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Orleans Community Health expanding PT, OT and speech therapy
Provided photo: Cory Lewis is director of Rehabilitation Services at Medina Memorial Hospital and Albion Healthcare Center. Orleans Community Health has announced the expansion of rehabilitation services at Medina Memorial Hospital.
MEDINA – Orleans Community Health has announced the expansion of rehabilitation services at Medina Memorial Hospital and Albion Healthcare Center, providing patients with greater access to physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy in one convenient location.
Physical therapy services will continue to be available at both Medina Memorial Hospital and Albion Healthcare Center, ensuring patients throughout the community have convenient options for receiving care.
“This expansion is really about making rehabilitation services more accessible and convenient for our patients,” said Cory Lewis, director of Rehabilitation Services at Orleans Community Health. “By bringing occupational therapy to Medina, we’re creating a more centralized location where patients can access multiple rehabilitation services. At the same time, we’re maintaining physical therapy services in Albion to continue meeting the needs of that community.”
The move is part of reducing patient wait times, Lewis said. Wait times at local clinics have been long throughout this year, typically around three weeks, he added. A major goal of this expansion is to improve access and provide more timely therapy services for the community.
With staffing additions coming to PT in early November, OCH will be able to offer more appointments, later in the day. The Albion Healthcare Center will be treating patients until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, which should provide more options for those who have difficulty attending during traditional work hours.
“For many of our patients, rehabilitation is just one part of their overall path to getting healthier and stronger,” Lewis said. “Having these services located within the hospital allows us to work more closely with other departments and providers.”
Rehabilitation services at Orleans Community Health are designed to help individuals recover from injuries, surgeries, illnesses and other conditions that affect mobility, independence and everyday activities.
Physical therapy will be offered in Medina and Albion; occupational therapy in Medina and speech therapy in Medina.
This expansion reflects Orleans Community Health’s ongoing commitment to providing accessible, high quality healthcare services close to home.
“Our goal is to help patients get back to doing the things they enjoy and living as independently as possible,” Lewis said. “Whether someone is recovering from surgery, working through an injury or managing a chronic condition, we want to make sure they have the support and resources they need right here in their community.”
To make an appointment in Medina for PT, OT or ST, call (585) 798-0266; or for PT at the Albion Healthcare Center, call (585) 589-2273.
New sidewalks go in along Maple Ridge in Medina
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – New sidewalks are in along Maple Ridge Road in Medina. This photo from Monday shows the sidewalks looking east from Ricky Place.
About 2,000 feet of new sidewalks are going in along the north side of Maple Ridge as part of a project that is adding a pedestrian bridge over Oak Orchard Creek.
RJT Construction Services is the general contractor on the project after submitting the low bid of $837,448. Barton & Loguidice also provided engineering services for $166,300.
This section of Maple Ridge Road is looking west from Ricky Place. This section of Maple Ridge near the creek has become busier with a housing development, several new businesses and also the GCC campus center.
There are also about 200 available acres in the area being promoted for development by the EDA. (The sign for Mariachi de Oro Mexican restaurant can be seen in the distance.)
The new bridge and sidewalks have been several years in the waiting. The village in 2021 was awarded a $1,094,196 grant to construct the bridge and sidewalks as part of a multi-use path for pedestrians and bicycles. The funding was awarded by the state through a federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant.
That is covering 80 percent of the project. The remaining 20 percent will be paid locally from the village ($55,000), Town of Shelby ($130,000) and Orleans County ($97,500) using their share of funds from a now closed revolving loan fund through the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
Kendall girls blank Notre Dame in G-R game; Roy-Hart/Medina nipped in overtime
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Maizie Ciliberto, who scored the Roy-Hart/Medina goal, here works to advance the ball against Allison Harkness of Oakfeld-Alabama/Elba which won the game in overtime this evening at Vets Park.
Improving to 13-1 overall, Kendall blanked visiting Notre Dame 3-0 in a Genesee Region League girls soccer game this evening.
Ryleigh Denning scored 2 goals and Sophia Picardo 1 for the Lady Eagles. Picardo and Charlie Fox also both had assists.
Teagan Shaw made 3 saves to earn her 10th shutout in goal.
Oakfield-Alabama/Elba 2, Roy-Hart/Medina 1 (OT)
Oakfield-Alabama/Elba edged Roy-Hart/Medina 2-1 in overtime in a non league game this evening at Vets Park.
Avalynn Buczek scored the game winner in overtime for OAE which had tied the game at 1-1 on a second half goal by Vasquez Garcia.
Roy-Hart/Medina had taken a 1-0 lead earlier in the second half as Maizie Ciliberto scored off an assist from Julia Verratti.
Avalynn Buczek, who scored the game winning goal for OAE works to get the ball past Roy-Hart/Medina’s Aymarie Rutland.
Holley tops Aquinas, Fillmore downs Kendall
Holley nipped host Aquinas 1-0 and Kendall dropped a 3-0 decision at undefeated (14-0) Fillmore in non league boys soccer games today.
Isaac Barrett scored off an assist from Tarek Garrett to earn the win for Holley as the Hawks improve to 12-1-2.
Kendall is now 6-6-2.
Woody the wallaby is back home in Albion
The DeClerk family posted a picture on Facebook of Woody back home this afternoon in Albion after four days on the lam.
ALBION – Woody the wallaby is back home with the DeClerk family after about four days on the loose.
Woody was started during a thunder and lightning storm and took a high leap in his enclosure. He then squeezed through a window and took off from the DeClerk barn on Route 279.
Woody sparked a lot of comments on Facebook and social media as startled people on North Main Street and near the Five Corners seeing him in their backyards.
The Orleans Hub posted a story about Woody at 1:36 p.m. today. At around 3 p.m., Cary DeClerk, Woody’s owner was called by a resident at oak Orchard Estates off Route 98. He saw Woody in his backyard.
DeClerk headed over and could see Woody. He asked the man and his family to head inside. DeClerk got down on a knee. Woody eventually came close to DeClerk, who used a fishing net to catch Woody.
He then carried the 40-pound wallaby to his Jeep. Woody seemed happy to be back with DeClerk. He drove about a mile to their home on Route 279.
It didn’t take long for Woody to settle in for a long nap.
Woody joined a menagerie of other animals at the DeClerks, including two albino wallabies, and two red kangaroos.
DeClerk appreciates the community keeping a lookout for Woody the past few days.
“I can’t thank everyone enough,” he said.
Wallaby, which is like a kangaroo, on the loose in Albion
Provided photo: The DeClerk family in Albion is missing their wallaby, which escaped during a storm four nights ago.
ALBION – A wallaby named Woody is a local a social media sensation, causing a stir and many double-takes by hopping around the northern part of Albion and the Five Corners in Gaines.
Woody is like a kangaroo. He escaped from his enclosure at the DeClerk family on Route 279 during a thunder and lightning storm about four nights ago. Woody is about three feet tall and weighs 40 pounds, said Cary DeClerk, Woody’s owner.
Woody must have been startled during the storm. He hopped above the feeder in his enclosure and squeezed through a 14-by-14-inch opening. He was then in the barn with other animals. DeClerk said a grandchild left the barn door open. There was some added excitement after baby piglets were born. Woody saw an opening and hopped off.
He has been spotted many times near the five corners intersection and in peoples’ backyards along Route 98, just north of the village.
DeClerk said Woody seems to be enjoying his freedom.
“He’s not aggressive,” DeClerk said. “He’s a very friendly animal. He’s carefree. He doesn’t cause any problems.”
If anyone sees the wallaby, DeClerk asked that they give him a call at 585-590-6566. If the animal sneaks into a backyard with a fence or into a garage or barn with a door, people could close the fence or door to hold him until DeClerk gets there.
Otherwise, Woody is difficult to corral.
DeClerk worries Woody could eat a toxin, get hit by a vehicle or get attacked by a coyote. During winter, he might struggle to find food if he stays out in the cold.
DeClerk has two other albino wallabies, and two red kangaroos. He brought a wallaby to the Albion Fall Festival in 2025 as well as some of his other animals.
“I’m losing sleep over this guy being gone,” DeClerk said. “He is a personal friend of mine.”
Photo by Tom Rivers: Cary DeClerk brough an albino wallaby to Albion’s Fall Festival on Oct. 4, 2025.
Medina Sandstone Society to induct 3 more sites into Hall of Fame
Heritage Award for Village of Medina, Western Orleans Senior Citizens for efforts maintaining railroad depot
Photos by Tom Rivers: Belhurst Castle in Geneva will be inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Oct. 22.
MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Society will be inducting three more sites into its Hall of Fame on Oct. 22, bringing the total to 49 exceptional structures made of Medina Sandstone. The Hall of Fame started in 2013 and is located at City Hall in Medina.
The induction ceremony will be at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 22 in the meeting chambers of City Hall at 600 Main St.
The new inductees include the Belhurst Castle in Geneva, the Genesee County Jail in Batavia and the Titusville Presbyterian Church in Titusville, Pa. The Sandstone Society also will be presenting a Heritage Award to the Medina Village Board and Western Orleans Senor Center for their ongoing commitment to maintain the New York Central railroad depot, a Medina Sandstone building constructed in 1908.
Belhurst Castle – Geneva, NY
The inside of Belhurst Castle has thick walls made of Medina Sandstone. The site offers lodging, dining and event spaces.
Belhurst Castle in Geneva was built as a private three-story, nine-bay-wide mansion over four years from 1885 to 1889. It sits along the shores of Seneca Lake.
It was built with a rich brown Medina Sandstone. The site was a speakeasy and illegal gambling casino during the 1930s.
It was converted into a hotel, winery and spa in 1952, and offers overnight lodgings, dining, and event spaces. It has two restaurants, including one named the Stonecutters Tavern.
This historic 3-story Romanesque Revival stone mansion now hosts weddings and other major events. It has been named a “World’s Best Wine Hotel” by Wine Enthusiast, voted number three in USA TODAY’s Top 10 Wine Country Hotels, and voted one of the “Most Romantic Places” in New York State.
Belhurst was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
Genesee County Jail – Batavia, NY
The Genesee County Jail in Batavia was built from 1902-1903 in a Victorian Gothic and fortress-like structure made of Medina Sandstone. In the early days it served as the sheriff’s residence. It later was the offices for the Sheriff’s Department.
The jail on West Main Street features five turrets, quoins, and rusticated sandstone. The building was designed by Poughkeepsie architect William J. Beardsley, who also designed Attica State Prison.
The Genesee County Jail sits as a focal point in the Genesee County Courthouse Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The county sheriff and his family used to live in the front portion of the jail building until the 1970s. The jail originally had 10 to 15 cells. The county put a brick addition on the jail in 1985, increasing the capacity for 97 inmates.
The county built a new jail in 2024 at 3839 West Main Street Rd., but hasn’t neglected the sandstone site. The county in 2022-23 did a $2 million restoration on the old jail with lots of repointing and work on the sandstone and brick. The county repaired crumbling and deteriorated sandstone blocks, which were meticulously deconstructed, labeled and safely restored.
Workers then rebuilt the underlying foundation, concrete slab, and front porch walls before placing the historic sandstone back in position.
Titusville First Presbyterian Church – Titusville, Pennsylvania
Photo courtesy of David Miller
Titusville is the birthplace of modern American petroleum industry. Edwin Drake successfully struck oil on Aug. 27, 1859. The city’s population surged after the world’s first commercial oil well was drilled.
The earliest religious association in the Titus settlement was begun by the Presbyterians, and the congregation increased over the years, outgrowing four buildings before the current one was built of Medina red sandstone from 1887 to 1888 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
Rather than the conventional spire, the design called for a distinctive main tower topped by a belfry and dome. The wood of the interior is oak, and the pews are in a semicircular arrangement. The south-facing Emerson Chapel was added in 1907. The church contains a pipe organ and historic art glass windows designed by J & R Lamb Studios of New York City.
This church at 216 N. Franklin Street in Titusville is part of the Titusville Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Heritage Award – Village of Medina, Western Orleans Senior Citizens
The Sandstone Society is honoring the Village of Medina and the Senior Citizens of Western Orleans for their stewardship of the NY Central Depot, a Medina Sandstone building constructed in 1908, a site that continues as a social hub for older adults and other community events.
The site has been used as the Senior Citizens of Western Orleans since 1968. It started when a group of seniors got to thinking there should be a place in Medina for seniors to gather and enjoy camaraderie.
The village was approached about using the New York Central railroad depot on West Avenue, and an agreement was reached to allow use of the building.
The group at one time had 600 members. The Senior Center of Western Orleans now has about 250 members, and the center is still very active with euchre games, pinochle and luncheons.
There also are exercise classes on Wednesday mornings and one can expect to find a jigsaw puzzle in the works any time.
The center has a gift shop which is always full of unique gift items, puzzles, clothing, jewelry and hand-knitted and crocheted items.
The building has seen recent improvements with a new air-conditioner, exterior painting, and other upgrades.
Fishermen are back for big salmon, trout in local tributaries
Visitor spending in Orleans County sees steady increases
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – Donte Bovani, left, and his friend Dillon Williams both made the 5-hour drive from Scranton, Pa. on Sunday to fish in the Oak Orchard River.
The area is seeing its annual influx of visitors to the local Lake Ontario tributaries to try to catch big brown trout and Chinook salmon.
Fishing is the county’s top tourism draw. The county is seeing a steady increase in spending from visitors.
Donte Bovani and Dillon Williams could see the trout and salmon swimming updtream in the Oak Orchard River on Sunday.
Visitor spending in Orleans County
- 2025 – $44.7 million
- 2024 – $43.3 million
- 2023 – $41.9 million
- 2022 – $37.4 million
- 2021 – $30.9 million
- 2020 – $23.9 million
Source: Tourism Economics. Revenue from lodging, recreation, food & beverage, retail & service stations, transportation, and second homes.
The $44.7 million in tourism revenue breaks out to $2.7 million spent on lodging /accommodations; $7.9M spent on recreation/entertainment; $15.2 million spent on food & beverage; $5.9 million spent on retail goods and services; $800,000 on local transportation; and $12.1 million spent on vacation property/second homes, according to Tourism Economics.
This angler hopes for a bite from a Chinook salmon in the Oak Orchard River.
Chris Washington caught this brown trout on Sunday. He said the fish was foul-hooked on its side so he let it go.
Washington traveled five hours with his father and four of their friends from Mansfield, Ohio. They are spending the week in the county, trying to catch trout and salmon.
They have been coming here for 10 years.
“It’s relaxing,” Washington said.
Chris Washington has a Chinook on the line at the Waterport Dam.
Here are some more photos of the action at the Waterport Dam, one of the popular spots for the fishermen.
N-O League celebrates its 100th anniversary
This is a very special and significant school year for the Niagara-Orleans League which is celebrating its milestone 100th anniversary.
The league was organized in early December 1927 by six area schools including Barker, Gasport, Middleport, Newfane and Wilson from Niagara County and Lyndonville from Orleans County.
The new N-O League had interscholastic competition in both boys and girls basketball for the 1927-28 winter season and baseball for the 1928 spring season.
Middleport had the distinction of winning the first boys basketball championship defeating Barker 21-20 in a special playoff game held at the Medina armory after the two teams finished the regular season with identical 9-1 records.
Newfane won the inaugural girls basketball championship with an 8-0 record. (Lyndonville did not have a girls team that first year).
It is noteworthy that the N-O continued to have girls interscholastic basketball competition until the mid 1930’s when the sport was reduced to intramural competition. It remained that was until the early 1970’s when the Supreme Court’s Title IX ruling reinstated girls interscholastic sports competition.
Interestingly of the original six schools only two – Newfane and Wilson – have been continuous members since the N-O was founded.
Gasport and Middleport merged in 1944 to form the Royalton-Hartland School District.
Lyndonville left after 1948 to join the Genesee Orleans League which is now the Genesee Region League.
Barker left in 1969 to join the G-R but returned to N-O competition in 1980.
The league quickly expanded to eight teams for its second year (1928-29) with the addition of Holley and Youngstown.
Holley was in the league for just that one year but certainly made the most of it winning the boys basketball championship with a 14-0 record.
Lewiston replaced Holley in the N-O lineup the next year (1929-30).
Lewiston and Youngstown merged into the Lewiston-Porter school district in 1952. Lew-Port remained a member of the N-O until 1961 when the Lancers left to join the Niagara Frontier League (NFL).
The N-O saw a real period of growth in the mid 1950’s as Akron joined at the start of the 1953-54 school year as did Medina in 1955-56 and Starpoint, which was a new school district, came on board in 1956-57.
Akron joined after being in the Erie County League (ECIC) while Medina moved from competing in Section V to Section VI.
Starpoint, which was a rapidly growing school district, left the N-O after the 2003-04 school year to join the ECIC.
Albion also moved from Section V to Section VI to join the N-O for the 1961-62 school year replacing Lew-Port in the league lineup.
Another new Niagara County school district – Niagara-Wheatfield – also got its start in the N-O League from 1958-59 to 1964-65 before joining the Niagara Frontier League because of its rapidly growing size.
Interestingly, the N-O’s membership has also included a bit of an unusual member in the DeVeaux School from Lewiston (a Military Academy style of school) which competed in the league from the 1944-45 to 1950-51 seasons. The Cadets captured the N-O boys basketball championship during the 1947-48 season becoming the only non traditional public school to accomplish the eat until CSAT (Charter School for Applied Technology) did it during the 2012-13 season.
CSAT competed in the N-O from the 2007-08 to 2015-16 school years.
The N-O League’s lineup of sports has grown dramatically since that original lineup of just three sports during the early years.
On the boys side, football was added in 1946 first as six man teams and then as 11 man squads beginning in 1953. Track was also added in the late 1940’s, cross-country in the late 1950’s, wrestling, golf and tennis in the 1960’s and swimming in the 1970’s. Football became a Section VI Federation sport in the early 1970’s.
On the girls side, basketball, softball, volleyball, field hockey, swimming and cross-country all got going in the 1970’s following the historic Title IX ruling.
The league’s boys and girls soccer competition was organized in the early 1990’s.
The recent trend across the state of merged sports teams has also been very evident in the N-O League lineup. Barker and Roy-Hart are now merged for football, wrestling and swimming while Barker has merged with Lyndonville for boys and girls soccer.
Interestingly, that later merger has brought one of the N-O’s original six – Lyndonville – back into the league as the girls soccer team competes in the N-O while the boys squad is a member of the G-R League.
It has been a century of a good number of membership changes but a steady growth in the number of sports offered for the N-O League’s student-athletes.
Medina band wins 1st in division at Victor competition
VICTOR – The Medina Marching Band competed on Saturday in Victor and won first place in its division, Small School 2, edging Le Roy with a score of 78.85 to 78.55.
This was the fourth competition of the season for Medina.
Their next competition is Oct. 17 in Webster followed by Oct. 24 in Greece with the season concluding in Syracuse at the Dome on Sunday, Nov. 1.
Other scores on Saturday include:
- SS3 – Marcus Whitman 72.20 and Falconer Frewsburg with 69.05.
- LS3 – Rochester 68.20
- LS2 – Greece, 82.35; Lancaster, 80.35; and West Seneca, 79.35
- SS1 – East Irondequoit, 85.1; Central Square, 81.65.
- National – West Genesee, 88.65; Cicero North Syracuse, 85.70; and Webster, 84.225.
