Vol. 127, No. 19 Alfred, Allegany County, New York State, U.S.A. 14802 Thursday, May 10, 2012 Inside
Jim Harris, James Robinson...Pg.2 A-A budget vote, election ...Pg.3 Making budget cutbacks ...Pg.4 Baker’s Bridge to visit Belfast ...Pg.5 Auditions for Music Man...Pg.6 All about gas leases ...Pg.7 View of AU Senior Art Shows ....Pg.10 Bills invite Nick to camp ...Pg.16
HELEN AND BOB McKnight of Almond read the Alfred Sun while visiting Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, Denmark back in May 2011. This was one stop along the way of an ex- tended visit of Scandinavia with stops in Sweden and Norway.
The Alfred Sun visits Denmark
T he “A pretty darn good newspaper serving Alfred since 1883” A lfred S un
Of the Community. By the Community. For the Community.
Official Newspaper of Town and Village of Alfred and Alfred-Almond Central School District $1
‘Noteworthy’ alum to speak at AU commencement
ALFRED–David Miller, a 1966 alumnus of Alfred Univer- sity (AU) and a member of its board of trustees since 1988, will deliver the address at this year’s commencement ceremonies, scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, May 12, in McLane Center on the Alfred University campus.
The University will also be- stow an honorary Doctor of Music degree on Miller.
“The Board of Trustees was unanimous in its decision to honor David Miller,” said Alfred University President Charles M.
Edmondson. “Not only is David Miller a recognized authority in transportation law, but he’s an ac- claimed jazz pianist, and a de- voted Alfred University alumnus.
He’s guided us with his counsel, entertained us with his music, and inspired us with his leader- ship.”
A native of Great Neck, Miller earned a B.A. degree, cum laude, from Alfred. While at AU, he was a member of the golf team and a brother and president of Klan Alpine Fraternity. He was also the piano accompanist for the Uni- versity choir and performed as a jazz pianist on and off campus.
After graduation, Miller en- tered Syracuse University Col- lege of Law, receiving his J.D.
degree, magna cum laude, in 1969. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1970 and the California Bar in 1971.He earned a judicial clerkship posi- tion with the Appellate Division
Third Department of the New York Supreme Court in Albany until 1970, when he joined Han- son, Bridgett, a law firm based in San Francisco, CA, with offices in Sacramento and Larkspur, CA.
He became a partner in 1974 and managing partner in 1984.
Miller’s law practice centers on the transportation industry.
For more than three decades he has served as general counsel for three of the principal mass trans- portation agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area: the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District; the San Mateo County Transit District;
and the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board.
In 1988, Miller was the recipi- ent of the Peninsula Coalition’s Community Leadership Award.
He also has received recognition annually since 2005 as a Califor- nia Super Lawyer by Super Lawyer Magazine.
He joined the Alfred Univer- sity Board of Trustees in 1988, serving his first three-year term as an alumni-elected trustee be- fore gaining a long-term appoint- ment to the board. He has chaired the Academic Affairs Committee of the board, and has been a member of the Executive, Fi- nance, Human Resources, Strate- gic Planning and Student Affairs committees.
Miller’s service to Alfred Uni- versity includes his role as one of three national vice-chairs for
“The Campaign for Alfred: Con-
tinuing the Legacy,” 1988- 1994.
His efforts on behalf of the Uni- versity earned him an Alfred Uni- versity Alumni Citation in 1999.
While he has been an active member of the AU Board of Trustees for nearly a quarter of a century, it is his talent as a jazz pianist that makes him well- known on campus. Miller says he’s been told he began playing the piano by ear at the age of three, and studied classical piano and music theory through high school.
During his college years, how-
DAVID MILLER
DR. STEPHEN ZAWISTOWSKI ALFRED—Alfred State will wel-
come “Dr. Z,” aka Dr. Stephen Zawis- towski, PhD, CAAB (certified applied animal behaviorist), executive vice pres- ident, national programs science adviser to the American Society for the Preven- tion of Cruelty to Animals, NYC, who will serve as the college’s commence- ment speaker on Sunday, May 13, 2012.
He previously addressed the ASC com- munity on companion animals in 2010.
Dr. Z’s keynote address will serve as the culmination of the College’s “Cam- paign 101” initiative whereby Alfred State and the two local animal shelters, the SPCA serving Allegany County and the Hornell Area Humane Society, joined forces throughout the spring to encourage 101 animal adoptions.
“As I contemplated Commencement 2012, the College’s 101st, I couldn’t get Disney’s 101 Dalmatians out of my mind,” Dr. John M .Anderson, college president, reflected. “When I realized that, in essence, it was a story about ani- mal cruelty, I asked myself what we, as a college, could do to mitigate animal mis-
treatment in our area. Enlisting the help of our veterinary technology faculty as well as the local shelters, we decided upon ‘Campaign 101,’ an effort to en- courage the adoption of 101 pets from the two shelters by May 13. One aspect of
this plan is the continuation of our stu- dents’ and faculty’s work in providing medical care for the shelter animals, in- cluding spaying and neutering, which, ul- timately, makes the animals more adoptable. The second aspect is encour- aging faculty and staff as well as the local communities to consider adopting a pet into caring homes…even if they’re not 101 dalmatians! And Dr. Z, who has championed animal rights for years, seemed to hit the spot!”
Since 1988, Zawistowski has been involved in animal welfare involving pets, zoo, and laboratory animals. He has been a founder or member of many com- mittees, several of which are the National Council on Pet Population Study and Pol- icy, the Scientific Advisory Panel of the World Society for the Protection of Ani- mals, and the Institute for Laboratory An- imal Resources Committee to update the report on the Recognition and Alleviation of Pain and Distress in laboratory ani- mals. In fact, Zawistowski was the lead animal behaviorist in the Michael Vick pit bull case.
Zawistowski is a well-known speaker and media guest where he dis- cusses education, animal behavior, and animal welfare issues. He has hosted the ASPCA Pet Check segments on PBS, and authored, edited, and consulted on over 20 books on animals and pet care, includ- ing Animal Shelter Medicine for Veteri- narians and Staff (2004). Zawistowki is often quoted in newspaper and magazine articles, publishes in scientific journals, and is the founding co-editor of the Jour- nal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.
Zawistowski earned both master (1979) and doctoral (1983) degrees in be- havior-genetics at the University of Illi- nois. He has taught biology at Indiana University, psychology at St. John’s Uni- versity, and was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship in environmental biology from the National Science Foundation. Zawis- towski is an adjunct professor at the Uni- versity of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and a certified applied animal behaviorist, chairing the Animal Behav- ior Society’s Board of Professional Cer- tification.
‘Dr. Z’ to address Alfred State graduates
ever, he switched to jazz piano.
Shortly after he arrived in San Francisco, he met percussionist Bill Belasco, and formed an en- during musical partnership with him that has continued for nearly four decades. Ten years ago na- tionally renowned bassist, Mario Suraci, joined the Dave Miller Trio. The new ensemble has recorded several CDs.
He and his wife Elizabeth
“Bebes” Graves Miller, 1965 alumna of Alfred University with a B.A. degree in French, and a renowned teacher for more than
four decades, have created an en- dowed fund for Performing Arts, with proceeds from the fund used to bring guest performers, lectur- ers and performance ensembles to campus. The Millers are mem- bers of the Alfred University Founders Society.
The Millers’ immediate family consists of their daughter, Stephanie, and their daughter Re- becca and her husband, Marc Bryman, and their two children, Jackson and Kealy. The Millers make their home in Atherton, CA.
2 THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, May 10, 2012
OBITUARIES
A LFRED P OLICE
ALFRED
Weather for the Week
May 1-May 7 May Hi Lo Precip. Snow
1 62 23 0.10”
2 64 44 0.02”
3 77 46 0.16”
4 84 52 0.75”
5 77 49 Trace
6 66 32 0
7 69 35 0
By JOHN BUCKWALTER Alfred Area Weather Recorder
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JAMES T. HARRIS 1951 Alfred-Almond graduate
CRANSTON, RI—James T.
Harris, 79, of Cranston, RI, w h o s e part-time work at Crandall’s Jewelers in Alfred during his h i g h s c h o o l and col- lege days led to a lifelong career as a jew- eler in Rhode Island, died unex- pectedly on Sunday, April 29, 2012, at Rhode Island Hospital.
Born in Waterford, Connecti- cut, he was a son of the late Rev.
Everett and Clora S. Harris. His father had served as pastor of the Alfred Seventh Day Baptist Church for a number of years until accepting a call to serve the SDB Missionary Society in 1952.
Jim graduated from Alfred-Al- mond Central School in 1951 and Alfred University in 1955.
During high school and college he worked at Crandall’s Jewelry Store. He served in the US Army in Alaska.
Following his army service, he worked with Tilden and Thurber Jewelers, Providence, RI and be- came manager of their Midland Mall store. Jim was known for his kind, caring manner.
“He was always so helpful and caring,” said one customer, “I look at my beautiful ring that he designed and I think of him.”
“I will miss his jokes,” a col- league recalled, “Jim was so spe- cial and caring to everyone.”
He was an active member of the Phillips Memorial Baptist Church in Cranston and was a member of their choir and Board of Trustees.
Jim is survived by his wife, June (Webb) Harris; three sons, Edward Harris of Pompton Lakes, NJ, Thomas Harris and his wife Maureen Coleman of Jamestown, RI, and Roger Har- ris and his wife Lorraine of Montreal, Canada; his brothers and their families, Dr. L. Stanley Harris and his wife Camille of Mars Hill, NC, Everett T. Harris and his wife Barbara of Wake- field, RI; and a sister Ruth L.
Rossi and her husband Ray of Kent, WA. He was the grandfa- ther of James, Lindsay, and Abaigeal. Several nieces and nephews survive as well. He was predeceased by his first wife, Nancy Leete Harris.
A memorial service was held on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at Phillips Memorial Baptist Church in Cranston, RI.
CHARLES P. PITTS 1968 Andover C.S. graduate
ANDOVER—Charles P. Pitts, 63, passed away Wednesday (April 25, 2012) at his home in Andover.
Mr. Pitts was born on Oct. 6, 1948, in Wellsville, to Charles Dumont and Thelma Mae (Bar- low) Pitts. He was a 1968 grad- uate of Andover Central School.
He served in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam era as a radio com- munications operator from 1968
to 1971, being stationed in Ger- many.
Charles was employed many years as a greens keeper for the Hornell Country Club.
Charlie is survived by three brothers, Donald (Barbara) Pitts of Randolph, Ronald (Diane) Pitts of Andover, and James (Ellen) Pitts of Richburg; a brother-in-law, Darwin Mascho of Bolivar; two aunts; and sev- eral nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to his par- ents, he was predeceased by his loving sister, Nancy Lee Mascho.
Charlie enjoyed hunting and fishing and was an avid amateur photographer. He loved his fam- ily and will be deeply missed by all.Friends called from 12 noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Baker- Swan Funeral Home in Andover where a memorial service was held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the fu- neral home immediately follow- ing the visitation with Rev.
Roger Gardner of Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, officiat- ing. A private burial service was held in Woodlawn Cemetery in Wellsville at the convenience of the family. Online condolences may be offered at www.baker- swan.com.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Charlie’s name may be made to Andover Fire and Rescue Squad, PO Box 726, Andover, NY 14806.
JAMES G. ROBINSON Heavy Equipment Operator ALMOND–James G. Robin- son, 78, passed away Sunday (May 6, 2012) at Hornell Gar- dens.
Mr. Robinson was born on Oct. 2, 1933 in Hornell to Roland H. and Emalyne (How- ell) Robinson. Sgt. Robinson served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1951 to 1955. On June 5, 1954, he mar- ried Etta M. Wooden, who sur- vives.
James worked as a heavy equipment operator for New York Operating Engineers Local 832 in Rochester for many years.
In addition to his wife of 57 years, Jim is survived by four sons, James (Sandra) Robinson and Roland Robinson, both of Alfred Station, Richard Robin- son of Almond and Mark Robin- son of Catlett, VA; two brothers, Roland Robinson of Hartsville and Rick (Belle) Robinson of San Mateo, FL; one sister-in- law, Jean Robinson; five grand- children, Rebekah, Brendan, Andrew, Zachary and Daniel Robinson; a special niece, Linda Robinson; and several nephews, nieces and cousins.
He was predeceased by a brother, Dick Robinson; and a sister-in-law, Norma Robinson.
Jim and Etta taught a Bible study on the Alfred State College cam- pus for many years, making a lasting impact on the lives of hundreds of students with their love and compassion, many of whom remain in contact to this day. In addition, Jim was an avid fisherman and enjoyed cultivat- ing his roses.
The Alfred Police Department made arrests recently:
--Dawson Peckham, 20, of Webster, was charged Thursday, May 3 with driving while intox- icated and blood alcohol content over .08% following a traffic stop on Rt. 244 in the Town of Alfred. He was issued a traffic ticket for Town Court and re- leased to a third party.
--Jesse C. Painter, 21, of Troy, PA was charged Sunday, May 6 with 2nd degree menacing with a weapon. Painter was arrested following a disturbance on West University Street. He was re- leased on an appearance ticket to appear in Alfred Village Court at a later date.
For an emergency, dial 911.
ALMOND—The Alfred-Al- mond Alumni Association is pleased to announce this is the inaugural year for the Alfred Al- m o n d
Alumni Associ- ation’s G r e g Norton Memo- r i a l Schol- arship, i n i t i - ated by S c o t t Y e l l e
and the members of the Class of 1986 in memory of their class- mate, Greg Norton, who was killed in a car crash August, 1988.
Lee A. Ryan, AA AA presi- dent, explained that this schol- arship is for $2500 and will be awarded to an AACS senior whose life displays the charac- teristics for which Greg was well known: leadership and compe- tence.
Leadership—All great leaders share common traits, including honesty, integrity, courage, a sense of humor, charisma, com- petence, self-discipline and There was no prior visitation.
There will be a private memorial service with full military honors to be held at the convenience of the family.
Arrangements are under the direction of Baker-Swan Funeral Home in Andover. Online con- dolences may be offered at www.baker-swan.com.
MARGARET Q. STUART Long-time Almond resident LAKELAND, FL—Margaret Q. Stuart, 89, was called to the waiting arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on April 23, 2012, sur-
rounded by her family at her win- ter home in Lakeland, Fla., after a courageous battle with
pancreatic cancer. Born Dec. 16, 1922 in Montour Falls, she was the daughter of Charles and Ella (Bowlby) Quirk.
“Margie” as she liked to be called, loved her family, church activities, gardening and cook- ing. She will be remembered most of all for her gift of encour- agement. In her lifetime she sent thousands of cards with notes of encouragement, she always had a hug and a smile for you and would call you just to see how you were doing.
She was a long time active member of the Alfred-Almond Bible Church in Almond. While living in Florida she faithfully attended First Alliance Church in Lakeland, FL.
Margie is survived by her lov- ing husband of 68 years, Ken- neth; one son, Mike (Diane) Stuart of Hornell; and one daughter, Kathy Isaman of Lake- land, Fla. Also surviving are four grandchildren, 11 great-grand- children and one great-great- grandchild; and one brother, John Quirk of Lakeland, FL.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 4 p.m. on June 3 at the Alfred-Almond Bible Church, 6751 State Route 21, Almond.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Alfred- Almond Bible Church, at the ad- dress listed above, or to Family Life Ministries, P.O. Box 506, Bath, N.Y. 14810.
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many more. Greg displayed these traits, even as a young man.Competence—Greg excelled on the sports field. He was AACS’ record-breaking goalie for soccer, was star shortstop for baseball and a 4-year varsity starter in basketball. He was a leader among young men and known for his excellence in ath- letics.
An applicant must meet these criteria: Two (2) or three (3) sport athlete at AACS at least 4 consecutive years; graduating index of 80 or above; a leader- ship position in an outside club, organization, group, team, or on a serious part-time job, such as president, group leader or cap- tain for at least 2 years in a com- munity, church or service organization.
Letters of support required for the application include: At least one (1) from each of these categories: each Coach from each of the applicant’s sports teams, one AACS Teacher, one AACS Administrator and at least one Advisor to the appli- cant’s activity, community, church, service club/group/orga- nization/team.
Applications are available in the School Counselors’ Office at AACS. Deadline for filing ap- plications will be May 21, 2012.
Applicants for all AAAA memo- rial scholarships are eligible to receive one award.
Erratum...
In the May 3 issue of The Al- fred Sun, a cutline regarding Jim Johnson’s new book incorrectly stated that the author was the son of the late Gene Johnson. We are delighted to report that Gene is alive and well and that “The news of his passing was grossly exaggerated.”
New A-A Alumni scholarship
honors memory of Greg Norton
THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, May 10, 2012 3
One of the things to love about Alfred is SPRING, not only for the beauty of the awakening earth, among other things, but because of the art that blooms in May. One day last week I walked less than a hundred yards to take these photos. The ceramic "mushrooms" had popped up behind the Terra Cotta museum. Behind it, down in the creek were the "nest" and eight-foot-high "Heckle and Jeckle"
crouched beneath the Pine Street bridge. Across the driveway from Davis Gym were sweet, mostly white, circular weavings.
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One last onion recipe-I hope to go to the Rochester Public Mar- ket this week and get some inspirations. This is from a nine page pamphlet published by the Vidalia Onion Store in Georgia. A friend found it and passed it on to me.
Honey Onions 4 medium Vidalia onions ½ T. salt 2 T. tomato juice 1/8 tsp. paprika
1½ T. honey 1 T. butter
Peel onions and cut in half crosswise. Place onion halves, cut- side up, in a 12x8x2 inch baking dish. Combine remaining ingredi- ents; stir well. Pour over onions and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
(One step was inadvertently left out of last week’s recipe-the cut up apples were to be added into the batter with the onions and mixed well.)
ALMOND--Alfred-Almond Central School District residents will vote on a $11.74 million budget, a school bus proposition, a public library appropriation in- crease and elect a member of the Board of Education on Tuesday, May 15. Balloting takes place in the high school auditorium from 1 to 9 p.m.
W. Brooke Harris of Alfred is challenging incumbent Andrew Deutsch for a seat on the school board.
District residents are being asked to approve a 2012-13 budget in the amount of
$11,740,056.
About 20 district residents at- tended the budget presentation on Tuesday, May 1, several speaking against budget cut- backs. Of particular concern was cutting the elementary art teacher position to half-time.
The school board made reduc- tions totaling $161,000 in order to meet the tax cap, by eliminat- ing a math teacher ($51,500), teacher’s assistant ($24,500), guidance secretary ($29,000), two teacher aides ($30,000) and a half-time art teacher ($26,000.) The proposed $11.74 million budget is an increase of 2.84 percent over the 2011-12 fiscal year spending plan.
The school board anticipates a tax levy increase of 2.6%, slightly less than the 2.9 percnet maximum increase allowable under new tax cap legislation.
Should the budget be de- feated, the school board could choose to adopt a contingency budget and cut an additional
$115,235 from the budget or present a budget to voters a sec- ond time.
‘Honey Onions’ recipe from a friend
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WELLSVILLE--For years, the JMH Surgical Services De- partment has collected and do- nated surplus medical supplies to MedShare, an international organization that collects and re- distributes these items to quali- fied healthcare facilities in the developing world. Now, because of the work Nurse Practitioner Sherry Herdman is doing in the Dominican Republic (DR), those surplus supplies are going directly to the Monkey Jungle, a medical and dental clinic located near Sherry’s home in the DR.
“After visiting Sherry and see- ing the work that Monkey Jun- gle does and the needs they have, I was happy to help Sherry redirect our supplies there,” ex- plained Jan Riley, ASU Coordi- nator at Jones. Monkey Jungle operates a zip line adventure to
Jones donates medical supplies for DR
Sarah Hunter, wife of JMH Board Member Mark Hunter, re- cently delivered several suitcases full of medical supplies from JMH. Here, Surgical Services Director Sue Thomas, right, and ASU Coordinator Jan Riley present Mark with the donation.
support the clinic, but relies on volunteers and donations for ad- ditional support. Many of the medical and dental clinic volun- teers are from the US, Canada, and Europe.
Every Saturday, the Monkey Jungle Clinic cares for about 125 people. The main focus of the clinic is to provide medical and dental care and most of the pa- tients come from the DR and Haiti. The dental clinic does ex- tractions as needed and provides preventive care.
Schools, orphanages, and or- ganizations that serve children in the Dominican Republic bring their clients to the medical and dental clinics on a regular basis.
“The Monkey Jungle farm grows food to feed the staff and freely gives food to clients that are hungry,” Sherry added, not-
ing that locally, East Wind Nurs- ery donated vegetable seeds from the 2011 season. “Those seeds were used by Monkey Jungle as well as by the Mari- posa DR Foundation.”
Sherry is also working with Mariposa DR, a foundation that works with girls and their fami- lies to try to break the cycle of poverty by empowering, educat- ing and employing women. Last year, Sherry was collecting sewing machines. This year, one of the projects is to provide clean, safe beds for 25 families.
Bedding will be a part of the project so if anyone has sheets that fit twin or full size beds, new or slightly used, please con- sider donating that bedding to the project.
Even a small donation can make a big difference. For more information or to arrange pick up if bedding donations, email Sherry Herdman at sherry- [email protected] or call her at 585-268-5705.
A-A election,
budget vote
1-9 pm Tues.
4 THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, May 10, 2012
Dear Editor:
In answer to Gudron Scott’s letter, I would ask people: Do you know what the word hy- drofracking means? The word is not even in the dictionary; nei- ther is the word fracking. But hydro is and it means water.
Why are you worrying about what they did in Pennsylvania?
We live in New York State. If you read the papers, New York is proposing to do things differ- ently. Why don’t we wait and see what New York State pro- poses?
Regarding the statement that there are a lot of jobs for truck drivers, I would state that that is not true: The jobs Mrs. Scott says are readily available are over-the-road cross country truck driving jobs. There are not a lot of CDL Class A &B jobs available here, and that is what we need. There are many truck- ing companies that are looking for work locally.
I don’t know any lobbyists. I am using a little common sense.
We will forget the auto industry:
That is a big joke. A big major- ity of that is that Obama wants all of us to go to electric cars, and that will never happen. We like our gas and diesel cars and trucks.
God help us if we go to elec- tric tractor trailers. We will never get anything done. 230 miles per gallon is a joke also. Let’s get out in the world and look around: Electric powered vehi- cles are not the answer.
All I hear is hearsay, and peo- ple do a lot of talking, but I still haven’t seen any proof.
PS: Thanks, Mr. Jakobi, for insisting on proof.
Karl Grantier Almond, New York
Dear Editor:
Some time ago I wrote a letter to the Sunquestioning the Chris- tian identity of tea party mem- bers and Republicans. I even somewhat cruelly challenged local ministers to join the debate, knowing full well that they had abundantly valid reasons not to do so.
I also ignored tradition, which plays such a powerful role in the lives of most of us. Surely most, if not all, of the Christian help extended to me and my family with our broken bones, illnesses, and other misfortunes was more likely to have been by Republi- cans than by Democrats, based just on local party affiliations.
However, admitting my in- temperance, a perennial weak- ness, I would like to call Sun readers’ attention to a couple of recent events. Paul Ryan, author of the current Republican budget spoke a few days ago at George- town University, a Jesuit institu- tion in Washington, D.C. Before his appearance 40 (or was it 60?) faculty and staff at Georgetown signed an open letter protesting that his Republican budget was in flagrant contradition to the values of Jesus Christ. Also, American Catholic bishops, al- ways strong in championing the poor, made the self same con- demnation.
I do feel my earlier letter mis- characterized average persons, whose motives or voting are var- ied and whose votes are hardly indicative or predictive of how they behave or will behave in human situations. But when the
Perigee at Syzygy
Hope You Didn’t Miss the Supermoon,Or, Cuz You Won’t See It Big Like This Again
Till…June 23, 2013 – Wow, So Soon?!
But Then It Will Be 36 Km Farther Away Which Is a Whopping 0.01%…
Remember to Tell Me Next Year If You Notice the Difference Don’t fear a perihelion,
Which only means it’s near the sun, In contrast to a perigee –
That’s comin’ close to you and me.
—MOONonymous
THE CHALLENGES OF CUTTING PAYROLL Cut expenses by cutting payroll positions!! It sounds easy, and it would be nice if it were easy or simple. Unfortunately it is neither.
The Board of Legislators has been working to reduce positions, and ultimately reduce expenses and taxes. However, we must balance numerous factors if payroll cuts are going to actually save any money. In this article I will describe some of the challenges facing the County related to payroll cuts. Consider the following:
MANDATED POSITIONS: I won’t spend much time on this since it is pretty self-explanatory. If a particular program is mandated the County can’t eliminate the positions required by the mandate.
This takes over half of all positions off the table before we even begin discussing cuts.
GRANT FUNDED POSITIONS: Many non-mandated pro- grams involve various levels of State and/or federal grant funding.
The grant levels vary by program, but in some cases run as high as 50%, 70% or even 100%. If we eliminate or reduce those programs we lose some or all of that funding. The Board must balance the loss of programs, services, and loss of grant funding, against the pro- jected savings. If the losses exceed the savings then the cut makes no economic sense.
UNEMPLOYMENT EXPENSES: When the County “lays off”
an employee it becomes liable for unemployment benefit payments for that employee. Unemployment benefits are typically equal to two-thirds of the original salary and currently extend for almost two years (99 weeks). In theory the County could still save the remaining one-third of the salary for any position eliminated. However, that must be analyzed in terms of lost revenue. Does the eliminated po- sition generate revenue through various fees, charges, or grant fund- ing? If it does, we must calculate how much revenue was lost by eliminating that position. If we lose grant-funding greater than 50%
of the position, but must pay unemployment benefits equal to 66%
of that salary, then we may actually lose money by cutting that po- sition. Consider the following example: Assume an employee re- ceives a salary of $35,000 with benefits costing an additional
$17,000, for a total cost of $52,000. Assume that position received 50% grant funding equal to $26,000. If the position is eliminated we must pay unemployment benefits equal to 66% of salary, or
$23,100. Our net savings would be $2,900, not $26,000. This ex- ample also shows that anytime grant funding exceeds 50% we would actually lose money by eliminating positions.
EARLY RETIREMENT OPTIONS: Simply eliminating posi- tions doesn’t usually work well, for the reasons explained above.
However, another option may be more financially viable. That op- tion involves offering long time employees an incentive to take early retirement. If done properly, this could allow senior employees (at the highest pay grades) to retire and be replaced by younger em- ployees (at lower pay grades). However, senior employees have been hesitant to take early retirement unless their health insurance is covered until they reach full retirement age. We can offer a retire- ment incentive that gives them health insurance until then, but the cost of insurance eats up the potential savings.
We have found that the only way to achieve savings is by actu- ally eliminating positions. In most cases senior supervisory positions must be filled. They cannot be left vacant. However, lower positions can be left vacant or eliminated. We are exploring the possibility of filling senior supervisory positions by promoting existing qualified subordinates. We may then be able to eliminate subordinate posi- tions without actually laying anyone off. This could actually gener- ate some significant savings.
We have only looked at the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of the complexity involved in these decisions. We have not considered other issues dealing with fringe benefits, mission critical duties, im- pact upon Collective Bargaining Agreements, etc. Your Board of Legislators has already spent numerous hours wrestling with these important and complex issues. The bottom line is that we must find ways to cut costs.
Catholic Bishops and personnel at one of the prestigious Catholic Universities see eye-to-eye with me on the direction the Republi- can Party is headed, it’s time to question that direction and its meaning for American society.
Very truly yours, Edward McCamy Alfred
To the Editor,
Spring is in the air—and so are asthma triggers. Did you know that asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under 15; or that it is a leading cause of school ab- sences? More than 25 million Americans - including 1.9 mil- lion residents of New York State - currently have asthma.
Yet, CDC’s National Asthma Control Program—which has helped reduce deaths and hospi- talizations due to asthma since its inception in 1999—is in dan- ger of elimination unless Con- gress continues its funding of this lifesaving program.
CDC funds these lifesaving programs in 34 states, including New York, so that people with
By ELAINE HARDMAN Mother’s Day wasn’t always about flowers and taking Mom out for brunch. In 1870, when women were still being beaten and jailed or declared insane for the crime of wanting suffrage, Julia Ward Howe made the first Mother's Day Proclamation.
Howe was a woman of words.
She wrote plays and poetry in- cluding “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Shocked at the number of deaths by disease in Civil War Prisoner Camps, Howe and her husband Samuel Gridley Howe
About fracking jobs Asthma triggers in air
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asthma and their families can learn to better manage their dis- ease. This means people can learn to prevent life-threatening asthma attacks, reducing health- care costs and saving lives.
There is no better time than now—National Asthma Aware- ness Month—to contact your Members of Congress to ask them to fight to save CDC’s Na- tional Asthma Control Program.
As asthma rates increase, more must be done to combat this dis- ease.
To learn more about the American Lung Association’s programs and resources for managing asthma, visit www.lung.org/asthma.
Sincerely, Jeff Seyler, President & CEO American Lung Association in the Northeast
worked to create the U.S. Sani- tary Commission improving sanitary conditions and savings lives. This was before germ the- ory was accepted wide scale.
By 1870, Howe had experi- enced death, devastation and economic turmoil in the wake of the Civil War and knew what the brewing Franco-Prussian War would cause. In response, she turned from her abolitionist work to attempt to organize women across all nations to de- velop an international move- ment for Mother’s Day For Peace.
At the same time Anna Jarvis organized women within Ap- palachia, again in response to the Civil War. She organized Mothers’ Work Days to improve sanitary conditions and also worked to help people reconcile and move toward peace in the aftermath of the war.
Jarvis’ daughter, also named Anna Jarvis, continued her mother’s work and pushed to celebrate a day to honor moth- ers. The first Mother's Day was in 1907 in the senior Anna Jarvis’ church in West Virginia.
Mother’s Day spread to encom- pass 45 states and then became an official holiday in 1912 with a formal national Mother’s Day declared by Woodrow Wilson in 1914.
Mother’s Day Proclamation by Julia Ward Howe, 1870:
Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears!
Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrel- evant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the bosom of the devas- tated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Dis- arm!"
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the sum- mons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail & com- memorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesars but of God.
In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nation- ality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most con- venient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the dif- ferent nationalities, the amicable settlement of international ques- tions, the great and general inter- est of peace.
Thoughts at Mother’s Day
Moonlighter
Restaurant Guide...8 Entertainment...8-9 Movie listings...9 Classified Ads...11 Years Ago...12
Alfred Sun’s Second Section--Entertainment, Classified Advertising, Etc., Etc.
Week of May 10-May 16, 2012 ALFRED SUN, PO Box 811, 764 Route 244, Alfred, NY 14802 607-587-8110
Allegany Senior Foundation ‘Swingin’ 2 the Oldies’
Black-Eyed Susan Acoustic Café hosts brothers, birds
WELLSVILLE—The Alle- gany Senior Foundation is host- ing a party to benefit Allegany
BIRDS-ON-A-WIRE Almond Twentieth Century Club Library has a current dis- play with photos of the Johnson family together with the book. Coach Jim Johnson, author of the story, is the son of Gene Johnson who grew up in Almond with his siblings.
The Rail and Titsworth Canal Warehouse in Belfast is the last remaining building on Genesee Valley Canal. Built in the 1850s by S. Titsworth who came from Dansville.
SIGN at Bare Knuckle Boxing Museum in Belfast.
ANGELICA––Black-Eyed Susan Acoustic Café is pleased to host The Band of Brothers, a popular folk trio from Dansville on Friday, May 11. On Saturday, May 12, it’s birds-on-a-wire from the Finger Lakes region, playing an original blend of folk, blues, pop and bluegrass. Both shows start at 7:30 p.m.
There is no cover charge; guests are ex- pected to contribute to the musician’s tip jar.
On Friday, May 11 we welcome Michael Scott Smith (Dansville), Jamie Stevens, (Hume), and Alan Fox, (Arcade) collectively known as ”The Band of Brothers.” Their vocal har- monies are show-stopping, and they ac- company themselves on guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, slide guitar and har- monica. Perhaps their motto says it all:
“Making Folk Music Fun!”
Our trio for Saturday, May 12 is known as birds-on-a-wire and is com- prised of Brooke Pevear (Prattsburgh) on guitar, banjo, vocals; Elaine Ver- straete (Middlesex) on upright bass and vocals; and Perry Cleaveland (Water- loo) on mandolin, fiddle and vocals.
birds-on-a-wire is an acoustic folk group playing what they call “fusion folk” with a unique style comprised of original song-writing and rich har- monies. Lyrical and narrative, many of their tunes will take you to another place or time. Mostly uplifting, their foot-tapping sound can also unexpect- edly reach serious, candid reflection.
Coming Up:
Friday, May 18--Dave Murphy–
Americana / Songwriter. With loads of songwriting awards to his credit, Dave writes story-songs and could be called
a ‘new traditionalist’. He subscribes to the "three chords and the truth" school of songwriting. Learn more at www.davemurphy.net 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 19--Pat Kane – “Bal- ladeer of the Southern Tier.” Traditional and modern Irish and American folk music on fiddle, guitar and bodhran.
Mr. Kane plays jibs, reels, square dances, and hundreds of ballads from Ireland and America. Learn more at www.westoclare.com 7:30–9:30 p.m.
Black-Eyed Susan Acoustic Café serves breakfast Wednesday through Sunday mornings, lunch seven days a week, and dinner with live music every Friday and Saturday evening. Located at 22 West Main Street in Angelica, the café seats 65 and is fully handicap-ac- cessible. Call 585-466-3399 or visit www.black-eyed-susan.com.
On display at Almond Library
County Meals-on-Wheels. The event, Swingin’ 2 the Oldies, will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Sat-
urday, May 19 at the Activities Center of the Alfred State Wellsville Campus.
ALFRED STATION—
Baker’s Bridge Association members and guests will travel to Belfast on Friday, May 18 to visit the Canal Warehouse and the Bare Knuckle Boxing Mu- seum.
Our meeting spot at 10 a.m.
will be at the Genesee Valley Rail and Canal Warehouse, a historic building which is the oldest surviving warehouse along the route of the Genesee Valley Canal. Built about 1853
in the Greek Revival style, over the years it has been used as a warehouse, hotel, brothel, barn and storehouse.
Our next stop will be at the nearby Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame. Visitors are wel- comed by a life-sized statue of John L. Sullivan.
The museum houses a com- prehensive collection of artifacts from this sport including gloves, medicine balls, plaques, rings, weights and other paraphernalia that define the world of boxing.
Some of the pieces were used by Sullivan as he trained for six weeks in 1889, before he scored a 75th round technical knockout over Jake Kilrain in what many consider one of the most impor- tant fights in the annals of box- ing.We invite anyone who is inter- ested to join us for this trip. If more information is needed, please refer to our April newslet- ter which you will find at www.bakersbridge.org
“We’ve got a fun evening planned,” said Wally Higgins, president of the foundation’s board of directors. “There will be a theme basket auction to start. We expect baskets of all kinds. There’s a cash beer and wine bar, and the Barbecue Ban- dits are cooking their famous smoked turkey and pulled pork for dinner. Then the Swingin’
starts. We’ll have dancing to the big band music of the Jazz Nin- jas. It’s a casual, fun, family event,” explained Higgins. “This year we’re giving away free tickets to anyone over age 95 who would like to attend the party.”
The party starts at 4 p.m., with dinner at 5:30 p.m. Drawings will be held during the evening, with things wrapping up at 9 pm.
Tickets for the event are $15 each, or 4 for $40. The Activities
Center will be open Friday night from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. for those wishing to participate in the bas- ket auction only.
Meals-on-Wheels is a pro- gram operated by the Allegany County Office for the Aging.
The meals are delivered five days a week at noon time to those elders who are finding it difficult to cook or shop for food.
In 2011, the Office for the Aging delivered almost 90,000 meals to 646 homebound elders.
Due to state and federal funding cuts, the program may not be able to serve all who need it, without extra help.
Anyone wanting more infor- mation or tickets for Swingin’ 2 the Oldies can call the Office for the Aging at 585-268-9390.
Baker’s Bridge group to visit Belfast
Canal Warehouse, Bare Knuckle Boxing Museum
6 THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, May 10, 2012
USELESS HELPFULNESS Where do you turn for advice?
I can turn around in virtually every room in my house and find it in one or more forms of print. I can turn on my TV, and receive it from commercials. I can turn on my computer, and on just one screen be told to “Subscribe” or “Meet” or “Follow” or “Register”
or “Search” or “Explore” or ”Publish” or “Login” or “Sign In” or
“Discover” or “Share” or “Print” or “Tweet” or “Email” or “Tech it up!” or “Remake America” or “Get Y! on My Phone.” Scrolling down brings up further well meant instructions.
The screen on which I found these brief admonitions also fea- tured a link to an article titled “How to Exercise Your Brain to Make It Strong.” Assuming that by a “strong” brain the author will be writ- ing about how to improve one’s memory, I can safely ignore it. I once listened to a whole book recorded on tape which described some perfectly logical methods of doing that.
They did not work for me. Instead, my memory has become worse ever since I became acquainted with them. So I am not going to pass them on here. But I am going to give my readers advice. Do not collect self-help books deliberately or semi-consciously or un- consciously.
Recently I was mulling over something Garrison Keillor read on the National Public Radio snippet called “The Writer’s Almanac”
on Thursday, April 26, 2012. He quoted two statements of Scottish philosopher David Hume, who was born on that day in April, 1711.
Hume said, “The truth springs from arguments among friends,” and
“The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster.”
I decided that I needed to refresh my knowledge of Hume by reading what my college textbook for a philosophy class in the early 1950’s said about him. If I could not find it on one of my book- shelves, surely I would trip over my copy of Will Durant’s The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers.
My feeble memory told me that Durant’s book mentioned Hume. However, I had read it in paperback while taking distracting subway rides to and from work in Manhattan in the mid-1950’s, and never again since then. Now I was unable to locate my copies of ei- ther book.
I did find four paperback advice books which I have never read, and do not recollect acquiring. I really liked the information on the cover of the first one to which I gave my attention. It begins in or- ange and purple letters on the white background. “Habit Control in a Day (Stuttering, Nail Biting and Other Nervous Habits).” Then it switches to black letters, “The Newly Developed Professionally Tested Program for Dealing with Bad Habits.” Next it names the first author: “Nathan H. Azrin, Ph.D. Co-author of Toilet Training in Less Than a Day. And finally, the second author: “R. Gregory Nunn, Ph.D.”
By now this 1978 paperback had grown a little stiff. I opened it carefully in the middle. A picture popped up. It demonstrated how to conquer “Bruxism.” Wow! I never knew that fancy name for a habit I have. It is “the technical name for grinding teeth.” The au- thors give details of a “Competing Reaction for Grinding Teeth.”
Actually, I learned that I already instinctively practice it, i.e., releasing my jaw. I had never been told to do so before by a toilet training trainer.
Alas, I cannot follow the rest of the advice given as I sleep alone. “If you sleep in the same bed, or bedroom, with someone else, ask that person to awaken you gently whenever he hears tooth grind- ing, at which time you should thank him and adopt the competing reaction as you try to fall asleep again.”
Wouldn’t you know, sleep is the main subject of two of the other advice books I plucked off my shelves! One is Sleep by Gay Gaer Luce and Juius Segal. I checked its index for “bruxism.” It was there.
These experts recommended a different treatment.
“The tense bruxist, who grinds his teeth by night and pays the dental bills by day, exhibits his intensity mainly during the REM pe- riod of dreaming. Such people might benefit from a drug that relaxed the masseter muscles controlling the jaw, and sometimes show less tendency to grind their teeth after psychological therapy.”
So, I should pay the psychotherapist instead of the dentist or the piper? I refrained from opening any more self-help books. Then I helped myself to two more chapters of a classic, informative, his- torical novel.
ALFRED--Oh, we’ve got trouble...right here in Happy Valley.
We need to get Alfred out of the serious trouble it’s in.
Sounds like Alfred needs a
“Music Man.”
Come one! Come all! It’s time for auditions for Alfred Commu- nity Theatre’s 2012 summer mu- sical offering, a concert style presentation of “Music Man.”
Auditions will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 20 at the Union University Church Center in downtown Alfred. The musi- cal will be directed by Brooke Harris.
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk be- fore skipping town with the cash. In River City, Iowa, prim librarian and piano teacher Mar- ian Paroo sees through him, but when Hill helps her younger brother overcome his fear of so- cial interactions due to his lisp, Marian begins to fall in love with Harold. Harold, in turn falling for Marian, risks being
By TAMMY M. KOKOT Almond Library Director
On Saturdays, May 12 from 9:30-1, come shop AND support the Almond Library at the same time by purchasing PartyLite products at Tammy's Cash & Carry Sale. We have two rooms full of product and it is priced to sell. Other shopping times are available by ap- pointment ~ 607-276-6311.
On May 12, watch for Peter Cottontail as he will be hopping down the bunny trail to visit our library. Please join us to hear stories and enjoy some rabbit food! Last month, Ladybug Girl and Geronimo Stilton paid us a visit, and we had a full house ~ we are hoping for the same for this third in a series of character visits.
Stay hungry the morning of June 9 as we will be having our Ap- plebee's breakfast starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 10 a.m. at Apple- bee's. $5 pre-sale tickets are available at the library or through a club member. Later that morning, join us to celebrate Robert Munsch's birthday with stories and refreshments starting at 11 a.m.
Mark your calendar for Almond Community Day! Saturday, Sept.
8 is a celebrated event for the entire community, and many hold their major fundraising efforts on this day. The library will continue w/its Sausage/Hot Dog stand, and we are looking for volunteers to assist.
Quilt tickets are on sale! Thanks to the generosity of Doris Martin and Carolyn Powers, we have a gorgeous quilt in shades of brown and turquoise that will be raffled off with the winner announced at our Election Day events on Nov. 8. Tickets are available at the li- brary or through a Club member -- 6/$5 or $1/each.
Auditions for ‘Music Man’ scheduled
!
!
caught to win her.
In 1957, the show became a hit on Broadway, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and running for 1,375 performances. The cast album won the first Grammy Award for
"Best Original Cast Album".
The show's success led to re- vivals and a popular 1962 film adaptation and a 2003 television remake. It frequently is pro- duced by both professional and amateur theater companies.
Alfred Community Theatre was founded in February 2000 for the purpose of getting sum- mer theater going again in Al- fred and helping to restore the 1890 Firemen’s Hall Theatre in Alfred Village Hall.
Area residents are welcome to join ACT, which will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 5 at the Christian Education Building of the Alfred Station Seventh Day Baptist Church, Main Street, Alfred Station.
HORNELL—Have you al- ways wanted to learn to read music? The Hornell Area Family YMCA will offer an introduc- tion to music-reading for ages 12+ from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tues- day, May 15 at the new Hornell YMCA, Center Street, Hornell.
Rebecca Weaver Hamm will cover the basics of rhythm, pitch, and notation (the symbols used in sheet music). The cost of the workshop is $5, and all supplies are included. No music experience is necessary.
Participants will use percus- sion instruments like maracas, triangles, and noisemakers to make music in a fun and sup- portive environment.
This workshop is made possi- ble, in part, with public funds from the New York State Coun- cil on the Arts’ Decentralization Program, administered locally by the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.
More information can be ob- tained by visiting www.hornel- lymca.com or calling the Y at 607-324-5520.
WELLSVILLE—Genesee Valley Chorus, a community chorus based in Wellsville, will present a concert at 3 p.m. Sun- day, May 20 at the Immaculate Conception Church, Maple Av- enue, Wellsville.
"Music - Mirror of the Soul,"
featuring music which expresses all different types of emotions:
Happiness, Sadness, Spirituality, Prayer, Love, Hope...the whole gamut.
The concert is free to the pub- lic, but donations are greatly ac- cepted for the non-profit arts organization. The Director is Norma Bartlett, and the accom- panist is Amanda Robbins.
Learn to read music
Concert in Wellsville
THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, May 10, 2012 7
Leasing: Part 1
There are many ways in which unconventional drilling i.e. hori- zontal hydrofracking, is different from the gas wells of the twenti- eth century: compulsory integra- tion, enormous water usage, the toxic chemicals mixed with the water, pollution of the air, and the surface and underground water sources,constant truck traffic, the radioactivity brought up from the depths, and the wholesale trans- formation of the countryside into an industrial zone operating 24/7.
All of these topics have been cov- ered in past columns and can be read on-line at: www.waita- minuteny.blogspot.com Along with previous columns are links to the primary source material used in my research.
This week’s column is on gas leasing and the many implica- tions for the homeowner.Re- cently, I attended a presentation given by three experts, two lawyers whose area of specializa- tion is gas leasing and a bank of- ficial. In today’s column I will summarize the points made by Greg May, Vice President for res- idential mortgage lending at Tompkins Trust Co., a man with 40 years experience in the mort- gage field. Mr. May prefaced his comments by saying that when it comes to hydrofracking he is nei- ther pro nor con and that he was not there to debate the issues;
rather he was there to discuss the conflicts between mortgages, in- surance, and leases, so that peo- ple with existing leases or contemplating signing one can be informed. He also made it clear that his expertise is residential lending and that his comments would address residential mort- gage issues. The following com- ments are paraphrased from his presentation.
He started bystating that in New York State one’s title to real estate is called “fee simple.”
What this means is that when you buy land, you purchase a wedge of property from the center of the earth to the heavens above. Some states separate surface from sub- surface, but in New York State it is traditionally “fee simple.”
Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac (The Federal National Mortgage Asso- ciation, nicknamed Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Mortgage Corporation, nickname Freddie Mac) set standards for all resi- dential mortgage lending in the US. These mortgages come with these restrictions and it is the same in every state: There cannot be any surface or subsurface entry or infringement into that wedge of property (fee simple) and there cannot be any en- croachment within 200 ft. of res- idential structures and its outbuildings. Every lender in the
Leasing
(Part 1)
For tickets: Call OFA at 585-268-9390, Wally Higgins 587-9566, Chuck Shultz 276-5363, Alice Heineman 587-9285 or Rob Riber 587-8262
country uses these guidelines as a basis for their mortgage lend- ing. Nothing can infringe upon your wedge of property, either on the surface, or underground.The current NYS regulations govern- ing gas drilling allow a 100 ft. set back from wellhead to residential structure. This is a conflict, one that many homeowners were not aware of when they signed gas leases. This also becomes a con- flict if someone is compulsory in- tegrated
The FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and VA (Veter- ans Administration) have their own set of lending rules for mort- gages and they are different from Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac in that their guidelines state that there can be no surface or subsurface entry within 300 ft. of a residen- tial structure or out buildings or 300 ft. from the boundary of the property.
Section 18 of the standard Fan- nie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage document prohibits the transfer or sale of any portion or rightsin a mortgage property without the written consent of the lender. “I have worked for Tompkins Trust for 4 ½ years, and not once has there been a request asking for permission, yet I am confident that there have been hundreds, maybe thousands of leases signed in that period of time. This is a technical default under the terms of the mortgage: you’ve broken the promise that was made to the lender. This is not particular to my bank–but any bank--this mortgage document is standard in the industry. It says you cannot pledge those rights without prior consent and if you talk to your lender they are going to say, no, we don’t give you permission to assign the rights.”
Section 21 of the same docu- ment prohibits environmental hazards, hazardous substances, and particularly gas to be stored, disposed of, discharged, or re- leased on a mortgaged property.
When you sign a mortgage agree- ment this section states that you (as the owner) will not do this, or you will not allow anyone else to do this on your property. Typical residential usage is allowed, like gas for the mower or propane for heating, but this is talking about major industrial purposes. Some leases that landowners have signed with the gas company give the company the right to store gas on the property, or un- derground, and that is specifically prohibited in the mortgage docu- ment.
“If you have signed a lease after your mortgage was in place it is a technical default. Do you think any lender in their right mind will try to foreclose? No, – but what is important is that the
gas companies are not letting you know that there are specific pro- hibitions to signing a lease. Land- men, when they come to the house, are not saying you better check with your bank first if you have a mortgage.”
“We are seeing a lot of refi- nance activity to take advantage of lower rates. I am finding that people have signed a gas lease that gives away rights to the gas company and creates an opportu- nity for environmental impact.
People are being told it is not a problem, but it is a problem folks.”
“A unique problem with hori- zontal slickwater hydrofracking is that it is no longer like the old vertical wells, so even if you have increased setbacks you are drilling horizontally and entering into the wedge of earth that is
“fee simple” in NYS. So even though you might have a proper setback on the surface, the drilling goes down and then en- ters the wedge of property under- ground. That’s the problem and it’s a challenge for NY State.”
Another problem has to do with a residential homeowner’s insurance. Traditional homeown- ers insurance does not cover any damages as a result of industrial operations.
A local agent might say, “it is not a problem,” but you need to call the company, not the agent.
And they will say,“absolutely not – it is not covered.” “I have got- ten written confirmation from a number of large companies. For example Kemper Insurance said,
‘Basically our position is that we do not want to entertain risks where there is any type of gas drilling on the property. Our rates do not contemplate that expo- sure.’ Safe Company stated, ‘we do not look to do these–too much exposure to explosion for our property as well as a liability pos- sibility for damages done to other properties.’ If you have signed a lease you might not have the cov- erage you thought you had and that is a problem.”
The problem is that a company insures your property and then at some point later a gas lease is signed and sometime in the fu- ture there is a claim because something happens due to drilling activities. Suddenly there are pipelines, roadways, com- pressor stations, drilling plat- forms. These are industrial, not residential endeavors and they will void your insurance. If your insurance is terminated, then
your mortgage is in default.
Elizabeth Radow, one of the lawyers speaking the same evening put it this way, “If you are unable to maintain homeown- ers insurance on your property it is no longer a technical default, but an absolute default.”
Gas leases, mortgages and in- surance are a complex issue that not many homeowners have thought about or have even known what questions to ask.
You can watch an excellent video of Greg May. Go to “You Tube”
and type in “5-Greg May”. There are more links to additional re- sources posted on my blog.
Ban and Moratoria update:
Moratoriums: Butternuts, Bris- tol, Caroline, Lincoln, Little Falls, Manchester, Olive, Oneonta (town), Oppenheim, Rush, Schoharie, Scipio, Water- loo.Bans: Albany, Bethel, Oneonta (city), Skaneateles (town)
