By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 February 2017 at 8:36 am
Emma Kenyon
ALBION – Emma Kenyon is 100 years old today. The Albion woman credits her longevity to her faith, and the love from many family and friends.
Kenyon has led an active life, working at Liptons, Kodak, Harrison Radiator Company and Owen’s Glass. She also worked in healthcare.
She is still going strong, her daughter Anne Downey said.
“She enjoys fellowship and socializing,” Downey said. “She has enjoyed her family, knitting and going on camping trips.”
Kenyon has been a widow for 18 years following the death of her husband, Donald Kenyon. She has three children – Anne Downey, and Patricia and Daniel Gormley – as well as two step-sons and five step-daughters, 10 grandchildren and 15 step-grandchildren.
The 1936 Albion graduate is a member of the Oak Orchard Assembly of God Church in Medina. She just moved to The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center in Albion.
“Her faith has been a key for her, and her family has always been around her,” Downey said.
Downey and her family wanted to wish her mother a happy, 100th birthday.
BANGOR, ME – Allison Christensen, a Kent resident, has been named to Husson University’s Dean’s List for the Fall 2016 semester.
Christensen is a senior who is currently enrolled in Husson’s Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Studies/Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program.
Students who make the Dean’s List must carry at least 12 graded credit hours during the semester and earn a grade point average of between 3.60 to 3.79 during the period.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2017 at 3:59 pm
Provided photo, Iroquois Trail Council
BATAVIA – Nathan Pace of Medina is pictured with his wife Margaret after he was awarded a Silver Beaver award on Saturday by the Boy Scouts of America, Iroquois Trail Council.
The Silver Beaver is a national award from the Boy Scouts of America that recognizes distinguished service to local youth. Each recipient is a long-tenured volunteer who has also made significant contributions of service to their local community.
Pace, an attorney in medina, is an Eagle Scout. He has a long Scouting history that includes a former tenure as a Scoutmaster among numerous other direct leadership roles. Pace also currently serves as President of the Buffalo Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, where he has been instrumental in helping to develop new leadership training and camping opportunities for youth and adults throughout Western New York.
Pace was recognized during the Iroquois Trail Council’s annual meeting on Saturday. The council was itself recognized by the Boy Scouts of America with the 2016 Journey to Excellence Gold Award for program excellence. The Iroquois Trail Council provides development, leadership, and life skills to more than 2,500 youth in Orleans, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming, and Livingston counties.
Provided photo: Andrew Cheverie is pictured on Tuesday after he graduated from the FDNY EMS Academy.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2017 at 9:04 am
‘It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,’ says Andrew Cheverie, 20
Photo from FDNY: Andrew Cheverie, center, is pictured with FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro, left, and James P. Booth, chief of EMS.
NEW YORK CITY – Andrew Cheverie grew up in the Albion Fire Department. He spent countless hours at the fire hall with his father, Al Cheverie, the current president of the AFD.
Andrew, now 20, joined as an explorer at 14, a cadet at 16, and a full-fledged member at 18, trained as an interior firefighter.
The training and mentorship with the AFD convinced him he wanted to make firefighting his career. He is on his way to that goal after graduating on Tuesday as an EMT with the Fire Department of New York.
Cheverie will be part of a team responding to ambulance calls. He had orientation on Thursday and today is his first day taking calls.
He is based out of Washington Heights, Station 13 in northern Manhattan. It’s a busy area for FDNY. Cheverie said he will be responding to five to seven ambulance calls per eight-hour shift.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” he said by phone on Thursday night. “I’m looking forward to starting the next phase of my life.”
Andrew earned his Eagle Scout rank and created a smoke simulator and other stations for a fire prevention program. He is pictured on Oct. 14 when an elementary school student moved quickly through the course, staying low.
His parents, Al and Jan Cheverie, attended the graduation program on Tuesday, when 171 new EMTs were sworn in.
“I use the word ‘family’ to describe this Department because this is not simply a job,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro told the FDNY EMS Academy graduates. “This is a career. This is a commitment to something bigger than you, bigger than all of us. It is a brotherhood, a sisterhood, and yes, without question, a family. We respond together and everything we do is a team effort.”
Andrew applied for FDNY back in the fall of 2015. He didn’t hear anything from the department then, so he completed a year at the Harrisburg Area Community College, studying fire science. Then he enrolled at Monroe Community College to study fire protection technology.
He was halfway through his first semester at MCC when he got the call from FDNY that he had been accepted in the three-month EMS Academy. Cheverie jumped at the chance.
He said the training through Albion, with Haz-Mat and emergency vehicle operations, stood out and helped him earn a spot at FDNY.
“All of the training at the Albion Fire Department has helped me,” he said. “Without that I wouldn’t have decided to become a firefighter.”
He plans to earn his bachelor’s degree through the John Jay School of Criminal Justice in New York City. His ultimate goal is to be a professional firefighter with the FDNY, transitioning from the ambulance to firefighting.
Cheverie said he can adjust to living in the big city.
“I’m definitely a country boy at heart,” he said. “I loved living in Orleans County, but being 20 years old there is so much to do in the city.”
GENESEO – The State University of New York at Geneseo has announced its Dean’s List for the Fall Semester 2016. To be on the list, a student must have achieved at least a 3.5 grade point average while taking a minimum of 12 credit hours.
Two students from Orleans County made the Dean’s List: Elizabeth Banty of Albion and Bradley McPherson of Medina.
ROCHESTER – Nazareth College announces its Dean’s List for the Fall of 2016 semester and the list includes four from Orleans County.
Madeline Bilicki of Medina is studying Social Work.
Cady Messmer of Albion is studying Business Management.
Sarah Papponetti of Albion is studying Health Sciences.
Regan Stacey of Medina is studying Musical Theater.
A student’s grade point average must be at least 3.5 or above, and they must complete 12 credit hours of graded work that semester in order to be included on the dean’s list at Nazareth.
BATAVIA – Genesee Community College, including all seven campus locations in Batavia, Albion, Arcade, Dansville, Lima, Medina and Warsaw, proudly announces the following from Orleans County are among 312 full and part-time students who were named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2016 semester. Students honored on the Dean’s List have earned a quality point index of 3.50 to 3.74.
This year’s Genesee Community College Fall 2016 Dean’s List honorees, with their hometowns, are listed below:
• Albion – Jessica Kincaid, Courtney Cook, Peter Madafferi, Zachary Champeney, Andrea Muoio, Alyssa Shortridge, Mitchell DeSmit, Emma Mitchell, Kathy Alexander, Christina Koester, Brian Smeltzer, Stephanie McGee and Stephanie Poole.
• Clarendon – Heather Sugar.
• Holley – Dennis Wakula, Ceallachan Kelly, Starlyt Knight, Skylar Keiffer, Randi Gergely, Allister Bartlett, Richard Tamblin, Courtney Strickland and Amy Greenman.
• Kendall – Karin Forte
• Kent – Phyllis Tinkous
• Lyndonville – Christopher Hutchings and Dakota Froman.
• Medina – Bailey Allen, Nikkie Keyes, Lucas Cook, Abigail Smith, Brittany Button, Lisa Tombari, Haley Noreck, Melinda Pitcher and Adam Dunn.
• Waterport – Sierra VanWycke.
The College also maintains President’s and Provost’s Lists comprised of students who earned quality point index of 3.75 (roughly equivalent to an A) or better. These other GCC honorees are announced separately.
NEW PALTZ – SUNY New Paltz is proud to congratulate Lydia Erakare of Albion for being named to the Dean’s List for the fall ’16 semester. Dean’s List designation is reserved for students who excel academically and earn at least a 3.3 grade-point average in a semester with a full-time course load.
PAUL SMITHS – The following students were named to the Dean’s List at Paul Smith’s College during the fall 2016 semester. (Each earned a semester average of 3.3 or higher to receive this distinction.)
John Morrill of Holley is majoring in environmental sciences. He earned a semester average of 3.3 or higher to receive this distinction. Morrill was also named an Adirondack Scholar, having achieved a cumulative average of at least 3.8.
Kerry Rice of Albion is majoring in park and conservation management. She earned a semester average of 3.3 or higher to receive this distinction.
BUFFALO – Wynter Dumont of Albion is a recipient of the Ross B. Kenzie Family Scholarship. The Kenzie Scholarship is awarded to students who qualify based on high school average, SAT/ACT scores, and ability to achieve academically. To continue to receive the scholarship, students must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Members of the Honor Guard in Orleans County are pictured with their certificates after being named the 2016 ‘Person of the Year” by the Orleans Hub. Pictured, include, from left in front row: Dave Kusmierczak, Adam Johnson, Earl Schmidt and Eric Delano. Second row: Ken Schaal, Fred Heschke, Steve Johnson, Tony Vicknair, Frank Berger, Dave Higgins and Ron Ayrault. Back row: Gary Befus, Bryan Splangler, George Bakeman, Mike Donahue, Steven Goodrich, Bob Blosenhauer, Charles Eberhardt, Al Pulcino and Glenn Whitmore.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 February 2017 at 8:40 am
Orleans Hub recognized nine outstanding citizens on Tuesday during an awards program at Hoag Library in Albion. Pictured, front row, include: Bill Menz, Nicole Tuohey and Carol D’Agostino. Back row: Jack Burris, Linda Redfield, Wes Bradley and Holley Ricci-Canham. Missing: Chris Busch and Erik Olsen.
ALBION – Orleans Hub held its annual awards program on Tuesday evening and presented certificates to our annual list of “Outstanding Citizens” and also the “Person of the Year.” About 75 people attended the program at the Hoag Library.
Orleans Hub Editor Tom Rivers and Publisher Karen Sawicz pick the annual winners, looking for people who make extraordinary contributions to the community.
We named the “Honor Guard” as Person of the Year in appreciation for veterans who volunteer at about 100 military funerals each year. The Honor Guard provides a solemn and dignified sendoff, sometimes standing for hours in the freezing cold or blistering heat.
The Honor Guard marches in parades, and attends numerous local community services – Memorial Day, the opening ceremonies for the County Fair, Sept. 11 and Pearl Harbor memorial services, and many other events.
There are Honor Guards in Medina (with members from Lyndonville) and a combined group from Albion and Holley. Each group has about a dozen regular volunteers and they usually range in age from 60 to their early 90s.
The Albion-Holley and Medina groups will often work together for a funeral. They want a good turnout to pay their respects.
Many communities struggle to have enough volunteers for the Honor Guard and veterans may come in from outside the community. Orleans County still has a dedicated corps, but the Honor Guard members worry about that, especially as many of the veterans get older.
Several Honor Guard leaders spoke at Tuesday’s awards program, saying they are grateful for the chance to show respect for the veterans at their funerals.
Orleans Hub presented our fourth annual list of Outstanding Citizens. We picked people who have been volunteering or serving in community causes for many years. They do their good deeds for little to no pay, driven by a love for their community and neighbors.
Here are our picks for Outstanding Citizens for 2016:
Nicole Tuohey: The Medina woman is a prolific fundraiser in the fight against Alzheimer’s. She typically raises about $1,000 each year for the “Walk to End Alzheimer’s.” Tuohey, 26, each year sells about 1,000 paper “elephant links” and creates a chain that is used to kick off the annual “Walk to End Alzheimer’s.” Nicole has Triple X Syndrome. She hasn’t let that disability prevent her from being a tireless advocate against a disease that took the lives of her grandparents, Don and Jane Bradley.
Erik Olsen leads a town meeting during a recent “Old Tyme Day,” an annual celebration at East Shelby Community Bible Church.
Erik Olsen: The leader of East Shelby Community Bible Church has the church dedicated outreach. Every July for the church hosts an “Old Tyme Day” celebration in east Shleby, serving pie, lemonade and hot dogs for a penny. There are horse-drawn rides, candle-making, and other activities with an emphasis on fun – and old-fashioned technology. About 2,000 to 3,000 people attend Old Tyme Day, a huge crowd for the tiny hamlet in East Shelby once known as West Jackson Corners. Church members have created a mini-village across from the church. That village also draws about 500 to 1,000 people for an old-time Christmas celebration.
The church has been growing ever since Olsen and an initial group of 40 people started the church at a former Methodist Episcopal building in 1989. That church building had been empty for 30 years. The East Shelby Community Bible Church has grown so much – about 275 members – it has put an addition on the building.
Carol D’Agostino: The Kendall Junior-Senior High School principal makes numerous community connections as leader of her hometown school. She serves on the boards for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, the Orleans County United Way and the Human Services Council of Orleans County, often bringing back ideas for Kendall to improve opportunities for students and the community. D’Agostino helped start the Kendall Innovations Committee, which brings together leaders from the school district, town government and county to brainstorm ways to promote Kendall. She is a member of the Lawnchair Ladies and led the school through a major capital construction project.
Linda Redfield: The long-time ESL teacher helps students build a better life. In the past 20-plus years, Redfield has helped about 400 farmworkers learn English. Redfield started going to labor camps in 1994, before a school built by the World Life Institute became the base for classes in 1999. The school on Stillwater Road offers evening courses in English, as well as computer literacy, pottery and other programs through a partnership with the Orleans-Niagara BOCES. Several of the students attended the awards program on Tuesday.
Wes Bradley: The Lyndonville resident leads the fund-raising effort that makes Lyndonvilel the place to be each Fourth of July in Orleans County. Bradley works throughout the year raising money on the big show, which tops $20,000. Bradley, a retired teacher, is active in the community in many ways, from serving on the Yates Town Board, to 37 years with the Fire Department and serving as finance chairman for the Lyndonville United Methodist Church. He also serves on the Lyndonville Area Foundation Board of Directors, which distributes more than $100,000 a year to community causes. Bradley also helped start Lyndonville’s annual Christmas celebration in 2013, where residents, businesses or organizations decorate Christmas trees in Veterans’ Park. That has now grown to 61 trees with the community welcoming Santa and singing Christmas carols.
Jack Burris: The Albion resident started a new ministry last year where he and a team of volunteers take a former red delivery truck to stops in Albion, Medina and Holley, alternating sites each week. Hands 4 Hope distributes bags of food and takes prayer requests. “Unfortunately in Orleans County there is a lot more heartache out there than I thought there was,” Burris said. “There are a lot of people in tough circumstances.”
Provided photo: Chris Busch, right, is pictured with Ronan Tynan on Sept. 17. Tynan, one of the biggest names to perform in Orleans County in many years, sang to a capacity crowd at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
Chris Busch: The chairman of the Orleans Renaissance Group isn’t afraid to aim high and reach for the stars. Last year he and the ORG welcomed famed Irish tenor Ronan Tynan to Medina for a concert at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
Busch has been an active Medina community member for many years, leading the Tree Board that has helped Medina plant about 1,000 trees in recent years. Busch is chairman of the Medina Planning Board, insisting on design standards in the historic district that have preserved Main Street’s look as if it was a Norman Rockwell painting. Those standards have attracted investment in the downtown from numerous businesses.
Busch last year also helped spearhead the first-time Farm-to-Table Dinner event in Medina on Aug. 4 that attracted 137 people for a fine dining experience on a closed off section of Main Street.
Holly Ricci-Canham: The Carlton woman compiled a book on local farmers, a two-year effort that culminated in 300 pages after interviewing 150 farmers. “Mom & Pop Farming in Orleans County, New York – The past brought to life” is one of the most ambitious local history books in many years. The book includes about 400 photographs and includes reminisces about simple days with lots of hard work. The farms featured in the book were part of a close-knit community with neighborhood schools and churches. Ricci-Canham grew up on a “mom and pop” farm in Kenyonville run by her parents, Pete and “Mike” Ricci. The book covers farm operations throughout county with sections about muck farmers, dairies, fruit and vegetable farms, canning companies, migrant labor camps, “ladies accounts,” technology changes as well as country schools, “kids play” and fairs and celebrations.
Bill Menz: The Medina resident has spent more than a decade working on a monument and memorial outside the former Medina Armory, which has been a YMCA the past 35 years.Menz doesn’t want the original purpose of the building to be forgotten, as a training site for soldiers who served in many wars. Menz helped build the monument that was unveiled in 2008 by the Armory. In recent years he has been raising money for a bronze statue to go on top of the monument. Menz and the Company F Memorial Committee met its $65,000 goal at the end of 2016, with Menz sending out letters, knocking on doors and making numerous phone calls. The 7-foot-high statue could be ready in 2018.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 January 2017 at 8:26 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Emily Blanchard, a senior at Albion, is congratulated by David Callard, chairman of the Orleans County legislature, after she delivered her speech that won the American Legion Oratorical district level competition recently in Buffalo. Blanchard has advanced to the zone level competition on Feb. 11 in Mount Morris.
Blanchard entitled her 8-minute speech, “The Future of Our Nation.” She spoke of amendments that allowed African Americans and women the right to vote, and another amendment to the Constitution that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
“Voting is the key aspect that drives democracy,” she said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 January 2017 at 9:45 am
Provided photo: Jim Hancock, chairman of the Parade of Lights in Medina, presented the first place award to the Albion FFA on Friday. Emilie Barleben, the chapter president at right, is holding the plaque. The FFA also received a $1,000 first place prize.
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Albion FFA was grand champion of Parade of Lights on Nov. 26. There were 34 entries. The FFA won with a Candy Land themed float that included 10,000 lights.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Veterans, including Fred Heschke (center), stand during Memorial Day service on May 30 at State Street Park in Medina. The Honor Guard attends numerous community events each year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 January 2017 at 12:36 pm
The Honor Guard from Albion-Holley and Medina attend about 100 military funerals each year.
They attend about 100 funerals each year for veterans, providing a solemn and dignified sendoff, sometimes standing for hours in the freezing cold or blistering heat.
The Honor Guard marches in parades, and attends numerous local community services – Memorial Day, the opening ceremonies for the County Fair, Sept. 11 and Pearl Harbor memorial services, and many other events.
There are Honor Guards in Medina and a combined group from Albion and Holley. Each group has about a dozen regular volunteers and they usually range in age from 60 to their early 90s.
The Albion-Holley and Medina groups will often work together for a funeral. They want a good turnout to pay their respects.
World War II veteran Michael Paduchak, right, and George Bakeman, a member of the Marine Corps League in Albion, salute during the flag-raising ceremony in July 2013 to kick off the Orleans County 4-H Fair.
Holley and Albion have been working in a combined unit for about 20 years. Some of the members in the Honor Guard are World War II veterans in their 90s.
Many communities struggle to have enough volunteers for the Honor Guard and veterans may come in from outside the community.
Orleans County still has a dedicated corps, but the Honor Guard members worry about that, especially as many of the veterans get older.
“We are always looking for people,” said Jim Freas, who leads the group from Medina.
Freas, 78, said the Honor Guard from Medina has 9 to 14 regular members. They go to about 40-50 funerals a year, as well as many community events.
Freas said the military funerals are a priority. The Honor Guard will fold the American flag and present it to the veteran’s family. They will give a gun salute and play Taps, either with a live bugler or with a recording.
Sometimes they even serve as pallbearers and the chaplain may be asked to pray.
“I’m very proud to do it,” Freas said. “I think every veteran deserves the honor of a military funeral.”
The Honor Guard concluded a program on May 26 at Mount Albion Cemetery when a new plaque was dedicated for Civil War veterans.
Every veteran who has been honorably discharged is entitled to a military funeral, free of charge. The Honor Guard detail needs to include at least two members of the Armed Forces. The veteran is also entitled to ceremony that includes the folding of a flag and the playing of Taps.
The Honor Guard provides a presence at the funeral for Frank Sidari on April 25, 2015. Sidari, 90, served in World War II.
Earl Schmidt, director of the Veterans Service Agency in Orleans County, said the Honor Guard attends about 100 military funerals each year in the county.
“The veterans in the Honor Guard help each other,” Schmidt said. “It’s showing respect for the veterans who served their country.”
Schmidt worries about the Honor Guard in 10-15 years. The group will need other veterans to continue.
“Most of the younger veterans are working and working longer,” Schmidt said. “I’m grateful for the older vets being out there, respecting what America is all about.”
The Honor Guard will be recognized during an awards program in early 2017.
The Honor Guard, including Adam Johnson at right, marches in the Memorial Day Parade in Medina on May 30.
Markeya Lucas-Drisdom of Albion, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, served in the Honor Guard during a Veterans’ Day observance on Nov. 11, 2015 in Albion.
The Honor Guard marches along Main Street in Albion on Memorial Day, May 30, 2016. The Honor Guard often receives the loudest applause in parades with many also saluting the veterans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 December 2016 at 9:51 am
Dr. James Sunser
Press Release, GCC
BATAVIA – In sports, it’s the MVP or most valuable player. In journalism and the arts, it’s a Pulitzer Prize. Film has its Oscars and Academy Awards, and television has the Emmy Awards. But in the serious business of higher education, standards of excellence and adherence to quality are gauged by the Commission on Higher Education, a voluntary, non-government, regional membership association that assures institutional accountability, improvement and innovation through a rigorous application of standards within a peer reviewed process.
Dr. James M. Sunser, president of Genesee Community College, was recently appointed as one of 26 commissioners (board members) of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which oversees 530 colleges and universities within New York State, as well as Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. He was selected from 85 nominations for just three open seats, and he is one of the few community college presidents to serve as commissioner.
The Commission is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation to accredit degree-granting institutions which offer one or more post-secondary educational programs of at least one academic year. Dr. Sunser joins the team of academic leaders who help define, maintain and promote educational excellence across many institutions with diverse missions, student populations and resources. Prior to his appointment as a commissioner, he served as a chairman or a member of an evaluation team within the peer-review process on more than a dozen occasions over the past 20 years.
To earn and retain accreditation through MSCHE, each institution of higher education undergoes a multi-stage accreditation review process every ten years that begins with an intensive self-study.
The institution appoints a steering committee and working groups, and organizes campus-wide discussions to prepare a comprehensive Self-Study Report focused on specific accreditation standards. The Report also helps frame the three-day site visit by an assigned evaluation team made up of members from peer institutions.
After careful review of the Self-Study Report and numerous on-campus interviews, the evaluation team chair compiles an Evaluation Report summarizing the team’s overall findings. In the end, the commissioners of MSCHE can affirm accreditation, require follow-up action, or remove accreditation.
Ironically, Genesee Community College is currently undergoing its decennial evaluation and is in the final stages of completing its 150+ page Self-Study Report with its MSCHE site visit scheduled April 2-5, 2017. (To avoid all conflicts of interest, the commissioners recluse themselves from all discussions involving their own institutions of employment.)
President Sunser is a native of Syracuse and has spent the majority of his professional career in higher education. He is a graduate of Onondaga Community College, earned his BS degree from Syracuse University, an MS from SUNY College at Brockport, and a Certificate of Advanced Study and his Ed.D. Degree from the University of Rochester. He came to GCC in 2011, after working at Onondaga Community College in several capacities including as the bursar and vice president for finance, and vice president for continuing and extended learning.
“I am truly honored to be a part of such an important organization within higher education,” President Sunser said of his new appointment. “Accreditation is the lynch pin that holds higher education together. From setting policy to the self-assessments, team reviews during on-site visits, Middle States has imparted leadership in higher ed throughout its nearly 100-year history.”
