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$30K grant from Spectrum will support county’s digital literacy efforts
Photo by Ginny Kropf: County Legislator John Fitzak, left, and United Way director Nyla Gaylord accept a check for $30,000 from Loren Kelly with Spectrum, prior to Friday’s golf tournament at Shelridge Country Club. The check is a grant to support the county’s Digital Literacy Initiative, in which United Way has been deeply involved.
MEDINA – In spite of a wet, dreary start, the annual golf tournament at Shelridge Country Club on Friday morning to benefit United Way of Orleans County went off without a hitch. The event is a major fundraiser for United Way and helps the agency’s efforts to support nearly a dozen and a half non-profit agencies in Orleans County.
In all the years of the tournament’s history, it has never been canceled due to rain, said Dean Bellack, who has chaired the event for the past six years.
Club manager Brett Decker pointed out a row of new golf carts and told golfers the course is ready and the rain is gone. He said 116 golfers were signed up to golf.
A highlight of the welcoming ceremonies was presentation of a check from Spectrum for Orleans County’s Digital Literacy Initiative, in which United Way has been deeply involved. The check, presented by Loren Kelly, director of government affairs for Spectrum, was one of the largest awarded by the company. It was accepted by Gaylord and Orleans County Legislator John Fitzak.
“We are grateful to Spectrum for this donation,” Fitzak announced on behalf of the county legislators.
The digital literacy efforts include free tech help and computer classes where participants can develop new and refresh on old skills. There is help available for using a computer, cell phone, tablet, smart watch, and how to use the internet safely. Click here for more information.
Bellack added a massive thank-you to everyone who participated, donated raffle baskets and sponsored the event.
“The annual golf tournament was another huge success, thanks to the incredible support from our community,” Bellack said. “It’s always a great feeling knowing we’re raising money for such worthwhile charities in Orleans County.”
Holley-Kendall Marching Band brings back 3 trophies from Sherburne
Photos courtesy of Holley-Kendall Marching Band
The Holley-Kendall Marching Band competed in the Class A competition on Saturday at the Sherburne Pageant of Bands in central New York.
Sherburne-Earlville High School is the host school for the oldest pageant of bands in New York state, now in its 76th year.
Holley-Kendall performed their 2025 Spring Show titled “Nightmare on Main Street,” which features music from Beetlejuice, Halloween and Ghostbusters.
The band took home the following awards: Marching Band – 2nd place; Color Guard – 3rd place; Drumline Cadence – 2nd place.
This is the second year Holley-Kendall competed at Sherburne. Holley-Kendall was one of five bands in the Class A division. There were 25 marching bands in all at the competition.
The Holley-Kendall Marching Band will close out their season with two final performances at the Holley-Kendall marching Band Showcase on June 12 at Hawk Stadium and the Albion Strawberry Festival on June 14.
Pictured from left include Isla Schultz and Kylee Dann – Color Guard captains; Isabella Emery – Drum Major; Madison Hults and Owen Schultz – Assistant Drum Majors.
Blue Thursdays announces lineup of 8 concerts in Medina
Press Release, Orleans Renaissance Group – Blue Thursdays
MEDINA – Blue Thursdays, the incredibly popular summer music series in Medina, is back for another run in 2025 with eight of the most outstanding blues bands in WNY.
The free summer blues concerts take place Thursday evenings, June 19 through Aug. 7 at the State Street Park Pavilion in Medina. The event attracts several hundred to Medina each week.
The Print Shop of Medina is the sole underwriter of the event, partnering with the ORG/Orleans Renaissance Group, Inc./medinaalive.com in booking and coordinating top regional blues talent from the Buffalo/Niagara area.
Headlining the much-anticipated opening night of the series is local favorite, the Dave Viterna Group. Viterna, a Medina native, has been performing across WNY for decades. That performance is set for June 19 at 6 p.m.
The artists booked for the event are highly acclaimed, award-winning blues bands from the Buffalo/Niagara area.
“We continue to book top-tier, sensational talent that people may not have had a chance to see locally,” said Chris Busch of ORG. “Many of these artists are hall-of-famers, nationally renowned and award-winning musicians, songwriters and recording artists. They have been performing for decades with some of the greatest names in the business and we’re excited to bring bands of this caliber to Medina.”
The 2025 Blue Thursdays big line-up includes:
- June 19 – legendary guitarist and recording artist Dave Viterna with the Dave Viterna Group.
- June 26 – Jony James, a Buffalo-born, Chicago raised guitarist, songwriter & recording artist, who is often compared to Stevie Ray Vaughn and a true Buffalo icon!
- July 3 – Growlers Blues Band, one of the top bands in Buffalo, awarded “best traditional blues band.”
- July 10 – Grosh, featuring the phenomenal award-winning guitarist, songwriter & recording artist, Grace Lougen.
- July 17 – Pat Harrington Trio, featuring Pat Harrington, lead guitarist with Grammy Nominated and Multi-Blues Music Award winning band Victor Wainwright & The Train.
- July 24 – High Horse, recording artists and legendary classic rock/blues from Buffalo.
- July 31 – Rusty Fisher Band – high energy blues with a dose of Jimi from legendary guitarist Rusty Fisher.
- August 7 – The Thurman Brothers Band from Niagara Falls, presenting “an evening with” featuring the timeless music of the Allman Brothers.
New this year, all shows will feature professional sound provided by Sal Licata of Sound Factor.
“We’re very excited at add Sal’s services to BT this year. Every show is going to sound incredible. It’s really going to elevate the experience.”
All the concerts are free and open to the public. Shows run from 6 to 8 p.m. There are no rain dates.
A wide variety of food and beverages will be available on site, including Dubby’s Wood Fired Pizza, Greenlief’s On The Go, Oakley’s Ice Cream, Stone Hollow Bakery, NOLA Concessions, Blue Groove Coffee. Beverages are provided by Northridge Distillery and Schulze Vineyard & Winery. Additional vendors may be added at a later date.
“The public should start arriving at 5:30 or before, get a great spot on the lawn and grab a bite to eat,” said Mike Fuller of the Print Shop. “These gigs are a fantastic summer evening of food, drink and the best blues music in WNY – an excellent way to start the weekend.”
Event updates, any cancellations and venue information will be posted at “Blue Thursdays Medina” Facebook page. The Print Shop, in partnership with the Orleans Renaissance Group/medinaalive.com produces the series.
Local teams earn Scholar-Athlete Awards
Over 20 high school spring varsity sports teams in Orleans County have earned New York State Public High School Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete Team Awards by compiling a composite average of at least 90.
Albion has three honored teams including Softball, Tennis and Girls Track.
Holley has five honorees including Softball, Golf, Tennis, Girls Track and Unified Basketball.
Kendall has four honorees including Softball, Tennis, Boys Track and Unified Basketball.
Lyndonville has three including Softball, Boys Track and Girls Track.
Medina has six including Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse, Tennis, Boys Track and Girls Track.
Nearby Roy-Hart has three including Baseball, Softball and Tennis and Barker five including Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Boys Track and Girls Track.
Rounding out the N-O schools Akron has six including Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Flag Football, Boys Track and Girls Track; Newfane five including Softball, Tennis, Girls Lacrosse, Girls Track and Unified Basketball and Wilson six including Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Lacrosse, Boys Track and Girls Track.
Midget wins for Elks/Rotary and Sandstone
Elks/Rotary downed Brockport 2 15-1 and Sandstone blanked Brockport 1 15-0 in Albion Midget League 12U Division games this past week.
Remi Ebbs threw a no hitter with 18 strikeouts for Elks/Rotary.
At the plate for Elks/ Rotary, Jackson Frasier had 3 hits including a double with 5 RBIs, Ebbs 2 hits and 3 RBIs, Matt Shomske 2 hits including a double and 2 RBIs and Kayden Donnelly 2 hits with 2 RBIs.
Nikko Russo pitched 4 innings for Sandstone and accounted for all 12 outs with 9 strikeouts and 3 putouts. Giovanni LaMartina pitched the final inning registering 3 strikeouts.
Russo, Jayce Torres, Bryce Saxton, Blake Brown and Aiden Kelly each banged out 2 hits. Torres had 4 RBIs and Saxton and Russo 3 each.
KeyBank employees tackled projects at Butts Park in Medina, Bullard in Albion
Photos courtesy of KeyBank: Volunteers from KeyBank spread mulch, planted flowers and did other landscaping work at Butts Park in Medina near the Luke Nelson Skate Park and the new basketball courts.
Press Release, KeyBank
MEDINA/ALBION – KeyBank hosted its 34th annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day on Wednesday. Bank employees in Orleans County worked on projects at Butts Park in Medina and Bullard Park in Albion.
From 1 to 5 p.m., hundreds of teammates in Western New York spent time volunteering with community organizations in the region.
KeyBank employees helped clean and beautify the Luke Nelson Skate Park in Medina and Bullard Park in Albion by weeding, spreading mulch, planting flowers and picking up garbage.
They joined thousands of KeyBank teammates nationwide in receiving paid time off to volunteer at more than 550 projects in the neighborhoods where they live and work. In 2025, Neighbors Make the Difference Day coincided with KeyBank’s year-long bicentennial which celebrates the bank’s two centuries of service and enduring commitment to clients, teammates and communities.
Neighbors Make the Difference Day launched in 1991, with a group of KeyBank employees in Alaska who volunteered for service projects. By 1993, KeyBank extended the concept to many of the communities it served, making it an official day of employee volunteerism. Now, Neighbors Make the Difference Day is a hallmark program and leading corporate volunteerism effort in America, showcasing KeyBank’s commitment to communities.
The KeyBank employees are shown at Butts Park in Medina.
Hawley hosting electronic recycling event on June 21 in Batavia
Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley
Provided photo: Assemblyman Steve Hawley helps unload a vehicle with electronic items to be recycled.
BATAVIA – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) is thrilled to announce his annual free electronic device collection and recycling event, once again teaming up with the fantastic folks at Sunnking. This is your chance to make a real difference and keep our neighborhoods clean!
Collection day will be Saturday, June 21, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the parking lot at 5130 E Main Street Rd. in Batavia. Attendees can access the required pre-registration form here.
“Recycling is a small but impactful way we can help keep our communities clean, and I’m grateful to the good people at Sunnking Sustainable Solutions for partnering with me for another year of work,” Hawley said. “Anything from cell phones to computers to TVs can be recycled, so please, register today and help keep our communities clean!”
New events coordinator joins railroad museum with expanded list of activities
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Renee Hemby of Albion, new events coordinator at the Medina Railroad Museum, points to one of her favorite exhibits.
MEDINA – Railroad buffs can look forward to a varied schedule of events at the Medina Railroad Museum, with the hiring of Renee Hemby of Albion as the new events coordinator.
Hemby has a background as a wedding planner and a passion for big events.
Hemby studied criminal justice at Genesee Community College, and after her own wedding, she started selling wedding décor, signs, floral arrangements and arbors, then went to work at Vizcarra Vineyards. When she saw the position at Medina Railroad Museum advertised on the Internet, she thought it sounded interesting.
She is excited to be planning some new events at the museum, including a music series outside, featuring blues and country and food trucks. She is also looking into story hours for children on Saturday afternoons.
These new events will complement the old favorites, such as the return of Day Out With Thomas, wine trains, fall foliage rides and the ever-popular Polar Express.
After a two-year absence, Day Out With Thomas will return for two weekends on Sept. 17, 18, 20 and 21.
Fall foliage train rides will be scheduled every weekend in October, with several wine trains on Oct. 12.
Hemby is hopeful the museum can restore a café car it owns in order to rent it for private parties and showers.
The museum owns three first-class dining cars, which always sell out first. Ticket information is available on Medina Railroad Museum’s website.
Holley community revels in annual JuneFest
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Blake Thaureaux, 3, of Ogden and her brother Conor Russo rides ponies brought to Holley today by Giddy Up Go Pony Rides in Bergen. It was among many activities during today’s JuneFest.
There were about 50 vendors along the canal park path, including several serving up food and cold beverages. Many crafters exhibited creative works.
Celtic Spirit performed at playground pavilion beginning at 12:30 p.m.
A Celtic Spirit musician plays during the afternoon concert. JuneFest concluded with a concert by Beggars Will Ride from 6 to 8 p.m. at Public Square.
Jaxson Deyager, 9, of Le Roy made it pretty far up the 28 ½ foot high climbing wall brought to Holley by Adventures in Climbing from Ontario, NY.
Former Holley Mayor John Kenney, left, and Holley Historian Raymond Santoro relax outside the Murray-Holley museum. The site at a former railroad depot is open noon to 3 p.m. on Saturdays up until November.
Photo courtesy of Rainey Losee: Orly the Ox, the Orleans County bicentennial mascot, visited the festival grounds and got a ride on one of the ponies.
Medina, R-H have sectional track winners
Contributed Photo – Gordon Young
Medina and Roy-Hart both had winners at the Section VI Class C Track and Field championships which concluded today at Falconer.
Medina’s Gordon Young won the High Jump with a height of 6-2.
Roy-Hart’s Braden Ricker won the 200 in a time of :22.57.
Roy-Hart also had Tysen McCaa win the Triple Jump with a leap of 42-7 1/2.
The Rams also had Zach Schultz place second in the 400 Hurdles.
Wilson’s Ryan Hough won the Long Jump (21-9 1/2) and also placed second in the 110 Hurdles.
Carlton relishes small-town life with third annual festival
Photos by Natalie Baron: Boys from Carlton Clippers team enthusiastically posed for the camera during today’s parade down Route 98.
By Natalie Baron, Orleans Hub intern
CARLTON – The Town of Carlton today hosted its third annual Home Town Days. A parade at noon worked its way down Route 98, from Park Avenue to the Carlton Fire Co. Recreation Hall.
Festival events after the parade included a children’s saw dust treasure hunt, a free wagon ride, and performances by the bands Stony Creek and Coupe De’ Villes. One vendor sold pictures formed from sea glass shells and stones from Lake Ontario. Other vendors sold wooden flowers, shiny rocks and frisbees.
Coupe De’ Villes jammed out to an audience that indulged in the many food offerings at the festival.
Community members, including Garrett and Tanner Rinas, collected tossed candy.
A colorful float promoted the tiki-themed restaurant Gilligan’s Galley, which is located at Point Breeze.
The Carlton Fire Company Inc. brought out fire trucks for the parade.
Children played at the saw dust treasure hunt.
Residents were happy to be part of the parade down Route 98.
Oneonta trims Medina in Class B Regional
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Kolton Fletcher collides with Oneonta’s Bruce Mistler at second base during the Mustangs Regional loss to the Yellowjackets this afternoon at Frontier High School.
Stymied on just three hits and only one run, Section VI champion Medina dropped a narrow 2-1 decision to Section IV champion Oneonta in the Class B Far West Regional this afternoon at Frontier High School in Hamburg.
A two run home run by Brady Carr over the left field wall in the fifth inning provided the only scoring Oneonta needed.
Medina had grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI single by Ryleigh Culver but the Mustangs could not cross home plate again.
Medina’s only other good scoring threat and only other hits came in the sixth inning. Aidan Papaj and Preston Woodworth led off with back-to-back singles but the Mustangs couldn’t capitalize. The Yellowjackets got out the jam on a double play triggered by third baseman Carr and an inning ending strikeout by Nolan Stark who had only 3 strikeouts on the day.
Oneonta also left the bases loaded in the second inning and runners stranded at second and third in the third frame as Medina pitcher Brody Fry bore down to register clutch inning ending strikeouts both times. Fry allowed only 4 hits and struck out 8 in six and one-third innings of work on the mound. Lukas Grimes came on to get the final two outs after Fry reached his pitch limit.
Medina, which was making its third appearance in the state playoffs in the last four years, finishes the season at 22-2 while Oneonta advances to the state semifinals with a 20-3 record.
Ryleigh Culver singled in Medina’s lone run.
Medina’s Brady Christiaansen hauls in a fly ball in right field.
Gowanda downs Kendall in Class C Regional
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall’s Jonny Conte awaits the throw as Gowanda’s Brayden Smith slides into second base. The action took place during Gowanda’s Class C Regional win over Kendall today at Dwyer Stadium.
A big six run third inning scoring burst keyed Section VI champion Gowanda to an 8-1 win over Section V champion Kendall in the Class C Far West Regional baseball game this morning at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia.
A two-run home run over the left field wall by winning pitcher Blake Herman ignited the decisive uprising as an error a bunt single, a single and a double steal accounted for the other runs.
On the mound, Herman hurled a 2 hitter with 9 strikeouts.
Kendall’s lone run came with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning on an RBI single by Nic Cole.
The Eagles only other hit was a single by Sammy Conte in the second inning but Gowanda turned a double play to quickly end that inning.
Kendall had only two more baserunners the rest of the way one on an error in the sixth inning and the other on Cole’s RBI single in the seventh.
Kendall finishes the season at 23-2 while Gowanda advances to the state Class C semifinals with a 21-3 record.
The appearance in the state playoffs was the first for Kendall wince 1999.
Kendall’s Sammy Conte tries to make a play on Gowanda’s Carter Capozzi.
Kendall’s Mikey Colucci lays down a bunt.
Kendall celebrates start of big sewer project with Hamlin
Photo by Tom Rivers: Kendall Town Board members on Thursday joined state officials for the ground-breaking of a $17 million sewer project in Kendall and Hamlin. They are shown at Lake View Park on Thompson Drive, where the project will start and then head east to Hamlin covering about 15 miles of sewer pipe. From left include Orleans County Legislator John Fitzak; Mark Mistretta, WNY regional director for NYS Parks; Tim Walsh, DEC Region 8 Director; Kendall Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata; and Town Board members Barb Flow, David Bentley and David Gaudioso.
KENDALL – The Town of Kendall celebrated the start of a $17 million sewer project on Thursday, a project that was delayed a few years after initial bids exceeded the budget.
The town was able to secure more funding from the state to allow a 15-mile-loing sewer district to go forward serving 330 residences in the two towns with most of the sewer pipe going in Kendall.
The project starts at Thompson Drive and heads east along the shoreline in Kendall, and then includes part of Hamlin, covering an area just south of the Hamlin Beach State Park.
Kendall Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata said the sewer project is a first for the 10 towns in Orleans County. He recalled when the lake waters were so high they chewed away many feet of the shoreline in 2017 and 2019, threatening residents’ property. He thanked the state for increasing its contribution to the project when the initial bids came in far above projections.
Kendall was able to tap more than $12 million in the State’s Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI), up from the initial award of $9 million. Kendall also was awarded a $1,763,835 state grant through the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act.
“This is a blue ribbon project,” Kendall Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata said during the ground-breaking celebration on Thursday. “I am very honored. This is one of the largest REDI projects in the state.”
Kendall has created five water districts during Cammarata’s tenure as town supervisor, but he said the sewer district was by far the most challenging to line up the funding and work out all the details.
Tim Walsh, DEC Region 8 Director, said the state has worked with lakeshore communtiies with the permitting process for solutions that make ecological sense, protecting the environment and property.
Two contractors are lined up and ready to start work on the project which serves about 270 residences in Kendall and about 30 in Hamlin.
Blue Heron Construction Co. LLC will be paid $8,326,480 to install low-pressure sewer collection system from Thompson Drive to Troutburg Cottages. The company will install will install grinder pumps, lateral connections and abandon septic tanks at each residence.
Rochester Pipeline Inc. is the low bidder at $5,380,730 to construct three sewer pump stations, and install sewer force main and gravity sewer from Troutburg Cottages to the sewer connection point in Hamlin. The three sewer pump stations will be near Lomond Shores/West Kendall Road, Troutburg Cottages and Hamlin Beach State Park entrance off Moscow Road.
The entire project should be done by late 2026. The transmission lines and pump stations are scheduled to go in this year, with the connections to the houses next year.
The project costs include paying for the connections to the homes and the grinder-pump stations for each residence. The work also includes decommissioning the septic systems and filling in those areas with dirt. Residents will have to pay to have electricians put in the electricity connections.
Powerful waves from Lake Ontario took out chunks of land, including this spot on Ed Shores Road shown on May 7, 2017.
Cammarata recalled when Lake Ontario water levels were high in 2017 and 2019, eroding the shoreline. Residents and National Guard soldiers tried desperately to save property with sandbags and Aqua-Dams. The highway department, firefighters and Ladies Auxiliary all teamed in a valiant effort to help the shoreline residents, Cammarata said.
“Something needed to change to prevent the destruction of our town,” he said.
The National Guard from Rochester helped stack sandbags in Kendall on May 7, 2017.
The new sewer system is designed to allow for sewer expansion in the future, said Jason Ebbs and Jacob Bower, engineers from LaBella Associates.
Cammarata and Town Board members said they will continue to look for ways to expand infrastructure in the town, including additional water districts.
From left include Jacob Bower, project engineer for Labella Asssociates; Jason Ebbs, project manager for LaBella; Eric Maxon, Kendall highway superintendent; Kendall Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata; and Town Board members Barb Flow, David Bentley and David Gaudioso.
Air quality advisory in effect for Orleans, WNY until midnight
Photo by Tom Rivers: A farmer gets a field ready on Harrison Road in Shelby on Wednesday for planting season.
Another air-quality advisory has been issued today for Orleans County, Western New York and the counties along the southern shore of Lake Ontario.
The National Weather Service said air quality levels in outdoor air are predicted to be greater than an Air Quality Index value of 100 for Fine Particulates.
The State Department of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects. People who may be especially sensitive to the air quality include the very young and those with pre-existing respiratory problems such as asthma or heart disease.
The high today will be 76 followed by highs of 74 on Sunday, 76 on Monday, 72 on Tuesday and 75 on Wednesday.
