Medina may name new road in honor of Marcia Tuohey
Former mayor was influential in establishing Business Park
Marcia Tuohey
MEDINA – One of the new roads leading into the Medina Business Park may be named in honor of the late Marcia Tuohey, who was Medina’s mayor for eight years in the 1980s and pushed to develop the park and welcome companies to the site.
The Orleans Economic Development Agency worked to have two roads built in the park in the past two years, on each side of the Pride Pak vegetable processing plant. One of the new roads will have Pride Pak’s name. The other road hasn’t been named.
Medina Mayor Mike Sidari told the Orleans EDA board of directors today that the Village Board is strongly considering naming the road for Tuohey, who died on Aug. 7, 2014.
The Village Board last month voted to accept the roads from the EDA. Medina needs to formally name the roads.
“We’re looking at Marcia Tuohey Way or Drive because she had such influence,” Sidari told the Orleans EDA this morning. “Some people want Marcia Tuohey Way because she always seemed to get her way.”
Sidari laughed when commenting that Tuohey had a strong will. She was first elected as a trustee in Medina in 1979, and in 1982 she became the village’s first woman mayor.
Provided photo: In this photo from 1985, Marcia Tuohey is out inspecting flood damage in the village of Medina.
In 1990, she became Orleans County’s first female county legislator, and then was picked by her peers on the seven-member body to serve as chairman of the Legislature from 1996 until 2006.
Prior to serving as a local elected official, Tuohey had an active business career in Medina for 30 years as the co-owner and operator of a nursing home, motel and restaurant, mobile home park, and rental properties.
County Legislator Skip Draper worked with Tuohey on some of the economic development projects when he was Shelby town supervisor. He currently is an EDA board member. He was pleased to hear Tuohey is being considered for one of the new roads.
“That would be a nice gesture,” he said.
