Heritage Award for Village of Medina, Western Orleans Senior Citizens for efforts maintaining railroad depot

Photos by Tom Rivers: Belhurst Castle in Geneva will be inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Oct. 22.

MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Society will be inducting three more sites into its Hall of Fame on Oct. 22, bringing the total to 49 exceptional structures made of Medina Sandstone. The Hall of Fame started in 2013 and is located at City Hall in Medina.

The induction ceremony will be at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 22 in the meeting chambers of City Hall at 600 Main St.

The new inductees include the Belhurst Castle in Geneva, the Genesee County Jail in Batavia and the Titusville Presbyterian Church in Titusville, Pa. The Sandstone Society also will be presenting a Heritage Award to the Medina Village Board and Western Orleans Senor Center for their ongoing commitment to maintain the New York Central railroad depot, a Medina Sandstone building constructed in 1908.

Belhurst Castle – Geneva, NY

The inside of Belhurst Castle has thick walls made of Medina Sandstone. The site offers lodging, dining and event spaces.

Belhurst Castle in Geneva was built as a private three-story, nine-bay-wide mansion over four years from 1885 to 1889. It sits along the shores of Seneca Lake.

It was built with a rich brown Medina Sandstone. The site was a speakeasy and illegal gambling casino during the 1930s.

It was converted into a hotel, winery and spa in 1952, and offers overnight lodgings, dining, and event spaces. It has two restaurants, including one named the Stonecutters Tavern.

This historic 3-story Romanesque Revival stone mansion now hosts weddings and other major events. It has been named a “World’s Best Wine Hotel” by Wine Enthusiast, voted number three in USA TODAY’s Top 10 Wine Country Hotels, and voted one of the “Most Romantic Places” in New York State.

Belhurst was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Genesee County Jail – Batavia, NY

The Genesee County Jail in Batavia was built from 1902-1903 in a Victorian Gothic and fortress-like structure made of Medina Sandstone. In the early days it served as the sheriff’s residence. It later was the offices for the Sheriff’s Department.

The jail on West Main Street features five turrets, quoins, and rusticated sandstone. The building was designed by Poughkeepsie architect William J. Beardsley, who also designed Attica State Prison.

The Genesee County Jail sits as a focal point in the Genesee County Courthouse Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The county sheriff and his family used to live in the front portion of the jail building until the 1970s. The jail originally had 10 to 15 cells. The county put a brick addition on the jail in 1985, increasing the capacity for 97 inmates.

The county built a new jail in 2024 at 3839 West Main Street Rd., but hasn’t neglected the sandstone site. The county in 2022-23 did a $2 million restoration on the old jail with lots of repointing and work on the sandstone and brick. The county repaired crumbling and deteriorated sandstone blocks, which were meticulously deconstructed, labeled and safely restored.

Workers then rebuilt the underlying foundation, concrete slab, and front porch walls before placing the historic sandstone back in position.

Titusville First Presbyterian Church – Titusville, Pennsylvania

Photo courtesy of David Miller

Titusville is the birthplace of modern American petroleum industry. Edwin Drake successfully struck oil on Aug. 27, 1859. The city’s population surged after the world’s first commercial oil well was drilled.

The earliest religious association in the Titus settlement was begun by the Presbyterians, and the congregation increased over the years, outgrowing four buildings before the current one was built of Medina red sandstone from 1887 to 1888 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.

Rather than the conventional spire, the design called for a distinctive main tower topped by a belfry and dome. The wood of the interior is oak, and the pews are in a semicircular arrangement. The south-facing Emerson Chapel was added in 1907. The church contains a pipe organ and historic art glass windows designed by J & R Lamb Studios of New York City.

This church at 216 N. Franklin Street in Titusville is part of the Titusville Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Heritage Award – Village of Medina, Western Orleans Senior Citizens

The Sandstone Society is honoring the Village of Medina and the Senior Citizens of Western Orleans for their stewardship of the NY Central Depot, a Medina Sandstone building constructed in 1908, a site that continues as a social hub for older adults and other community events.

The site has been used as the Senior Citizens of Western Orleans since 1968. It started when a group of seniors got to thinking there should be a place in Medina for seniors to gather and enjoy camaraderie.

The village was approached about using the New York Central railroad depot on West Avenue, and an agreement was reached to allow use of the building.

The group at one time had 600 members. The Senior Center of Western Orleans now has about 250 members, and the center is still very active with euchre games, pinochle and luncheons.

There also are exercise classes on Wednesday mornings and one can expect to find a jigsaw puzzle in the works any time.

The center has a gift shop which is always full of unique gift items, puzzles, clothing, jewelry and hand-knitted and crocheted items.

The building has seen recent improvements with a new air-conditioner, exterior painting, and other upgrades.

Visitor spending in Orleans County sees steady increases

Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – Donte Bovani, left, and his friend Dillon Williams both made the 5-hour drive from Scranton, Pa. on Sunday to fish in the Oak Orchard River.

The area is seeing its annual influx of visitors to the local Lake Ontario tributaries to try to catch big brown trout and Chinook salmon.

Fishing is the county’s top tourism draw. The county is seeing a steady increase in spending from visitors.

Donte Bovani and Dillon Williams could see the trout and salmon swimming updtream in the Oak Orchard River on Sunday.

Visitor spending in Orleans County

• 2025 – $44.7 million
• 2024 – $43.3 million
• 2023 – $41.9 million
• 2022 – $37.4 million
• 2021 – $30.9 million
• 2020 – $23.9 million

Source: Tourism Economics. Revenue from lodging, recreation, food & beverage, retail & service stations, transportation, and second homes.

The $44.7 million in tourism revenue breaks out to $2.7 million spent on lodging /accommodations; $7.9M spent on recreation/entertainment; $15.2 million spent on food & beverage; $5.9 million spent on retail goods and services; $800,000 on local transportation; and $12.1 million spent on vacation property/second homes, according to Tourism Economics.

This angler hopes for a bite from a Chinook salmon in the Oak Orchard River.

Chris Washington caught this brown trout on Sunday. He said the fish was foul-hooked on its side so he let it go.

Washington traveled five hours with his father and four of their friends from Mansfield, Ohio. They are spending the week in the county, trying to catch trout and salmon.

They have been coming here for 10 years.

“It’s relaxing,” Washington said.

Chris Washington has a Chinook on the line at the Waterport Dam.

Here are some more photos of the action at the Waterport Dam, one of the popular spots for the fishermen.

VICTOR – The Medina Marching Band competed on Saturday in Victor and won first place in its division, Small School 2, edging Le Roy with a score of 78.85 to 78.55.

This was the fourth competition of the season for Medina.

Their next competition is Oct. 17 in Webster followed by Oct. 24 in Greece with the season concluding in Syracuse at the Dome on Sunday, Nov. 1.

Other scores on Saturday include:

• SS3 – Marcus Whitman 72.20 and Falconer Frewsburg with 69.05.
• LS3 – Rochester 68.20
• LS2 – Greece, 82.35; Lancaster, 80.35; and West Seneca, 79.35
• SS1 – East Irondequoit, 85.1; Central Square, 81.65.
• National – West Genesee, 88.65; Cicero North Syracuse, 85.70; and Webster, 84.225.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: A group of students from Brockport Cheer Club volunteered at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday at State Street Park in Medina. The students cheered on the participants as they finished the 2-mile walk.

MEDINA – The annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Orleans County took place Saturday, starting and ending in State Street Park in Medina.

Donna Bushover places a flower in memory of her mother Izara Bauer in the Promise Garden which was part of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Saturday in State Street Park.

Prior to the walk, emcee Randy Bushover welcomed the crowd and shared facts relating to Alzheimer’s. A poignant feature of the event is the Promise Garden, in which loved ones plant a flower they have purchased to support the fight to end Alzheimer’s.

Flowers come in assorted colors, which each representing a different stage of the dreaded disease. A blue flower is carried by individuals currently living with the disease. A purple flower means they have lost someone to Alzheimer’s. Yellow means they are supporting or caring for some with Alzheimer’s. An orange flower signifies that person is supporting the cause and vision of a world without Alzheimer’s.

The white flower represents the hope for a future without Alzheimer’s disease. It is the symbol of the first person to survive Alzheimer’s.

Another feature of the day is the annual basket raffle sponsored by Mary Lou Tuohey, who lost both her parents to Alzheimer’s. When she owned Case-Nic Cookies, she displayed the baskets in her store window, and new owner Hans Rosentreter is continuing that. This year, tables were set up in front of the store with pictures of each numbered basket, to allow last minute supporters and walk/run participants to stop during their route to buy tickets.

Mary Lou’s daughter Nicole also continued her annual effort of making elephant links to join together and stretch down the block of Main Street. On Saturday, they were strung out on the lawn of State Street Park.

It takes a lot of volunteers to make the event successful, and this year they were fortunate to have students from Brockport State College come to help. The students in the Brockport Cheer Club attends sports and other community events, including Camp Good Days.

DJ Tom Shuh of Cheektowaga played music throughout the morning.

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Medina raised at least $12,000.

Volunteers put up props for the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday.

Denise Appleby works as a wildlife technician for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation out of the the DEC’s sub office at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.

By Douglas H. Domedion

BASOM – Overall it is the New York Department Of Environment (DEC) that manages our wildlife and environment lands and there is a lot of work to that.

Other outfits also get involved and one of the leaders is the New York State Conservation Council (NYSCC) which is our oldest statewide non-profit conservation organization (founded in 1933). It advocates for sound policies and practices to protect, restore and manage forests, wildlife, fish and scenic and recreation areas.

The Conservation Council represents over 300,000 sportsmen and women across the State which includes county federations, rod and gun clubs and affiliated groups. It works to protect the rights of individuals to hunt, fish, trap and own firearms. It is a volunteer-run, non-government organization that receives no state or federal funding. Members meet annually and with legislators and the DEC on environmental issues.

An outfit that is a member of the NYSCC is WNY Delta Waterfowl. They are dedicated to land conservation, habitat restoration and supporting waterfowl and hunters in Western New York. Locally they have put up and maintained many waterfowl nesting structures and even have trash pickup throughout our Alabama Swamp.

Every year the NYSCC awards folks who have done outstanding work towards their goals.  This year WNY Delta Waterfowl nominated an individual who is a DEC Wildlife Technical 3 that has done an outstanding job in her duties for many years at the four Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) in our area (Tonawanda, Oak Orchard, John White and Braddock Bay).

So what are the duties and responsibilities of a wildlife technician 3? There is not enough space in this column to list them all but here are a few.

• Duck and goose banding which is a dirty and rough job. Issuing trapping and waterfowl permits.
• Managing the water levels to provide the best conditions for wildlife and marsh maintenance.
• Bird surveys and monitoring which include eagle, osprey, waterfowl, shorebirds, marsh birds, grassland birds, prothonotary warblers etc.
• Fall pheasant stocking (twice a week) throughout the hunting season (another duty requiring a lot of endurance).
• Nuisance wildlife work (mainly deer and goose) which includes issuing permits and onsite visits and advise.
• Then there is the job of keeping track and coordinating removal of them which again be a very difficult job.
• Assist Operations (the part of local DEC that does grassland, dike and access road maintenance) with posting of boundaries and certain restricted areas.
• Maintaining the information on all the kiosks (over 10) in all the WMAs which contain a lot of information for the public.
• Come deer season there is the aging of deer at many butcher shops and the collection of deer parts for disease checking such as CWD and EHD.
• Then there is the periodic assigned regional phone duty and also at the local office phone too. This duty requires a vast amount of knowledge about wildlife and DEC regulations.
• Maintaining historical data of all marsh history and maintenance activities is a big and important job, too.
• Then there is the coordinated use of a couple hunting blinds on the WMAs. This is also the person who has to coordinate volunteers and supervise and train the local Wildlife Technician 2.
• There are often requests for information or appearances at sportsmen shows, fairs, field days and schools, too.

There are many more smaller duties but I’m running out of room! So who got this award for outstanding work in conservation field for performing all these duties? Why our own Wildlife Technician 3 Denise Appleby who works out of the DEC sub office at the INWR headquarters!

I have worked with this gal as a volunteer for 26 years and I can tell you no one deserves this award more than she does. I know how hard those duties can be out in the field and she has done them all in a very professional way and with great knowledge of what she was doing. Her dedication is top of the line.

One her pet projects was the coordination with Operations of the revamping of the Education Center on the Oak Orchard WMA.  Another has been the coordination of the spread of a special insect that has helped control the spread of the invasive Purple Loosestrife plant in our WMA’s. Congratulations Denise, you deserve this award for all the professionalism work you have provided us in the Alabama Swamps for all these years! Thank you!

Douglas Domedion is author of the Great Outdoors column.

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – Mark and Jennifer Skurzewski of Batavia and their children, Sam and Patty, made a scarecrow on Saturday at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The place was hopping with many families coming to make scarecrows in the annual Scarecrow Fest organized by the Medina Lions Club.

The Lions Club had enough straw, clothes, faces and other supplies for about 200 scarecrows.

Lions Club members Don Colquhoun and Julie Keller served at the operating table and stapled and tied the scarecrow together to give it some hardiness in the outdoor weather.

Clothing and accessories for the scarecrows are donated by the MAAC Thrift Shop. This includes shirts, blouses, hats, belts and pants.

Straw is donated by Ed Neal of Albion and Brian Dunham in Knowlesville.

The faces are made by Medina art students while Barden Homes donates the wood for the bodies.

Stormy and Paul Feitshans of Medina made a muscle-bound scarecrow with their children, Ry and Owen.

Dean Bellack and Pete Kaiser of the Medina Lions Club operated on a scarecrow, getting it put together for its outdoor duties in the fall.

Roman Solomon and Elizabeth Giarla of Lyndonville had fun making a scarecrow together.

The Orleans County Master Gardeners also had a station for people to paint and decorate pumpkins. River Cogovan of Lyndonville paints a pumpkin in a Frankenstein theme with some help from his cousin, Kenzie Muck of Lyndonville.

Elaine Clute, a master gardener, decorated this pumpkin with gourds for eyes, the stem for a nose and flowers for hair.

All of the pumpkins were donated by Panek Farms in Albion.

These pumpkins were carved and decorated by Alyssa Thomas, left, and her son Roen Thomas, age 9, on the right.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: The 30-Mile Point lighthouse at Golden Hill State Park will be decked out for the holidays today when Friends of the Lighthouse sponsor their annual Christmas at the Lighthouse.

BARKER – Christmas at the Lighthouse has been an annual event at Golden Hill State Park for more than 25 years.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Friends of the Lighthouse will again open the lighthouse – decorated for the holidays – for tours by the public.

The day will also feature a barbecued pulled pork dinner, hot dogs and chili, as well as pop and coffee.

Renee Campbell, park manager, said she has been employed there 27 years and the event had already taken place for several years. It was an idea of Tom Harris as a fundraiser by Friends of the Lighthouse who were raising money to refurbish the landmark, Campbell said.

A basket raffle is also part of the day’s activities, and Santa is set to arrive about 1 p.m. The Gift Shop will be open and crafters and vendors will be set up on the grounds.

The lighthouse is a special place for Mike and Kathy Dreyfus of Medina, whose daughter was married there. Since then, they have been supporters of the lighthouse – especially Mike who makes magnets which are sold in the Gift Shop – just one of the many unique items to be found there.

All funds raised go back to continue upkeep of the historic structure.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Kyle Webb of Albion and his twin sons, Wyatt (in sunglasses) and Elias, near the finish line in today’s 2-mile walk in Medina to end Alzheimer’s. Webb’s older children, Colin and Keara Webb, also were part of the walk.

There were about 200 participants in the walk who raised at least $12,000 for the Alzeimer’s Association of Western New York.

Hayley Schmidt and her mother Beth Schmidt of Albion completed the walk. Beth is the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Committee for Orleans Committee. Hayley and Beth raised $2,175 for the Alzeimer’s Association. Nicole Tuophey was the top individual for fundraising, at $2,037.

The SUNY Brockport Cheer Club congratulated the participants for completing the 2-mile walk.

The Brockport Cheer Club formed a “Thank You Brigade” for the first time at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. The walk started and ended at State Street Park.

There were about 30 Cheer Club members near the finish with signs, bells and loud cheers for the participants.

One of the last stretches of the walk was along East Center Street before a final turn at State Street Park.

Lynn Hughes, the staff walk manager for the Alzheimer’s Association of WNY, rang bells and thanked the participants for their efforts.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Officials and personnel of the Downtown Browsery in Medina gathered for a ribbon cutting on Friday morning to celebrate the store’s expansion. From left are Sharon and store manager Erik Sinkora; vendor Ruth Higgins; Medina mayor Deb Padoleski; vendor Julie Sanford; Dave Sevenski, member of the board and vendor; building owner, Tom Snyder; and Marlene Seielstad, candidate-at-large for County Legislature.

MEDINA – The Downtown Browsery at 413 Main St. celebrated the store’s expansion into an adjoining space with a ribbon cutting on Friday morning. Taking part were store manager Erik Sinkora and his wife Sharon; board member and vendor Dave Sevenski; Ruth Higgins and Julie Sanford, vendors; Deb Padoleski, Medina mayor; Tom Snyder, owner of the building; and Marlene Seielstad, candidate-at-large for county legislature.

Padoleski cut the ribbon, thanking Tom Snyder for his support and saying she and the Village Board are pleased with business in Medina.

“I am happy to see that the Browsery was able to add on to their business,” Padoleski said. “This establishment is a gem for our downtown – a favorite of Medina residents and visitors. This neat little shop is chock full of goodies – literally something for everything. Congratulations on your expansion.”

One happy vendor is Julie Sanford of Albion, who sells industrial lighting made by her husband, and vintage items.

“I like the community, the people of the town and the visitors,” Sanford said. “And I enjoy rescuing and repurposing items that would otherwise end up in a landfill.”

Tom Snyder, who also owns Medina Lumber, added his appreciation of business in Medina.

“It’s exciting that a local downtown business is expanding,” he said. “It’s a feather in our cap that we have a bustling Main Street.”

The expansion brings the number of vendors to the Medina location to 36, according to Sinkora. The Downtown Browsery started in Albion in 2004. The Browsery now occupies three store fronts in Albion. Between Albion and Medina, the stores now accommodate 75 vendors.

Jeff Radder takes over at microphone in new era of Rivals football

Photo by Cheryl Wertman: Alec Sherman is presented a plaque in appreciation for his 46 years at the microphone of Albion football games. Mickey Edwards, a former Albion player and now the district superintendent, presents the plaque to Sherman before Friday’s game versus West Seneca East. Sherman performed the honorary coin toss before the game.

ALBION – After 46 seasons as the voice of the Purple Eagles, Alec Sherman has retired from the position.

Hundreds of times over his tenure he called out, “The Eagle has landed!” when Albion scored a touchdown.

But it’s a new era of football with Albion and Medina fielding a merged team – the OC Rivals.

Sherman thought the timing was right to hand off the reins. Jeff Radder, a middle school science teacher and a DJ, is the new announcer at home games in Albion.

Radder introduced his own catchphrase for when the team scores a touchdown: “In for the paydirt!” The Rivals have two shovels as part of their logo to signify the building of the Erie Canal. Radder thought paydirt was a nice tie-in with the logo.

Radder was able to call out five touchdowns in Friday’s game for the Rivals. They lost a close one, 35-34, to West Seneca East.

Sherman said the crowd is in good hands with Radder.

“He knows the kids,” Sherman said. “He has the voice for it and the knowledge.”

Sherman was able to call many monumental games in his tenure, especially the hard-fought contests between Albion and Medina. Four times he was the announcer for Albion in games at the Buffalo Bills stadium. In those games, each team’s announcer called a half.

Sherman, an Albion grad, said he was always pulling for the Purple Eagles to win.

“The emphasis was on our side, but I tried to be fair,” he said.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Jeff Radder, right in press box, calls out the action in Friday’s football game in Albion.

Sherman was honored before Friday’s game, the first home game in Albion for the new Rivals team. He performed the coin toss and was presented with a plaque from Mickey Edwards, the Albion district superintendent and a former Albion player.

Sherman graduated from Albion on 1968 and started working at the district as a teacher in 1977. He spent most of his career teaching U.S. history. In 1979, he called his first JV game for Albion and started doing the varsity games in the mid-’80s.

He also coached JV softball, and boys and girls basketball. Two of his girls varsity basketball teams won Niagara-Orleans titles.

Alec Sherman served performed the honorary coin toss before Friday’s game, which was homecoming in Albion.

Sherman is pleased to see the merged team off to a strong start, and to see a big crowd at Friday’s football game.

“It has always been a joy,” Sherman said about the role of announcer. “It meant a lot to be able to do it for my hometown, for the kids and the community. I never did it for myself, I did it for them. Now that we are entering into a new era with the new merger, it’s time to give somebody else a turn.”

Jeff Radder called Friday’s game from the press box and introduced his catchphrase for Rivals’ touchdowns: “In for the paydirt!”

File photos by Tom Rivers: George Borrelli, a blacksmith, shapes steal during a blacksmith demonstration on Sept. 6, 2025 at the Cobblestone Museum as part of the annual open house when all 10 buildings were open with docents and artisans. Matt Holland also demonstrated the art of blacksmithing. There were about 200 at the Cobblestone Museum campus for the event.

CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum will open its campus to the public for free tours on Oct. 17

Although admission is free, donations are always appreciated. Wristbands will be provided so guests may roam the campus freely and enter locations of their choice.

This is an opportunity for everyone to visit the Cobblestone Museum’s 10 buildings from, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and view a variety of artisans at work, according to Sue Bonafini, assistant director of the Cobblestone Society and Museum.

Docents and visiting artisans – some dressed in period clothing – will be inside the historic buildings to share history and provide demonstrations. To date, artisans who have confirmed their attendance will demonstrate crafts, blacksmithing, butter making, chair caning, lacemaking, printing at the Gordon Press and saddle making. A program with the day’s schedule will be available for visitors to note when and where demonstrations will take place.

Durinf last year’s open house David Damico of LeRoy, left, led demonstrations inside the print shop, which was built in 1875. It used to be in Medina, but was moved to the museum grounds on Route 98 in Gaines in the late 1977. The shop at the Cobblestone Museum has two printing presses from the late 1800s, and several cases of type.

Representatives of the Sons and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War will be present in uniforms and 1800s attire to display some related items and recruiting literature.

Museum exhibits include former director C.W. “Bill” Lattin’s outstanding and still growing collection of Victorian Mourning Art and Sundries, inside the George W. Zeis Upper Gallery, located at the brick house. Rogers Groups art sculptures, plus 1800s-era paintings and antique coverlets created by local artists and weavers will be exhibited at the Visitors Center. Paintings by local artist Tom Zangerle, including some available for purchase, will also be on display there.

Kids can take a selfie at the Cobble the Mouse Selfie Station, or play some old-fashioned games at the schoolhouse.

Provided photos: Harold Clark of Rochester works at chair caning at a previous Cobblestone open house.

Shoppers can browse merchandise for sale at the Gift Shop, Used Book Sale or jampacked Christmas-themed Holiday Gift Shop. Low incentive pricing at the Used Books Building and Holiday Shoppe keep inventory moving, Bonafini said. Community donations of brand new or gently used Christmas items for the Holiday Shoppe are gladly accepted year-round.

Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., a food tent will serve Italian sausage hoagie plates for $10 pre-sale or $12 the day of the event. Plates include peppers and onions, assorted condiments, pickle spears and potato chips. Brownies will be sold separately.

For more information or to order pre-sale meal tickets, visit the Museum’s website at Cobblestonemuseum.org or call (585) 589-9013.

Members of the Genesee Country Lace Guild work on their projects at the Cobblestone Museum. They will return for this year’s open house on Oct. 17.

Images courtesy of GO Art!

Press Release, Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council

BATAVIA – As autumn settles across Western New York, the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO Art!) invites the community to gather in warmth, reflection, and creative inspiration at the opening reception of four new exhibitions on Thursday, October 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The exhibitions—each distinct in medium, message, and artistic voice—offer visitors an experience that blends nostalgia, beauty, and meaningful social awareness.

The reception will be held at GO ART!’s historic Seymour Place gallery at 201 E. Main Street, Batavia, with all exhibitions on view through November 28.

Linda Fix: The Bucket List

This vibrant, multimedia exhibition chronicles artist Linda Fix’s recent journeys to Alaska and Italy—two destinations she long dreamed of exploring. Her collection spans alcohol ink, watercolor, mixed media, photography, embroidery, and textile art, each piece created on a different substrate and shaped by a different technique.

A retired registered nurse, Fix describes the exhibition as a celebration of curiosity and lifelong learning. “From the glacial blues of Alaska to the sun-washed textures of Italy, these pieces reflect my life with intention: to experience, to learn, and to create. This show is about saying yes. YES to Alaska, YES to Italy. YES to new material, a new stitch, and a new way to make something beautiful.”

The Bucket List is both a travelogue and a testament to embracing creativity at every stage of life.

Beth Newton: Stories Told in Shape and Color

Medina-based printmaker and painter Beth Newton presents a striking exhibition centered on woodcut relief printmaking—an ancient, process-driven art form that merges engineering precision with expressive storytelling.

“Each multi-color print requires carving a separate wood block for each color and meticulously aligning each block during printing,” Newton explains. “I approach each new project as a story, planning the entire image in support of that story using color, shape, composition, and scale.” This inherent marriage of art and engineering fascinates Beth.

 Her work distills narrative into essential forms, offering viewers a rich interplay of discipline, imagination, and craftsmanship.

For the Love of Hexies: A Retrospective

This retrospective celebrates For the Love of Hexies (FLH), a dedicated group of quilters who have met monthly for more than 14 years at The Quilter’s Daughter in Perry Center, NY. Their work highlights the tradition of English Paper Piecing—a portable, hand-stitched technique in which fabric is basted around die-cut papers to create intricate geometric designs.

FLH coordinator Sarah Ballinger notes, “We call the process hexies for short, after the oft-used hexagon-shaped papers, but we also utilize diamonds, triangles, houses, kites, and jewels. Many fabrics are ‘fussy cut’ to emphasize stripes, florals, animals, or other motifs, creating kaleidoscopic secondary designs.”

The exhibition features quilts, table runners, pillows, and collaborative projects, including pieces made from fabric swaps and group challenges. New members are welcome at FLH’s monthly gatherings, held the first Friday of each month from 6–8 PM at The Quilter’s Daughter, 2817 Route 246, Perry, NY.

ANCHOR Trauma Center: Voices of Healing

GO Art! is honored to partner with ANCHOR Trauma Center, an emerging Batavia-based organization dedicated to trauma-informed, culturally responsive care for the GLOW region. Their exhibition features documentary-style installations, photo-and-text displays, and personal narratives that illuminate the experiences of trauma survivors.

October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month – a national campaign established by Congress in 1989 to uplift survivors’ voices and advocate for safety, justice, and support. ANCHOR’s exhibition aims to empower local survivors by offering a platform for healing, storytelling, and community connection.

“We know trust should not be taken lightly,” ANCHOR’s Co-Founders share. “This October, we want to give survivors a spotlight to share their experiences of trauma, continued growth, and healing. We are grateful to GO Art! for partnering with us and look forward to continued collaboration.”

Through advocacy, therapy services, and case management, ANCHOR strives to ensure no one in the community falls through the cracks.

ALBION – The 30 percent to the 10 towns for plowing and salting county roads, plus doing roadside mowings, will cost the county an additional $471,010 in 2027.

The towns are currently paid $7,218 per mile. There are 196.82 miles of county roads. The county doesn’t have its own plow trucks or the personnel to plow and salt their own roads.

With the new agreement that starts Jan. 1, the towns will be paid $9,383 a mile. The three-year contract calls for the towns to then receive a 5 percent increase each of the following two years.

The town highway superintendents said their costs have risen dramatically with increased expenses for fuel, salt, equipment and personnel.

Funding would be administered by Orleans Land Restoration Corp.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated from an earlier version that said the EDA would be using funds from Heritage Wind for the revolving loan fund. The EDA won’t be using any money from Heritage Wind for the fund. The money will be funded by the Orleans Land Restoration Corporation.

ALBION – The Orleans Economic Development Agency wants to start a new revolving loan fund that previously helped many businesses get started or do expansions in the county.

The previous fund ran from 2001 to 2019 and initially received $320,000 from the state. The EDA loaned money to businesses and as the money was paid back it and then loaned out again.

The state, however, forced the closure of the fund by the EDA and other revolving loan funds administered by economic development corporations.

The new revolving loan fund would be operated by the Orleans Land Restoration Corp. That group has the same board as the EDA and meets right after that board, typically the second Friday each month. The Orleans Land Restoration Corp. is its own entity and can operate a revolving loan fund.

The EDA, with its fund, gave businesses the loans at 75 percent of the lowest prime rate. With the new program, the Land Restoration Corp. is considering the prime rate plus another 2 percent, said John Misiti, chairman of both boards.

The EDA will be paying back the Land Restoration Corp. with $577,500, which is funding the EDA borrowed to get through some tough financial years during the Covid pandemic.

The EDA has its own bigger pot of money to work with after several lean years. The EDA has received about $2.5 million from the Heritage Wind project in Barre, with another $1.8 million coming from Apex Clean Energy, owner of the Heritage project. That money will be designated for work on the Medina Business Park with infrastructure improvements and development work at that site, EDA officials said.

Misiti discussed the revolving loan fund this morning during the board meeting for the Land Restoration Corporation. He said the fund could become the “crown jewel” of the of the corporation, assisting businesses in the county.

He and board member Craig Tuohey are working to establish guidelines for the program that will need input and approval from the full board.

Misiti said the guidelines may set a minimum loan of $50,000 to a maximum of $250,000. Those loans could be paid from five to 10 years.

“We don’t want to make it real restrictive but we want to protect the agency too,” Misiti said during today’s Land Restoration meeting. “We’re trying to make it simple, fair and secure.”

He is hoping to guidelines in place by the end of the year so the revolving loan fund could be started next year. He sees it as “a bridge loan” providing needed financing for projects in the county.

In an update from Heritage Wind, the company cleared some of the wooded areas for the project in Barre, which includes 28 wind turbines with a capacity for 126 megawatts.

Apex, in an announcement by letter and on its website to the community, said civil construction was scheduled to begin about Oct. 1, 2026, starting with work at the substation and Point of Interconnection switchyard site, including the installation of the collection substation foundations.

“Subsequent phases of construction—including installation of the electrical collection system high voltage construction at the substation and POI switchyard site and installation of the O&M facility, and delivery and installation of the wind turbines—are expected to occur in 2027 and 2028,” the company said.

Apex has already paid the EDA $775,000 in late 2024, and then another $1.8 million about a year ago. Another $1.8 million will be due a year after the PILOT/lease-leaseback transaction. The money to the EDA is for administering a PILOT agreement to the local municipalities.

The company will pay $9,000 per megawatt to local municipalities or $1,134,000 in the first year, with a 2 percent increase after that over 25 years.

Barre gets 75 percent of the money as part of a Host Community Agreement. The $6,750 per megawatt totals $850,000. The remaining 25 percent or $2,250 per megawatt is evenly split by the school district and county. That is $140,175 each.

Towns, however, recently hit with 25% hike in road salt as well as fuel cost increases

Photo by Tom Rivers: Yates Town Supervisor Jim Simon, speaking during Thursday’s Town Board meeting, said the towns just want to break even for plowing and salting county roads and doing roadside mowing.

The 10 towns in Orleans County will be getting a 30 percent increase to plow and salt county roads, as well as doing roadside mowing. But it shouldn’t be viewed as a windfall.

“We need to at least break even,” said Jim Simon, the Yates town supervisor. “We’re not doing it to make a profit.”

The 10 towns in recent months have pressed the county for the 30 percent increase, plus 5 percent more the following two years. The towns currently get $7,218 a mile for their work on county roads. But that isn’t nearly enough to cover the town’s expenses, said the Orleans County Town Highway Superintendents Association which is led by Tracy Chalker, the highway superintendent in Clarendon.

The contract at the $7,218-rate expires Dec. 31. The new agreement provides a 30 percent increase or $2,165 more per mile in 2027, for $9,383. The towns then receive a 5 percent increase each following year in the three-year agreement.

The new deal was discussed at the Yates Town Board meeting on Thursday. Town officials are thankful for the higher amount, but they said it still may not cover the town’s costs due to rising fuel and salt expenses.

“I’m excited we got the contract with 30 percent, but I fear we might be trapping ourselves again,” said Sue Hrovat, a town councilwoman.

The highway superintendents were expecting a 10 percent increase for road salt for the upcoming winter, but that cost will be up 25 percent. That will be about $10,000 more in salt costs for Yates to salt the county roads in town.

The new agreement with the county allows for an option every May to review the deal f there have been dramatic changes in costs.

Chalker, president of the Orleans County Town Highway Superintendents Association, sent a letter to all 10 towns, thanking the town supervisors and boards for their work in securing the 30 percent increase.

The letter was signed by the following highway superintendents: Dale Root of Shelby, Dale Brooks of Barre, John Olinger of Ridgeway, Kurt VanWycke of Carlton, Dirk Lammes of Murray, Roger Wolfe of Yates, Mike Neidert of Albion, Eric Mason of Kendall and Tracy Chalker of Clarendon.

“You all played a very important role in our success to achieve our needs of 30 percent in our snow and ice and mowing contracts to get us closer to where we want to be,” Chalker wrote. “Your input and support was definitely a huge part of our success. Also it was great to see the towns come together and unite. So much can happen when we unite.”