Provided photo – Congressman Chris Collins met with Orleans and Nigara County officials Wednesday in Wilson to discuss the need to have several local harbors dredged. Collins is joined by, from left: Jim Ward, representative for State Sen. George Maziarz; Assemblywoman Jane Corwin; Niagara County Legislator David Godfrey, Niagara County Legislature Chairman Bill Ross; Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson; and Niagara County Legislator Clyde Burmaster.

Press release
Congressman Chris Collins

WILSON – Following a tour of Olcott and Wilson harbors, Congressman Chris Collins (R-Clarence) joined with state and local leaders to highlight the urgent need to maintain and protect local harbors along Lake Ontario’s south shoreline.

Collins highlighted the important role these harbors play in the region’s economy and the need for continued and consistent harbor maintenance.

“These harbors play a critical role in the economy of Western New York through both the direct and spin-off benefits of seasonal recreational activities and the charter fishing industry,” Collins said on Wednesday. “Today I join my colleagues in both state and local government to call for both the continued maintenance and protection that is necessary to keep these harbors viable.”

Collins has pushed the Army Corps of Engineers to begin the long delayed dredging of the harbors. Dredging would remove the sediment build up that narrows a harbor’s channel dimension and creates unsafe navigation conditions for both commercial and recreational boating.

Orleans County officials have been pressing federal officials and the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Oak Orchard Harbor, which was last done a decade ago.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Oak Orchard Harbor needs to have sediment removed to make the channel more navigable for boaters.

“The dredging of these harbors is long overdue, and is needed in order to maintain and maximize the harbors’ economic and recreational importance,” Collins said.

The Army Corps of Engineers is supposed to dredge in Oak Orchard, Olcott and Wilson harbors in 2014.

While in Wilson on Wednesday, Collins also voiced his opposition to the International Joint Commission plan, which calls for altering water levels for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The IJC is a joint body between the U.S. and Canada that controls water levels between the two countries.

Orleans County officials have protested the IJC plan, saying it would increase erosion along shorelines, lowering property values and having a negative impact on the region’s economy by affecting recreational and commercial boating.

“We need a unified front when it comes to advocating for the needs of our lakefront communities and harbors,” said State Sen. George Maziarz (R-Newfane). “Cleaning out these waterways so more boaters can use themand advocating to the IJC on behalf of lakefront property ownersare high priorities for us as representatives.”

Olcott won the “Ultimate Fishing Town” contest last year with Point Breeze winning the title this year. That raises the profile for other communities as fishing destinations. However, the potential is limited when the harbors are not regularly dredged.

Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson attended the news conference Wednesday in Wilson with Collins. Johnson is the county’s representative on the newly created Niagara-Orleans Regional Alliance.

“We need to stand united with our neighbors to the west on these two very important issues as we work for funding to dredge Oak Orchard Harbor for boating and tourism and save our property owners along the lake from further erosion from altering the lake levels,” she said.

Press release, Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District

Volunteers are needed for a thankless job on Sept. 21, pulling garbage from several streams and bodies of water in Orleans County.

Each year the Orleans County Water Quality Coordinating Committee facilitates a shoreline cleanup event, which is sponsored by the American Littoral Society.

This event is open to all volunteers and provides an excellent opportunity for students, scouts, 4-H’ers and adults to fulfill community service requirements, interact with county agencies (Soil & Water Conservation District and Health Department), and make a significant contribution to our community and environment.

Volunteers will meet Sept. 21 at Bullard Park on East Avenue in Albion at 9 a.m.  After a brief introduction, they will disperse to several predetermined locations throughout the county to begin the collection.

A team captain and at least one other responsible adult is required to supervise each cleanup crew. A friendly competition is held between crews to determine who can collect the greatest amount of trash, by weight. Upon completion, they will reconvene at Bullard Park for a lunch provided by the Orleans County Department of Public Health. Participants will also receive a certificate from the American Littoral Society in recognition of their service.

This is the 13th year Orleans County will be participating in this event. In 2012 more than 1,900 pounds of trash was collected from shorelines and beaches in the county.  If you wish to join the Water Quality Committee for the Shoreline Cleanup or have any questions concerning the event, contact Dennis Kirby at Soil and Water at (585) 589-5959.

POINT BREEZE – The sun cast an array of colors while setting last night at Lake Ontario. Jerome Pawlak of Albion was at Point Breeze and took this photo of the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.

I’ve seen a lot of photos of the lighthouse since it was erected in 2010, and I think this is the best one. Thank you to Jerome for sharing it.

Photos by Michael Karcz

ALBION – A full moon was bright and loomed large on the rural horizon tonight in Orleans County.

These photos were taken on West Countyhouse Road in Albion looking towards the dairy farm owned by the Neal family.

Photos by Tom Rivers

POINT BREEZE – I stopped by Point Breeze today for a story about the ham radio operators participating in an international lighthouse event. I wrote a story about their event earlier. (Click here to see the story.)

While at the lighthouse, I was surprised to see so many boats coming and going at the Oak Orchard Harbor. The radio operators agreed it was a busy day at the Point.

The sunshine helped, and I bet some of the boaters were trying to catch a big fish for the annual Orleans County Fishing Derby, which ends on Sunday. Foster Miller of Holley is the current leader with a Chinook salmon that weighs 34 pounds, 13 ounces.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Orleans Hub editor has a giant sunflower by his front porch and took notice of some bees at work this afternoon. Hub editor snapped a quick photo up close despite being allergic to bee stings, and then quickly fled the scene.

Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – It was another colorful sunset in Orleans County tonight. I happened to be driving through Carlton and snapped a picture of a barn with the sunset and then took two from the bridge on Route 279. The two boaters were friendly and waved just before they passed under the bridge.

Photos by Tom Rivers – An inspection crew from the state Canal Corporation passes under the Hulberton lift bridge this morning and heads east to check the bridge in Holley. The lift bridges, despite being 100 years old, are working well, Canal officials said.

HULBERTON – Parts of the canal system have been battered by floods and the wrath of Mother Nature in recent years. With each storm, the canal has endured, with occasional short-term closures of some sections. This year storms hit the eastern end of the canal and Lockport particularly hard.

“When the storms come through, we’ve been able to turn around and reopen quickly,” said John Joyce, director of special projects for the Canal Corp. “It shows that the canal is in good shape and we have a dedicated crew.”

Joyce and a team of inspectors passed through the canal in Orleans County the past two days, stopping to inspect seven lift bridges in the county and assess the embankments and other infrastructure. They travelled by boat on the Tug Syracuse.

“We don’t find major problems because they are being maintained on a daily basis,” he said today in Hulberton after inspectors completed an assessment of the lift bridge.

Joyce and the inspectors had high praise for the mechanical and electrical systems on the century old lift bridges. One of them in Knowlesville has a weight restriction and is limited to one-lane. The bridges are owned by the state Department of Transportation, but the Canal Corp. operates them and handles a lot of the electrical work and maintenance.

The canal is like a “living museum,” and remains an important source of pride and economic development for the canal communities, Joyce said.

He believes the communities with lift bridges are particularly fortunate to have the iconic structures. There are only 16 of them. They’re between Lockport and Fairport. Orleans has the most of any county.

“For 100-year-old technology they are working great,” Joyce said.

State law requires an annual inspection of the canal each year. For many years the assessment was made by car. But the past three years under Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Canal Corp. has traveled the entire 363 miles by boat.

The canal has been in the news for much of the past year, depictied as a drain to the Thruway Authority and a reason to raise tolls.

The Thruway Authority proposed 45 percent toll hikes, but backed off the toll increase. The Canal Corp. however cut 5 percent of its workforce this year.

The canal has been under the Thruway Authority’s budget since 1992. Joyce said the Thruway Authority has proven a good steward of the canal system.

“We have a good working relationship with the Thruway Authority and we want that to continue,” he said.

The Tug Syracuse heads to Holley after an inspection in Hulberton.

State is doing annual mandated check of canal system

Photo courtesy of Canal Corporation – The Tug Syracuse is docked in Buffalo’s Erie Canal Harbor this morning awaiting the start of the annual Canal Inspection Tour. Canal official will be in Orleans County later this week.

Press release, NYS Canal Corporation

The annual inspection of the New York State canal system began today in Buffalo when the Tug Syracuse departed from the Erie Canal Harbor to assess the historic waterway, the New York State Canal Corporation announced.

Canal Corporation officials will inspect the seven lift bridges in Orleans County on Wednesday and Thursday, starting with Medina’s bridge at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday and then working east to check more lift bridges in the county. The maintenance inspections in Orleans are scheduled to end in Holley at 10:50 a.m. Thursday, when crews will depart to Brockport.

The legally mandated inspection will take place over the next two months in two- and three-day segments. It is one of the most critical tools the Canal Corporation has to make a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of the overall condition and capital needs of the nearly 200-year-old canal system, which generates $380 million in tourism-based economic activity and provides drinking water for thousands New Yorkers of as well as water resources for agriculture, industry and hydroelectric power generation.

“For nearly two centuries, the canal system has remained vital to the prosperity of the Empire State, both commercially and recreationally,” said New York State Thruway Authority and Canal Corporation Chairman Howard P. Milstein. “This inspection is an important opportunity to gauge the overall condition of the canals first-hand, but also to recognize the excellence of our staff for their maintenance of this national treasure. It is this commitment that has allowed this modern marvel to continue to flourish over the years.”

The inspection team grades individual components at locks and lift bridge locations statewide and will then give awards for top performance later this year.

The inspection tour is a tradition that dates from October 26, 1825, when Gov. DeWitt Clinton departed from Buffalo aboard the Seneca Chief to mark the opening of the Erie Canal after eight years of construction.

The effect of the canal was both immediate and dramatic, and settlers poured west. Trade exploded with freight rates from Buffalo to New York at $10 per ton by canal, compared with $100 per ton by road. Within nine years, canal tolls more than recouped the entire cost of construction and New York City was the busiest port in America.

“We are excited to embark on the 2013 Canal Inspection, a time-honored tradition that is central to our maintenance, rehabilitation, and strategic planning efforts,” said Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton. “With the canals playing such an important role in the livelihood of the communities that line its shores, it is essential that we ensure the facilities and equipment of the Canal Corporation are in good working order and acknowledge our dedicated staff for their tireless efforts year-round.”

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Here is another photo from last night’s sunset photographic excursion by the Erie Canal in Albion.

Orleans Hub posted several photos of the canal last night. This one shows the staircase for the lift bridge. I’ve been told the bridge used to be an upright position back when it was built a century ago. The bridge was lowered for the occasional horse and buggy.

A hundred years ago there were a lot of boats passing through Albion. Now there are a lot of cars, but only an occasional boater so the bridge stays down most of the time.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – It was another colorful and calming sunset tonight in Orleans County, especially along the Erie Canal. I stopped by the canal and grabbed a few photos of the Main Street lift bridge.

There are only 16 lift bridges on the canal with seven in Orleans County, including two in Albion. All of those lift bridges are between Lockport and Fairport. They are unique to the western end of the Erie Canal. I think they are an underutilized novelty that would draw people here.

(Perhaps the Canal Corporation could activate the lift bridges at the top of the hour on certain days so tourists would be guaranteed a chance to see the bridges “in action.”)

I wandered just west of the lift bridge this evening and took a photo of a boat – “No Regrets, Albion NY” – tied up on the south side of the canal. The barn on the north side of the canal includes a mural painted by Arthur Barnes.

A Holley resident is now leading the Orleans County Fishing Derby. Foster Miller caught a 34-pound, 13-ounce Chinook salmon. That fish knocked a 31-pound, 11-ounce Chinook off the top of the leaderboard.

The derby runs until Aug. 18 and includes $8,800 in prizes, including $4,000 to the angler who catches the biggest fish.

The other top fish in four categories include: Chinook, 31 pounds and 11 ounces by Julie Schaeffer of Sligo, Pa.; Rainbow trout, 13 pounds and 10 ounces by Dean Kapoika of Greenburg, Pa; and Brown trout, 15 pounds and 8 ounces by George Barkdorl of McConnelisburg, Pa. There are no names yet on the leaderboard for lake trout.

The Albion Rotary Club sponsors the derby. Anglers compete for the biggest fish caught at Lake Ontario and its tributaries from the Niagara River to the Genesee River.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse in Barker, located just west of the Orleans County line, was built in 1875 from limestone. The state acquired it in 1962 and turned it into the Golden Hill State Park.

Photo by Tom Rivers

BARKER – It’s just across the Orleans County line and I think the lighthouse in Barker may be the best one on the south shore of Lake Ontario.

I haven’t scouted out all of these structures but from the pictures I’ve seen some of these sites have fallen into disrepair. Some of them have standalone towers that lack the shock and awe of when the lighthouse and tower are blended into one big structure. That’s the case in Barker with a 70-foot-high lighthouse constructed in 1875.

I wish the powers-that-be had picked Medina sandstone for the lighthouse. But the limestone has proven durable and a good choice.

You may wonder if any of the lighthouses are made of Medina sandstone. I believe there is only one and it’s close by at Charlotte in Rochester. I will have a feature on that site in an upcoming installment in the Sandstone Heritage series.

The Barker lighthouse has been well-maintained by the state. It wasn’t open for a tour when I stopped by this evening. The grounds are well kept. I’m glad the state acquired the site in 1962 and didn’t let this place fall apart. Building a state park as part of the site was also a wise move.

The lighthouse is called Thirty Mile Point because it’s 30 miles east of the mouth of the Niagara River. I would encourage you to stop by and take a look.

For more information, click here to be directed to the state site about Golden Hill State Park.