Month: April 2022

April 19, 2022

HORNELL, NY – Longtime local businesswoman Martha Ann Shults Davidson has died.

Below is the obituary report from the Bishop and Johnson Funeral Home:

Martha “Marty” Davidson passed away peacefully on Thursday April 14, 2022. Marty was a lifelong resident of Hornell being born at Bethesda Hospital on February 23, 1929 to her parents C. Everett Shults and Martha H. Shults.

At Hornell High School, Marty met the love of her life, Adam T. Davidson, who predeceased her. Their romance endured time away at college with Marty attending Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and Adam at Hobart College in Geneva, NY.

After graduation from Northwestern, Marty married Adam on February 23, 1952 and the couple moved to Camp LeJeune, NC where Adam was stationed as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. Following Adam’s discharge from the Marines, Marty and Adam returned to Hornell and started their family.

Marty is survived by her four children, Mark (Karen) of Denver, CO, Mike (Sharon) of Hornell, Barbara (Tim) of Kinnelon, NJ and Linda (Don) of Greenwich, NY. Marty is also survived by her brother, Eric Shults (Beth), of North Hornell. Marty’s sister, Linda, predeceased her in 2019. Marty’s ten grandchildren, two great grandchildren, several nieces and a nephew all loved her dearly.

Marty worked alongside Adam at Davidson’s Furniture helping to build up and maintain the furniture store, now in its 146th year of operation under Mike’s leadership. During that time, the family spent summers at their Loon Lake cottage, a location still serving as a family gathering place.

After Adam passed, Marty stayed active accepting any invitation with an enthusiastic, “That sounds like fun!” Marty was also somewhat of a local celebrity participating in a weekly local radio spot on WLEA promoting the goods and services of Davidson’s Furniture and also working as the “gatekeeper” for the local Curves franchise for a number of years.

Marty’s commitment to the Hornell community was evidenced not only by her work at the furniture store, but also by her staunch support for the Hornell YMCA. Marty’s contributions to the YMCA were recognized by the Y naming her “Woman of the Year”.

Marty also had a strong dedication to learning. She was an American Field Service (AFS) Host to two Hornell High AFS students and sent her daughter Linda to Finland for a summer through the AFS summer students abroad program. Marty was also honored for her service to AFS by the local chapter.

A lifelong fan of the Buffalo Bills, Marty and Adam maintained season tickets to the Bills’ home games for 30 years, until Adam’s passing. Marty adored the Bills’ Steve Tasker!

Finally, the family wishes to thank Marty’s wonderful care giving team led by Stacy Cregan these past four years. This time in Marty’s life was enriched by their care and attention. The ability to stay in her home during this time was a true blessing enabled by these extraordinary women.

There will be a memorial service in Marty’s honor on Saturday April 30, 2022 at 10:30 am at Christ Episcopal Church, Center Street, Hornell. The service will be followed by interment at Hope Cemetery. Calling hours will be held at the Bishop-Johnson & DeSanto Funeral Home, 285 Main Street, Hornell, NY on Friday, April 29, 2022 from 5:00-7:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Marty’s honor be made to the Hornell YMCA, 18 Center Street, Hornell, NY 14843 or the Hornell High School Alumni Association, P.O. Box 135, Hornell, NY 14843. Envelopes for memorial contributions will be available at the funeral home.

The Bishop-Johnson & DeSanto Funeral Home is honored to assist Marty’s family with the arrangements.

Online condolences or remembrances of Marty are welcome on the Facebook page of Bishop-Johnson & DeSanto Funeral Home or at www.bishopandjohnsonfuneralhome.com.

April 19, 2022

By Jasmine Willis

HORNELL — The Hornell City Council meeting was held to discuss new dog laws, gambling resources, and business on April 18. Sarah Bryant of PGRC (Problem Gambling Resources Center) gave a presentation to the board about the program.

“I wanted to raise awareness about the increase in gambling problems. You may have noticed sports bidding ads popping up a lot lately. There is a helpline at the bottom of the ads. Those calls come directly to our county. We can connect them all to free resources,” she said. “We can come and help anyone that needs it regardless of if they have insurance or not. This is about the mental health and getting them the help they need. We are the hub for problem gambling resources. We ae not here to judge anyone. We just want them to know we are local and free.”

Bryant said for those who feel embarrassed or can’t leave the home can contact them via teletherapy.

“We are seeing a rise in gambling problems. There are a lot of college students who feel isolated now, and are not able to have that social college experience. They are on their phones all the time and easily get into the gambling and crypto currency. We see a lot of the elderly who are grieving and lonely going out to the casinos. We see a lot of them not able to care for themselves or family since they are losing all the money in gambling,” she said.
You can contact FingerLakesPGRC@NYProblemGambling.org or 585-351-2262 for help on gambling resources or if a loved one is gambling.

Several resolutions were discussed and approved by the city council. One of the big topics of the night was on dog laws.

A resolution was approved to limit the number of dogs a resident can own to four dogs and they have 30 days to comply. These dogs need to be licensed and well cared for. Several complaints came from the school on students being harmed by these living conditions. Several residents in the city have as many as 19 to 12 dogs. Something had to be put in place to ensure the quality of life for the children and the dogs.

Bud Burdett, Hornell Code Enforcement director said he has been called out on several occasions to residents that were living in poor conditions with multiple dogs.

“We have been dealing with this problem for a while. We have heard about large collections of dogs being found in the city. One resident on East Washington has 19 dogs. I had never seen such a large collection of dogs. There are a few others on Cedar Street and Buffalo Street that have large collections of dogs. We are hearing that the people and dogs are in poor living conditions,” Hornell Mayor John Buckley said. “We have been getting these referrals from the school making us aware of these conditions. We hear from the school that students are not comfortable living in these conditions. This problem has been growing over time.”

The city council looked into what other neighboring municipals had on dog laws, and the average number is four dogs. The law has gone into effect that anyone with over four dogs needs to comply within 30 days.

Burdett said the bottom line is about the quality of life for the animals and people living in these conditions. The children are reporting to the school and social services they are uncomfortable being forced in these conditions. In many cases the parents are not paying rent or caring for the animals. They are in very poor conditions and bothering the neighbors with the noise and smell.

“We have been in really nasty places. We have put this on hold waiting to hear what to do about the laws. If this has become an issue for the children we need to be involved and CPS needs to be involved. There is a lot of noise and odor coming from these places. You see how the animals are not being cared for in these properties. Mayor John (Buckley) came to me and we contacted several municipals to see what to do,” he said. “I try to do my bit with this thing. It should’ve been handled years ago. We need to know how many more are out there. There are more and more referrals coming in from the school.”

Burdett mentioned how landlords have come to him complaining about the amount of dogs being kept in these apartments and not being cared for.

“These residents have 12 dogs and can’t take care of them. They are not paying rent or utilities and have no jobs. If you have 12 dogs that is very costly to feed them. They can’t have all these dogs and no way to care for them. It is a real issue for us and the children living in these conditions.”

Buckley added how the Hornell Humane Society has partnered to help with welfare checks on these animals.

Burdett added that the last thing they want is to drag people to court. They want everyone to comply with the laws. They will give them enough time to comply with the new laws.

Hornell Partners for Growth gave a presentation on all the hard work they did to better the city. The comptroller reported a need for work to be done in 2017. This business networking company helped the city with all the issues that needed to be addressed. The city council passed a resolution to continue working with them in the bidding association process if needed.

In other business the city council passed a resolution to provide an environment easement for 24 Franklin Street and work that needed to be completed.
The city council passed a resolution to purchase two new ambulances and continue the agreement with Hornell YMCA for the city pool. The city pool has the cheapest rates for any other municipal pool. The locals need to pay 75 cents and outsiders can pay $1.50 to use the pool. No one has ever been turned away from using the city pool.

April 18, 2022

Today, Congressman Tom Reed discussed the bipartisan House delegation trip to Germany, Denmark, Poland, and Greenland. “Unfortunately, I see major storms on the horizon the longer Putin’s war is allowed to continue. Our NATO allies, in particular Poland, are stepping up to deal with Putin’s criminal war and the humanitarian crisis that it is creating. I thank them for this effort and reaffirm my commitment to stand with them to see this through.” Said Reed. “Further, as we address the rising threats countries like Russia and China present to America’s security and the security of our friends around the globe, we must ensure our NATO partners, European allies, and all other democracies of the world, know that they can depend on the United States. The message to the world is simple: you can not rely on the unreliable. America has always led the way, and you can rely on us to always stand with our friends.”

This bipartisan delegation sought to demonstrate solidarity with our NATO allies and to visit with Ukrainian refugees seeking shelter across the border in Poland. Other members of the bipartisan delegation included; Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Rep. Fred Upton (MI-06), Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Rep. Garret Graves (LA-06), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), and Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16).

The trip included stops in; Berlin, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; Warsaw, Poland; Korczowa, Poland and Kangerlussuaq, Greenland

April 18, 2022

Cases are continuing to increase with 290 new COVID positives since last Monday. Hospitalizations are remaining low, which is a good sign.

With cases on the rise, it’s important to have the best protection available. If you are not vaccinated or if you are eligible for a second dose or booster dose(s), call us at 607-664-2438 to schedule your appointment. You can also find other locations offering COVID vaccines at https://www.vaccines.gov/

April 16, 2022

CANISTEO, NY – On August 18th severe flooding hit numerous Steuben County towns and villages, including Canisteo. Congressman Tom Reed has announced, that the USDA is getting a grant for about $149,000 to Canisteo, to replace a big part of a water main that was broken during the August 18th flooding. Reed said “This investment will help ensure that the Village of Canisteo has the improvements they deserve for a safe and maintained public water system.”

April 16, 2022

Here is an update on the Tonya Smith case, Tonya Smith is the Painted Post woman accused of the fatal DWI that claimed the life of 66 year old Donnie Masti back in 2019 in Bath.

The latest is, that a Steuben County Court official tells our news department that the closing written arguments have not been submitted yet, and that’s why there has not been a decision yet from Judge Phil Roach.