DOT closes part of Route 98 in Barre-Elba for emergency culvert replacement

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 July 2025 at 3:12 pm

BARRE – The state Department of Transportation has closed a section of Route 98 between Gillette Road in Barre and Ridge Road in Elba for an emergency culvert replacement.

The closure is expected to last several weeks, the Orleans County Emergency Management Office said.

DOT staff were out just before 3 p.m. to put up signs and barriers, shutting down a section of Route 98. The DOT has suggested a detour on Route 31A to Rt. 237 or to Rt. 262.

600 cyclists make trek through Orleans County along towpath

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 July 2025 at 11:33 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – These cyclists cross the lift bridge in Holley this morning as part of a 62-mile ride today from Medina to Fairport.

The Cycle the Erie Canal journey started Sunday in Buffalo and the cyclists made it to Medina, where they camped in tents. The entire ride will be about 400 miles ending in Albany on July 20.

This cyclist get her picture taken on the Holley boardwalk with a banner noting it’s the Erie Canal’s bicentennial this year.

Tom Henker of Goshen watches the lift bridge in Holley go up when a boater passed through. This is Henker’s fourth time cycling the Erie Canal and the first time seeing a lift bridge in action.

“I’ve never seen it go up or down,” he said. “It’s cool.”

These two cyclists approach Hulberton on the ride this morning.

These cyclists ride along the towpath as the get close to the lift bridge in Holley.

The cyclists had lots of beverages and snacks in Holley near the gazebo. Holley is an official rest stop for the cyclists.

John and Wendy Kenney greet Orly the Ox, the county’s bicentennial mascot, at Holley’s official rest stop where the 600 cyclists can get water, Gatorade, coffee, pastries and fruit.

Mr. Kenney, the former mayor of Holley, has volunteered at the stop for 27 years. His wife has helped out the past 20 years.

“You get to meet people from all over the country and world,” she said.

Mr. Kenney said he touts the assets in the Holley community and encourages the cyclists to come back.

The Albion Merchants Association also had water and fruit snacks ready for the cyclists this morning. Albion is an unofficial stop providing refreshments for the cyclists.

Mark Olsen gets his picture taken with Santa in Albion. Santa was there to promote Albion’s role as home of a Santa School from 1937 to 1966.

Olsen recently moved from Portland, Oregon to Millerton in Dutchess County. He said the bike ride adventure was off to a good start the first two days.

“The trails are well marked and the food is fantastic,” he said.

These three siblings grew up in Medina near the canal. They are riding the towpath together for the 8-day ride along the canal. From left include Bronwyn Green, Billy Balcerzak and Brandi Zavitz. Green has done the ride twice before while this is the first time for her brother and sister.

Wise Intermediate School in Medina hosted the cyclists last night and a tent city was created on the school grounds. The cyclists headed east this morning through the rest of Orleans County with the end point today in Fairport.

A cyclists crosses the lift bridge in Holley to go to the rest area.

These cyclists were happy to take a break in Holley on today’s ride.

The cyclists are out in the country on the towpath after passing the Densmore Road bridge in Albion with the Transit Road bridge in the distance.

Medina FC locks up 1st Div. championship

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 14 July 2025 at 9:54 am

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Peter Martillotta, shown here working against a Ukraine defender, scored the game winning goal in the final minute.

Scoring late in dramatic fashion, the Medina Mustangs FC nipped Ukraine 1-0 at Vets Park Sunday evening to capture the Buffalo District Soccer League 1st Division regular season title, lock up the No. 1 seed for the up coming playoffs and earn a promotion to the Championship Division for next year.

Peter Martillotta scored the game winner in the final minute off an assist from Caleb Suckow as Tyler Ribbeck made several big saves in goal on the evening to preserve the shutout.

Medina improves to 8-0-1 on the season good for a title clinching 25 points. The Mustangs will host second place Mandem in the regular season finale at 6 p.m. Sunday. Mandem is 6-0-3 on the season good for 21 points.

Ethan Leonard advances the ball up field for Medina ahead of a pair of Ukraine players.

600 cyclists reach Medina, head east through rest of Orleans on Monday

By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 13 July 2025 at 9:16 pm

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Jose Corte of Long Island, left, and Yang Chen of Queens pose with their bikes in front of their tent, set up for the night at the Clifford Wise Intermediate School.

MEDINA – More than 600 bikers and 106 support staff are spending the night camped on the grounds of Wise Junior/Senior High School on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride from Buffalo to Albany.

This is the 27th year for the ride, which left Buffalo Sunday morning and will end in eight days in Albany. The ride also celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

The 400-mile trek over eight days is organized by Parks & Trails New York. This year there are cyclists from 37 states between the ages of 8 and 84. The tour this year also celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

Tents are set up all around Wise Intermediate School, including these in front of the school. Setting up their tent, in green shirts, are Kathy and Eric Medlin of Jamestown, N.C., first-time riders on Cycle the Erie Canal.

Medina has annually been a designated overnight stop for the bikers, who come from all parts of the country. They are headed 62 miles east on Monday to Fairport.

Some, like Michael Burke of Edenton, N.C. have completed the ride multiple times, while others, like Christy Greening of Mickleton, N.J. are participating for the first time.

Burke grew up in Binghamton, and has biked in this ride more than 20 times. He loves the overnight in Medina, and looks forward every year to the band Pocket Change. Dinner is always wonderful, he said.

Christy Greening of Mickleton, N.J. arranges her tent for the night during the stop in Medina on the Cycling the Erie Canal ride.

Greening learned about the ride last year from a man she met on the CNO Canal ride from Maryland to Washington, D.C. He told her he does that ride one year and the Erie Canal the next. Greening is riding alone and said she has met a lot of solo riders.

“Next year, we joked us solo riders should all get Solo cups to identify us,” Greening said. “We consider this ‘summer camp for adults.’”

The Medina Tourism Committee, chaired by Jim Hancock, helps to welcome the cyclists for their stay in Medina. Hancock and wife Barb, Barb Gorham and Jan Smith, and Dawn Borchet and Isabella Zasa from Orleans County Tourism answered questions and provided information at the information tent.

Michael Burke of Edenton, N.C. registers as Orleans County tourism director Dawn Borchet watches in the tourism booth set up on the grounds of Wise Intermediate School.

Zambistro’s was hired by Parks and Trails New York to provide Sunday night supper and breakfast before the bikers started on their way Monday morning.

Hancock praised the support from the Medina school district, which made everything possible.

“Without the wonderful cooperation of the schools Grounds Superintendent Kevin and his assistant Cindy, we couldn’t do this,” Hancock said.

At 4 p.m., Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers gave a presentation on Medina sandstone and interesting sites to see in Orleans County.

He showed pictures of many sandstone buildings, including the First Presbyterian Church of Albion, the tallest building in Orleans County at 175 feet; the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church with at least 41 Tiffany windows; the Medina Armory, now a YMCA; three churches in Medina made of sandstone and other sites in Orleans County and beyond.

He said sandstone is not just a local thing, with many churches and mansions in Buffalo, and sandstone in the steps of the Capitol in Albany and part of Albany City Hall. Medina Sandstone is prominent in many canal communities, near and far, and could be readily shipped from the quarries in Orleans County.

(Left) Jim Hancock, left, chair of Orleans County Tourism Committee, chats with Dylan Carey, director of Policy and Planning for Parks and Trails New York. (Right) Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers gave a presentation in Wise school auditorium on Medina Sandstone and attractions in Orleans County. Here, he holds a picture of the historic Presbyterian Church in Albion.

Rivers explained there were about 50 quarries in Orleans County during its peak between 1890 and 1910, with quarrymen coming from Britain, Italy, Ireland and Poland. Two quarrymen, who went home one winter to the Isle of Guernsey, came back and were lost when the Titanic went down April 14, 1912. There is a monument for those two – William Doughton and Peter MacKain – at Hillside Cemetery in Holley/Clarendon.

Rivers described Albion’s historic Courthouse Square, and the 1822 lighthouse in Charlotte, the oldest known sandstone structure, which is still standing strong. Rivers also described the Soldiers and Sailors monument in Mount Albion Cemetery and the Medina Sandstone used in Hamlin Beach State Park by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Rivers told bikers about Albion being home to the world’s first Santa Claus School and the first Free Methodist Church in the world, and explained the Cobblestone Museum was a short ride north of Albion.

Leaving Medina, the bikers were advised to look for the canal culvert, the only place in the world where a road goes under a canal. Rivers also said someone had discovered markings in the stones, some with initials and others with crosses.

He also said in 1825 the canal was four feet deep and 40 feet wide. Now it’s 12 to 14 feet deep and about 120 feet wide.

“It really was a ditch,” he said. “In Holley, the bend was too sharp and had to be straightened out.”

Of 16 lift bridges on the Erie Canal, seven are in Orleans County.

It is the hope of tourism professionals in the county that the bikers’ interests will be peaked and they will make a return visit.

Such is the case with biker John Zawistowski of Jamestown, Pa.

“This is my first time here,” he said. “I heard about the Railroad Museum and the sandstone, and I’m going to come back.”

A sea of tents is spread out on the lawn at Wise Intermediate School in Medina, where more than 600 bikers are spending the night on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride.

Medina captures I-90 Shootout Tourney title

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 13 July 2025 at 5:33 pm

Contributed Photo – The Medina Mustangs 17U team celebrates after capturing the I-90 Shootout Tournament championship this afternoon at Genesee Community College.

The Medina Mustangs 17U baseball team scored a pair of victories at Genesee Community College this afternoon to capture the I-90 Shootout Tournament championship.

Medina first downed the Greece Gladiators 4-3 in the semifinals to avenge an earlier round 6-3 loss on Saturday.

The Mustangs scored two quick runs in the first inning on an RBI triple by Carter Woodworth and an RBI single by Brody Fry, one in the third on a single by Jimmy Dieter and an RBI single by Colton Smith and once in the fourth on doubles by Konner Malcolm and Cam Noonan.

Lukas Grimes earned the win on the mound scattering 5 hits and striking out 6.

Medina then blanked the Elmira Elite 10-0 in the championship game as Woodworth hurled a two hitter with 6 strikeouts.

Medina again got off to a quick start scoring twice in the first inning on an error and an RBI single by Fry.

Fry also had a two-run double to highlight a three-run third inning which was set up by an error and singles by Smith and Vinny Gray.

The Mustangs locked up the win by scoring twice in the fourth on a steal of home and an RBI single by Grimes and three times in the fifth on RBI singles by Fry, Tyler Kroening and Kolton Fletcher.

Green ties for 2nd at Epson Tourney in Conn.

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 13 July 2025 at 5:15 pm

Contributed Photo – Melanie Green lines up a putt at this weekend’s Epson Tournament in Connecticut.

An up and down final round of one under par 71 today was good enough to earn Medina’s Melanie Green a share of second place at the Epson Pro Golf Tour’s Hartford Healthcare Women’s Championship in Connecticut.

A birdie on the final hole earned Green the one under par round and a four day tournament total of 8 under par 280.

She also registered birdies on the day on 5, 6, 11 and 15 to offset four bogeys.

Green opened the tourney with a 1 over par round of 73 on Thursday but rebounded with a 5 under par round of 67 on Friday with six birdies to make the cut. That set the stage for a 3 under par round of 69 on Saturday to move her into a share of fourth place and into title contention.

Green has now finished second, first and fourth in her last three Epson Tournaments.

Next she will compete in the Epson Tournament in Guilderland, N/Y. near Albany this coming week.

Lyndonville Lions thanks GO Art! and community for support

Posted 13 July 2025 at 11:55 am

Provided photo: Crash Cadillac performs at the Yates Town Park on July 10.

Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club

YATES – This past Thursday night the Lyndonville Lions hosted their annual community appreciation concert.

This annual event which expresses the appreciation to the community and individual supporters, and featured a crowd favorite, Crash Cadillac. The band performed their play list of crowd-pleasing music for three hours as the Lions handed out hot dogs and ice-cold beverages.

The Lions Club wants to thank GO Art! for their financial support which helps the club bring events like this to the Town of Yates and the people of Orleans County.

In further club activities, the Lions will take a short break until mid-August when they will host their summer chicken barbecue on Sunday, August 17th.  The event will be supported by Chiavetta’s and will be take-out only.  Serving will start at 11:30 am Sunday morning at the White Birch Golf Course and go until sold out.

The Lions Club has scheduled its second annual Oktoberfest for Saturday, October 18th at 5 p.m.  The event will include a repeat performance by the award-winning Oktoberfest band from Buffalo, The Frankfurters.

Tickets will go on sale in mid-September and attendees will be treated to an evening of German Oktoberfest music, an authentic Oktoberfest buffet complete with schnitzel, spätzle, red cabbage and soft pretzels with beer cheese dip. It is also expected that mugs of German-style Oktoberfest beverages will be available for purchase. The White Birch Golf Course will host the Lions for this event.

As always, the Lyndonville Lions want to express their gratitude to the community at large.  As we enter the “Dog Days of Summer,” the club extends its thanks and wishes for a safe and health-filled summer to all.

We look forward to our upcoming events and hope to see you there. May God continue to bless this great country, keep watch over the men and women of our military, and bestow his mercy on us all.

Elba ‘A’ claims Midget 12U playoff title

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 13 July 2025 at 9:56 am

Elba ‘A’ edged rival Elba ‘B’ 5-2 in the Albion Midget League 12U Division playoff championship game on Saturday.

Liam Langiewicz had an RBI double in the fourth inning to tie the game. Nathan Buczak then banged out a big two-run double in the fifth frame to give Elba ‘A’ a 5-1 lead.

Buczak also picked up the win on the mound as he scattered 5 hits and struck out 15.

Brody Yark and Logan Bezon both had 2 hits, including a double, for Elba ‘B’.  Yark drove in a pair of runs.

On the mound, Yark and Luke Gaylord combined for a 4 hitter with 10 strikeouts.

No. 2 seeded Elba ‘A’ advanced to the title contest by edging No. 3 Barre 1-0 in the semifinals while No. 4 Elba ‘B’ upended top seeded Sandstone 10-3.

STAMP poses too many threats to environment, Tonawanda Nation

Posted 13 July 2025 at 8:40 am

Editor:

The Oak Orchard River flows through the heart of Shelby Center where I grew up. Us kids just called it the “crick” and it was our playground. We fished, swam, built rafts, and camped out on the crick.

I think it is important to keep our water ways clean and teaming with life for other generations to enjoy like we did. Many people in Orleans County weren’t aware of STAMP (Science, Technology & Advanced Manufacturing Park) until last year, when it became public knowledge that they had plans to daily dump 6 million gallons of phosphorus laden waste water into Oak Orchard River which is already deemed endangered due to high phosphorus levels.

The Tonawanda Seneca Nation has been fighting to protect their land and way of life from STAMP for over 20 years. It would have been longer had STAMP consulted with the Nation  before they even got started as required by Federal Law.  But they didn’t and this has a pattern they have followed at every turn.

They try to sneak things through before anyone can respond or stop them. When the GCEDC (Genesee County Economic Development Center) is legally required to have public meetings about STAMP they publicize it as minimally as possible and schedule it during the middle of a work week to minimize the attendance.

The Environmental Impact Study they use is from 2012 and doesn’t cover their hydrogen plant or the proposed Data Center. This flagrant violation has led the Nation to join the Sierra Club in a lawsuit against STAMP, the data center and the Town Oakfield.  The EIS isn’t just law…it is common sense. Don’t we need to know the impact a such a large new business would have on the environment?

The proposed, massive data center would be the size of 17 football fields and would require extensive cooling and a massive amount of electricity. The lack of water for cooling would require them to use many loud industrial air conditioners that would certainly effect the balance of nature in the area.

While National Grid is telling us to expect a 20% increase in our electric bills and to conserve energy, they are giving the Data Center massive breaks to use an extraordinary amount of power. The jobs they promise are minimal and subsidized by us, the tax payers and would likely go to highly trained outsiders.

From its initial concept, the placing of STAMP in such an important and fragile ecosystem was dubious. It is located next to a sovereign nation, the ancient Big Woods, a national wildlife refuge and a state wildlife management center where it poses a great environmental risk to all. The terrain would force any chemical leakage or spill to drain into the Tonawanda Creek where it would directly effect the way of life of the Nation. STAMP would be required to keep thousands of gallon of fuel on site in case of and electrical failure and a fire at a data center would have to be extinguished with chemicals. The 3 tributaries on STAMP property all flow into Tonawanda Creek.

The threat to Oak Orchard River is still present. The chemical spill in the swamps last year from their attempt to drill the pipeline through the swamps has certainly slowed them down. But the plan to run a pipeline through Orleans County is only on hold.

GCEDC is trying to discharge waste water through Oakfield, using horizontal drilling where it could affect underground water tables and tributaries of the Oak Orchard River. Without an updated EIS no one knows the potential risk to the Oak Orchard Creek is or the effect it would have on the neighboring Big Woods and National Wildlife Refuge.

Anyone wanting to have a clearer understanding of the impact STAMP could have is invited to come to a public meeting presented by the Allies of The Tonawanda Seneca Nation on July 17th at the Shelby Fire Hall on Rt. 63 from 6 to 8 p.m.

The litigation against the data center and other issues will be addressed. You will hear from the Nation how this can affect their way of life from the dangers of their wells being poisoned to the negative impact on the vegetation and wildlife that that they use for food, medicine and ceremony.

The Allies of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation will give you facts that STAMP won’t. STAMP gains much for themselves with little to offer to us the people other than risk to our land and wildlife. They are a Trojan horse.

Sincerely,

Arthur Barnes

Shelby resident and ally of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation

Book explores hardships for oppressed who built and worked on Erie Canal in the early days

By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 13 July 2025 at 8:15 am

Photo by Tom Rivers: Mark Ferrara shares about his book chronicling the Erie Canal during a presentation Saturday at Author’s Note in Medina.

MEDINA – An English professor at the State University of Oneonta has written a book about the Erie Canal, focusing on the American communities along its banks and the ordinary people who lived, worked and died there.

Mark Ferrara visited Author’s Note Book Store on Saturday afternoon to sign copies and read from his book, The Raging Erie: Life and Labor Along the Erie Canal.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Mark Ferrara signs copies of his latest book, “The Raging Erie: Life and Labor Along the Erie Canal,” at Author’s Note Book Store on Saturday afternoon.

Ferrara grew up in the Richmond, Va. area, which he considers an “American community.” He also realized there were many American communities along the canal, including Utica and Syracuse where his parents grew up.

Realizing the canal’s bicentennial was coming up, Ferrara began reading everything he could about poor and working class who were forgotten whenever the canal was celebrated. His book took four years to complete – two years of research and then two more to put it all together and get it published.

Ferrara chronicles the fates of the Native Americans whose land was appropriated for the canal, the European immigrants who bored its route through the wilderness and the orphan children who drove the draft animals that pulled boats around the clock.

The author also shows how the canal served as a conduit for the movement of new ideas and religions, a corridor for enslaved people seeking freedom via the Underground Railroad and a spur for social reform movements that emerged in response to the poverty and suffering along its path.

The Raging Erie explores the social dislocation and untold hardships at the heart of a major engineering feat, shedding light on the lives of the canallers who toiled on behalf of American expansion.

Ferrara is also the author of seven books, two of which are American Community: Radical Experiments in Intentional Living and Living the Food Allergic Life. He has taught for universities in South Korea, China and on a Fulbright scholarship in Turkey.

This is the author’s first visit to Medina, and he planned to spend some time exploring the village before heading home.

The Raging Erie is available at Author’s Note, 519 Main St., or online at authorsnote.com. Signed copies can also be ordered for pickup or free shipping at the store’s website.

Boxwood gives tips on unending task of cleaning headstones

By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 12 July 2025 at 7:40 pm

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Approximately 30 people showed up at Boxwood Cemetery on Saturday morning to learn about cleaning headstones.

MEDINA – Cleaning headstones is an ongoing task, as Friends of Boxwood Cemetery learned this morning.

Todd Bensley, a member of Friends of Boxwood Cemetery and Village of Medina historian, led a seminar for approximately 30 people, in which he demonstrated the proper technique and materials to clean a headstone.

The first headstone cleaning event took place in 2022, after a professional came and demonstrated how it should be done, Bensley said.

“I’ve been leading a seminar annually since then,” he said.

He explained why it is important to clean headstones, especially old ones.

“When lichens accumulate on the headstones, it eats away on the stone,” Bensley said. “Cleaning them preserves their history. For some people, their gravestone is the only way we know they existed. If the lettering is illegible, we have no way of knowing who they are. As village historian I wrote several books on Boxwood Cemetery. I tried to find information on some of the burials by going through archives, but the information on their gravestone was all I could find. If there is growth on them, it will eventually eat them away.”

Bensley’s wife Nicole this morning checked in participants, including several new members who signed up for Friends of Boxwood Cemetery. Copies of Todd’s book on Boxwood Cemetery were also available for sale.

Bensley explained there are 5,000 burials in Boxwood Cemetery, and even with two burials in a plot, that still adds up to a lot of headstones. He said it typically takes 20 to 30 minutes to clean the average headstone. He demonstrated the equipment needed, which included a pad to kneel on, plastic scraper, a pail, D-2 cleaner and a popsicle stick or skewer.

He also advised rubbing one’s hand over a headstone to see if it feels sandy. If so, cleaning should not aggressive. He recommended spraying on D-2, which has been diluted 50% with water, and letting it stand for 10 minutes before attempting to scrape it off.

“Use a scrub brush which you would use on your car,” he said. “If it is too harsh for your car, it is too harsh for a headstone.”

Bensley said a headstone won’t look like new after it has been cleaned, but it will look a lot better than it did.

Nicole Bensley checks in visitors who came for Todd Bensley’s presentation Saturday morning on cleaning headstones at Boxwood Cemetery.

One of the attendees was Anna Buckner, who said she spends nearly every day at the cemetery, walking her two dogs. She said she loves the cemetery and intends to join Friends of Boxwood Cemetery.

Barbara Sidher of Medina said she has attended the events put on by the Friends of Boxwood Cemetery, and came to Saturday’s seminar to learn how to clean her parents’ gravestone in Sacred Heart Cemetery.

Bensley said they are always looking for new members and volunteers. Anyone interested may contact them on their Facebook page.

Todd Bensley explains the correct technique for cleaning headstones to approximately 30 people who attended a seminar at Boxwood Cemetery Saturday morning. He holds a bottle of D-2, the proper cleaner to use on headstones. Anyone who signed up to become a member of Friends of Boxwood Cemetery received a free bottle.

Green surges into top 4 at Conn. tournament

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 12 July 2025 at 5:17 pm

File Photo – Melanie Green

Keeping the momentum from Friday’s sparkling 5 under par round, Medina’s Melanie Green has now moved into a tie for fourth place at the Epson Pro Golf Tour’s Hartford Healthcare Women’s Championship in Connecticut.

Green fired a 3 under par round for 69 today for a three day total score of 209 just three shots back of the leader at 206.

On the day, Green had 4 birdies (on 2, 8, 9 and 14) against just one bogey.

She opened the tourney with a 1 over par round of 73 on Thursday but rebounded with a 5 under par round of 67 on Friday with six birdies to make the cut and set the stage for today’s surge into the top four.

The tournament, which is one of only four 72 hole events on the Epson Tour schedule, will conclude on Sunday.