Sponsored Post
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.
Sponsored Post
Sponsored Post
After giving out $270K in grants, GO Art! announces $115K more is available
Funds support arts and cultural programs in Genesee, Orleans
Photos courtesy of GO Art! – (Left) Idris Salih accepts a grant for a photography project. (Center) Kae Wilbert leads a quintet, E-YAH-Pah-Hah, that performs Native American music. (Right) Randy Reese of Medina accepts a grant for Canalside Radio to upgrade its equipment.
BATAVIA – The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council today announced a second round of grants is available for arts and cultural projects in the two counties.
GO Art! on April 25 distributed about $269,905 in grants to 46 different organizations and artists in the two counties. With the second round, $115,000 more will be available.
Applications for the funds are due June 20. The money is available through the Statewide Community Regrant Program (SCR), a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts. It was developed in 1977 to ensure that the state’s cultural funding would reach every part of the New York State.
The cornerstone of SCR is its focus on local decision making through a transparent and competitive peer review panel process.
Gregory Hallock, executive director for GO Art!, and Jodi Fisher, program director & Statewide Community Regrant Co-Coordinator, announce the grants April 25 during a celebration at Wise Intermediate School in Medina. Another round of funding is now available.
Altogether, GO ART! will be regranting $385,000 through SCR to artists and nonprofit organizations for projects and programming taking place in 2025.
The Peer Review Panel recommended 46 applications for funding from the first round. Applicants were eligible to apply for up to a total of $5,000 in the categories of Community Arts (Reach) and Arts Education (Spark), and $3,000 for Individual Artist Commissions (Ripple).
The categories and recipients are as follows:
REACH: The GO ART! Community Arts Grants provide seed grants to individual artists, collectives and arts organizations for projects and activities that enable Genesee and Orleans County communities to experience and engage with the performing, literary, media and visual arts. Each year the program supports arts projects, including concerts, performances, public art, exhibitions, screenings, festivals, workshops, readings and more.
RIPPLE: The GO ART! Individual Artist Commission supports local, artist-initiated activity, and highlights the role of artists as important members of the community. The Commission is for artistic projects with outstanding artistic merit that work within a community setting.
SPARK: The Arts Education Program supports arts education projects for youth and/or senior learners. Emphasis is placed on the depth and quality of the creative process through which participants learn through or about the arts. Projects must focus on the exploration of art and the artistic process.
Artists, nonprofits, and municipalities seeking funding for arts related projects, programming, and events in Genesee and Orleans counties are encouraged to apply to the second round of SCR funding through GO ART!
For more information on applying for the Statewide Community Regrant Program visit: goart.org/grants or contact Jodi Fisher at jfisher@goart.org.
These grants are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Orleans County recipients:
- Lee-Whedon Memorial Library – Finally Fridays! 2025
- Yates Community Library – More Than Just Books
- Brandi Zavitz – For the Love of Dogs Mural
- Lyndonville Lions Club – I Hear the Music
- Kim Martillotta-Muscarella – Mosaic Compass Rose
- Village of Holley – Village of Holley Canal Series
- Town of Carlton – Orleans County Ox art for bicentennial
- Carol Culhane – Orleans Bicentennial Ox Community Public Art Project
- Village of Albion (Fiscal Sponsor for Mary Jo Whitman) – The Village of Albion in Pictures
- Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum – The Art of the Aurora at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse
- Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events – Albion Summer Festival featuring Rock the Park
- Village of Albion – Village of Albion Summer Concert Series
- Friends of Boxwood Cemetery – Boxwood at Night – See the Cemetery In a New Light
- Orleans County Historical Association (Fiscal Sponsor for C.W. Lattin and Neil Johnson) –Historic Markers Erected During The 20th Century in Orleans County, New York
- Albion – July 3rd, Independence Day Celebration
- Tegan Leach – Sharing the wonder of fiber arts
- Hoag Library of the Swan Library Association – 2025 Hoag Music Series
- Friends of Orleans County Marine Park – 2025 OONA Summer Concert Series
- E-YAH-Pah-Hah Wind Quintet – Classical Music Series in Albion
- Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, Barre Betterment Committee – 2025 Barre Betterment Committee Public Events
- The Canalside Radio – Bringing The Canalside Radio to the Airwaves: Essential Equipment for Community Broadcast Expansion
- Idris Salih – American: Intimate portraits of who we are as a society.
- Judd Sunshine – Erie Canal Songwriting Project
- Janet Klossner – Steps for fiber processing, from raw fleece to yarn. A series of 3 classes.
(Left) Robby Klino, president of Friends of Boxwood Cemetery, appreciated the funds for the “Boxwood at Night” event. (Right) Chris Manaseri, president of the Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum, accepts a grant for the museum’s “The Art of the Aurora at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.”
Genesee County recipients:
- Batavia Concert Band – 2025 Batavia Concert Band Summer Concert Series
- Warrior House of WNY – Community Acoustic Music Nights
- Alexander Volunteer Fire Department Band – Alexander Volunteer Fire Department Band Season 2025
- Haxton Memorial Public Library – Talented Thursdays
- Batavia Business Improvement District – Jackson Square Concert Series
- St. Mark’s Episcopal Church – Music at St. Mark’s
- Richmond Memorial Library (Fiscal Sponsor of Laura Jacket) – Arts at the Libraries
- Batavia Business Improvement District (Fiscal Sponsor for Jennifer Gray) – Summer Grooves of Jackson Square
- Batavia Business Improvement District (Fiscal Sponsor for Sara Tenney) – Summer Sounds of Jackson Square
- Woodward Memorial Library in LeRoy – Workshops at Woodward
- Hollwedel Memorial Library in Pavilion – Shake on the Lake Presents William Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’
- Justin Benedict – The Nightroad Anthology Two
- Andy Rich – Acting for Large Markets II
- Oakfield Betterment Committee – Oakfield Labor Daze
- Melissa Lee – Tree Sweaters
- Village of Bergen – Hickory Park Concert Series
- Richmond Memorial Library – Shake on the Lake: The Tempest
- Gillam-Grant Community Center – Cultivating Creativity: Fostering Community Through Art and Culture
- Byron-Bergen Public Library – Enriching lives through Arts and Music
- The Genesee Symphony Orchestra – The Genesee Symphony Orchestra’s 79th Concert Season
- Genesee Chorale – Genesee Chorale Seasons for 2025
- Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, Wyoming, OUT! – GLOW OUT! Pride Festival 2025
- Brian Kemp – Table Top Art Show
- Bergen Evangelical Presbyterian Church – Spring Concert Series
- Laurence Tallman – Native Sojourns for Wind Quintet
- GLOW YMCA – GLOW Corporate Cup Street Beat
- Batavia Development Corporation – City Centre Exterior Cityscape Mural
- David Burke – Mural panels
- Heather Davis – Opera on the Oatka
- Mary Jo Whitman – Breaking Boundaries: Art Installation in City Centre
- William C. Schutt – Love Wins
- Cecelia “Chee” Lullo – Zucchini
- Deb Slusser – Creativity in Clay
- Chris Humel – Cartooning For Seniors
- Leah Peca – Community Youth Art Lessons
- Bart Dentino – “The Spaces Between the Leaves”
Holley plans lots of fun for June Fest on Saturday
File photos by Tom Rivers: Vendors will line the path of Holley’s canal park on Saturday for June Fest. This photo is from last year’s festival.
HOLLEY – The village will be abuzz with activities on Saturday for the annual June Fest celebration.
The events begin with a 5K near the elementary school. The Holley Rotary Club is planning the annual Jim Ferris Memorial 5K. Click here for more information about the race.
Jim Ferris was one of the top runners in the Rochester region in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He died at age 53 from a sudden heart attack on May 7, 1994.
Mayor Mark Bower said the weather looks good for “a full day of fun” in Holley.
“Enjoy live entertainment, local vendors, food, music and activities for all ages,” he said today in a social media post to the community. “Events will take place throughout the village, including the Holley Public Square, Holley Canal Park along the historic Erie Canal, and the beautiful Holley Falls Park.”
The lineup of activities includes:
- Jim Ferris 5K at 8 a.m.
- Vendors from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Children’s Athletic Parade led by Sal DeLuca, Holley’s Citizen of the Year, starts at 9:30 a.m. with line up beginning at 9 a.m. by Red, White and Moo
- Cardboard Regatta at 10 a.m. in Canal by gazebo
- St. Mary’s Chicken Barbecue starts at 11 a.m. until gone
- Orly the Bicentennial Ox doing meet and greet at village booth from 11:30 a.m. to noon
- Concert by Celtic Spirit at playground pavilion at 12:30 p.m.
- Community Free Library doing book sale and scavenger hunt
- Concert by Beggars Will Ride from 6 to 8 p.m. at Public Square. (The Who Dats kicked off the fest this evening, Friday, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Square.)
The runners line up at the starting line for last year’s Jim Ferris 5K which was organized by the Holley Rotary Club. The race returns on Saturday at 8 a.m. with the sign in outside the elementary school.
Master gardeners hosting homesteading open house on June 21
Photos courtesy of Cornell Cooperative Extension: The Master Food Preserver program will be at the event, showcasing canning equipment and providing recipes. Karen Desjardin is one of the local Master Food Preservers.
Press Release, Master Gardeners in Orleans County
KNOWLESVILLE – Orleans County CCE Master Gardeners are excited to announce a new event for this year – an Intro to Modern Homesteading open house, set to take place on Saturday, June 21 from11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Trolley Building of the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.
The event will feature information tables showcasing various skills that increase self-sufficiency.
Modern homesteading can be loosely defined as reducing reliance on global supply chains and increasing practices that enhance self-sufficiency, sustainability and independence. The idea for an event based on modern homesteading skills was tossed around the last few years at the Master Gardener planning meetings.
As county residents witnessed rising grocery prices, looming tariffs on outsourced products, and signs of economic downturn, Orleans CCE Executive Director Robert Batt encouraged Master Gardeners to try to find a way to offer some type of education involving homesteading in their 2025 program year.
(Left) The compost tumbler that will be raffled off as a door prize for the event. (Right) There will be a table with information on the importance of using rain barrels.
Master Gardener Volunteers (MGVs) Eileen Sorochty and Kathleen Contrino formed a subcommittee and set to work detailing skills considered important in modern homesteading and finding professionals, volunteers or hobbyists willing to extend their experiences and information to the public.
“Modern homesteading can be a great way to save money and know what your family is exposed to,” said Contrino, MGV Co-Chair for the event. “The more we do for ourselves and our community, the less we have to rely upon large corporations whose goals are reaping profits.”
Some of the topics that will be featured at the event include: food gardening, seed saving, sewing, soap-making, homeschooling, composting, rain barrels, chicken raising, canning, and more!
Volunteers will be at each table offering examples and information on each of the skills. In addition to the informational tables, there will be demonstrations on fiber spinning, live animals from the Orleans County 4-H and Rosemary and Pine Goatscaping, and a Kidsteaders table with hands-on crafts for children.
Master Gardener Brenda Radzinski will showcase quilting and sewing techniques.
“I think it’s important that folks see and experience some of the home skills that our parents and grandparents relied on,” said Sorochty, the other MGV Co-Chair for the event. “Whether it’s raising a vegetable garden or having chickens, it can only benefit us all to know how to feed ourselves from our own backyard. Yes, it might be a bit more work, but the satisfaction and rewards are worth the efforts.”
This event takes place directly after the Master Gardener class on Flower Gardening (at 10 a.m. in the Education Center). The Intro to Homesteading event is free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attendees are welcome to come and go throughout the event. Each attending family can enter a free raffle to win the door prize of a Lifetime Compost Tumbler donated by Orleans County resident and Master Gardener supporter Pam Maryjanowski.
“We are hopeful the event will be successful and can grow into something even bigger in the future. We’d love to see larger series of monthly events and hands-on classes next year.” Contrino said, “Homesteading can help make our lives more sustainable, build local infrastructure and increase community through sharing and bartering.”
For more information on this or any other Master Gardener program, contact MGV Coordinator Katie Oakes at klo54@cornell.edu or 585-798-4265 ext. 125.
Master Gardener Kate Hardner, an advocate for backyard chicken raising, will be at the event with information about raising chickens at home. Photo by Kelly Lucyszyn.
Crash simulation in Lyndonville sends message to students, community about drunken driving
Firefighters, law enforcement also stress distracted driving puts people in danger
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – Pastor Dan Thurber, right, comforts Amy Burgess this morning during a DWI crash simulation at Lyndonville Central School. Burgess saw her son, Shane Ritzenthaler, be put in a body bag and be taken from the scene in a hearse.
Lyndonville firefighters and local law enforcement have teamed for the DWI simulation for about 20 years, creating a car wreck scene right before prom and graduation parties. The Lyndonville prom will be June 25.
There were also DWI simulations this morning in Holley and Albion.
Orleans County Sheriff’s deputies Jason Barnum and Ashleigh Stornelli were at the scene today. Barnum, the school resource officer at Lyndonville, urged students to be safe and not put themselves and others in danger. He said there fatal accidents every year in Orleans County often involving teen-age drivers.
Dr. Julie Woodworth, an Orleans County coroner, works with Kevin Bogan, left, and Norman Smolarek of Bogan & Tuttle Funeral Home to move Shane Ritzenthaler into a body bag and then into a hearse.
Ritzenthaler said he has watched the simulation before and he said it sends a powerful message to students. He volunteered to be in the simulation and be covered in fake blood and portray a deceased person.
“It definitely paints a picture and a sense of what could happen,” he said.
Other students in the simulation who portrayed injured people were Autumn Kidney, Emma Freas and Anastasia Hess.
Firefighters staged these two vehicles to appear as if they were in an accident. Automotive Solutions donated the vehicles for today’s simulation.
Lyndonville Fire Chief Mike Heideman said he has been to numerous motor vehicles collisions in his 38 years as a volunteer firefighter, including some fatal accidents.
“It’s very difficult to tell the parents what happened, especially in the middle of the night,” Heideman said.
He was one of 11 Lyndonville Lyndonville firefighters who participated in this morning’s simulation.
“We do it for the kids and the community to show what can happen,” Heideman said.
It’s not just drunk and impaired driving that are dangerous, Heideman said. He worries about drivers being districted by their phones. They not only put themselves sin danger but their passengers and other motorists on the road, he said.
Tervel Atanassov, 23, shared about being a volunteer firefighter in Lyndonville. He joined the fire department 238 days ago, and told students he has been welcomed with open arms.
He urged students to consider joining. Last year, three students signed up after the simulation and have proven to be dedicated members, Heideman said.
Atanassov said he has responded to MVAs, lift assists, gas leaks and fire alarms. He will be taking classes to be trained as an interior firefighter, an emergency medical technician and responding to hazardous materials. He also would like to be trained for the tactical rope rescue team.
Scott Goetze, a Lyndonville fire district representative, urged the students to consider joining the fire department or pursuing a career as a police officer.
“We need young people to go into law enforcement and the fire service to meet the needs of small towns like Lyndonville,” Goetze said.
Amy Burgess said it was “surreal” to see her son lying on the ground and then put in a body bag.
“I just hope that nobody will drink and drive,” she said.
