Cuomo said.
“It now requires real leadership, not just criticism, not just suggestions,” Cuomo said. “You need a real leader or number of people to lead and actually make this happen.”
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed legislation (S.3253-A/A.1360) – the “New Yorker’s Right to Monitor Act” – affirming the right of an individual to record law enforcement activity and to maintain custody of that recording and any instruments used to make the recording.
“Transparency is critical to renewing the community’s trust and confidence in our policing systems,” Governor Cuomo said. “Stopping police abuse vindicates the overwhelming majority – 99.9 percent – of police who are there to do the right thing, and by making clear that all New Yorkers have the right to record and keep recordings of police activity we can help restore trust in the police-community relationship.”
Senator Kevin Parker said, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant! The right to record act will ensure protection for people who record misconduct by police. The senseless murder of George Floyd is a stark example of why transparency is needed. I appreciate Governor Cuomo recognizing the critical nature of this bill and signing it into law.”
Assembly Member Nick Perry said, “There should be no cover, and no comfort for wrongful behavior in any police department, and as free Americans and New York citizens, we have always been informed and aware that we have the right and freedom to monitor and record acts of misconduct by bad apples in our police departments. We are grateful for the Governor’s bold and positive leadership against relentless resistance from those behind the blue wall of silence. This new law makes it clear and unquestionable that as New Yorkers we are claiming and will exercise this right to protect us from the dishonorable actors who hide behind the badge, while abusing the awesome powers we afford them as police officers.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2020 at 1:09 pm
Baseball, softball among the sports, with limits of 2 spectators per child
Photo by Tom Rivers: Drew Boyce of Carlton pitches in last year’s Albion Midget League championship. Carlton won, 1-0, over Sandstone Park on July 23. The league has played every year since 1956, except for this season.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that low-risk youth sports will be allowed to resume on July 6, as long as a region is in Phase 3 of the reopening.
Orleans County is in the Finger Lakes Region, which started in Phase 3 on Friday.
The sports allowed include baseball, softball, gymnastics, field hockey, cross country and crew.
There will be a limit of two spectators per child on the team or activity.
Most of the local sports leagues cancelled their spring and summer seasons. Some of leagues left open the chance for playing later in the summer or fall.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2020 at 12:40 pm
The number of confirmed deaths from Covid-19 this past week in New York State continued to decline.
There were 271 deaths in the state from June 7 to June 13, which was down 19.1 percent from the 335 the previous week.
It is a dramatic decline from the height of Covid-19, when the state suffered 5,226 deaths from coronavirus during week of April 5-11.
The deaths last week were 5.1 percent of the high nine weeks earlier. The state has managed to reduce the weekly death rate every week since hitting the high during the week of April 5-11.
The number of deaths on Saturday was 23, the lowest in nearly three months.
“This is really great news,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said about the declining deaths at a noon news conference today. “But of all the numbers that is the one number we can’t change. That is the one number we can’t fix, and that is the number of lives lost.”
Cuomo urged New Yorkers to continue social distancing, wearing a mask in public and using other precautions to reduce the spread of the virus, especially as more businesses are allowed to reopen.
He said he is outraged by the number of violations being reported of businesses violating safety precautions to protect people from Covid-19, including people not wearing masks and establishments violating capacity.
Cuomo today said bars and restaurants could lose their liquor licenses for violating the executive orders.
He emphasized people need to wear masks when in public and when social distancing isn’t possible.
“Show a modicum of respect and wear a mask,” Cuomo said today. “We’re not asking for much. It’s basic decency of a society.”
If the Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations spike, Cuomo said the state could be forced to roll back the reopening of businesses and activities in areas that are not complying with the executive orders, or the state could pause the reopening.
The 271 deaths last week is an average of nearly 39 a day, which is down from about about 48 a day the previous week, and the 72 daily average two weeks earlier.
Week of June 7-13: (271 deaths)
• June 7, 39; June 8, 46; June 9, 53; June 10, 36; June 11, 42, June 12; 32; and June 13, 23.
Week of May 31 to June 6 (335 deaths)
• May 31, 54; June 1, 58; June 2, 49; June 3, 52; June 4, 42; June 5, 35; June 6, 45.
Week of May 24-30: (505 deaths)
• May 24; 96; May 25, 73; May 26, 74; May 27, 74; May 28, 67; May 29, 67; May 30, 56.
Week of May 17-23: (730 deaths)
• May 17, 106; May 18, 105; May 19, 112; May 20; 105; May 21, 109; May 22, 84; and May 23, 109.
Week of May 10-16: (1,107 deaths)
• May 10, 161; May 11, 195; May 12, 166; May 13; 157; May 14, 132; May 15, 157; and May 16, 139.
Week of May 3-9: (1,568 deaths)
• May 3, 226; May 4, 230; May 5, 232; May 6, 231: May 7, 216; May 8, 226; May 9, 207.
Week of April 26-May 2: (2,176 deaths)
• April 26, 337; April 27, 335; April 28, 330; April 29, 306; April 30, 289; May 1, 299; May 2, 280.
Week of April 19-25: (3,097 deaths)
• April 19, 478; April 20, 481; April 21, 474; April 22, 438; April 23, 422; April 24, 437; April 25, 367.
Week of April 12-18: (4,484 deaths)
• April 12 (Easter), 671; April 13, 778; April 14, 752; April 15, 606; April 16, 630; April 17, 540; April 18, 507.
Week of April 5-11: (5,226 deaths)
• April 5, 599; April 6, 731; April 7, 779; April 8, 799; April 9, 777; April 10, 783; April 11, 758.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2020 at 11:11 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Stacey Kirby Steward works on a mural Saturday morning inside Hoag Library. Steward, an Albion native who lives in Spencerport, is creating a large mural of swans flying over the Albion countryside.
“I’m very excited about this painting,” Steward said Saturday. “It contains a lot of what I love about Orleans County.”
Her mural will show three swans flying over the Erie Canal, showing the Gaines Basin Road bridge. The painting also highlights the farm fields, Lake Ontario and some of the cobblestone houses.
This is the second art project at the library by Steward. She designed the stained-glass window with swans.
An anonymous donor is covering the cost for Steward to create the painting. The library surveyed patrons last fall to get their votes on three designs for the mural, which will go in the Curtis Room, the largest meeting space in the library.
Steward submitted sketches showing swans, eagles or hawks in flight over the canal.
The vote totals include 71 for swans, 62 for eagles, and 27 for the hawk design.
Before Hoag Library opened in July 2012, Albion’s public library was known as the Swan Library. That site opened in 1900 in a former mansion at 4 North Main St. in 1900 and remained the library’s site for 112 years.
Steward will add three swans to the mural. She will paint them next Saturday. The library is pushing to have the mural in place by June 23, when the library will serve as a polling place for a special election and primary.
Jim Babcock’s construction business will handle installing the mural to the wall.
Steward hired a drone photographer to get photos of the countryside in early fall.
This is Steward’s sketch showing three swans in flight over the Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2020 at 9:40 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: A hanging basket of flowers is shown in downtown Medina on Thursday evening.
Today started off chilly, with a low of 39 recorded in Medina at 6 a.m., according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
It will warm up to a high of 64 today with sunny skies.
The forecast this week shows lots of sunshine. The highs the rest of the week include 73 on Monday, 77 on Tuesday, 83 on Wednesday, 86 on Thursday and 88 on Friday.
If you are a senior in high school in 2020, the year may not have ended the way tradition has taught us.
Thankfully, my smart, funny and beautiful niece, Lillie Burgoon, shows the positive in what has been an unconventional senior year. I dedicate this post to her words below, and to all seniors who have found silver linings.
She writes:
Having my last day of senior year be March 12 instead of June 20 was a shock that no one would have predicted at the beginning of the school year. Covid-19 has taken everyone by surprise and put a halt on life, and getting in the way of so many things that we, as seniors, deserved to experience.
We lost our Senior Prom, Senior Bash, our last days of high school, and maybe even walking the stage for our graduation, which is just so heartbreaking to think about. While I might not experience those milestones that everyone has in 12th grade, I’m extremely lucky. I’m healthy, and no one I love or even know has contracted the virus, so we’ve all been safely tucked away in our homes.
While it’s so easy to focus on the sad stuff going on in the world and the scary possibilities about the future, it’s so important to just keep looking on the positive side and keep informed with what’s going on, to keep yourself in the best position to stay healthy and happy.
With moving away to college only three months away, the biggest thing on my mind is spending time with my family and soaking up that time before it ends, and social distancing has created a good opportunity for that! I spend every day with my little sister and, on the weekends, soak up the sun with my mom and stepdad added in and just spend time together, which is something I might not have been able to do if we were living on a normal schedule.
With the scary unknown about the future of our schooling, our teachers have done an amazing job keeping us positive and helping us along the way during these confusing times. They are constantly in contact whenever you need them, supporting us with the work we need to have completed and just being a friendly face, which has been so important. Considering the circumstances, they’ve done just an amazing job and keep a smile on my face during our Zoom meetings.
We don’t know what’s going to happen in the world, or something as small as our senior year, but looking on the bright side makes all the difference. I had a great ¾ of my senior year, Facetime keeps me connected to my best friends, and I’ve found a lot of happiness in being outside to explore nature.
These are obviously not the days that I would want for the end of my career in school, but it’s special to see how my friends and family are coping with these times and finding new ways to stay happy and healthy!
Lillie
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.
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By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 June 2020 at 6:41 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
KENDALL – Jack Gillman is pictured with a 1966 Ford Thunderbird in his barn behind his house I Roosevelt Highway.
The engine started on fire this afternoon and was spreading through the car. Gillman, a former Kendall town supervisor, called 911 and then used two fire extinguishers to keep the fire contained to the car.
His neighbor Dan Hance also came over with a fire extinguisher to prevent the car from being totally engulfed in flames.
Justin Niederhofer, an Orleans County fire investigator, looks at the engine to pinpoint the cause.
Gillman has been working to restore the car the past 20 years. It only needed to be painted before he was finished. He drove the car earlier today.
He said the engine was flooded out and the carburetor backfired, causing a spark with caused the engine to catch on fire. The flames melted the battery, wiring and the brake system.
Gillman isn’t giving up the car. He said if he can find another engine he thinks the car could be on the road in about a month.
Kendall firefighters were dispatched to the scene just before 4:30. They were able to ensure the fire was put out.
“Luckily he had a fire extinguisher and was able to knock it down,” said Jordan Willis, a captain with the Kendall Fire Department.
Gillman said without the fire extinguishers the entire barn likely would have caught on fire.
