By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 September 2016 at 1:47 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
BARKER – A boy enjoys the waning days of summer vacation by fishing from rocks on Lake Ontario at Lighthouse Christian Camp at sunset on Sunday evening in Barker.
This week will be hot as local children return to school. Kendall and Lyndonville start school on Tuesday, while Wednesday is the first day of school for Albion, Holley and Medina.
Tuesday will be sunny with a high of 85, followed by mostly sunny with a high near 90 on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Thursday there is a chance for showers and thunderstorms with a high near 88, while Friday is forecast to be sunny with a high near 83.
This Jet Ski rider enjoys a trip on Lake Ontario on Sunday evening.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 August 2016 at 9:13 pm
Photo courtesy of Katelyn Moore
BARRE – Katelyn Moore took this photo at about 5 p.m. today when a double rainbow emerged in the sky after a brief rainstorm hit the area. Moore took the photo on Gillette Road in Barre.
After a hot weekend with temperatures near 90 degrees, it will cool off a little early this week with highs locally of 80 on Monday, 82 on Tuesday and 80 on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 August 2016 at 2:08 am
BUFFALO – A giant rubber duck visited Buffalo from Friday until later tonight. The 61-foot-high duck proved a phenomenon, drawing huge crowds to Buffalo’s waterfront.
I went to see “Mama Duck” this afternoon with two of my kids. Numerous selfies were taken by people of all ages.
Mama Duck visited Buffalo for the three-day Buffalo Maritime Festival. The duck, which visited Syracuse earlier this year, is now headed to Erie, Pa.
Maybe Mama Duck could come to Medina and the Canal Basin as part of the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal construction.
Next year is the beginning of an eight-year bicentennial for the canal. Construction of the 363-mile canal started in 1817 and was complete in 1825.
New York State and the canal communities should be thinking of ways to celebrate the birth of the canal. The historic waterway brought prosperity and people to these canal towns, which retain much of the architectural splendor from the canal boom days.
Mama Duck would be welcome to join the celebration.
There is a lot that we could do as a community, without waiting for the state’s commemoration plans.
We might consider a public art project with fiberglass mules and oxen, animals that were instrumental in building the canal and moving freight.
Every year from 2017 to 2025 we could introduce one or two mules or oxen that would be placed in the canal towns to celebrate our canal history.
I like the idea of a bronze memorial to the quarrymen who worked in the Medina sandstone quarries. That was a massive industry in Orleans County for about a century, employing thousands. It brought immigrants from Italy, Poland, Britain and Ireland, and many of their descendants are residents and community leaders today.
Buffalo – with its rebirth on the waterfront with the original canal terminus – has proven the public enjoys history with some whimsy.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 August 2016 at 2:37 pm
CARLTON – Julie Schaeffer and her husband Mike hold the 30-pound, 14-ounce Chinook salmon that Julie caught to win to the $4,000 grand prize in the Orleans County Fishing Derby. They are pictured Sunday at an awards program at the Carlton Recreation Hall.
The Schaeffers travelled 200 miles from Sligo, Pa. to fish in the derby. They have been coming to Orleans County to fish since the early 1980s. Mr. Schaeffer’s father Henry was a charter boat captain locally for 16 years. He also fished in the derby that ended Sunday and was on the leaderboard before being knocked out by a bigger fish.
In addition the grand prize, Julie Schaeffer, 58, took three other spots on the leaderboard with fifth place finishes for Chinook salmon, brown trout and rainbow trout. (Fifth place is good for $50 awards.)
The grand prize fish is the biggest she’s ever caught. She hooked the fish with a Dreamweaver spoon. She and her husband, who are both retired from a glass factory after more than three decades of work, were about 8 miles out in the lake in an area known as the “30 bar.”
The Schaeffers time their visit to Orleans County to coincide with the annual fishing derby, which started Aug. 6 and ended at 1 p.m. on Sunday. They also enjoy fishing trips to the Florida Keys.
“It’s relaxing being out on the water,” Mrs. Schaeffer said. “You never know what you’re going to catch.”
Her husband called her, “a fishing machine.”
Mike Waterhouse, the county’s sportsfishing promotion coordinator, serves as emcee at the awards program. Ed Fancher (left) is the derby’s treasurer. He is writing checks for the $8,800 in prize money that was given away.
There were 426 entries in the derby, which was down from 644 last year. Some bad weather, especially on the weekends, kept some anglers away. The derby is run by the Albion Rotary Club. It has been ongoing for about 35 years, making it one of the longest-lasting derbies on Lake Ontario.
The derby awards prizes in four divisions: Chinook salon, brown trout, rainbow trout and lake trout. The prizes include $500 for first, $300 for second, $200 for third, $100 for fourth and $50 for fifth. In addition, $200 goes to the Orleans County resident that catches the biggest fish.
Patrick Pullinzi of Hamlin holds the first place brown trout at 15 pounds, 7 ounces.
Other division leaders include: 30 pounds, 2 ounces for a Chinook caught by Tom Shatzer of Chambersburg, Pa.; Rainbow trout – 14 pounds, 1 ounce by Robert Griffith of Akron, Ohio; and Lake trout – 21 pounds, 1 ounce by Scott Bengsch of Webster.
Brian Snook (right) of Holley won biggest fish caught by an Orleans County resident (a $200 prize) with a 28-pound, 8-ounce Chinook, which was also third biggest Chinook overall. He is pictured with his brother Bill Silpoch of Holley who won the Orleans prize last year. Bill is holding Brian’s son, Jack Snook, 2.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Lake Ontario is pictured at sunset in this photo last week at Lighthouse Christian Camp in Barker.
A Pennsylvania woman is back in the lead for the $4,000 grand prize in the Orleans County Fishing Derby, which continues until Aug. 21.
Julie Schaeffer is atop the leaderboard with a Chinook salmon weighing 30 pounds, 14 ounces. Schaeffer of Sligo, Pa., led the derby briefly with a 27-pound, 4-ounce salmon. But she was passed by Tom Shatzer of Chambersburg, Pa., who caught a 30-pound, 2-ounce Chinook.
But Schaeffer on Friday became the second person in the derby to reel in a 30-pounder.
There are $8,800 in prizes up for grabs in the derby, which is organized by the Albion Rotary Club.
Divisions leaders earn $500 prizes. Shatzer was bumped from the grand prize of $4,000, but he now leads the Salmon Division and is in line for the $500 prize.
Other division leaders include: Rainbow Trout/Steelhead – 13 pounds, 5 ounces, caught by Donna Kaylor of Elmore, Ohio; Brown Trout – 15 pounds, 7 ounces, caught by Patrick Pullinzi of Hamlin; and Lake Trout – 14 pounds, 3 ounces, caught by Hunter Westcott of Hamlin.
The derby also includes a $200 bonus award for biggest fish caught by an Orleans County resident. Gerald Slack of Medina leads with a Chinook at 26 pounds, 13 ounces.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 August 2016 at 5:52 pm
BARKER – The lighthouse at Golden Hill State Park, known as the Thirty Mile Point Light, was built in 1875, less than a mile west of the Orleans County line. Is it pictured Sunday evening during sunset.
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 19 July 2016 at 8:23 pm
Photos by Kristina Gabalski These 15 chicks were gathered up from their temporary quarters on the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds on Monday and transported to state Department of Environmental Conservation property in the swamps of northern Genesee County. Here they await their journey in a carrier.
KNOWLESVILLE – Orleans County 4-H’ers successfully raise and release pheasants as part of a program through the State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Fifteen young pheasants were released into the wild Monday afternoon by members of the Outback Orleans 4-H Club. The club participated for the first time this year in the DEC’s Cooperative Day-old Pheasant Chick Program.
Club leader Adam Hazel says the club received the chicks the first week of June and the young birds were cared for by 4-Hers and 4-H staff on the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.
“At first they had to be incubated with a heat lamp,” Hazel says. As the birds grew, “we had to build cages and stalls.”
The birds began flying by June 15 and most recently were kept in a large stall in the Knight’s Building on the fairgrounds. Hazel and club members gathered the 15, eight-week old chicks Monday evening and transported them to the DEC’s Wildlife Management Area on Albion Road in Oakfield, where they were released into the wild.
Hazel says the program helps to build the pheasant population. The young birds will eat insects now that they are in the wild. They were fed a high-protein chicken feed while being cared for by Outback Orleans.
According to the DEC, about 60,000 day-old chicks are hatched and distributed to cooperators through the chick program each year, including 30 Cooperative Extension 4-H programs. The birds must be released on lands open to public hunting.
Orleans County 4-H Outback Orleans club leader Adam Hazel removes the pheasant carrier from his vehicle just prior to release while club members look on.
Members of the Outback Orleans 4-H club released the young pheasants in a meadow area near woods on DEC property.
The pheasants were slow to leave the security of their carrier. Most walked into the tall grass while a few of the birds took flight upon leaving the carrier.
The area where the pheasant chicks were released is off Albion Road in Oakfield is part of a DEC Wildlife Management Area.
Residents asked to conserve water ‘whenever possible’
Photo by Tom Rivers Even the Courthouse Lawn in Albion, one of the most recognizable front yards in Orleans County, hasn’t escaped the effects of too little rain. The grass has turned yellow.
Press Release, DEC
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today issued a drought watch for the entire state of New York following consultation with the State Drought Management Task Force and Federal partner agencies.
“While most public water supplies are still generally normal throughout the state, below normal precipitation over the last 9 months, low stream flows, and reduced groundwater levels have prompted the need for this action,” Commissioner Seggos said. “We are encouraging residents throughout the state to conserve water whenever possible during the coming months.”
A watch is the first of four levels of state drought advisories (“watch,” “warning,” “emergency” and “disaster”). There are no statewide mandatory water use restrictions in place under a drought watch.
However, local public water suppliers may require such measures depending upon local needs and conditions. The last drought watch in New York State was issued in 2002.
The drought watch is triggered by the State Drought Index, which reflects precipitation levels, reservoir/lake levels, and stream flow and groundwater levels in nine designated drought regions throughout New York. Each of these indicators is assigned a weighted value based on its significance to various uses in a region.
Observed precipitation has been less than normal with shortfalls of 4 to 8 inches common over the last 90 days. The dry weather dates back to the Oct. 1 start of the “water year” and is beginning to significantly affect other water metrics. Stream flows and groundwater levels are well below normal throughout much of the state.
Groundwater levels were seasonally worse in June compared to May and they are not expected to improve in the immediate future due to the existing precipitation deficit.
The following are some conservation tips that homeowners can take to voluntarily reduce their water usage:
• Fix dripping and leaking faucets and toilets. A faucet leaking 30 drops per minute wastes 54 gallons a month.
• Raise your lawn mower cutting height. Longer grass needs less water.
• If your community allows watering, water lawns and gardens on alternate mornings instead of every day. Less frequent watering will develop grass with deeper roots, and early morning watering minimizes evaporation.
• When using automatic lawn watering systems, override the system in wet weather or use a rain gauge to control when and how much water to use. A fixed watering schedule wastes water. Irrigate only when needed.
• Sweep sidewalks and steps rather than hosing them. Eliminating a weekly 5-minute pavement hose-down could save between 625 and 2500 gallons of water per year depending on the flow rate.
“Conserving water is important all year long, but particularly during extended dry periods,” Commissioner Seggos said. “By voluntarily reducing water usage, and being extra careful with fire and outdoor flames, New Yorkers can help conserve our natural resources during these dry days of summer.”
YATES – A juvenile bald eagle was photographed this morning by Paul Salmons from his home at the end of North Lyndonville Road on Wescott Lane, an area near the Shadigee by Lake Ontario.
Photo courtesy of Paul Salmons
Salmons said many of his neighbors have spotted the eagle in recent months dining on fish from the lake.
Photo courtesy of Paul Salmons
“Such a beautiful bird,” Salmons wrote in an email.
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Turtle mingles with the crowd in Albion during last month’s Strawberry Festival. Albion has an Amazing Turtle Race during the festival, featuring about 1,000 toy turtles on the Erie Canal.
Press Release, State Sen. Rob Ortt
State Senator Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda) thanked Governor Andrew Cuomo and local organizations for their efforts to preserve the traditions and benefits of events like charitable duck derby races.
Ortt recently introduced legislation that would allow games of chance, including raffles, to be conducted on state-owned property. The New York State Gaming Commission recently interpreted such games to be a violation of state law. The Governor on Tuesday announced a waiver approval process to allow organizations to hold charitable gaming fundraisers on the state-owned Erie Canal.
“I applaud the Governor for listening to local officials and organizations on this important issue,” said Senator Ortt. “This was an example of an antiquated and illogical law that had been on the books for years but was scarcely enforced. Events like the duck derbies were raising money for good causes, not malice, and organizations were about to suddenly be penalized for that solely because those events are being held on state property. I’m thankful that a commitment to common sense and charity won the day.”
Ortt, along with local officials, reacted to the cancellation of a duck derby fundraiser in Brockport after state Gaming Commission officials said it violated gaming laws and regulations. The derby, which has been a summer staple for the Brockport Arts Festival for years, consists of raffled toy ducks floating down the Erie Canal, which is state property.
Under the recent interpretation of state law, organizations could only hold games of chance or raffle events on their own property or on municipal-owned property, not state property. Cuomo on Tuesday indicated that the state would not follow that interpretation and enforce violations, allowing the raffles to continue.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 July 2016 at 10:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers Turtles “race” in the Erie Canal in this photo from June last year in Albion. The Amazing Turtle Race usually includes about 1,000 turtles. The five fastest turtles earn their owners prize money. The race is a fund-raiser with proceeds going towards the annual Albion Strawberry Festival.
Turtles are dumped in the Erie Canal in Albion in this photo from June 2015. Pictured from left include: County Legislators John DeFilipps and Lynne Johnson, Jarred Saj (the top turtle ticket seller with 206), Village Trustee Stan Farone is next to Saj but obscured in this photo, The Turtle, Michael Bonnewell, then Sheriff Scott Hess and Strawberry Festival King Chase Froman.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that the state wants to support fund-raising traditions with plastic and rubber ducks and turtles, where organizations hold races to generate funds for community festivals and projects.
The Erie Canal is a popular venue for such races, including “The Amazing Turtle Race” during the Albion Strawberry Festival the second Saturday in June.
Some organizations have cancelled the races after being told the events are not allowed because they involve gambling on state property. Brockport cancelled its recent duck race because of the issue.
Cuomo is in Niagara County today to announce a new hotel project in Niagara Falls. He also put out a news release that the duck race put on Community Missions of Niagara Frontier could go on as planned.
“Each year, Community Missions’ charitable duck race raises thousands of dollars to support the organization’s important work for the city’s most vulnerable populations,” Cuomo said in a statement today. “After discussions with the New York State Gaming Commission, we’ve determined a lawful pathway for this popular event to take place on the Erie Canal this year and in the years ahead. The Commission has reached out to city officials and Community Missions to ensure the proper steps are taken so that the raffle may be legally conducted.”
The duck race will be Saturday, July 23, at Canal Fest.
Cuomo said other organizations holding similar races as fund-raisers on the canal will be contacted by the state and given the rules for compliance.
“I have requested that the Commission proactively contact similarly situated Western New York charitable organizations seeking to hold fundraisers on the Canal to advise them on how they too can proceed legally to raise funds,” Cuomo said. “I am pleased that with this administrative fix, these important traditions will be able to continue for the entire Western New York community.”
Cuomo, in his news release today, advised how organizations can operate the fund-raisers legally. He used Community Missions as an example.
Technical Details of How Organizations Can Hold Legal Duck Races on Erie Canal:
Community Missions of Niagara Frontier Inc. can conduct their event, so long as appropriate laws and regulations are followed.
Because Community Missions is domiciled in Niagara Falls and the intended raffle is to occur in North Tonawanda, a variety of procedural approvals must be sought and given:
1. Community Missions must obtain consent from North Tonawanda to conduct the raffle in its jurisdiction by seeking a hardship exemption pursuant to 9E NYCRR § 4603.11(a)(1) and file a Verified Statement for Raffle Ticket Operations (GCVS1) (if a Category 2 raffle).
2. North Tonawanda must identify the Canal as the premises for the conduct of the raffle.
3. North Tonawanda and the Commission must accept the Letter of Consent.
4. Upon acceptance, the Commission will issue a temporary Games of Chance Identification Number to be used for the conduct of the event.
5. If desired, Community Missions must obtain consent to sell raffle tickets in jurisdictions beyond Niagara Falls (where they are domiciled). These are obtained through the Filing of a Raffle Consent Form (GC-RCF) with every municipality where the raffle tickets are to be sold.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 July 2016 at 9:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – More than 700 cyclists passed through Orleans County on the 18th annual “Cycle the Erie Canal” ride. The 8-day trip started Sunday in Buffalo and ends 400 miles later in Albany.
The group started in Medina this morning and headed east to Rochester. The top photo shows cyclists looking over granola bars and other snacks and drinks provided for free by the Albion Merchants Association. many community members donated to the bounty to make the cyclists feel welcome on a hot day.
After riding about 10 miles this morning, cyclists take a break in Albion. Many of the riders ventured up down Main Street to visit some of the historical sites in Albion, including the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church, which was open early for tours.
Mike Kennedy of Troy (pictured) is riding in the canal trek for the 14th time. About a third of the cyclists are repeat riders in Cycling the Erie Canal.
“I’m hooked,” Kennedy said about the annual trip. “After this many years I have a great many friends.”
Kennedy works as a sous chef for the Hilton Garden Inn in Troy. He said training for the annual cycling trip provides motivation to exercise.
Deborah Fortune of Troy was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. After fighting the disease for a year, “I decided to do things I always wanted to do.”
That included climbing the fire towers in the Adirondack and Catskills mountains. She decided to do the long canal ride. She is using the ambitious trip to also raise funds for Make-A-Wish. Click here to see her fund-raising page.
Patricia Fahy, a member of the State Assembly from Albany, is making the canal trip with her daughter Eileen Bequette. Fahy is also on Assembly committees for the environment and tourism. She is using the 400 mile-trip to experience the canal communities and brainstorm ways to better promote the canal and the communities along the historic waterway.
“This is a great way to learn about New York,” she said in Albion this morning.
Some of the cyclists stop in Albion for a break and also to take photos of the lift bridge and some of Albion’s historic downtown buildings.
It was a calm morning to be out riding along the canal.
This rider heads east in Albion.
After staying overnight in Medina, the cyclists rode to Rochester today. They stopped in Holley which is an official hospitality stop on the trip.
Holley had a sampling of baked goods, fruits, coffee, water and other snacks and beverages.
Greg Francese, assistant director of the ride for Parks and Trails (organizer of Cycling the Erie Canal), said the strong reception in the canal communities makes a big impression on the cyclists.
“it speaks to the generous spirit of the communities,” Francese said in Holley.
These cyclists cross the lift bridge in Holley after visiting Holley’s Canal Park.
These two cyclists met on Cycling the Erie Canal last year. They have become friends and they promote dancing each day on the canal.
Linda Ranslow of Pittsford, left, rode the bike trip last year for a big achievement the year she turned 60. Dennis Doyle of Camillus took the ride after retiring. They both said they wanted to meet new friends and ended up meeting each other the first day. They have stayed close ever since.
Ranslow is blogging about the bike ride. Click here to see her blog.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 July 2016 at 8:00 am
Six-concert series concludes in Holley
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Old Hippies perform a concert from on top of a house boat on Sunday evening in Albion. The band, which is calling itself itself “The Traveling Towpath Troubadours” for the canal concert series, played in Medina earlier in the day. It also performed in Lockport Friday and Saturday, and Middleport on Saturday evening before arriving in Medina on Sunday.
The Troubadours will play in Holley today (Monday) at noon and also at 6 p.m. at the village’s canal park.
The Troubadours include Bill McDonald, Kay McDonald and Vinny Pastore. The band played the canal concert series for the first time last summer, and returned with an expanded schedule this year. The Old Hippies are pictured with the Ingersoll Street lift bridge in the back.
The boat is tied up between the two lift bridges in Albion for the Sunday evening concert.
Vinny Pastore plays the violin with the Orleans County Courthouse visible in back.
The band performed on a sunny evening with calm water on the canal.
Vinny Pastore, Kay McDonald and Bill McDonald entertain the crowd in Albion.
The band is trying to promote the historic Erie Canal as part of the concert series.
Bill and Kay McDonald are perched high on the house boat during their concert Sunday evening.
A local band – Crandall, Wood, and Main – opened for the Troubadours.
File photos by Tom Rivers – Toy turtles float down the Erie Canal in June 2015 during “The Amazing Turtle Race,” a fund-raiser that benefits the Albion Strawberry Festival.
Press Release, State Sen. Rob Ortt
State Senator Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda) today announced legislation he is introducing that would allow games of chance to be conducted on state-owned property. Games of chance include raffles like the popular duck derby races that many times are held on the state-owned canal – a violation of current state law.
“Some of the laws in New York State are antiquated and illogical; this general municipal law (189) is one of them,” said Senator Ortt. “Events like the duck derbies are raising money for good causes, not malice, and organizations should not be penalized for that just because those events are being held on state property. This law has been on the books for a long time, yet it’s scarcely enforced.”
Albion also has a popular fund-raiser on the Erie Canal, using turtles instead of ducks. Volunteers get ready to corral the turles in this photo from last month’s race. Nearly 1,000 of the turtles “race” every June in the fund-raiser that helps pay for the Strawberry Festival.
This legislation is in response to the cancellation of a duck derby fundraiser in Brockport after state Gaming Commission officials said it violated gaming laws and regulations. The derby, which has been a summer staple for the Brockport Arts Festival for years, consists of raffled toy ducks floating down the Erie Canal, which is state property.
Under current state law, organizations can only hold games of chance or raffle events on their own property or on municipal-owned property. Organizations conducting charitable gaming on state property can be charged with a misdemeanor.
