Provided photos: Right to left,  Eric Seppala, Center Director, and David Berry, president of the VFW Auxiliary, students Alphonzo Snow, Arletys Arrigo and Sienna Jack, who holding their certificates; and Job Corps Operations Director JT Thomas.

MEDINA – The Iroquois Job Corps in recent years has made it an annual mission to support the VFW Post in Medina on Veterans’ Day.

To show their appreciation, Medina VFW Auxiliary president David Berry today presented the Job Corps with certificates honoring the services provided by the Iroquois Job Corps students.

Annually, students from Job Corps make and bring Veterans’ Day cards to the VFW for veterans. Volunteers from Job Corps pass out the cards, help set up tables for the free lunch for veterans and their families, serve lunch and then assist with clean-up, according to JT Thomas, operations director at the Job Corps.

David Berry, president of the Medina VFW Auxiliary, presents a certificate to Alfonzo Snow, honoring him for the service he provided to veterans on Veteran’s Day.

This year on Veterans’ Day, the sidewalks were covered with snow and student Alphonzo Snow quickly volunteered to shovel all of the sidewalks around the building leading up to the doors, so veterans and patrons would not fall. Besides their volunteering efforts, students that day donated a patriotic bench the carpentry students had made for the VFW.

Berry, Thomas and Center Director Eric Seppala are planning some community service opportunities which will have more students from Iroquois Job Corps working with the Medina VFW Auxiliary to help with local clean-up projects around Medina.

The carpentry students at Iroquois Job Corps also built, and donated a patriotic bench to the Medina VFW Veterans on Veteran’s Day. Veterans from left are Tom Snyder, Eric Delano, Jim Freas, Louis Chraston, Pat Little and Mike Harmer.

The following face felony drug charges, from left: Raymond Austin, Cassandra McGuire, Justin Colburn and Jeremy Hucknall.

BARRE – Four people are facing felony charges and two others have been arrested on misdemeanors after an investigation into the sale and distribution of crack cocaine in the Town of Barre.

The Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force on April 15 executed a search warrant at 13913 W. Lee Road. Police seized a quantity of crack cocaine packaged for sale, drug paraphernalia, numerous long guns and $1,270, the Task Force stated in a news release.

The following four people – Raymond Austin, Cassandra McGuire, Justin Colburn and Jeremy Hucknall – were each charged with one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the third degree, intent to sell (Class B felony), one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the fourth degree (Class C felony) and three counts of Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the second degree (Class A misdemeanors).

Austin, 40, and McGuire, 35, live at 13913 W. Lee Rd. Colburn, 38, lives on Caroline Street in Albion and Hucknall, 39, lives on Maple Ridge Road in Medina.

Austin and McGuire also were both charged with one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4th (Class A misdemeanor). Austin also was arrested on a bench warrant from the Albion Town Court.

In addition, two others – Preston Stone III, 60, and Tina Stone, 57 – were arrested on one count of Criminal Nuisance in the second degree (Class A misdemeanor). They both live at 13913 W. Lee Rd.

Tina Stone was also charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the seventh degree (Class A misdemeanor).

All six of the defendants were issued appearance tickets to the Town of Barre Justice Court on May 21 at 6 p.m.

Assisting in the investigation were Orleans County District Attorney Susan Howard, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office (K-9, Drone Unit, Road Patrol and Investigations), Niagara County Drug Task Force and the New York State Department of Corrections Office of Special Investigations.

Further arrests and charges are pending in this investigation, the Task Force said.

KNOWLESVILLE – The Orleans County Bicentennial Committee will be planting 10 trees on Wednesday at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The county celebrated its bicentennial in 2025. The 10 new trees are being planted as part of the commemoration.

The public is welcome to be part of the tree planting at 11 a.m. at the fairgrounds on Route 31.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension staff selected the tree varieties which include four sugar maple, two willows, two white oak, and two bur oak.

Foundations will be asked to support GO Barn!, which has been approved for $7.8 million state grant

Rendering by Red Green Design: The three-story GO Barn! building would have the look of a barn, with the silo having an elevator and stairs to access the three floors. GO Art! said the facility would boost arts programs, agricultural education and entrepreneurial initiatives.

KNOWLESVILLE – The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council is working on applications to foundations to back a new building at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds, a project that could top $20 million.

Go Art! is seeking to build the Go Barn! at the fairgrounds. It was awarded a $7,793,000 state grant in May 2025.

Gregory Hallock, the Go Art! executive director, said he is seeking $15 million more from other foundations.

“We’re applying for grants like you wouldn’t believe,” he said Friday during a celebration when Go Art! presented $165,685 in state funding to local artists and cultural programs in Orleans County.

GO Art! is proposing the new building at the fairgrounds to serve as a dynamic hub for arts, culture and community engagement in Orleans County, including: a multipurpose arts and cultural center inspired by the historic Wells Barn design; a dedicated space for fiber arts, workshops and artisan programming; and a greenhouse, designed to grow plants for fabric dyeing and art creation.

“It is happening,” Hallock said about the ambitious project. “We are still working on it. We’re raising money.”

Photos by Tom Rivers: Gregory Hallock, executive director for the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council, speaks during Friday’s award presentation to artists and organizations in Orleans County. GO Art! presented $165,685 in grants for projects and programs in Orleans County. The awards celebration was held at GO Art!’s historic building at 201 East Main St. in Batavia.

The building is planned for the west end of the fairgrounds near Taylor Hill Road. The fairgrounds is an ideal location for the cultural center, located between Medina and Albion, Hallock said.

The building would have flexible or adaptable space that could be used for many things. Hallock and Go Art! envision two art galleries, artist studios and a residence where artists could bunk instead of driving home in the wee hours of the night. Hallock would like to the building to be used for many art forms – culinary, folk, horticultural, literary, visual, muli-media and more.

The facility would be accessible and inclusive to all community members, Hallock said. The GO Barn! would have hands-on programs in arts, agriculture and sustainability that would provide workforce readiness. Hallock said GO Art! wants to partner with local schools and organizations in “fostering a lifelong learning environment.”

The Go Art! website says $14,960 has been donated towards the project so far. Click here for more information on how to support Go Art!

Linda Knipe, the Go Art! board president, praised Hallock for securing several grants for arts and cultural programs in both Orleans and Genesee counties.

“Gregory has been a prolific grantwriter, and he is good at it,” she said.

Knipe would like to diversify the funding for GO Art! and be less reliant on grants. She welcomes sponsorships and donations to assist the local arts council.

“We are seeking more contributors,” she said. “We can use everyone in the two counties to really talk up GO Art! and get people to support us.”

Linda Knipe, GO Art! board president, said the organization has been successful securing grants for programs in Genesee and Orleans counties. She urged the community to support GO Art! through sponsorships and donations.

Arts organization says requests exceeded $385K allotment for 2 counties

Photos by Tom Rivers: Rob Klino, president of the Friends of Boxwood Cemetery, accepts a grant from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts on Friday. The funding supports a Boxwood at Night program on Oct. 3 that includes light displays, musicians and portrayers dressed in period costumes. The grant was among several presented by Jodi Fisher (center), the program director and Statewide Community Regrant co-coordinator for GO Art! Orleans County Legislator Skip Draper, right, represented State Sen. Rob Ortt and gave certificates to the grantees. Go Art! administers the funds as a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts. It was developed in 1977 to ensure that the state’s cultural funding would reach every part of the New York State.

BATAVIA – The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council presented $165,685 to artists and organizations in Orleans County on Friday, funding that will go to concerts, arts programs and other projects boosting cultural life in the county.

GO Art! presented funding awards on Saturday to Genesee County artists and organizations. Altogether the two counties for the second straight year received $385,000.

This year’s funding allowed for an increase in the maximum awards, up from $5,000 to $7,500. The program also allowed for restoration of a mural for the first time. Arthur Barnes, an artist from Millville, will use a grant to give a major facelift to his iconic mural in the Medina Canal Basin of two mules pulling a packet boat. That mural is at least 25 years old.

Gregory Hallock, executive director for GO Art!, said the two counties together receive the largest amount of funding outside of Manhattan in the State Council of the Art’s regrant program. The Statewide Community Regrant Program (SCR) was developed in 1977 to ensure that the state’s cultural funding would reach every part of the New York State.

Hallcok said there were more applications in the two counties this year, and the $471,955 in requests topped the amount available. That should help GO Art! when it applies for funding next time. GO Art! can show the state there is more demand in the two counties than the existing funding levels.

The $385,000 in both 2025 and 2026 is above the $336,000 in grants for artists and community events that celebrate the arts in 2024. That was up from $210,000 in 2023, and well above the $70,000 that was available for the two counties back in 2019.

Lyndonville Lions Club leaders David Godfrey and Lynne Johnson accept the grant for a summer concert organized by the Lions Club. The grants were presented by Jodi Fisher and Orleans County Legislator Skip Draper.

GO Art! distributes the funds on a 60-40 split between Genesee and Orleans, with Genesee getting about 60 percent based on its larger population. In the 2020 Census, Genesee had 58,388 residents compared to 40,343 in Orleans County.

Hallock said he hopes the state will continue to boost the funding for the program in 2027.

“I don’t know what will happen next year,” he said at Friday’s grant award celebration. “We’ve been on a steady increase and hopefully that will continue.”

He praised Jodi Fisher, the program director and Statewide Community Regrant co-coordinator, for her extra work in assisting the many applicants through the grant process.

Linda Knipe, GO Art! board president, also said Hallock has been very successful in applying for grants to boost arts and cultural programs in the two counties.

Kendall Town Board members David Gaudioso, center, and Barb Flow, left, accept the grant for the Town of Kendall to add murals on the south side of the Town Hall.

The grant recipients in Orleans County include:

• Lee-Whedon Memorial Library – Finally Fridays! Concert series during winter

• Yates Community Library – More Than Just Books concert series

• Brandi Zavitz – For the Love of Dogs Mural II at the Medina Dog Park

• Lyndonville Lions Club – I Hear the Music concert

• Village of Holley – Village of Holley Canal Series and festivals

• Arthur Barnes for restoration of a mural of two mules pulling packet boat in Medina Canal Basin

John Grillo, the Village of Albion recreation director, accepted three grants for programs in the community, including a summer concert series on Wednesdays at Bullard Park, a July 3rd Independence Day celebration at Bullard, and the Albion Summer Festival on Aug. 1 at Bullard which will feature six bands.

• Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum which is adding music to nightly light show at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse

• Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events – Albion Summer Festival featuring Rock the Park

• Village of Albion – Village of Albion Summer Concert Series

• Friends of Boxwood Cemetery – Boxwood at Night, “See the Cemetery In a New Light” on Oct. 3

• Albion – July 3rd, Independence Day Celebration

• Sheyanza Basheer – Brush & Giggles arts program at Lyndonville Central School

• Tegan Leach – Sharing the wonder of fiber arts, workshops at Hoag Library

• Laura Jackett – Art in library workshops

Brandi Zavitz receives a grant to expand a mural at the Medina Dog Park. She created a mural last year that is 32 feet long. She painted portraits of 69 dogs, 3 cats and Orly the Ox (the county’s bicentennial mascot). The mural will get bigger this year with 50 more dog portraits to be added.

• Shabeeha Raushad – Colors of Lake Alice, a children’s book

• Town of Kendall for murals on south side of Town Hall

• Valerie Collins – “Keepers of the Land,” paintings of family farmers to be displayed at Hoag

• Hoag Library of the Swan Library Association – 2026 Hoag Music Series

• Mary Jo Whitman for mural “Holley is Home” on Heath building in Village of Holley

• E-YAH-Pah-Hah Wind Quintet – Classical music series in Albion including 2 commissioned pieces

Sheyanza Basheer received funding for “Brush & Giggles,” an arts program at Lyndonville Central School.

• Community Free Library in Holley for art program

• Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County – blacksmith demonstrations and the AppleJack Band at county fair

• Friends of Orleans County Marine Park – Popup and jam, a marketplace at the Marien Park with music and vendors on Sept. 12

• Friends of Orleans County Marine Park – artist Terri Wood is creating a fisherman selfie sign for fishermen to pose with their catch

• Orleans County Tourism – restoration of Charlie the Chinook, a 13-foot-long fiberglass fish that will remolded and repainted

• Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, Barre Betterment Committee – 2026 Barre Betterment Committee public events

• Judd Sunshine – Erie Canal Songwriting Project at Medina Central School

• Janet Klossner – leading classes on “All Things Fiber”

Robert Batt, executive director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County, accepts a grant to fund blacksmith demonstrations and a performance by the AppleJack Band at this summer’s Orleans County 4-H Fair.

Press Release, Citizens’ Climate Lobby

HOLLEY – Citizens’ Climate Lobby will host a meeting in Holley on Monday, May 4, from 6 to 7 p.m.

The meeting at the Community Free Library is open to the public. The library is located at 86 Public Square. For information about the Holley meeting, contact robertdotjohnson@rochester.rr.com.

Attendees will discuss how they feel about climate change. We will discuss climate change, causes and effects of climate change, actions people can take to address climate change by advancing our policy agenda in the Congress and personal actions, too.

We welcome anyone who is serious about solving climate change as a volunteer. We work with members of Congress across the political spectrum to find common ground on climate change action.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a national nonprofit organization with local chapters across the country. The group has been the primary catalyst for the energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. To learn more about our work, visit citizensclimatelobby.org.

Parents, caregivers also welcome for child seat safety check on April 25

ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office will again be participating in the National Prescription Drug Tack Back Day on Saturday.

People are welcome to dispose of unwanted prescriptions drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Public Safety Building, 13925 Route 31 in Albion.

The Sheriff’s Office also on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will be offering a Child Passenger Safety Seat Check Point Event at Public Safety Building.

According to data, vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 to 13, Sheriff Chris Bourke said.

Preventative measures, such as proper installation of car seats, booster seats and seat belts can reduce the likelihood of death and injuries. Informing and instructing parents and caregivers on child passenger safety and proper installation of car seats is critical to saving young lives, he said.

The Sheriff’s Office will have passenger safety technicians will inspect car seats and booster seats to ensure that a child is in the appropriate seat for their size and age.

Any questions, contact Certified Technician Kevin Colonna at 585-589-5527 or Kevin.Colonna@orleanscountyny.gov.

Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke

ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of multiple individuals following a series of investigations conducted in conjunction with the Department of Social Services into alleged public assistance fraud.

As a result of these investigations, several subjects were charged with offenses including Welfare Fraud, Petit Larceny, Grand Larceny, Criminal use of a public benefit card and Offering a False Instrument for Filing.

The following were charged: Anne Bennett, Lawrence Worsley, Bobbie Taylor, Caitlyn Dehond, Anthony Gross, Stella Gresham, Billie Doxey, Jason Walsh, Shunieka Williams and Edward Ladue III.

It is alleged that the individuals collectively received $35,468.69 in public assistance benefits to which they were not entitled.

All subjects were issued appearance tickets and are scheduled to appear in the Town of Albion Court at a later date.

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work closely with the Department of Social Services to investigate and prosecute fraud-related offenses.

Press Release, New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association

ALBANY – Today, NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul on behalf of the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, declaring that the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) is in a full-scale systemic emergency.

The letter details an alarming surge in violence, dangerous contraband, staff assaults, overdoses, exposures, and deaths inside state prisons. Specific recent incidents include:

• At Mohawk Correctional Facility, three correction officers and two National Guard members were hospitalized after exposure to an unknown substance on papers brought in by a visitor; one officer required intensive care and a ventilator.
• At Clinton Correctional Facility, eight officers were injured in just six days across five separate incidents involving assaults by intoxicated incarcerated individuals and large-scale disturbances with recovered weapons.
• At Coxsackie, a convicted murderer attacked officers with a broken pen, seriously injuring staff.
• At Lakeview, a counselor and an officer were brutally assaulted in a classroom; the same individual later assaulted staff again at Attica while housed in a Residential Rehabilitation Unit (RRU).
• At Upstate Correctional Facility, one incarcerated individual murdered his bunkmate — a preventable tragedy that a review of the perpetrator’s history shows was foreseeable.

In addition, two separate inmate-on-inmate deaths at Riverview, and Gouverneur are under State Police investigation, and DOCCS data shows 44 incarcerated deaths year-to-date as of April 1, including six suicides. Officers at Riverview recently intercepted more than two pounds of marijuana smuggled in a microwave shipment, and multiple visitors have been caught attempting to bring in contraband.

President Summers stated:

“Our correctional facilities are no longer operating under normal conditions. They are under extreme pressure and becoming increasingly unstable and dangerous for everyone inside the walls. Our members are being assaulted. Staff are being exposed to unknown and potentially lethal substances. Contraband is flooding the system and driving disorder, medical emergencies, violence, and death. This is a crisis that demands the Governor’s direct and personal intervention.”

The letter urges Governor Hochul to immediately engage with the State Legislature and advocate for the adoption of the Statewide HALT Committee’s balanced recommendations to amend the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act.

Those recommendations include expanding serious offenses eligible for segregated confinement, allowing temporary SHU or RRU placement for protective custody when safety risks are unreasonable, and permitting up to 15 days of SHU for repeated misconduct after alternative interventions have failed.

Summers further called for stronger penalties under New York’s contraband laws for smuggling drugs, weapons, and toxic materials into facilities — whether by visitors, mail, packages, or external deliveries — and for a comprehensive statewide strategy to reduce and ultimately eliminate double bunking where it compromises security and human safety.

“The safety of the men and women who work in our state prisons — and the stability of the entire correctional system — now rests on Governor Hochul’s leadership,” Summers concluded. “We implore her to use the full weight of her office to ensure these critical reforms are passed swiftly. NYSCOPBA stands ready to meet with the Governor or her staff at the earliest opportunity to provide any additional information or support required. The time for action is now.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: The price for gas at the Medina Crosby’s on Saturday included $4.19 for regular unleaded, $5.09 for premium and $5.99 for diesel.

The average price for a gallon of gas in Orleans County stayed at $4.18 a gallon today, the same price as a week ago. That price at $4.176 is the highest among the Western New York counties today.

The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $4.05, down 8 cents from last Monday. One year ago, the price was $3.16, AAA reported today.

The state-wide average is $4.11 today, which is down 2 cents from a week ago. A year ago, it was $3.09, AAA said.

“Gas prices began to drop last week following a sharp decline in oil prices after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran,” AAA said this morning in a news release. “Since then, the price for a barrel of crude oil has continued to trade below $100. However, maritime traffic transiting the Strait of Hormuz remains subdued as regional tensions persist and negotiations continue.

“This morning, oil prices range from $88 to $94 per barrel. According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand is up while total domestic gasoline supply is down. Meanwhile, gasoline production is on the rise.”

Here are the average prices among WNY counties:

• Orleans, $4.176
• Genesee, $4.158
• Monroe, $4.170
• Niagara, $4.078
• Erie, $4.166
• Wyoming, $4.150
• Livingston, $4.174
• Chautauqua, $4.124
• Cattaraugus, $3.877
• Allegany, $4.080

The highest price in the state is in Manhattan at $4.408.

The diesel price is at $5.920 today, which is down 3 cents from a  week ago. A year ago, diesel was at $3.906.

Provided photo
CARLTON – The Kendall Fire Department recognized three firefighters on Saturday who have volunteered for 50 years with the department.

Pictured from left include Blaine Young, John Becker and Bill Hardenbrook at the Carlton Rec Hall.

Oak Orchard on a serene day, 1900

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 9

CARLTON – You may have heard of bass jumping out of the water.

But have you heard about bass jumping out of water and into a boat?

A recent Orleans Hub article about restocking fish at Oak Orchard reminded us of this true tale recorded by Helen Allen in the 1940’s. Allen was a Town of Carlton historian and a 50-year local correspondent for the Orleans Republican.

She interviewed many older residents and chronicled their recollections. John Podgers, a blacksmith, was one of her sources. At one time, he had a steamboat which he used to take passengers up and down the Oak Orchard Creek and out on Lake Ontario, charging ten cents a person. He told tales of sudden onset storms out on the lake and close calls coming into the harbor. Helen recorded and later published Podger’s absolutely true tale of the jumping bass:

JOHN PODGER’S JUMPING BASS

“One lovely summer evening, two couples from the Inn had engaged John to take them for a ride up and down the creek. They were very tired and had come to the Inn for a quiet rest. They brought banjos and mandolins with them and played and sang as they rode along. John said the music there on the water sounded beautiful and he was enjoying it immensely.

Suddenly the nocturnal harmony was shattered by a woman’s scream and the clatter of mandolins dropped to the bottom of the boat! He looked around to see what had happened. The two ladies had dropped their instruments and were crouched up on the seat. A big black bass was flopping about on the bottom of the boat. The ladies were still moaning in terror, but the men were too excited to notice.

“Will that fish jump out?” asked one.

“Well,” John said, “he jumped in so I guess he’ll jump out if he wants to.”

At that, the man made a lunge and grabbed the fish with both hands.

“I brought out fifty dollars’ worth of fishing tackles and have been fishing for a week without getting a bite,” he said, “and this fish is not getting away.”

The ladies wanted to go in but the men insisted John go up the creek again. The bass kept jumping and soon there were six big ones in the boat. By this time their wives were in hysterics and the men had to take them ashore.

One of the men found a pail to carry the fish in and he said to John, “Come up to the hotel with me for no one will believe me when I tell this story.”

At the Inn everyone admired the bass. They weighed them and found the six totaled eighteen pounds, but no one would believe that they had jumped into the boat. So, John was engaged to take all the men from the hotel on a fishing expedition the next evening. The two musical ladies were in such a state they had to be sent home but their husbands stayed to prove the truthfulness of their story.

The next evening, a jeering crowd of men rode up and down the creek for a time without anything happening, but when it became dark enough for the steamer’s headlight to shine clearly over the water, the bass started jumping again and several landed in the boat.

After that, John and his boat were in great demand. Guests from the hotels, cottages, neighbors and people from Albion and farther away went out nearly every night. Usually, the black bass were accommodating but sometimes there was disappointment as some friend or relative was brought from a distance to see the jumping fish and nary a one showed up.

One evening, Elder Brown, the Presbyterian minister was in the boat when a bass landed on the canopy on top of the boat, flopped about for a minute and then slid off the other side. When they went ashore that night, Elder Brown told his friends that the fish had now taken to jumping right over the boat.

Charles Hart hired a fishing boat and followed the steamer. Quite a crowd of men were in the two boats and John said that the black bass were in great jumping form that night. Every time one landed in either boat, the men would yell and there was great excitement to see which one would get the bigger catch.

The steamer won out but together they caught 52 fish, and a bushel basket would not hold them all. Of course, only a small proportion of the bass that jumped landed in the boats and John said that from his position in the bow looking down the beam of the light, the fish were breaking water so fast that it looked as if the whole creek was boiling.

It was a fantastic sight, the bubbling water, the many fish jumping just above the surface and many more that leaped high and then came horizontally for a few feet, straight toward the headlight, with wiggling fins and tails and wet glistening bodies as if swimming through the air, and then dropped back into the water or into the boat.

The jumping bass of Oak Orchard Creek was the chief topic of conversation in a wide area of western New York and even in more distant places for a time.

The nest year the black bass appeared to be more sophisticated and scarcely noticed the steamboat’s headlight.”

Incidentally, the Oak Orchard River Bass Anglers Club is still active; it was started in 1975 by Jack Ainslie and Mike Elam.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – George Graham of Oakfield holds a stone sculpture he made called the “English Rose” that is featured at the Marti’s on Main art gallery. Graham’s piece is made from Indiana limestone. Behind him on mantel are two more of his sculptures: “Floppy Disk” made of alabaster and “Mobius II” made from Pink Wonderstone.

Graham and Richard Bannister will be featured sculptors at Marti’s which kicked off a new season of art shows on Friday. The gallery at 20 South Main St. also is having an open house today from noon to 4 p.m.

Kim Martillotta Muscarella, the gallery’s owner, has an expanded lineup of shows this year, up from six last year to eight in 2026. This is Marti’s 16th season of doing art shows in Albion.

These paintings were created by Dr. Athena Nichols, an Albion High School art teachers. Marti’s is displaying artwork by Nichols and five of her students – Hanna Kumulac, Aubrey Gannon, Nerik Santiago Franco, Lindsay Crawford and Mickhale Meyer-Lane.

The schedule and the opening celebations on the third Friday each month include:

• April 17 – Albion High School Seniors Show and Tony Barry
• May 15 – Becky Winans, Cindy Meal and Mark Weld
• June 19 – Arthur Barnes, Marco Rodrigues, David Burke and Rosie Patronski
• July 17 – Kim Martillotta, Richard Della Costa, Nancy Radzik and Rebecca-Berry Kent
• Aug. 21 – Jan Kisiel, Jenna Papponetti, Paul Facklam and Sharon Stewart
• Sept. 18 – Jennifer Hecker, Jeff Watkins, Jill Gussow and Rosanne Mascari
• Oct. 16 – Sam Roskowski and Susan Cameron-Duffy
• Nov. 20 – Shirley Nigro, Elizabeth Cooper, Paul Martin and Geoff Harding

For more information on the gallery, call Martillotta at 585-590-9211.

Artwork by Hanna Kumulac

Photography by Mickhale Meyer-Lane

Artwork by Aubrey Gannon

Kermit and giraffe artwork by Lindsay Crawford and artwork at right by Aubrey Gannon

‘Madam George’ expected to be entered in film festivals

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Maja Korsika, a filmmaker and student at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, is shown in the Pratt theater in downtown Albion on Saturday. Korsika is the writer and director of a short film, Madam George, which she described as an absurdist comedy.

Korsika and a team of about 20-25 people will be spending four days in Albion working on the 12-minute film.

Korsika was looking up photos of the Pratt Center in New York City when she came across photo of the Pratt theater in Albion on the internet. Those photos by Walter Jakubowski showed the opera house in Albion as an authentic theater from about a century ago.

Crew members getting ready to shoot a scene inside the Pratt Theater on Saturday. The crew arrived in Albion about 2 a.m. Saturday and will be busy making the film this weekend.

The Pratt Opera House was built in 1882 by a local farmer, John Pratt. The Pratt was largely unused after 1930, until Michael Bonafede and his wife Judith Koehler worked to save the site over the past 20 years at 114-120 North Main St.

When Korsika saw the photos online of the Pratt Theater, she went to the Pratt website and contacted Bonafede to ask if she could see the theater. She and two others from her team drove from New York City in early March and toured the opera house.

She was convinced the Pratt would be an ideal backdrop for her film.

“I like the rawness of the this theater,” she said. “There is so much imperfection that makes it so cinematic.”

The brick walls and wooden floors are better than a sterile “black box” studio for making the film, she said.

The Pratt stage needed to be cleared out to accommodate the filmmakers. Bonafede had drums and percussion equipment on the stage from concerts in 2024, as well as historic wall hangings and amplifiers. He was able to mobilize a group to move all of those items last week.

He is hopeful the film will allow more people to see the Pratt theater and Albion, which has many historic resources besides an authentic opera house. Albion is home to five districts on the National Register of Historic Places – Courthouse Square, downtown Albion, Mount Albion Cemetery, the Cobblestone Museum and Erie Canal.

“This will shine a good light on the community,” Bonafede said about the film.

Korsika said she and her team will do the coloring and sound design after the filming in Albion. She plans to enter “Madam George” in film festivals with a premiere in late summer or early fall.

Korsika is thankful for the accommodations and hospitality of the Bonafede family and the Albion community.

Photos courtesy of Taylor McCabe

In one scene on Saturday, West Bank Street needed to be closed briefly to traffic. The Albion Police Department was able to block off the street for about 20 minutes beginning around 10:30 a.m.

The group is shown with dancers in the GAR room, which used as a gathering place of Civil war veterans from 1884 to 1930. The GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) room is on the third floor of the Day and Day building next to the Pratt.

The film crew is expected to shoot scenes today at the Pratt and on Beaver Alley.