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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.
Run for the Fallen makes way through Orleans, part of 500-mile journey
Group honors soldiers who died during War on Terror
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Runners and their support staff on the New York Run for the Fallen pose in front of the Canal Culvert in Ridgeway with David and Carol Cook (holding son Trevor’s Honor and Remember flag at left) and Carol’s sister. Trevor Cook was killed on July 6, 2011 during a training mission with the Marine Corps. Sgt. Cook was a crew chief for a UH-1Y helicopter.
Many people have not heard about the New York Run for the Fallen, but this week, a handful of runners dedicated to honoring New York military men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, left their mark on Orleans County.
The New York Run for the Fallen is a 10-day journey encompassing more than 500 miles of remembrance, unity and purpose. The relay foot run wants to honor every New York military service member who died while serving or as a result of serving during the War on Terror since Oct. 12, 2000.
Family and friends of David and Carol Cook of Lyndonville gathered with participants of the New York Run for the Fallen on the towpath over Culvert Road to welcome two runners Thursday afternoon. This was one of the memorial stops along the 500-mile run from Buffalo to New Yor City. The ceremony on the culvert honored the Cook’s son Trevor, a Marine killed in a training accident on July 6, 2011 when he was 25.
Volunteer runners in groups of up to 20, along with a support crew, will stop at two- to six-mile intervals at a pre-placed marker along the towpath, where they will call out the name, rank, branch of military and date of death of each fallen service member from the nearby area. Family members, friends and patriots are welcome to be at the stops, where they may be presented with an Honor and Remember flag with their loved one’s name on it.
Such was the case for David and Carol Cook of Lyndonville. The Cook’s son Trevor was killed in a training accident in 2006, while serving in the Marines in California. The service honoring their son took place on the culvert at Culvert Road, east of Medina.
Each memorial stop along the way includes a reading, in which it is explained, “We run for them all, honoring their service and sacrifice and remembering that each gave up a future so we could have ours.”
“It’s nice they remembered Trevor,” David said.
Left – Photo by Robin Boyle: Runners on the first leg of the New York Run for the Fallen stopped for a break at Marshall Road bridge Thursday afternoon. From left are Kevin Travey of Lockport, Jacina Ramirez of Buffalo, Brian Carol of Rochester, Jeff Tracy of Lockport, Lori and Joe Jablonski of Buffalo, Nancy Weber of Syracuse, Alton Lewis of Buffalo, Beth Harvey of Tennessee, Cayna Mangine of Oneida, Ryan Milton of Saratoga Springs, Tara Evans of Knoxboro and Cory Mangine of Oneida. Right – Photo by Ginny Kropf: Two members of the team on the New York Run for the Fallen hold an Honor and Remember flag with Trevor Cook’s name, which was presented to his parents on the towpath Thursday afternoon.
Lori Jablonski of Buffalo, organizer of the local event, learned about Trevor from a friend of hers in Lyndonville and contacted David and Carol. Lori and her husband Joe lost their son Jason to leukemia while he was in the military.
This year is the 10th anniversary for the New York Run for the Fallen, which began with an opening ceremony at 7 a.m. Thursday at Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park Memorial Garden. The 10 runners who started the day departed for Medina at 8 a.m., with several ceremonies in Erie County and Niagara County. Arriving at the Marshall Road bridge, they held another ceremony, then continued to Culvert Road.
Curt Follman, standing at left, and Kelly Follman (seated) welcome runners on the New York Run for the Fallen to their home on Wilson Road Extension, Waterport. Standing next to Curt is Kelly’s mom, Jeanne Crane.
Following the ceremony there, the entire group of runners and their accompanying crew left the canal bank and headed to the home of Curt and Kelly Follman of Waterport, where they had been invited to have supper and spend the night.
The Follmans had learned about the Run for the Fallen from Brian Carl, president of the WNY Parent Club, whom they met at a parents’ meeting at Annapolis. Four of the Follmans’ seven children are in the military, including a daughter at the Naval Academy, so they were eager to support the runners.
Also invited to dine with the runners were a Gold Star family from Cambria.
Enjoying supper at the Follman home Thursday night are, clockwise from left, Bruce Schmidt, his sister Heather Schmidt Maitland and Scott Maitland with Lori Jablonski, organizer of the New York Run for the Fallen. Bruce and Heather’s older brother died on a training mission while serving in Kuwait.
The first Run for the Fallen took place in 2008 when runners went from California to Arlington National Cemetery.
“That spawned other events across the country, including New York state in 2016,” said Ryan Milton of Saratoga Springs, who has taken part in the run all 10 years.
The group resumed their trek at 8 a.m. Friday, starting at Allens Bridge Road and concluding the day in Fairport. Their journey will end June 14 at the Intrepid Museum in New York City.
Photos courtesy of Natasha Wasuck: A runner carries an American flag as he heads towards Main Street in Albion on Friday morning.
The group poses for a photo on Friday morning near the Main Street lift bridge.
