SPOC leader given humanitarian award by Albion church

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 October 2014 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Kim Remley, chairwoman of Stop Polluting Orleans County, addresses the congregation today at the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion. She won the 2014 Pullman Memorial Humanitarian Award.

The church honored Remley for her advocacy efforts the past 20 years with SPOC, a group opposed to additional landfills in Orleans County.

“She is a great choice,” John Andrews, a Pullman church member, said about Remley. “Her dedication to the cause has been unwavering. She has persevered and pushed on. She’ll never quit.”

Remley is pictured with Lousie Wu, wife of church pastor Lee Richards, and Richards after the service today when she was presented with the humanitarian award.

The service this morning had an environmental message, with a focus on being good stewards of the earth.

Remley and SPOC in the late 1990s successfully fought an effort by Waste Management to open a third landfill in Albion. That landfill would have been far bigger the McKenna Landfill and Orleans Sanitary Landfill, sites along the canal between Densmore and Transit roads.

Richard Penfold is trying to pick up the Waste Management application and open a new landfill. Remley and SPOC continue to fight against that effort.

“I really think that it’s the wrong thing for us because of the impact on the environment and the traffic issue,” Remley said about a new landfill.

Lee Richards, pastor of the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church, leads a toast for Remley during a reception this afternoon.

Richards said Remley was recognized for her work with Stop Polluting Orleans County “and for exemplifying the liberal religious values of love, respect, social justice and service to others.”

Today’s service included many members of the First Presbyterian Church in Albion, where Remley has been a long-time member and active leader in the church’s youth programs. Other SPOC and community members also attended the Pullman service and reception today for Remley.

“I admire Kim,” said Grace Denniston, a member of the Carlton United Methodist Church. “I think she is a very courageous person who stands up for what she believes in, even if it’s not popular.”