Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Todd Jantzi, an auctioneer and owner of Bontrager Real Estate & Auction Service in Batavia, looks for bids during an art auction on Saturday at Marti’s on Main, an art gallery in Albion run by Kim Martillotta Muscarella.

He is shown with a painting by Richard Hart, one of 35 pieces of art work in the auction.

The first-ever art auction raised $8,000 for Marti’s, a non-profit art gallery that features many artists during the year and also hosts art classes and other special events.

Kim Martillotta Muscarella, leader of Marti’s on Main, welcomes the group for the auction. She thanked the artists for donating their work. She gave three on her paintings for the auction.

Martillotta Muscarella first ran Marti’s from her home on North Main Street in Albion, and then for a year at the Cobblestone Museum. In 2019, she started to transform the former Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County into an art gallery. The site opened as Marti’s on Main in 2021. It hosts several art shows a year, as well as concerts and art classes.

Martillotta Muscarella said 180 different artists have been featured at Marti’s since her first show in 2008, including about 120 who had their first show at a gallery.

Martillotta Muscarella established a non-profit organization about a year ago to help with fundraising to make the site more sustainable.

Todd Jantzi scans the crowd for bids. Jantzi bought one of the pieces himself. He thanked the group for their generosity and efforts to strengthen Marti’s, which he called a community asset.

A painting by Roseanne Mascari goes up for bid. Marrit Vaga, left, helped run the auction. Judy Wenrich, front right, bid on several of the pieces and donated one her works, showing two horses.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – New concrete footers went in today for the new bridge under construction on Phipps Road in Albion.

The previous bridge was closed to traffic on Sept. 9, 2022 after an inspection showed the steel high-beam supports were rotted.

Keeler Construction is general contractor for the project, after submitting the low bid of $992,851.

Keeler is replacing the previous19.5-foot-long culvert and with one that is 25 feet long.

The project includes the removal of the existing concrete culvert, and replacement with a 3-sided single span precast concrete span unit. The structure will be supported by micro-piles on spread footings, and associated highway approach work and stream work, according to a description seeking bids.

All Ways Concrete Pumping in Auburn brought in a slinger with a 110-foot reach to pour concrete for the new footers.

The pre-cast culvert sections will be set on the footers. Once the new bridge is in place, the top will be paved over with asphalt with guard rails on the sides.

A state grant through the Bridge NY program for $1.038 million is covering most of the cost for the new bridge, which is expected to be open to traffic later this fall.

The bridge is over a tributary of Otter Creek. The water is directed through the two large pipes. This is looking south at the tributary.

Ravi Engineering and Land Surveying in Rochester provided design services and now is doing construction inspection.

Here is how the bridge looked soon after it was closed to traffic on Sept. 9, 2022.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Village of Albion has a new basketball hoop on a concrete quarter court at St. Joseph’s Park on North Clinton Street.

The smaller court was paid with state funds administered by the Orleans County Youth Bureau.

Another one of the smaller basketball courts will be installed at Veterans Park at the corner of Linwood Avenue and Brown Street, said John Grillo, the Albion recreation director.

The village has money for a third court that will either go at Carosol Park at Caroline Street and Ingersoll Street or at Lafayette Park with entrances on both West Park and West State streets.

“They will be shooter courts to give kids in the area something more to do especially if they’re younger and can not make it to Bullard,” said Mayor Tim McMurray. “We just want to provide the kids another avenue for entertainment, getting outdoors and off the phones.”

At St. Joseph’s Park, a deteriorating pavilion was removed to make room for the new basketball area.

Grillo said he is pleased to see the new court at St. Joseph’s, and looks forward to the next two courts.

“I think it’s wonderful,” he said. “We want to give people an opportunity with the parks on all areas of the village. That’s our goal.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

BARRE – A caravan of vehicles helped move a 222,500-pound load from Graham Manufacturing in Batavia this morning to the Erie Canal in Albion.

The top photo shows utility workers raising wires high to give the load its needed clearance.

The slow-moving caravan of vehicles slowed down traffic as it made its way north on Route 98.

It then turned left and went west on Route 31A, before turning right and going north on Gaines Basin Road, until making a final right hand turn on Albion-Eagle Harbor Road.

The load is a 195,500-pound condenser made by Graham. The cradle for the condenser weighed an additional 27,000 pounds, for a 222,500-pound total.

A group of bucket trucks are ready to raise wires for the load as its moves north on Gaines basin Road near the intersection with Countyhouse Road.

This is at least the fourth condenser made by Graham that was taken to the Erie Canal for transport. Previous condensers headed east to its final destination at the Navy.

Previous trips went to Albany, then down the Hudson River to New York Harbor. From there the condensers went on an ocean-going-barge for the trip to the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.

Massive cranes are in place to move the condenser to a barge. The barge wasn’t there to take the condenser by early this afternoon.

The load is close to the Erie Canal, just west of the boat launch on Albion-Eagle Harbor Road.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The historic Pratt Theater on the third floor of the Pratt building in downtown Albion hosting a concert with several bands on Sunday afternoon. This photo shows Karen Conn and her daughter Shannon Vanderlaan singing “Rhiannon.” They are part of the Pratt Pit Band that performed 10 songs on Sunday.

Conn is an Albion music teacher while Vanderlaan teaches music in the Rochester City School District.

The concert also included performances by Black Sheep, Eclipse, Frequency Theory and the Greater Royal Praise and Worship Team.

Don Mancuso, a legendary guitar player in the Rochester music scene, performed with the Pratt Pit Band and later with Black Sheep, which was without its star singer, Lou Gramm, because he is on tour.

Black Sheep with Gramm previously performed at the Pratt Theater in June 2024. On Sunday, Garrett Crumb, a lead singer with “Johnny Smoke,” filled in as lead singer for Black Sheep.

That band includes Michael Bonafede of Albion as drummer. Black Sheep last year was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame.

Michael Bonafede and his wife Judith Koehler worked about 20 years to restore the Pratt Theater to again host concerts and community events.

They recently sold their three downtown buildings, including the Pratt, to Taylor McCabe and Sara Barbur.

Bonafede will continue to promote concerts and events at the theater. The Pratt building was originally built in 1882.