MEDINA – Orleans Community Health has announced the launch of its New York State of Health Marketplace Assistance Program for 2026, made possible through a newly awarded grant supporting residents in both Orleans and Genesee counties.

They hope to extend the funding beyond 2026 to continue meeting the growing need for accessible health insurance guidance in the region, according to Scott Robinson, director of Marketing at OCH.

“Access to health coverage is foundational to building healthier communities,” Robinson said. “This grant allows us to expand our reach and ensure residents understand their options and receive the assistance they need at no cost.”

This initiative is part of OCH’s larger Healthy Communities Program, designed to provide health and wellness information to community members of all ages.

Through a partnership with the New York State Department of Health, certified navigators are now available to help individuals and families navigate their health insurance options through the NY State of Health Marketplace.

Navigators provide clear, unbiased information about available health insurance plans, helping residents compare coverage options, understand benefits and select plans that best meet their needs. These trained assistors offer personalized, one-on-one support to guide individuals through the enrollment process.

This free and confidential service is available at no cost to the community and includes assistance with:

• Applying for health insurance coverage
• Renewing or updating coverage plans
• Understanding eligibility for financial assistance
• Answering questions about available options and plan choices

One certified navigator will be based at the Batavia Dialysis Center and another at Medina Memorial Hospital. In addition to these locations, additional team members are available to assist, expanding the program’s reach across the region.

Beyond on-site appointments, certified navigators will conduct extensive community outreach, meeting individuals where it is most convenient – including community centers, libraries, partner organizations and local events. Navigators are already traveling to additional locations to further increase access and reduce barriers to enrollment.

Appointments are available by scheduling in advance, ensuring each individual receives dedicated time and support. All services are provided in a confidential setting, with a focus on helping residents find coverage that fits their unique needs.

Community members interested in scheduling an appointment, as well as organizations interested in hosting outreach visits, are encouraged to contact Orleans Community Health or visit OrleansCommunityHealth.org for more information.

Navigators may be reached directly by calling Jordan Grollmes in Orleans County at (585) 798-2476 or Dennis Ziolkowski in Genesee County at (585) 798-8125.

MEDINA – Nurses at Orleans Community Health walk an average of 105 miles every month, caring for patients, according to Megan Johnson, director of the Orleans Community Health Foundation.

“This May, we are inviting the community to try it,” Johnson said. “Not because it’s easy, but because it matters.”

May is designated as “Walk a Month in a Nurses’ Shoes” month, a virtual challenge where individuals walk 105 miles throughout May, while raising support for patient care, right here in our community, Johnson said. Orleans Community Health’s goal is $10,000.

Participants are encouraged to ask friends and family to support their journey with pledges or donations. They may walk at their own pace and track their miles however they choose.

The challenge follows a successful inaugural event in 2025.

Throughout the month of May, participants are encouraged to commit to walking 105 miles at their own pace – whether indoors or outdoors, individually or as part of a team. This flexible, inclusive format allows anyone to participate, regardless of fitness level or schedule.

Highlights of the event also include weekly prizes and community recognition, awards for top fundraisers and teams and friendly competition and community engagement.

“We were incredibly encouraged by the community’s response in 2025,” Johnson said. “This challenge is more than just a fitness goal – it’s a way to recognize the tireless work of our nurses and come together to make a meaningful impact on patient care in our community.”

“Whether you hit all 105 miles or just take the first step, you’re making a difference, because every dollar raised helps ensure care stays close to home for the people who need it most,” Johnson said. “Let’s show our nurses what their work means in this community – one step at a time.”

Donations can be sent to Orleans Community Health Foundation with the name of the person to be credited and their name will be added to the page.

Proceeds from the event directly benefit patient care initiatives at Orleans Community Health.

Photo by Tim McMurray

ALBION – It was a big haul of trash today with 342.5 pounds picked up along the railroad tracks in Albion. That is a new record high since the Albion Rotary Club and Rotary Interact started the annual cleanup in 2021. This year students from the Albion National Junior Honor Society joined the effort and helped set the new record, eclipsing the 307 pounds from last year.

Photos by Tom Rivers

The trash was picked up as part of the Erie Canal Cleanup efforts around the county and state today.

Three high school students – Gideon Pask, Nisi Beltran Roblero and Julia Graham – are picking up garbage near the railroad tracks close to West Academy Street.

The volunteers filled about 25 big trash bags in area just east of Platt Street going along the railroad tracks to West Academy Street.

Rotary Club members Mike Schmackpheffer and Sandra Walter work on an area east of Platt Street.

Tim Archer, the Interact Club advisor, teams with students Ayme Vallejo-Morales and Cordelia Rivers in getting trash along the tracks.

Albion mayor Tim McMurray helped haul about 25 bags of garbage to the drop area by Tinsel/The Lockstone where it will be picked up by Canal Corp. workers.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Gregory Hallock, executive director of the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council, presents a “Lifetime Achievement” award to Lynne Menz on Friday at GO Art! in Batavia. Menz received the award for her many years of working on arts and cultural events in Orleans County.

BATAVIA – The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council has recognized an organization and a long-time community member for their efforts to add cultural programs to Orleans County.

GO Art! each year presents Genean awards to people and organizations that are committed to cultural life in Genesee and Orleans counties. The awards were presented on March 28, but Lynne Menz, the Lifetime Achievement winner from Orleans County, was unable to attend the program that evening.

On Friday, when GO Art! was announcing its grants to cultural programs for 2026 in Orleans County, Menz also was presented with her Genean Award.

Menz, a Point Breeze resident, worked for many years with the Orleans County Tourism Department, and has been a very active volunteer with the Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association, Friends of the Orleans County Marine Park, Oak Orchard Lighthouse Association and Medina Sandstone Society.

Menz helped her father, the late Bill Menz, raise community support for a bronze statue of a soldier outside the YMCA in Medina, which formerly was used as the Medina Armory to train soldiers.

She is doesn’t with her projects. She is leading the Friends of Orleans County Marine Park in hosting a popup and jam on Sept. 12, a marketplace at the park on Route 98 with vendors and music.

There will also be a new fisherman selfie sign at the park for anglers to pose with fish.

Provided photo: Jodi Fisher, program director for GO ART!, presents the “Organization of the Year” award to the Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events Inc., a not-for-profit organization. This award was presented on March 28 to G-ACRE leaders, including Ron Albertson, center, and John Grillo, Albion’s recreation director for the past 50 years.

G-ACRE runs the annual Rock the Park – Albion Summer Music Festival, featuring bands and performers all day in an August celebration.

G-ACRE also has been a fundraising arm for recent improvements at Bullard Park, including new basketball and pickleball courts, a spray park, pavilion, disc golf course and other improvements.

The full list of Genean Awards includes:

• Lifetime Achievement in Orleans County: Lynne Menz
• Lifetime Achievement in Genesee County: Maryanne Arena
• Supporter (of the Cultural Sector) of the Year: Raeann Engler
• Individual Artist of the Year: Bill Schutt
• Honorable Mention: Lily Renz
• Organization of the Year: Greater Albion Community Recreation & Events, Inc. (G-ACRE)
• Volunteer of the Year: Andrea Hofmaster

Press Release, Medina Police Department

MEDINA – The Medina Police Department announces the arrest of Javon J. Presley, 37, of Niagara Falls, in connection with a robbery that occurred on February 14, 2026, in the Village of Medina.

Following an investigation by Sgt. Reeves and Officer Meredith, Presley was identified as a suspect. On April 16, 2026, he turned himself in to the Medina Police Department pursuant to an arrest warrant.

Presley has been charged with:

• Burglary in the Second Degree (New York State Penal Law §140.25[2])
• Robbery in the Third Degree (New York State Penal Law §160.05)
• Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree – Credit Card (New York State Penal Law §155.30[4])
• Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or Blood Circulation (New York State Penal Law §121.11)

Presley was processed and transported to the Orleans County Jail pending arraignment.

The Medina Police Department reminds the public that all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

David Hull has been prolific contributor to the series

(Left) This is the cover of the latest Chicken Soup for the Soul book, I can’t Stop Laughing, which featured 101 humorous tales and feel-good stories. (Right) David Hull, shown in a file photo from 2018, has been featured in about 30 of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

HOLLEY – David Hull has written another story that is featured in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

The newest book will be released on April 28 and features 101 stories over 320 pages. The book – “I Can’t Stop Laughing” – includes a story by Hull.

In “It’s All Behind Me Now,” Hull shares a story about sitting on an M & M and having it smear on the back of his khaki pants. He had to give a presentation at parent’s night assembly while he was working as a teacher.  He was then invited to a fancy dinner afterwards with members of the school administration.

Hull continues to be a prolific contributor to the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. He has written stories that are featured in about 30 of the books.

Hull is a retired preschool teacher. He grew up in Brockport. Hull has said he checks the Chicken Soup website for future book themes and also gets emails from them about topics. He sends in submissions and said he is accepted about 50 percent of the time.

“If you get rejected you have to try again,” he said in a previous interview.

The most popular Chicken Soup books tend to be humorous ones, and books about pets, Hull said.

Hull studied English in college and earned a degree in education. He worked 28 years as a teacher at the Brockport Child Development Center at Brockport State College.

The Chicken Soup for the Soul series debuted in 1993 and now has published 400 titles and sold more than 100 million copies. The books have been translated into more than 40 languages. For more information on Chicken Soup for the Soul, click here.

Provided images: Local author Wendi Pencille and her dog Crush will be at Author’s Note Bookstore on April 25, where she will join several other artists in signing books to celebrate the store’s fifth annual Independent Bookstore Day.

MEDINA – Medina’s independent bookstore, Author’s Note, will join more than 2,000 bookstores around the country in celebrating Independent Bookstore Day on April 25.

In addition to games, activities and giveaways, the day’s festivities between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. will include visiting authors, Ed Ashton, Kate Hosford, David Neth and Wendi Pencille, who will sign books and greet readers.

Children’s author Kate Hosford of Brooklyn will sign books between noon and 1:30 p.m. She is author of seven picture books and two poetry collections, garnering awards such as an American Library Association Notable Book, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, a Junior Library Guild Selection and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book.

Children’s author Kate Hosford will sign books at Author’s Note.

Her books have been published in eight languages. Her newest title, You and I are Stars and Night, celebrates the love between children and their caregivers through a magical bedtime adventure. In addition to her appearance at Author’s Note, Hosford will do a presentation at Royalton Hartland Community Library at 6 p.m. April 23, and at 5 p.m. April 24 at Author’s Note, following visits to Oak Orchard Primary School in Medina and DeSales Lower School in Lockport.

Ed Ashton has written several novels, including The Fourth Consort.

Ed Ashton, a celebrated speculative fiction author of Mickey 7, the novel on which the movie Mickey 17 was based, will sign books from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Ashton is also the author of the novels Three Days in April, The End of Ordinary, Antimatter Blues, Mal Goes to War and The Fourth Consort, as well as short stories which have appeared in venues ranging from the newsletter of an Italian sausage company to Escape Pod, Analog and Fireside Fiction. He lives in a cabin on the shore of an inland sea, where he enjoys cancer research, teaching quantum physics to sullen graduate students and whittling. His newest novels, After the Fall and the Fourth Consort released earlier this year.

David Neth has a new book out, This Time Around.

Author D. Allen, aka David Neth, is a local school librarian who will sign books at the bookstore between 10:30 and noon. D. Allen writes heartfelt small-town romance, such as the Montana Beach and Small Town Christmas series.  He also writes urban fantasy and superhero fiction under his own name. A school librarian with more than a decade in the book world, he lives in Western New York with his family. His newest novel, This Time Around, released this week.

Wendi Pencille is a local author who will sign books with her dog Crush from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Crush is the main character, cover model and inspiration for Pencille’s new book Crush Finds His Place. P

encille has spent the past 25 years as a therapy dog volunteer, working with children and adults with special needs. As the human sidekick to Crush, a remarkable St. Bernard and certified therapy dog, Pencille will admit he is the star of the team, while she is primarily the chauffer and treat dispenser.

Over the years, her eight therapy dogs have formed very special bonds with the people they visit. It is one of those relationships that was the inspiration for her first children’s book, Crush Finds His Place. Pencille shares her home in Medina with her family, four dogs, a cat and usually a foster dog or cat as well.

All of the visiting author’s books are available now for purchase or online order from Author’s Note. Reserving copies in advance is strongly recommended.

Independent Bookstore Day spotlights the vitality and creative richness that locally-owned independent bookstores bring to readers, authors and neighborhoods in ways chains and e-commerce sites cannot replicate, said owner and author Julie Berry.

This will be the fifth annual Independent Bookstore Day for Author’s Note and the 13th anniversary of the event sponsored by the American Booksellers Association. In 2025, more than 1,600 bookstores celebrated Independent Bookstore Day. This year, the number jumps to more than 2,000, signifying the ongoing flourishing of independent bookstores nationwide, Berry said.

“Every year, Independent Bookstore Day gets bigger and better,” said American Booksellers Association CEO Allison Hill. “It feels more meaningful than ever this year to celebrate what indie bookstores represent – human connection, diversity and inclusivity, independent thought and independence and the power of community and truth.”

Author’s Note self-chosen theme for the day is “Bookstore Joy,” celebrating the genuine happiness bookstores infuse into the life of their communities by sharing stories and fostering real connection and community.

“The love people feel for Author’s Note and the way they light up when they walk through the door is the beautiful surprise I couldn’t have predicted before I owned a bookstore,” Berry said. “Every day I see anew how deeply our customers care for us. They’re glad we’re here. They feel at home here. They add so much joy to our lives. We hope, on this day especially, to reflect even more of that love and joy back to them.”

Throughout the day, in addition to meeting the authors, customers will share in games, including hunting for a Libro.fm Golden Ticket that will entitle the winner to a year of free audiobooks; crafts with children’s author Kate Hosford and a chance to pet Crush, Pencille’s therapy dog. Customers can win gift cards Author’s Note T-shirts and gift baskets. Several IBD-exclusive items supplied by the ABA will be available for sale or giveaway that day only.

Independent Bookstore Day isn’t only about the intangible benefits indie bookstores bring, but about tangible economic benefits, Berry explained. Local bookstores return two and a half to four times as much revenue to their local economies as chains do, while keeping jobs and revenue local and boosting local sales tax volumes.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the rise in online bookselling, chain stores and e-readers caused many people to predict the death of the independent bookstore, Berry reported. Yet, between 2009 and 2018, the number of independent bookstores rose nearly 50 percent. Harvard Business School researcher Ryan Rafaelli, in a landmark 2020 entitled “The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores,” explained that indie bookstores thrive in an online-heavy book market by differentiating themselves along three lines: Community, Curation and Convening.

Berry continued to explain, “Community” refers to how local bookstores strengthen local economies and add vitality to shopping districts. “Curation” underscores how local book-buyers can select inventory that reflects the tastes and preferences of local shoppers, while “Convening” emphasizes the ways bookstores foster a shared sense of community amongst book-lovers by creating book-friendly spaces and hosting events, such as book clubs, story times and author readings to draw readers together.

For more information about Independent Bookstore Day festivities at Author’s Note, 519 Main St., or to reserve copies of the visiting authors’ books, visit AuthorsNote.com, e-mail info@authorsnote.com or call (585) 798-3642.

Bradley Pierce started taking college classes in the 6^th grade

Photos by Tom Rivers: Bradley Pierce will graduate from Albion High School on June 26, a year ahead of schedule. He will receive his degree from Genesee Community College on May 16.

ALBION – Bradley Pierce was in sixth grade when he took his first college class. He earned an A in computer information systems at Genesee Community College.

In the past five years, he has completed 63 college credits and will graduate from GCC on May 16. About six weeks later on June 26, he will graduate from Albion High School. The 16-year-old is headed to Rochester Institute of Technology to major in software engineering with a minor in AI.

Bradley is pulling off a rare feat of graduating a year early and having an associate’s degree before his high school commencement.

He has been precocious since a young age, even reading his father’s old college textbooks about computer science when Bradley was in elementary school.

During the Covid pandemic in 2020, schools turned to online learning due to the restrictions on having students in person at school. Bradley didn’t find the assignments challenging. He was bored and frustrated.

His parents, Kandace and Nick Pierce, shared their concerns with the Albion Middle School leadership. The principal suggested Bradley audit a college class.

The Pierce family talked to GCC, which was willing to try Bradley in the ACE program (Accelerated College Enrollment), which allows high school students to enroll in college-level courses and to earn college credits. GCC let Bradley try one course, not wanting to overwhelm him. Bradley had no problems, attaining a very high A in that first class, which was in the spring semester of sixth grade.

He took one or two GCC classes every semester after that, from seventh to 11^th grade, with a couple classes also last summer. (Bradley was considered a junior to start this high school year.) All of the college classes have been online, except for five that were taught by Albion teachers in person at the high school, allowing Bradley and his classmates to earn dual credits.

“I preferred the online classes because they are more intense,” he said. “I can go at my own pace.”

Bradley Pierce has used an accelerated schedule to complete a course load through high school and also Genesee Community College. He will attend Rochester Institute of Technology to major software engineering.

Bradley is finishing up his last GCC class this semester in discrete math, which is about theories, proofs, logical math and their applications to computer programming.

He has managed his academic demands while also working three or four days a week at Save-A-Lot in Albion. He also had a job with the Village of Albion last year digitizing old public records. He is in the National Honor Society, Student Council and Yearbook Club at Albion.

“Bradley is a renaissance man,” said Tina Burgett, one of his teachers at Albion. “He is interested in many things and he is excellent at many things.”

Burgett first taught Bradley in fourth grade as his art teacher. She has also led his art classes in the middle and high schools.

She praised him for bringing a passion for learning in all of his subjects, including a pottery class were he made an exceptional bust.

“Art can be scary for someone who is focused on math and computers,” she said. “But he cares about the end product. I think he has an infectious excitement for the things he cares about. It’s been a blessing to be his teacher.”

Nick and Kandace Pierce knew their son Bradley was precocious when he was a little kid. He started cracking the Wi-Fi signal at age 8. He was reading college-level computer science textbooks in elementary school, and was writing his own computer programs. He also found security gaps in some on the popular online computer games, and he let operators know about those vulnerabilities, which he said were resolved.

Bradley made his own computer programming language, Scrybe. He created games on his graphing calculator in high school, including Tetris. He developed a Spanish conjugation program that is now available for other students.

Bradley’s father has a computer degree and is a self-described “electronics nerd.” He does electronics repair and works at Ace Hardware. Bradley’s mother is an intensive care nurse at United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia.

Bradley has a brother Jacob who is in fifth grade and also enjoys computer programming, and loves chess.

The Pierces are from Oklahoma City. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce were on a vacation to Niagara Falls when they fell in love with Western New York. They moved to WNY in 2016, impressed with the quality of schools, the relatively low-cost living and the many healthcare options.

“We liked the old Victorian homes,” Mr. Pierce said. “There are no tornadoes and we like the agricultural landscape.”

Press Release, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Treasury United States Mint: The Commission of Fine Arts on March 19 approved a design of a commemorative coin for the country’s 250th anniversary with an image of President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, with 1776 on one side and 2026 on the other.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) formally introduced new legislation to stop President Trump’s absurd practice of putting his face and name all over government property.

The Halting Unilateral Money and Building Labeling by Egotistical (HUMBLE) Presidents Act would bar the use of a sitting U.S. president’s name, image, likeness, or signature to decorate or designate federal property, assets, or currency. Gillibrand initially announced that she would be introducing this legislation on last month’s No Kings Day of Nonviolent Action.

“The president of the United States serves the people, not the other way around,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Right now, working families are struggling to afford groceries and sky-high health care bills. They want their president bringing down costs and putting money back in their pockets, not spending time and taxpayer dollars on self-promotion. The HUMBLE Presidents Act would force our leaders to focus on the issues that truly matter to American families, not their own personal brand, and I will work to get it passed through Congress.”

The HUMBLE Presidents Act would include prohibitions on actions such as hanging banners with a sitting president’s face on the side of federal buildings; naming a class of warships after a sitting president; tacking the sitting president’s name onto the name of an existing federal building; depicting a sitting president on a federally issued commemorative coin; or placing a sitting president’s signature on U.S. paper currency.

Specifically, the bill would:

• Prohibit the name, image, likeness, and signature of a sitting president to be used to designate or name any federal property or buildings, U.S. currency, and other federal assets.

• Prohibit the name, image, likeness, and signature of a sitting president to be used to decorate the exterior of any federal property or buildings, U.S. currency, and other federal assets.

• Prohibit federal funds from being used for either of the above activities.

Roswell mobile lung screening unit will be at Hoag on April 20, 21

Press Release, Hoag Library

ALBION – We’re pleased to share that the UR Medicine Mobile Mammography Unit will be returning to Hoag Library on June 5 (and March 30, 2027).

Appointments and registration are handled directly through UR Medicine. Additionally, the Roswell mobile lung screening unit will be at Hoag Library on Monday, April 20 and Tuesday, April 21, and the Red Cross will have a Blood Drive on June 13.

The mammography unit will be available from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on June 5 at the library, 134 South Main St.

Call 1-844-870-0002 or email mammovan@urmc.rochester.edu for more information.

For information on the lung cancer screening unit, click here or call 1-800-ROSWELL (767-9355).

Hoag also will be hosting the blood drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 13. To make an appointment call 1-800 RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or go to redcrossblood.org.

ALBION – A Medina man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and could face up to five years in state prison when he is sentenced on July 1.

Reginald Kendrick, 50, was charged after law enforcement on Nov. 12 seized a loaded unbranded polymer “ghost” semi-automatic 9 mm pistol with an extended 30-round magazine.

He initially faced charges of second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in Orleans County Court.

Kendrick is a prior felon after being convicted of selling cocaine in October 2016. Kendrick, in court on Wednesday, admitted he had a loaded pistol.

District Attorney Susan Howard said the gun was tested by a Niagara County lab and determined to be operable.

In another case in County Court on Wednesday,

• Corey Wilson Jr., 19, of Albion was arraigned on four counts of drug charges, including three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree.

He was charged by law enforcement after a traffic stop on July 21, 2025 in the town of Gaines. He allegedly had two containers of cocaine, including one with 2.17 ounces of cocaine.

Wilson pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday.

Mayor seeks assistance from state and federal governments

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Village of Holley has made several improvements to its police station in recent years but the back wall of the village-owned building next door is in grave condition, and faces $150,000 in emergency repairs, Mayor Mark Bower said.

HOLLEY – Village officials are facing an unexpected emergency repair on the back wall of the building that is connected to the police station on Thomas Street.

Mayor Mark Bower said the entire back wall of the building that is part of the police station needs to be replaced. The village had a structural engineer and contractor look at the back brick wall and the damage was worse than expected. The extensive water damage was revealed when the beadboard and paneling were removed.

The Village Board was expecting to spend $17,000 to $20,000 on the project, but now it will take an estimated $150,000 to fix the problem.

Bower said he has reached out to offices of Congresswoman Claudia Tenney and Assemblyman Steve Hawley to see if the state and federal governments have any funding to help with an emergency repair. He also is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office in Batavia for financial assistance.

“Significant fractures in the brick wall and even the lintels themselves were so much worse than ever anticipated,” Bower wrote in an April 9 letter to Tenney’s office. “While we had nominally budgeted for labor and materials for the job, we are now facing more extensive repairs likely exceeding 150K.”

The police station is right next to the crumbling wall, but Bower said there is a stable wall separating the two sites and the police department should be able to continue to function at the site in the near future. However, he said the code enforcement officer would be justified in requiring the police department to vacant the premises giving the condition of the back wall to the adjoining property.

Bower said there isn’t an alternative site in the village for the police station if it was forced to leave its police station.

He would like the wall to be repaired as soon as possible. The building is from 1900, Bower said.

The village has made several improvements to the police station since 2022, Bower noted, including a new roof, gutters and downspouts, new fascia, doors and windows. The front of the building was repainted and the back one third of the property also has been repaired, Bower said.

“This is essential to the village operations due to the police station,” Bower said in stating his case for state and federal support for the repairs.

Photos courtesy of Tim Archer

ROCHESTER – A group of Albion High School students spent the school day on Wednesday at East High in Rochester as part of an urban/rural student exchange.

Students from East High will visit Albion on April 30 and experience some of “farm country.”

The Albion students are in the Rotary Interact Club. They were in classes at East High and students from both schools shared about their schools and lifestyles. The two schools have done this exchange for 12 years.

Emmaline Gailie of Albion, front center, and students from East High and Albion had lunch together on Wednesday.

Olivia Andrews, left, and Tra’Monie Walker of Albion, right, enjoy lunch with new friends from East High.

The students learned that despite the many outward differences, they were alike in many ways, said Tim Archer, the Interact Club advisor.