The Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery is pleased to announce, construction will resume at the Cemetery site starting on August 30th. With the hard work of New York State Senator Mike Nozzolio, Assemblymen Brian Kolb, Seneca County Manager Suzanne Sinclair and the Seneca County Legislators we received the contracts for the grant awards, they have been signed and returned to New York State. 

With the grants in place, and hopefully the winter weather this year will be kind to us, we plan to have an opening ceremony and to inter our first veteran in May or June of 2010.  Doris Wolfe of Seneca Falls is the chairperson in charge of the opening services and any veterans group, organizations or persons that would like to be a part of this event, please give me a call and I will pass the info on to Doris.  We are awaiting word from Senator Nozzolio's office, for the time and place for the dedication ceremony of the renaming of part of route 96A to the Sampson Veterans Memorial Highway.

Another note, the Sampson Air Force Veterans group will be holding their reunion September 9th thru 12th, 2010, programs will beheld at the Holiday Inn in Waterloo and at the Air Force museum and the former Sampson Air Force and Navy training site, now the Sampson State Park site.

The cemetery committee is planning a veterans' update some time in the middle October. A time, date and place of meeting will be posted on this site. With the State Grants in place, we now have the money to build a big portion of the cemetery, the NYS Department of Transportation took back a $800.000 road grant, which we're are going to have to replace.  The grants we now have, will build the entrance to the Cemetery, rebuild the Guard Shack, layout and build the burial areas, the outside committal shelter, the main flag area, and rest rooms and part of the Memorial walk area and roads. 

After this money is gone, we are going to have to rely on donations from organizations, veteran groups, companies, the State, and individuals.  This money will be used for the daily operation and up keep of the cemetery. We will apply to our State Senators, Assemblymen and both US Senators and Congressmen for grants, stimuli packages, etc. Until the National VA Cemetery in Bath NY closes (around 5 years or so) the VA will not help us financially, they will provide all the benefits to the Veterans, headstone, flag etc. and will recognize Sampson as a Veterans Cemetery.  We will build a Veterans Cemetery that the Veteran and his or her family will be proud of. 

As always if anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me at anytime.  Rick Connors, Chairman SVMC.  (315-568-4155) 

I regret to announce that because of the State of New York's budget problems; we will not meet our expected opening date for burial of our first veteran at Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Oct. of this year.  We don't expect to receive our grant money until after the budget has passed.

New York State Senator Nozzolio, Seneca County's Manager, and the Seneca County Legislators have also been working to get the money released, but they have not been successful.  Bids were collected for construction of the main entrance, guard shack, VFW memorial flag pole area and outdoor committal shelter area and were awarded to the lowest bidder. Bids also were collected for road construction, electrical, plumbing, rest rooms etc. and this bid was awarded. 

Because of the budget problem, we cannot start, so the bids were only good for 45 days and this time expired on Monday the 19th of July. This means we must go through the whole process of bidding again and this will take about two months to complete and bringing us in to winter. I want to assure the Veterans, their families, and every person or organization that has donated to the Cemetery that this project will be completed and we expect to have an opening day program and our first veteran's burial in late May or early June of 2011. 

With the support of the Seneca County Legislators, New York State Senator Nozzolio, New York State Assemblyman Kolb,  the road known as Route 96A, which runs South from Routes 5 and 20  past the Sampson Naval and Air Force training center and the new Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery to Ovid, N.Y. will be renamed the Sampson Veterans Memorial Highway.  We are looking for a dedication program to rename the route sometime before November of this year, I will keep this site posted. 

I would like to say on behalf of the Cemetery Committee to all the Veterans families that are waiting for their loved one to be interred at Sampson how sorry we are that we will not meet our October date to open, but be assured this Cemetery will be built. 

Bids are expected to go out in next three to four weeks, for the laying out of the cemetery, Main Gate, Three Bay Fire House, Guard shack and roads.  If everything goes right and the weather is on our side, we hope to inter our first veteran sometime around the last two weeks of October or first part of November. 

Please note that once the construction starts, no one will be allowed on the construction site without an escort from the Cemetery Committee or from the Seneca County Planning Department. Safety first, so no one gets hurt on the site. The New York State Police and the Seneca County Sheriffs' Office will be patrolling the site on a regular basis after hours.   

On April 19th at 1:30 pm, there will be a Veterans Update meeting for all veterans at the Seneca County Office Building in Waterloo, N.Y. on the second floor. Any veteran or their family members are welcome to attend.   For information or directions, call (315) 568-4155 and ask for Rick.   

On Saturday May 1st, Cindy Campbell and her husband, Wayne, and their fundraising committee will be hold a chicken BBQ from 11:00 am to 4:00pm at Wal-Mart in Waterloo, N.Y. If you would like to help out, give Cindy a call at (315) 568-4155. 

Dan Motell, of Ovid, is in the process of setting up a golf tournament on May 22, 2010 at the Big Oak Golf Course, there are still a couple of foursomes still open.  If you would like to participate, or volunteer to help, give Dan a call at (607) 759-2537.

We have blue Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery wrist bands on sale as a fundraiser. If any VFW, American Legion post or DAV post would like to help sell the bands please give me a call at (315) 568-4155. 

Doris Wolf is heading up the committees for the first small open of the Cemetery in mid October or early November and is also heading up the committee for the main opening in May of 2011. If you would like to help Doris out, give me a call at (315) 568-4155.

The Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery is moving right along and is close to schedule. Six buildings have been demolished and the remaining five will be closed up for safety and the winter months.  This will be completed by January 2010. The bid for clearing (grubbing) of the 28 acres for phase one of the Cemetery was awarded and this also will begin in the next week or so. 

The bids for the architecture and engineering firms, for the three bay fire house, guard shack, main entrance, roads, memorial walk, main flag pole area, parking area and the burial sites will be awarded in the next week or so. The committee wants the three bay fire house and guard shack to be rebuilt as close to original as possible.  The guard shack will house the computer for grave site locations and information about the cemetery and cemetery sites.  The fire house will be the main chapel, rest rooms, offices and changing rooms for the honor guards. A decision for the remaining three buildings will be made in the future.  

There are plans for an outside committal shelter so we can have services outside during the summer months or have two services at one time.  Bids will go out for construction of the fire house and guard shack and layout out of the cemetery as soon as blue prints are finalized, and construction will begin as soon as the weather allows in the spring.  We hope to inter our first veteran in October or November of 2010.

Cindy Campbell of Waterloo, N.Y. has volunteered to accept the position of fund raising chairman. If anyone would like to be on her committee, please call me at my home (315-568-4155).  This is going to be a very important part of the operation of the cemetery, because after the State money is spent to build the first phase of the cemetery, we will need donations to operate the cemetery and stay within the VA requirements to remain a Veterans Cemetery. 

There is a well on the site and it will meet our water requirements.  We would like to thank ITT Water Systems of Seneca Falls and George Stralley and his staff for the donation of a new well pump and pressure tank and to Barney Moravec Water Well Company of Penn Yan, NY for donating his staff and equipment to install the new pump, this was completed in November.  A thank you to the Waterloo water department for testing the water to insure we met the requirements.

The committee has been in contact with the Veterans Administration in Washington and provided with all information pertaining to the cemetery and they have responded.  We know that the Bath National Veterans Cemetery will be full in the next four to five years and what an honor it would be if the Veterans Administration took over Sampson.  This is our main goal after the first phase is built.

Sampson is in central New York, and after the Bath National cemetery, the closest Veterans National cemetery is in Saratoga, NY near Albany.  The other National Cemetery is in Long Island NY.  Sampson is a Veterans cemetery.  We will inter any veteran (meeting the VA requirements) from anywhere and their spouse.  We will follow the Veterans National Cemetery guidelines and criteria.  We are not part of any other cemetery, and Sampson is not part of any State or County cemeteries.  Sampson will be maintained by a Veterans non-profit committee.

If the weather next year (2010) is in our favor and New York State doesn’t hold up our grant money again, we will meet our goal of opening up The Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery in October or November of 2010.  We will be forming a dedication committee and would like to have a dedication ceremony sometime in May or June of 2011.  If anyone would like to serve on this committee, as always, feel free to call me at my home anytime.

The Trauma Response Assistance for Children Team (TRAC Team) is organizing a Field of Honor at Seneca Lake State Park, November 7-11, to raise money for the Cemetery. For more information follow the links below:

The bid for the demolition of six buildings on the former hospital site and present Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery site, has been awarded to Diversified Construction Services Inc. of Phoenix N.Y. and work should begin with in the month.

Many people have put forth both monetary donations and merchandise donations to assist SVMC.

Over 20 veterans attended the update meeting of Sampson Cemetery. The thrid update meeting will be held in early November - date, time and location to be announced later.

On Tues. Aug 18th at 1pm at the Seneca County Office Building 2nd floor. There will be new information on the beginning construction of the Sampson Veteran Memorial Cemetery. All Veterans are invited to attend.

As of today, the $3.9 million has been released to begin construction of the cemetery

Purchase a heart or star for $1 or a flag w/banner for $5 in honor or memory of a loved one.

As soon as Governor Paterson releases the state grants, we will put out bids to start building the cemetery. Currently we are looking at finishing the project for opening in Summer 2010.

The design firm, project engineer firm and the fundraising firm are all in place. There is some work to be done on the roof shingles of the three buildings we are keeping; the Bay Fire House, the old Guard Shack, and the Four Cell Brig. When those are completed the remaining buildings will be torn down.

The resolution to rename Route 96A to the Sampson Veterans Memorial Highway was presented to the Seneca County Legislators by Mitch Rowe, Jason McCormack and the Seneca County Manager Suzanne Sinclair. The resolution passed and now will be sent on to the state. Thank you, our County Committee members and the legislators.

The "Future Site" sign has been put in place at the entrance of the cemetery. Tom Shayler of "Sign Guy" in Auburn, N.Y. designed and painted the sign. Roy Gates and his crew at the Seneca County Highway Department installed the sign on Wednesday, April 29th. Thank you, Roy and crew. I am sure everybody who sees the sign are going to be very pleased. Thank as well to Tom Shayler and your employees.

The new logo and brochure have been added to our fundraising site. Both were designed by the firm, Christopher Communication, out of Rochester, NY. Christiane Christopher and her employees did a great job on both. Thank you, Christiane.

March 31st at 2pm in the Seneca County Office Building on the second floor there will be an update meeting for veterans concerned with the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery project.

Bids will be going out for construction by early April.

The Seneca County Board of Supervisors passed the following on Tuesday, March 10, 2009:

• STATE GRANTS — Apply for and accept grants of up to $3.9 million from the state for the planning, design and development of the initial phase of construction. The grants, secured by state Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio, R-54, of Fayette, will come from the state Dormitory Authority and the state Department of Transportation.

• MASTER PLAN — Adopt a master plan for the cemetery. A draft plan was submitted in January by the firm of Wendel Duchscherer of Buffalo. That plan has been modified to reflect public comment and is being adopted as the final master plan.

• CONSTRUCTION MANAGER — Hire Lu Engineering of Penfield to serve as construction manager of the cemetery at a cost not to exceed $228,500. The work will not begin until a notice to proceed is issued by the county.

• ENGINEERING AND DESIGN — Hire Wendel Duchscherer for engineering and design services for Phase 1 of the cemetery project at a cost not to exceed $309,500. Again, that work will not begin until the county issues a notice to proceed.

• MARKETING — Authorize seeking proposals from qualified firms for marketing, public relations and development services for the cemetery project. The plan is to spend an estimated $5,000 from privately raised funds for the cemetery, held in trust by the county, to pay for that service.

Please join me on Saturday, September 6th for the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

• Where: Sampson Naval and Air Force Museum, Sampson State Park, Route 96A Romulus, New York
  
  
• When: Saturday, September 6th
  
  
• Time: 12 Noon A reception with light refreshments will immediately follow the groundbreaking.

Please RSVP by calling 1-888-568-9816 or by email at knoonan@senate.state.ny.us.