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ALBION – Mary Jo Whitman of Batavia has created a new welcome sign for Albion that village officials are aiming to have installed on the east side of Albion along Route 31.

The village would like to have the new sign up with a dedication celebration on Nov. 21.

The village received a grant through the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO Art!) to fund the project.

The sign includes a Santa to highlight Albion as a home for a Santa School that was run by the late Charles W. Howard from 1937 until his death in 1966. The Santa will be mounted on top in the middle of the sign.

Whitman created Albion scenes within the large letters of “ALBION.” Those scenes include a boat on the Erie Canal with a lift bridge, the Civil War memorial tower at Mount Albion Cemetery and the Orleans County Courthouse.

8 students and bus driver checked out by EMS after incident

ALBION – An elementary student released pepper spray on the morning school bus run, which resulted in eight students and the bus driver to be examined on scene by Mercy Flight EMS.

There wasn’t a fight on the bus that led to the student using the pepper spray, said Sgt. Robert Wagner of the Albion Police Department.

A young student had a key-chained pepper spray and sprayed it on the floor of the bus, he said.

“The vapor from the spray caused some students on the bus to be affected by it,” Wagner said.

The Albion School District sent an update to parents about the situation. The school said a student on bus U (274) deployed pepper spray. EMS personnel were immediately called to the scene, parents were contacted and another bus was sent.

“All eight students and the driver on board were examined by emergency personnel, some of which were experiencing eye irritation and coughing,” the school district said. “Parents were given the option to pick up their children from the scene, and the secondary school bus was able to transport the remaining students to school.”

The district said the incident is being investigated and the next steps will be determined in accordance with our Code of Conduct.

“We thank our transportation department, local law enforcement and EMS for their quick response,” the district stated.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Harlem Wizards brought a highly entertaining brand of basketball to a packed high school gym in Albion on Monday. The Wizards played Albion teachers in a game won by the Wizards, 79-89. The top photo shows Talek “Show Out” Williams pumping up an enthusiastic crowd. About 700 people attended the event.

But much of the fun was in the stands, and games involving audience participation. The Wizards had many slam dunks, no-look passes, long jump shots and other acrobatic moves on the court. But they connected most with the fans through dancing, high fives and other antics.

The Wizards were in town as part of a fundraiser for the Albion boys basketball program.

After the game, the Wizards invited all the kids on the court for some dancing.

Tom O’Donnell, a counselor in the middle school, is introduced as one of the players for the Albion teachers. About 20 people from the school played in the game.

Vinnie Strollo, a physical education teacher at elementary school, reacts after making the first basket in the game to give the teachers the lead.

The teams are on court for the opening tip off. Jeff Radder for the teachers won the tip off and Albion scored the first basket.

The game often stopped for crowd participation. Mark Kuntz of Albion was brought out for a dance challenge.

Caleb Wolfe, 13, was blindfolded and tried to find some of the prizes on the court. The crowd yelled to try to steer him in the right direction.

Jonathan “Top Flight” Hevalow delivered a powerful dunk that amazed the crowd.

Talek “Show Out” Williams signs autographs during halftime.

These Wizards players celebrate with two Albion youth football teams that won the league championship on Saturday.

The crowd was often in a frenzy rooting on the teachers and reacting to some of the dunks from the Wizards.

These Wizards paused the game to give Ashleigh Stornelli, the school’s resource officer, a chance to make an easy shot which she did after getting some advice from Lloyd “Loonatik” Clinton.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Residents at Northwood Apartments were evacuated after a fire in one of the apartments just before 6 p.m.

The initial call to first responders said multiple people were trapped inside the apartment. When law enforcement responded soon after the call at 5:54 p.m., the people were already outside the apartment, said Lt. Adam Hazel of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

Law enforcement from the Sheriff’s Office and Village of Albion Police then went door to door to evacuate the building. Some of the residents also helped get people out of the building, including some who needed wheelchairs due to mobility issues.

Firefighters from multiple departments responded and are ventilating the one apartment and making sure it is isolated to the one unit. Firefighters said the smokey apartment was caused by a stove fire.

Mercy Flight EMS also is on scene checking people. Some people are being evaluated on scene for smoke inhalation.

No other information is available at this time.