Photo by Tom Rivers: The Gaines Basin Road bridge is shown on Sunday afternoon. The weather will warm up this weekend.

After some drizzly weather to start the week, the temperatures will be up and the sun out more this weekend.

Today and Wednesday will have highs near 48, followed by a high near 57 on Thursday in Orleans County, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

Then it will be sunny with a high of 65 on Friday, and then sunny again with a high near 69 on Saturday.

On Sunday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 67 followed by a sunny Monday with a high near 71, according to the Weather Service.

Photos courtesy of Medina Central School:: Students in Lynn Woodruff’s class meet with local firefighters.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – Fire Prevention Week was observed October 6th through the 12th.  The theme this year was “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!” which strives to educate everyone about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home.

At Oak Orchard Elementary School in Medina, volunteers from the fire companies in Shelby, East Shelby and Ridgeway, along with the Medina Fire Department were on hand to talk to students and do some fun and educational activities.

Shelby brought a large ladder truck, Ridgeway and Medina brought fire trucks, East Shelby brought an off-road vehicle and Medina brought a rescue boat. The students absolutely loved the spray station that was set up.

“We are so grateful for this educational opportunity for our students,” said Principal Jenn Stearns. “Medina and Shelby Fire Departments provided fire prevention tips in our classrooms for UPK and kindergarten this week as well which was wonderful. We want to thank them for the support in helping to protect and keep our families safe.”

These firefighters assist students in spraying water at a target.

M.A.D. Rescue first recipient of award which includes a donation

Provided photo

ALBION – The Albion Exempts are starting a new initiative to honor a local non-profit or service organization with a community service award.

The Exempts last week presented the first award to M.A.D. Rescue, which is led by Jennifer Stillwell. The organization rescues abandoned street dogs in Puerto Rico.

Pictured from left include Pete Stritzinger, president of the Exempts; Jennifer Stillwell of M.A.D. Rescue; and Dan Conrad, director of community relations for the Exempts.

The Exempts also made a $75 donation to M.A.D. The Exempts plan to pick a different organization each month with the award. The honoree also will receive a membership to the exempts.

“We are selecting a member of the community that does wonderful service in the community,” Conrad said.

The Exempts welcome new members at a $20membership. The non-profit organization has a bar and kitchen at 143 South Clinton St., where there are also pool and dart leagues.

Photos courtesy of Lyndonville Lions Club: Lyndonville Lions Club members – from left, Wayne Miller, John Belson, Jeff Johnson and Russ Martino – tap the first ceremonial Oktoberfest beer keg to open the Oktoberfest event on Thursday at the White Birch.

Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Lions held their first Oktoberfest event on Thursday night at the White Birch Golf Resort. It was a well-attended event for the Lions who raised funds for their “Pop Up Eye Clinic” coming this spring.

Organizers felt the Oktoberfest event was new and unique to their fundraising efforts and would like to see it become an annual event. The Lyndonville Lions Club would like to thank all those who supported the event and hope that everyone had an enjoyable evening.

Guests were treated to soft pretzels, schnitzel and German-style beer as they celebrated Oktoberfest. The musical entertainment was provided by the acclaimed “Frankfurters” German band from Buffalo.

The “Frankfurters” German band from Buffalo performed during the celebration.

The band did not disappoint the crowd as they played all their traditional and favorite German folk songs. Guests were treated to special presentations including a traditional Austrian Bell arrangement and several songs played on the Alpine Horn. Bells in Bavarian culture was often used to announce significant events and celebrations. They have become a tradition in German musical performances.

The Alpine Horn dates back to the 1500s and was initially used as a form of communication in Alpine valleys. It consists of a single piece of wood, hand carved, and usually several meters long. In more modern times the Alpine Horn has become a traditional musical instrument used by musical groups who perform German and Bavarian folk music. The crowd was treated to a medley of Alpine Horn music as part of the evening performance.  This was a very special part of the performance and enjoyed by all.

The Lions would like to thank their corporate sponsors for supporting this event. The Genesee Brewing Company supplied the complimentary Oktoberfest beverages along with Batavia Downs and Gaming who donated several overnight stay packages and raffle items that included an autographed Thurman Thomas football.

Members of the Frankfurters perform using the Alpine Horns.

Wayne Miller supplied several handmade bird houses for the raffle and live auction, which the Lions would like to thank him for that kind gesture. A special thank you goes out to the White Birch Golf Resort staff and management.  They did a spectacular job on the German-style buffet dinner and allowed the Lions to hold their event in their atrium.

The Lyndonville Lions want to thank those who came to the event to enjoy themselves and support the Lions efforts. The work carried out by Lions International and local Lions clubs around the world cannot be done without the cooperation and support of local individuals.  So, thank you to all those who attended.

In closing, the Lions will be supporting upcoming events in the Yates community. November and December will see the Lions active at the Village of Lyndonville Tree Lighting Festival along with appearances at the Salvation Army Red Kettle Bell Ringing Campaign. The Lions Club would like to wish all a safe autumn season and may God continue to bless us and this great nation we live in.

Guests are shown enjoying the first Lyndonville Lions Club Oktoberfest event.

Provided photos

ALBION – Muriel Anderson performed on Saturday at Hoag Library during the Hoag Library Music Series.

About 60 people attended the noon concert. The series is funded partly by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO Art!).

Anderson plays the 20-string harp-guitar. She is the first woman to win the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship.

Anderson has released more than a dozen solo albums, instructional CDs and DVDs. Her album Heartstrings accompanied astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery.

Screenshot

ALBION – The staff and residents of the Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center on Route 31 are welcoming the public to the nursing home Oct. 26-27 from 6 to 8 p.m. to see the “Haunted Hallway.”

A hallway will be decorated and the public can see the display with donations accepted, said Meghan Clark, activities director for The Villages.

“It is a haunted hallway, like how people go through haunted houses,” she said. “It is a decorated hallway, but we have animatronics, decorations, and even some of the residents popping out of places to scare the attendees. We, the residents and staff, just want to celebrate the holiday with a fun and possibly scary hallway.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

GAINES – Nancy Sanger of SanGer-La Alpacas in Brockport uses spinning wheels to turn alpaca wool into yarn on Oct. 5 during an open house at the Cobblestone Museum that featured many artisans.

Sanger uses the wool to make hats and shawls.

Harold Clark of Rochester was outside the Cobblestone Universalist Church doing a chair-caning demonstration. Clark said it can take 24 hours to cane a chair using the bark of a vine from southeast Asia. The cane is very sturdy and lightweight, he said.

Larry Albanese backs up a 1922 Model T Touring that was on display in between the blacksmith shop and Vagg House.

Matt Holland, president of the Cobblestone Museum, also served as the blacksmith during the open house.

David Avery, left, of Greece and David Damico of Le Roy operated a 1929 letter press in the Print Shop.

The open house included butter making, old-fashioned games, and other live demonstrations including a saddle maker. The museum also served beef-on-weck meals.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Mount Albion Cemetery is on pace to run out of room in about 10-15 years for new burials. The Albion Village Board wants to acquire 35 acres to expand the cemetery.

ALBION – The Village of Albion is looking to spend up to $250,000 to acquire 35 acres next to Mount Albion Cemetery.

The Village Board wants to spend $7,000 per acre to Patricia Ann Nelson, which would be $245,000 total. The village also needs to pay $2,375 to Terra Pointe Land Surveying for that company’s services. The expense up to $250,000 would allow for other possible closing costs and expenses.

The village would pay for the land acquisition from its cemetery funds and wouldn’t affect the general budget. Albion has set a 6 p.m. public hearing on Oct. 23 in the Village Hall for the people to comment on using cemetery funds to expand Mount Albion by acquiring the farmland.

The cemetery opened in 1843 and has about 20,000 gravesites on about 80 acres. The cemetery does about 75 burials a year and sells about 50 to 60 gravesites annually.

The village was looking to buy 30 acres in the spring, when there was a vote by the board to pursue the land. The acquisition now will be 35 acres.

Mount Albion is on pace to run out of room in about 10-15 years for new burials, said Jason Zicari, Mount Albion’s superintendent the past 28 years.

He expects the 35 acres would be developed in phases, and may not be needed for at least a decade.

When Mount Albion was nearing capacity in 2001, it opened the new Deerfield section with about 1,200 gravesites. There are about 300 to 400 left there. Zicari also said there are undeveloped areas in the Mapleview section in the southwest corner and near the pump house in the front of the cemetery on the west side.

There are also many unclaimed graves sprinkled throughout the cemetery including in the older sections on the east side. Zicari said some families from many decades ago would buy many plots but didn’t always need all of them. Some people have preferred a plot in the older section where the spot may be high on a terrace or near a tree.

The land to be purchased is next to the southwest corner of the cemetery. Zicari said it should be fairly easy to expand, running paved paths by clearing out some of the hedges.

New class of honorees to be inducted on Thursday

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame has expanded to a second wall in the council chambers of City Hall.

Some of the Hall of Fame Committee members worked on moving some of the plaques and historic photos of quarry workers to the second wall on Thursday.

Reinhard Rogowski, right, on chair and Dave Miller are both committee members working on the display on the second wall with some assistance from Barb Hancock, wife of committee member Jim Hancock.

Jim Hancock shifts some of the plaques on the main wall of the Hall of Fame to make room for the Class of 2024, which will be announced on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. during a ceremony at City Hall. 600 Main St. Takeform in Medina makes the plaques and donates them to the Hall of Fame and also to the inductees to display.

There have been 39 inductees into the Hall of Fame since the first class in 2013.

The Hall of Fame also recently added a touch-screen kiosk, featuring videos, slideshows, maps, and a comprehensive building database with photos. Much of the information on the kiosk is available of the Medina Sandstone Society website. Click here for more information.

The committee members work on rearranging the plaques on the main wall for the new class to be inducted on Thursday. Four new members will be added to the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.

Dave Miller, Jim and Barb Hancock do the meticulous work of relocating the plaques of inductees from previous years.

Photos by Tom Rivers: David Mitchell is shown last week by a photo from 2012 showing David with his father Rho and David’s son Josh. All three chose funeral directors as their career. David joined his father in the business  in 1984.

Mitchell has worked as local funeral director for 40 years

ALBION – As a kid, David Mitchell often joined his father Rho at Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes in Holley and Albion.

David would mow the lawn, washed cars and helped around the funeral homes. He grew up thinking he would pursue a career as a police officer. Mitchell thought that job was a great way to serve the community and help people.

But he realized following his father as a funeral director also met that goal of service. Mitchell was 21 and was doing a residency in Rochester to become a funeral director. Mitchell said he has always preferred to be a person in the background, making sure everything is in order and tended to, while also making sure a family’s needs are being met.

He was at a service when a family went out of their way to thank you for his attention to all the details.

“That was a moment when the light bulb went off, and confirmed that I do want to do this,” Mitchell during an interview last week in Albion.

He joined his father in 1984 at Christopher Mitchell, and has upgraded both the Albion and Holley sites. David’s son Josh joined the business in 2012, making it three generations of Mitchells in the funeral service.

David Mitchell was honored in November 2018 by the Cobblestone Museum with “The Pullman Award” in appreciation of Mitchell donating a couch made by George Pullman in the 1850s. Mitchell acquired the couch when he purchased the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home in Albion. Mitchell wanted the couch to stay in the community and be displayed for the public to enjoy. George Pullman was a furniture manufacturer in Albion before he moved to Chicago and developed the Pullman’s Palace Cars for the railroad industry.

Christopher Mitchell in recent years has expanded and acquired funeral homes in Middleport (Bates, Wallace & Heath Funeral Home) and Gasport (Sherrie Bream & Kenneth H. Sherrie Funeral Home). Last year Mitchell announced a partnership with Cooper Funeral Homes in Medina, with Cooper owner Jake Hebdon becoming a part owner with Christopher Mitchell.

Hebdon joins Josh Mitchell in ensuring local ownership and leadership of the funeral homes for many years to come. The business has been rebranded as Mitchell Family Cremations & Funerals.

David isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. He remains the full-time leader of Christopher Mitchell. The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce will honor him with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” on Oct. 17 during the annual Chamber awards banquet.

Mitchell said he appreciates the award, and is grateful for a long career in his home community, working with so many families.

“Ninety-nine percent of this job is dealing with the living,” Mitchell said. “You treat them with the utmost respect and care. You treat each family the best you can as if they are your own.”

When he started in 1984, Christopher Mitchell was doing about 90 funerals a year. That is now about 400 a year at the five funeral homes.

Christopher Mitchell has eight full-time employees who Mitchell said are instrumental in the business’s success. He noted Paula Fuller has worked as funeral director with Christopher Mitchell for 30 years, and Scott Schmidt has been there for 26 years. Mitchell also said the late Lee Minier was a big contributor to Christopher Mitchell, helping it grow during his tenure from 1992 to 2007.

David’s father Rho passed away in 2015, and he was active in many community organizations. David has followed his father’s example serving with the Albion Lions Club, Holley Rotary Club and on the boards for several organizations. Christopher Mitchell also donates and sponsors numerous events and causes in the community.

‘The community has been good to us and I’d like to believe we’re good to the community,” Mitchell said.

Christopher Mitchell recently was recognized for the ninth year in a row with the National Funeral Directors Association Pursuit of Excellence Award, which is given to funeral homes that deliver extraordinary service while adhering to the highest ethical and professional standards. Mitchell said the recognition goes to the top 1 percent funeral homes out of more than 11,000.

Christopher Mitchell values traditional funeral services, and also embrace modern technology to serve families, including video tributes, live-streaming services, and jewelry or other mementos with fingerprints of loved ones.

“We’re always out trying to learn new ideas and techniques,” David Mitchell said. “It’s all about connecting with the families.”

Photo and information form Medina Mustang Boosters

VICTOR – The Medina Mustang Marching Band competed on Saturday for the fifth time this season in Victor, where 13 bands performed in 6 classifications.

In SS1, East Irondequoit earned 1st place with a score of 86.35 and Medina in 2nd place at 81.60. Medina’s next competition is Oct.19 at Orchard Park and the championships are Oct. 27.

Photos courtesy of Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy

BUFFALO – A 266-foot-long bridge was set in place last weekend over the I-190 near the Niagara Street exit.

The bridge for pedestrians and cyclists links to the Ralph Wilson Park and provides an iconic structure in the city.

Construction crews installed the bridge overnight last Saturday into Sunday.

The bridge was installed overnight last Saturday. The bridge gives access to a 100-plus acre waterfront park. The park is expected to open in stages starting in late 2025 and early 2026

Photos by Tom Rivers

The bridge was made in Italy and was transported over about three weeks across the Erie Canal. The bridge was in four pieces on two barges for the trip.

This photo shows the bridge being moved on the canal near the Keitel Road on July 15.

Carver Companies from near Albany pushed a 195-foot-long barge with a tugboat.

The transport of the bridge drew lots of interest from the public and media throughout the journey on the canal.

A second barge with two sections of the bridge heads west near the curve in the canal in Gaines Basin on July 19.

This is close to the historical marker that notes this spot is the northernmost point on the Erie Canal.

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – Shea Hill of Albion and her granddaughter Lily, 4, work on a scarecrow today at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds. They named their scarecrow “Sally.”

The scarecrow festival is an annual event put on the Medina Lion’s Club. The festival started at 10 a.m. and by noon about 170 scarecrows were made. The club expect to top 200 by the 3 p.m. end of the festival.

People paid $12 to make a scarecrow which included clothes, straw, and face on a pillowcase decorated by Medina art students.

Matt Kreutz, a member of the Medina Lions Club, served as one of the “surgeons” and tied the scarecrow together. Stephanie Corke of Barre made the scarecrow named “Wall-Eye” with her daughter, Lily.

Students in Jen Scott’s art classes at Medina High School painted many creative faces on hundreds of “scarecrow heads.”

Kim McAdoo of Medina and her son Mason Rodden, 5, worked together to make their scarecrow. McAdoo said she is getting her Halloween decorations ready and the scarecrow will help them celebrate the spooky holiday.

There was also a painting station set up by the Master Gardeners. From left include brothers Mason and Carson Bale of Medina, and their friends Evan and Cooper Kyle of Medina.

Many of the pumpkins were donated by Panek Farms.

The kids were able to paint on the pumpkins using acrylic paint pens.

Toni Bradshaw entered these pumpkins – Freddy Krueger at left and E.T. at right – in a pumpkin-carving contest. She won first place with E.T.

Richard Gudgel of Hilton did a pumpkin-carving demonstration as part of the day’s events.

Gavin Mosher, 11, of Holley won first place for best decorated pumpkins. He painted these pumpkins to look like doughnuts.

Anne Moyer of Lyndonville carved a pumpkin to look like a house, and decorated pumpkins to look like the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs. She is shown with her daughters, Josie and Addison. They received second place for best carved pumpkin in a contest run by the Master Gardeners.

The Three Little Pigs are shown inside the pumpkin house created by Anne Moyer and her daughters.