Photo by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – A boater heads out of the channel at Oak Orchard Harbor on Saturday while some ducks are out in Lake Ontario.
It’s going to be hot the next few days. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high of 87 today, followed by 88 on Monday, a high of 86 on Tuesday and 82 on Wednesday.
The Weather Channel is warning of extreme heat today and Monday with the heat index at 90.
POINT BREEZE – A 29-pound Chinook salmon caught by a Pennsylvania resident is the new leader of the Orleans County Fishing Derby with only three days left in the contest.
Georgia Barkdoll of McConnellsburg, Pa., reeled in the 29-pound, 0-ounce fish on Thursday. It is in the lead for the $4,000 grand prize. It knocked a 25-pound, 5-ounce salmon off the top of the leaderboard.
The derby started on Aug. 1 and continues until Aug. 16. The Albion Rotary Club puts on the annual event.
Other division leaders include:
Salmon: 25 pounds, 5 ounces – Joseph Miller of Harrisburg, Pa.;
Rainbow trout: 12 pounds, 14 ounces – Michael Ayotte, Port Charlotte, Fla.;
Brown trout: 14 pounds, 5 ounces – Chad Kennedy of Marlborough, Mass.;
Lake trout: 17 pounds, 12 ounces – Mike Engle of Hamlin, NY.
There is $8,800 in cash prizes up for grabs in the derby.
For more information on the contest, click here.
There is a new leader in the Orleans County Fishing Derby, which started on Aug. 1 and continues until Aug. 16 with $8,800 in prize money up for grabs.
Nicole Brown of Hummelstown, Pa., leads the derby with a 24-pound, 12-ounce Chinook salmon. Grand prize in the derby is $4,000.
The first place winners in four divisions – Chinook, rainbow trout, brown trout and lake trout – all receive $500.
The first place winners, as of the end of Friday, include Salmon: Charlie Eulitt of Oak Harbor, Ohio, 24 pounds, 5 ounces; Rainbow trout: Nicole Brown of Hummelstown, Pa., 11 pounds, 5 ounces; Brown trout: Chad Kennedy of Marlborough, Mass., 14 pounds, 5 ounces; and Lake trout: Mike Engle of Hamlin, NY, 17 pounds, 12 ounces.
Terah Slack of Medina also is leading with the $200 bonus award for biggest fish caught by an Orleans County resident. She reeled in a 22-pound, 2-ounce salmon.
Besides $4,000 for the biggest fish and the $500 for the four division leaders, there is $300 for second place, $200 for third, $100 for fourth and $50 for fifth.
For more information on the derby, click here.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo today announced six new patrol boats that will assist local law enforcement agencies across the state with keeping waterways safe.
One of the new vessels is assigned to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.
“More people than ever are taking advantage of the recreational opportunities at New York’s many lakes, rivers and coastal waters and we’re committed to ensuring that they remain safe for residents and visitors alike,” Governor Cuomo said in a press release today. “These new patrol vessels will assist local law enforcement efforts and will provide them with additional means to ensure those out on the water are abiding by the law.”
In addition to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, the new Brunswick Justice patrol vessels are assigned to the Babylon Police Department (Suffolk County), Irvington Police Department (Westchester County), Lewis County Sheriff’s Department, Livingston County Sheriff’s Department, and Port Chester Police Department (Westchester County).
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation purchased these vessels, which range in value from $70,000 to nearly $130,000. The transaction was made possible through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard, which provides funding to states to assist with recreational boating safety. Local police agencies will use the patrol vessels to enhance recreational boater safety and enforce New York State Navigation Laws.
“With our exceptional lakes, rivers and bays, New York State has a strong tradition of boating and fishing – and we want to make sure people visiting our waterways stay safe,” State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey said. “Local marine patrols help keep our waterways safe by discouraging dangerous boating practices and serving as first responders in on-the-water emergencies.”
The State Parks Marine Service Unit is responsible for the general coordination of boating safety programs and supports marine law enforcement efforts across the state, including patrols, training and funding for local marine enforcement activities.
There is a new leader in the Orleans County Fishing Derby after a Pennsylvania man reeled in a 23-pound, 4-ounce Chinook salmon on Tuesday.
Mark Cippel of Ford City hooked the fish that holds the top spot – the $4,000 grand prize in the fishing derby that continues until Aug. 16.
There were other additions to the leaderboard after Tuesday, including Jeff Newman of Lyndonville. He leads the salmon division with a 21-pound, 7-ounce Chinook. He also is in the lead for the $200 bonus prize, given to the Orleans County resident who catches the biggest fish in the derby.
The leaderboard also includes a 14-pound brown trout caught by April Johnson of Rochester to lead that division and 17-pound, 12-ounce lake trout by Mike Engle of Hamlin.
The derby is still waiting for its first fish in the rainbow trout division.
The derby, which is sponsored by the Albion Rotary Club, gives out $8,800 in total prize money. Besides $4,000 for the biggest fish, the four division leaders each get $500, followed by $300 for second, $200 for third, $100 for fourth and $50 for fifth.
For more on the derby, click here.
Day 2 of the Orleans County Fishing Derby brought changes to the leaderboard.
A 17-pound, 12-ounce lake trout caught by Mike Engle of Hamlin is the new leader in the derby, which started on Saturday and runs until Aug. 16. The angler who catches the biggest fish in the derby wins $4,000.
The leaderboard also includes a 14-pound brown trout caught by April Johnson of Rochester to lead that division.
The top lake trout include a 15-pounder caught by Jared Wise of Rochester, and a 14-pound, 1-ounce lake trout reeled in by Garrett Rusin of Brockport.
The derby is still waiting for its first fish in the Chinook salmon and rainbow trout divisions.
The derby gives out $8,800 in total prize money. Besides $4,000 for the biggest fish, the four division leaders each get $500, followed by $300 for second, $200 for third, $100 for fourth and $50 for fifth.
There is also a $200 prize to the Orleans County resident who catches the biggest fish.
The derby is sponsored by the Albion Rotary Club. Last year, a 27-pound, 7-ounce Chinook salmon won the derby.
For more on the derby, click here.
File photo by Tom Rivers – Lake Ontario splashes against the south shore in this photo from last August, taken at the shores of the Golden Hill State Park in Barker.
Two county legislators travelled to Washington, D.C. last week to meet with federal officials and argue against a new plan for regulating the water levels in Lake Ontario.
It’s unusual for county legislators from Orleans and Niagara counties to travel to the nation’s capital on official county business. But for Lynne Johnson of Orleans County and David Godfrey of Niagara, the issue demands every effort from the southshore counties that stand to lose valuable real estate and have fishing and tourism industries effected.
“We wanted to drive our point home that this will be devastating to the lakeshore,” Johnson said.
She and Godfrey represented the Niagara-Orleans Regional Alliance. They met with Department of State officials, as well as staff for U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. The two county legislators also met directly with U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, who arranged for a meeting with the Department of State.
The International Joint Commission regulates the lake water levels. It includes representation from both the U.S. and Canadian governments. The IJC has endorsed a plan that could lead to bigger fluctuations in lake levels. Many southshore county leaders fear higher water will erode private property and lower levels will leave marinas too shallow for boaters, hurting the fishing and recreational industries.
Johnson and Godgrey said they were armed with facts about the potential harm of the IJC plan. The six southshore counties from Niagara to Oswego have 10,025 parcels of lakefront land with a total assessed value of $3.7 billion. If they suffer a 10 percent loss, those communities would lose $370 million in value.
That difference would be spread to other property owners in the counties, raising their taxes, Johnson said.
“Everyone will suffer if we continue to take away properties on the lakeshore,” Godfrey said. “If the assessments are dropped because of this, we have to redistribute it to the other property owners in the county.”
The southshore fishing industry also generates about $100 million in economic impact annually. If that industry suffers, resulting in fewer sales tax and other revenue, that impact will have to be made up from other sources, Godfrey said.
He worries a higher lake will also swell inland streams, leading to more damage for those property owners.
A higher lake could also stir up radioactive waste in the town of Porter, Godfrey said. Radioactive waste material is buried near the shore with three feeder streams nearby, he said.
“If the lake levels fluctuate it will increase the draw and could flush it into the lake,” Godfrey said. “That’s very concerning to us.”
Collins spoke against the IJC plan during a news conference at Oak Orchard Harbor on July 2. He is working out another meeting in Washington with IJC and Department of State officials, Johnson said.
“On the heels of what I heard from local legislators and residents at last week’s press conference, it is clear this plan is not in the best interest of homeowners and other stakeholders along the Lake Ontario shoreline,” Collins said in a statement. “I am glad we had the opportunity to voice our concerns to the State Department, which is currently undergoing an interagency review of the IJC’s proposal. I remain committed to working with my colleagues in state and local government against its implementation.”
Collins and the county legislators say the plan goes against a binational treaty for the water levels that says no side of the lake should bear a “disproportional” harm from the water levels.
Johnson and Godfrey would like the IJC to continue the existing lake level management plan which dates back to the 1958.
“Our hope is in the end this goes nowhere,” she said about the new IJC plan. “We will continue to drive a nail into the coffin.”
Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – The Medina Tourism Committee, State Canal Corp. and some passing cyclists celebrated a new interpretive panel on Monday morning explaining the Canal Culvert and other culverts along the Erie Canal system.
The panel is along the towpath on the north side of the Culvert.
Jim Hancock, chairman of the Medina Tourism Committee, said many cyclists, walkers and other canal users pass by the spot without realizing the remarkable culvert below.
The new panel draws attention to spot, the only place on the 363-mile-long canal where a road goes under the canal.
“This will let people know there is a significant architectural structure there,” Hancock said. “It’s one of a kind.”
Hancock helped organize the panel dedication on Monday. He wanted the event to express appreciation to the Canal Corp. for putting up the panel, and for also being a good caretaker of the nearly 200-year-old manmade waterway.
“We just wanted to say , “Thank you,'” Hancock said.
Here are some highlights of the panel, which also includes information on other culverts on the canal:
The panel notes the original culvert in Medina was dismantled in 1854 and rebuilt the following year. It was further upgraded in 1895.
Medina doesn’t have the only significant culvert on the canal system.
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Volunteers with the Albion Merchants Association handed out free bottles of water and also had some local merchandise for sale this morning when 600 cyclists passed through Albion on the 17th annual “Cycling the Erie Canal” bike tour.
Merchants President Carolyn Ricker, left, is pictured with Amanda Wolford and Lisa Stratton at the welcome table. The Merchants and Pawlak’s Save-A-Lot paid for the free water for the cyclists.
Cyclists have name tags on their bikes as well as where they are from. There are participants from 36 states on the 400-mile ride that started Sunday in Buffalo and ends this Sunday in Albany.
The Village of Holley also had water and baked goods available for free for the cyclists at the Holley rest station along the canal. Mayor John Kenney secured donations for the items.
He has been part of Holley’s welcoming committee for the cyclists since 2003. He said he welcomes the chance to give the cyclists a favorable impression of Holley.
“We always stop to say ‘Hello’ to the people,” Kenney said. “We receive many, many compliments.”
Volunteers also gave cyclists rides on golf carts to the Holley Waterfalls and the Holley-Murray Historical Society Museum.
These cyclists stopped in Albion and were happy to see the lift bridge in action with a boat passing along the Erie Canal.
Sherri Swift takes a photo of the lift bridge in Albion. She is joined by her daughter, Cadence, who is only 2 and the youngest person on the tour. (She sits in a cart on one of the bikes.) The Swifts, along with Sherri’s husband Sean, came up from Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the bike journey.
“This is what we enjoy doing, getting out and experiencing cool stuff,” Mrs. Swift said.
One of the cyclists waves to a boater in Albion.
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – These cyclists head down the Canal Towpath just before the lift bridge in Medina, where they turned to head towards the middle school.
There are about 600 cyclists staying in tents in Medina tonight before they head about 60 miles east on Monday to reach Fairport.
Today was Day 1 of an eight-day, 400-mile trek from Buffalo to Albany. This is the 17th annual “Cycling the Erie Canal” bike tour.
The cyclists were treated to a concert in Medina, a historical talk about the canal, and a chance to use the pool and showers at the middle school.
This year’s tour has attracted more than 600 cyclists from 36 states, as well as international participants from as far away as Australia.
Michael Della Rocco of Schenectady is on the bike trip for the first time. He has traveled the eastern end near Albany before, but today was his first time seeing the western end from Buffalo to Medina.
He enjoyed discovering some of the small cities and towns along the way.
The Medina community proved very welcoming, he said. Someone had a banner up near Marshall Road, welcoming the cyclists.
“The good part is you ride at your own pace,” said Della Rocco, a retiree. “It’s not a race. It’s very comfortable.”
Dick and Becka Swartzlander of Oil City, Pa., work together to set up their tent outside the middle school in Medina.
The couple was in Medina about three years ago for the Thomas the Tank Engine ride with their grandson and other family. That’s where they learned about the canal cycling trip.
They said they have been training for the long trip. They’ve enjoyed seeing some of the towns along the way and seeing a working canal with lift bridges and boats.
“It’s been real nice,” Mrs. Swartzlander said.
The cyclists should reach Albion early Monday morning before heading to Holley and eventually reaching Fairport.
File photos – Some of the cyclists are pcitured in Albion last year, when they stopped at a welcome station.
The 17th annual “Cycling the Erie Canal” bike tour starts today with more than 600 cyclists leaving Buffalo and heading east on a 400-mile bicycling tour to Albany.
The cyclists will arrive in Medina today and will stay overnight in a “tent city” outside the middle school. On Monday morning, many of the riders will reach Albion before they head to Holley and head to Fairport.
The bike trek concludes next Sunday, July 19.
“The Erie Canal is truly an engineering marvel and along it are some of the most scenic examples of natural beauty in the entire state,” Governor Cuomo said in promoting the event. “I welcome the cyclists who are coming from far and wide to participate in this world-renown tour and encourage them to enjoy all that New York has to offer.”
The eight-day recreational bicycling tour will help highlight the beauty, history, culture and recreational appeal of the canal system and the Canalway Trail, popular tourism destinations in New York State. This year’s tour has attracted more than 600 cyclists from 36 states, as well as international participants from as far away as Australia.
Helen Zamboni of Avon, Livingston County, is pictured at “tent city” in Medina last year. The cyclists will again stay in tents outside the middle school tonight.
Roughly two-thirds of the 400-mile bicycle tour takes place on the completed portion of the Canalway Trail. When complete, the New York State Canalway Trail will span more than 500 miles and connect numerous cities, towns and villages along the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego and Champlain Canals, making it one of the longest multi-use recreational trails in the country.
Participants will have the opportunity to partake in guided tours of the Canal, historic sites, museums, and attractions such as the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, the Montezuma National Wildlife refuge in Seneca Falls, Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome, and the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse.
“The New York State Canal Corporation is pleased to sponsor Cycling the Erie Canal,” said Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton. “The Erie Canal is a beautiful and historical treasure not only to New York, but the entire country, as demonstrated by more than 600 participants from 36 states.”
Medina and Albion today are both hosting the “Traveling Troubadors,” a concert from a boat featuring The Old Hippies, a band from Batavia. Medina hosts the concert at 2 p.m. and then the band plays in Albion at 6 p.m.
Medina at 7 p.m. will also host a talk on canal history by Tom Grasso, president of the New York State Canal Society, at the middle school auditorium. The band, Pocket Change, will play at tent city from 7 to 9 p.m.
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Members of the “Old Hippies” play a concert this afternoon in Medina’s Canal Basin. The group includes, from left: Vinny Pastore, Jim Catino, Kay McMahon and Bill McDonald.
McDonald set up a series of cocnerts along the canal that started Saturday and continue with a concert at 6 p.m. in Albion and another one in Holley at 6 p.m. on Monday.
The band plays from the top of a boat tied up by the Canal Basin by downtown Medina.
Vinny Pastore plays the violin during one of the songs. The band played Erie Canal-themed music as well as other songs.
The crowd watches the concert from the lawn at the Canal Basin.
About 100 people turned out for the concert, including some of the cyclists traveling the canal from Buffalo to Albany. Those cyclists are staying outside the Middle School in Medina in tents tonight before heading east through Albion and Holley to Fairport on Monday.
Kay McMahon and her husband Bill McDonald play from the top of a boat. The band is calling itself “The Traveling Towpath Troubadours” for the canal concert series.
Provided photo – Bill McDonald and his wife Kay are pictured playing at a festival as part of the band, the Old Hippies. McDonald and the band will play four canal concerts from Saturday through Monday, with stops in Middleport, Medina, Albion and Holley.
Bill McDonald has played in numerous venues in a 50-year musical career. As a member of the Ghost Riders and the Old Hippies, McDonald plays at many community concert series and events.
But he has never played from boat along the Erie Canal. That will change beginning Saturday when McDonald and members of the Old Hippies travel on a packet boat and play four canal concerts. They are calling their group, “The Traveling Towpath Troubadours.”
Middleport will host the first concert at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Then McDonald and the Hippies play 2 p.m. Sunday at Medina’s Canal Basin with a 6 p.m. concert to follow in Albion. On Monday, Holley will host a concert at 6 p.m. (Hickory Ridge Golf Course is also hosting the Hippies for a concert at 6 p.m. on July 17.)
McDonald will be joined by his wife Kay and other members of the Old Hippies band.
A different band or entertainer will join the Hippies at each performance along the historic waterway.
“We really want to highlight the canal,” said McDonald, a Batavia resident.
His son lives along the canal near Fancher. McDonald enjoys walking and riding his bike on the towpath and kayaking in the canal. He sees it as an underutilized resource.
“We want to encourage the historic assets, the scenery and the recreational values of the canal,” McDonald said.
Photo by Tom Rivers – To promote the upcoming concerts, Bill McDonald, his wife Kay and their band mates played in the Albion Strawberry Festival Parade last month.
A grant from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council is covering most of the cost of the effort, including renting a packet boat for the trip. The concerts will be free to the public.
McDonald wants to perform from the boat, but the group may play at a gazebo from the canal locations depending on the weather.
The concert in Medina is timed with the arrival of about 600 cyclists who will be in town as part of the “Cycling the Erie Canal” event, which goes from Buffalo to Albany.
Other events in Medina that day include storyteller Teresa Wood at 3 p.m. in the canal basin, Wide Angle Art Studio displaying art work from local artists in the Canal Basin from 2 to 4 p.m., and the Blues Band playing at Medina Theater at 3:30.
McDonald looks forward to adding some pep to the canal towns.
“This is an old, fresh idea,” McDonald said about the boat concert tour. “I’ve always envisioned myself paddling down the water, Tom Sawyer like.”
CARLTON – Doug Boyer took these photos on Sunday of what he thought was a very rare duck to be at Lake Alice. Boyer did a Google search of a duck with a blue bill and was directed to Ruddy Duck.
That description seems to fit the bill. I sent the photos to Vernon Fonda, a conservation officer with the DEC, and he said the picture is of a Drake Ruddy Duck, which he said is very uncommon in these parts this time of the year.
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The quest for discovering some of the nicest nature spots in Orleans County continued on Sunday evening, with another waterfalls to put on the list.
Kyle and Jessy Holz invited some friends and family over to their house on Route 31 across from Bullard Park. They recently moved to the spot, and welcomed people over to watch the fireworks on Sunday.
They also told people about the big waterfalls in their backyard.
The west branch of Sandy Creek runs through here and then goes under Route 31 and passes along the west side of Bullard Park.
