State Senator George Borrello and Assemblyman Joseph Giglio sponsored the legislation enacting the designation. They were joined at the Randolph American Legion by Corporal Hillard’s family and friends, town officials and members of the community to commemorate the courage and sacrifices of the decorated fallen hero.

Corporal Hillard was born in Kennedy and grew up in Randolph, graduating from Randolph Central School in 1966. He joined the Peace Corps in 1967, helping farmers in India. Shortly after returning from India and marrying his high school sweetheart, he joined the Army in March 1968. The United States was fully engaged in the Vietnam War at that time.

As a member of Company B, 26th Engineer Battalion, 23rd Infantry Division, Hillard attained the rank of corporal. He and his unit were part of Operation Iron Mountain, a division-level search and clear mission that began in February 1969 to destroy and interdict North Vietnamese and Vietcong bases, forces and supply routes in the Quang Ngai Province of South Vietnam.

On Saturday, March 15, 1969, after volunteering to go on patrol, Corporal Hillard was one of three soldiers killed by an enemy explosive device during combat operations at Quang Ngai.

During his military service, Corporal Hillard received a Purple Heart, two Bronze Star medals, one Oak Leaf Cluster, a good Conduct medal, a National Defense Service medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm, and the Presidential Unit Citation.

Civil Air Patrol Western New York Commander Major Ralph Bailey and Deputy Commander Captain Rob Przybysz presented Borrello with his appointment documentation. Assemblyman Joseph Giglio, also a CAP major, attended the ceremony.

The Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, is celebrating its 80th year. Founded during World War II, volunteer CAP pilots flew missions over the nation’s coasts and borders to protect the homeland.

While CAP pilots are the most visible aspect of the agency’s service, the majority of CAP volunteers serve on the ground. There are more than 61,000 volunteers of the Civil Air Patrol. Volunteers also assist with border patrol, forest fire patrols and work to keep the homeland safe.

For more information about the Civil Air Patrol, visit GoCivilAirPatrol.com.

George Borrello

ALBANY – With COVID-19 continuing to spread and Governor Andrew Cuomo targeting a potential need for additional hospital beds, Senator Borrello and his legislative colleagues, Assemblymen Joseph Giglio and Andy Goodell, made an official request to the Governor urging the state to utilize recently closed TLC/Lakeshore hospital as a temporary medical facility during the crisis.

“TLC/Lakeshore hospital is ideally suited to help the state meet the health care challenges COVID-19 has brought to our doorstep. Only recently closed, the hospital has an upgraded emergency department, expansive bed capacity, full handicapped accessibility and a strategic location bordering Erie, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties as well as the Seneca Nation. The hospital has the potential to be an essential and lifesaving resource as our state mobilizes to handle this unprecedented crisis,” Borrello said.

He also noted that, due to the strategic location of the hospital, several elected officials in the region support the idea including, Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

TLC/Lakeshore hospital in Irving was a part of the region’s health care network from 1965 until February 2. At the time of its closure, the facility featured a modern emergency department, a 20-bed inpatient behavioral health and 20-bed chemical dependency units. Earlier in its history, it had over 100 residential beds.

“Although it is my hope that the aggressive steps taken to date to combat this virus will eliminate the need for any additional hospital beds, it is important to be prepared. There are many skilled nurses and other health care professionals who can provide the exceptional and compassionate care that has always characterized Lakeshore hospital. The utilization of this facility could also provide needed financial support to Brooks hospital,” said Goodell.

Image from Sen. Borrello’s Facebook Page

BUFFALO – A Repeal Bail Reform Task Force established by Republicans in the state senate held the first of a series of statewide hearings Thursday in Buffalo, focusing on the impact criminal justice reforms have had on law enforcement and public safety since going into effect on Jan. 1.

The hearing featured testimony from numerous professionals from the Western New York law enforcement community. In addition to those who support a repeal, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL) and Chief Defenders Association of New York (CDANY) had representatives in attendance and both groups strongly oppose any action that would undermine or even eliminate any of the criminal justice reforms.

Senator George Borrello (R-Irving, 57th District), who serves as chair of the Task Force, said, “The goal of these hearings is to give those on the front lines of our law enforcement and judicial systems, the forum that they should have had last year when New York Democrats set out to revamp our bail and criminal justice policies. If they had been at the table, we wouldn’t be facing the public safety crisis we are now confronting, with dangerous individuals, many with multiple felony convictions and a history of failing to show for court appearances, being arrested and then turned back out onto the streets alongside an unsuspecting public.”

Additional Task Force hearings will be scheduled and announced shortly for Long Island, the Hudson Valley and Syracuse.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell (R-Ellicott) joined Assemblyman Joseph Giglio (R,C,I-Gowanda) and members of the Assembly Minority Conference called for the immediate repeal of criminal justice reforms.

At a press conference held in Buffalo shortly before the Senate task force meeting, lawmakers were joined by families directly impacted by the new bail reform laws and law enforcement professionals who expressed serious concerns with the new requirements.

The members also discussed their recently issued report, “Criminal Justice Reform: Addressing the Issues with Bail and Discovery Reforms,” which provides an overview of the reforms that were passed in 2019, the perceived problems with the new laws and solutions that should have been considered in a more deliberate process.

Lake Shore Health Center

IRVING – Senator Catharine Young is organizing a rally to save Lake Shore Hospital later this month. The rally will take place at Silver Creek High School on Saturday, January 11 at 12:30 p.m. The event will be co-hosted Assemblymen Andy Goodell and Joseph Giglio.

Senator Mark Grisanti, Assemblyman David DiPietro, Congressman Tom Reed, Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan and County Legislator George Borrello also will take part.  And the Seneca Nation of Indians, whose Cattaraugus Territory is adjacent to Lake Shore Hospital, will have a large presence.

According to Senator Young’s office, the public is strongly urged to come to show its support.

In Mid October, officials with the Lake Erie Regional Health System, which is the parent organization of Lake Shore Hospital, announced that the facility would close in early 2014 due to financial difficulties. In late October, the LERHSNY board voted to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and TLC Health Network, the operator of Lake Shore, made it official in mid-December.  TLC also has appointed John Galati as Lake Shore interim CEO.

Lake Shore Hospital is one of Chautauqua County’s largest employers, with about 460 people working at the facility.

MAYVILLE – Taxpayers in Mayville, Westfield, Ripley and Brocton could save as much as $3,700,000 a year if a centralized school was created between those communities. That’s according to Roy McMaster, the municipal financial adviser and vice president of Capital Markets Advisors LLC, who spoke during the Chautauqua Lake School board’s workshop meeting last night.

According to today’s Jamestown Post-Journal, McMaster presented the board with enrollment, staffing and financial factors – along with incentive possibilities in creating a regional high school. The information is based on several broad assumptions, and officials were quick to point out that many steps still have to be taken.

State Senator Cathy Young recently proposed legislation for a regional high school – which was unanimously passed in the state Senate. A similar bill has not yet been voted on by the state Assembly.

YOUNG URGES GOVERNOR TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR RURAL SCHOOLS

ALBANY – Senator Young is continuing her effort to provide assistance to rural schools. The Olean republican is helping to spearhead an effort with other Senators who represent upstate districts, asking Governor Andrew Cuomo to give rural schools extra consideration in the upcoming state budget. Senator Young joined 14 of her colleagues in signing a formal letter, requesting a significant boost to rural school aid. Governor Cuomo will release his 2012-13 Executive Budget proposal on January 17.

In December, legislation supported by Senator Young and area Assemblymen Andrew Goodell and Joseph Giglio was passed and signed by the Governor, ensuring a four percent — or $800 million — education increase in the upcoming budget that will be distributed to school districts across the state based on an existing formula that gives poorer districts more dollars per student.

SENATE REPUBLICANS CRITICIZED FOR ADDING EXTRA UPSTATE SENATE SEAT IN REAPPORTIONMENT PROPOSAL

ALBANY – A Democratic member of the state task force charged with drawing new political lines for Senate and Assembly seats in Albany is calling the process “A farce and a waste of money.”

According to an article in Yesterday’s Albany Times Union, Sen. Martin Malave Dilan, D-Brooklyn, is claiming that state Senate Republicans acted quietly and unilaterally to add a seat in the chamber during a recent reapportionment meeting.  Dilan is accusing the GOP of doing its math “working backwards” to manufacture another seat in upstate New York where a Republican would have a chance at winning.

In addition, Dilan says that dispite 14 weeks of public hearings, not once did a member of the public request an additional seat be added to Senate, yet that is what the task force has set out to do.

Dilan and other senate democrats are now urging Gov. Cuomo to veto the lines that are presented by the task force. Cuomo has joined good-government groups in criticizing the reapportionment process, and vowed to veto “lines that are not drawn by an independent commission that are partisan.”

The task force is controlled by the Democrats who dominate the Assembly and Republicans who hold a slim majority in the Senate.

CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF WNY ANNOUNCES 2012 CAMPAIGN GOAL

BUFFALO – Catholic Charities of Buffalo, one of Western New York’s largest human services agencies, will try to raise $10.6 million through its 2012 appeal. The announcement came yesterday from Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.

The goal is about the same amount raised in 2011, when Catholic Charities was able to reverse a four-year slide in giving.

McKNIGHT TICKETS NOW ON SALE

JAMESTOWN – Tickets are now on sale for next month’s show in Jamestown featuring a multi-platinum selling R&B Singer.

“An Evening with Brian McKnight” will take place Thursday, Feb. 23 at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena. McKnight has completed 13 albums with over 20 million albums sold throughout his career.  Born in Buffalo, he has played host to his own talk show: “The Brian McKnight Show” and was a major contestant in Donald Trump and NBC’s  “Celebrity Apprentice” television show.

Tickets start at $30. For more information, visit jamestownarena.com, or call the box office at 716.484.2624.

JCC HOSTS ADVISEMENT AND REGISTRATION SESSIONS THURSDAY, FRIDAY

JAMESTOWN – Advisement and registration for individuals who plan to enroll for the spring semester at Jamestown Community College’s Jamestown Campus will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. on January 12 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on January 13.

Advisement and registration at the Cattaraugus County Campus will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on January 12 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on January 13.