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OLEAN, NY — As the exciting 2011 comes to end, the Olean Times Herald ranks the top ten local stories of the year. Read on to see where Kinley landed in the list.
The approval of the proposed 29-turbine wind farm for the town of Allegany, which created controversy throughout the community and surrounding municipalities for several years, was voted by the Olean Times Herald staff as the biggest story of 2011.
The culmination of events tied to the proposed $160 million wind farm occurred in late August when hundreds of protesters showed up for the Allegany Town Board vote on the project. While the board voted in favor of the project, fallout on the matter would follow.
Several weeks after the vote a lawsuit was filed by Concerned Citizens of Cattaraugus County for a permanent injunction against the EverPower Wind Holdings Inc. project. Although the lawsuit was dismissed, Concerned Citizens filed an appeal in appellate court. In addition, a couple of town officials, who voted in favor of the project, subsequently lost their seats in November’s elections.
The proposed project continues to be the hot topic in the community, with controversy and contention over what routes to use for hauling 8,500 truckloads of equipment and materials to the proposed hilltop sites in Chipmonk and Knapp Creek.
A possible result of this has been the delay of construction on the project, which was to have started in the late fall. As EverPower didn’t begin substantial construction on the project by the end of the year, the company will likely lose its qualification for federal grant funds amounting to $33 million.
Despite this, EverPower official Kevin Sheen has stated that the company plans to push through with the project in the spring of 2012, and is committed to making the project work regardless of lost incentives.
® 2. Louis Magnano dies
On April 4, Louis Magnano, the area’s leading real estate developer and philanthropist, passed away. He was 79.
Mr. Magnano, a self-made entrepreneur, got his start in the business world helping his father grow their local transportation service. In the years that followed, the Magnanos branched out into the bus business, creating Blue Bird Coach Lines, which at one time was the ninth-largest motor coach company in the U.S.
During the 1960s, Mr. Magnano expanded his interests, entering into real estate and founding Park Centre Development as a side venture while he ran the bus company. Throughout his tenure at the helm of the area’s biggest real estate development firm, Mr. Magnano made numerous purchases and redeveloped many properties in the city. Notable Park Centre projects throughout Olean include Jamestown Community College, Lincoln Park Suites, Delaware Park Center, the YMCA, The Connection, The ReHabilitation Center and Holiday Park Centre.
Mr. Magnano’s last project was redeveloping 164 N. Union St., the new home of St. Bonaventure University’s student-run soup kitchen, The Warming House.
More than 200 friends, family and those grieving attended Mr. Magnano’s funeral held at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church.
® 3. Senecas battle state on cigarette tax
In a one-page written decision released in June, a panel of five judges in the state Supreme Court Appellate Division denied the Seneca Nation of Indians’ appeal against the state’s collection of a $4.35-per-pack state excise tax on cigarettes sold by Native merchants. In addition, the judges lifted a temporary restraining order issued by Associate Justice Jerome C. Gorski blocking the tax’s collection, thereby clearing the state to begin collecting the tax at the wholesale level.
The panel’s decision ended the cigarette taxation dispute that has spanned four governorships.
State taxation officials estimated taxing Native cigarette sales of premium-brand cigarettes, like Marlboro, would generate $110 million annually.
Native-manufactured cigarettes, like Heron and Seneca brands, remain tax-free.
® 4. Schools try to deal with tax cap
Heavy cuts to state education aid and a 2 percent tax cap, combined with the rising cost of state mandates for education and the expense of retirement and health insurance, left area school districts facing budget deficits much greater than anticipated as they entered the 2011-2012 school year.
Due to the reliance of the local school districts on state aid and property taxes, administrators were faced with the task of balancing budgets through adjustments in personnel and programming, areas where significant cuts have already been experienced in recent years.
The tax cap is able to be bypassed if 60 percent of district voters vote in favor of it; if it is defeated, the district can hold a second vote for the same or a revised budget; a second defeat would result in a contingent budget.
To date, districts are unable to completely formulate budgets under the new regulations, as much of the information is not available until the early months of 2012.
® 5. Fire destroys church
A fire completely destroyed St. Joseph’s Catholic Maronite Rite Church Aug. 27. The blaze broke out about 3:30 p.m. at the church at 331 N. Fourth St. No injuries were reported.
Two members of the church were inside when they heard a crackling sound and smelled smoke. No one was injured in the blaze as those two members escaped from the building.
The fire was ruled accidental by the Olean Fire Investigation Team. Investigators determined the fire started from an electrical failure near the church’s altar.
Dozens of parishioners and neighbors stood outside the church as the Olean Fire Department fought the flames. St. Mary of the Angels Roman Catholic Church opened its doors the following morning so that members of St. Joseph’s could celebrate Mass.
The church building was demolished and the lot was cleaned up in early September, soon after the fire investigation was closed.
Members of the church held a fundraiser in October and have been busy working on a plan for a new church building. In the meantime, parishioners have been meeting at Transfiguration Church.
® 6. Kinley to develop Manufacturers Hanover building
Voting unanimously on Aug. 3, members of the city’s Urban Renewal Agency named Allegany-based Kinley Corp. as the preferred developer for the Manufacturers Hanover, Marra and Siegel buildings.
Under Kinley Corp.’s $10 million proposal for the three properties, the company plans for a mixture of retail and office space as well as apartments at the three properties. In addition, the company plans to demolish the former location of the Olean Art Space and a free-standing building behind the Marra buildings.
The agency’s decision represented a milestone in its efforts to bring new life to the three buildings, which have been vacant for most of the past decade.
® 7. Voters approve redistricting plan
A Cattaraugus County Legislature Redistricting Plan which includes a reduction in the number of county lawmakers from 21 to 17 was approved by voters by a nearly 2-to-1 margin on Nov. 8.
The plan, based on the population in the 2010 Census was proposed too late to have legislators run in the new districts in November. The new districts will not become official until 2015. Until then, legislators will rely on a weighted voting system to evenly divide voting strength.
The redistricting plan, approved along party lines, was a key component of the Democrats’ election campaign. Minority Leader Mark Ward of Great Valley called on voters to reject the Republican redistricting plan. Next year, he promised, Democrats would bring forth a new plan that would look at 15 or fewer legislators.
Republican supporters, including Majority Leader Norman Marsh, R-Little Valley, cautioned against making legislative districts too large to be effectively represented by fewer legislators. He said the savings of the smaller County Legislature would add up to nearly $1 million over a decade.
® 8. Allegany man accused of murder
Allegany resident Gregory E. Farr, 22, was accused of second-degree murder in the Oct. 24 bludgeoning and stabbing death of Steven L. Balser, 58, of Allegany.
Farr, who pleaded innocent to the charges, allegedly attacked Mr. Balser with a crowbar and knife during an alleged late-night argument and fight that took place in a tent in Valley View Estates, located at 4115 South Nine Mile Road in Allegany. Mr. Balser’s death wasn’t reported to officials until the following day. Farr has been held in Cattaraugus County Jail and could receive 25 years to life in state prison, if found guilty.
® 9. Cattaraugus County approves $213.1 million budget
Cattaraugus County Administrator Jack Searles’ $213.1 million tentative budget for 2012 wasn’t changed much between its introduction Nov. 9 and its unanimous approval on Nov. 22.
The budget, constrained by the state’s new 2 percent property tax cap, cut more than 80 jobs, 45 of which were filled, including 25 in the Community Services (Mental Health) Department, where the department’s clinical staff will be laid off in October if a new provider can be contracted.
The job cuts are designed to save $2.4 million, $1 million more than the county asked the union to give up this year by foregoing a 3 percent raise. After state union officials balked at allowing the CSEA local to give up their raises, the job cuts deepened.
Even with the 2 percent tax cap, the 2012 tax levy is about 4.5 percent above the 2011 property tax levy, or the amount to be raised by taxes, due to the exemption of some items such as state pension increases and some health insurance costs.
® 10. Seneca Nation files for arbitration in gaming dispute
In a move to end a $350 million dispute with the state spanning more than two years, the Seneca Nation of Indians formally filed for arbitration on Dec. 12 to settle its allegations the state violated to the terms of the 2002 Gaming Compact.
At issue is the Seneca Nation’s claim that video-gaming devices at racing tracks in Hamburg, Batavia and The Finger Lakes violate the tribe’s exclusivity to Las Vegas-style gaming in the region. Under the terms of the 2002 gaming deal, in exchange for gaming exclusivity in Western New York, the Senecas agreed to pay the state and host communities of their three casinos a portion of their slot-machine revenue. In addition, the Senecas are also questioning the role of the New York State Police at their three casinos in Salamanca, Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
Since August 2009, the Tribe has held in escrow more than $350 million in revenue-sharing payments to the state.
