By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 May 2013 at 12:00 am
POINT BREEZE – I don’t get out on the lake very often, maybe once a year. Today was one of those occasions.
I took a 2.1-mile ride on a barge carrying a truck full of 16,000 lake trout. I wrote about that earlier today. (Click here to see that article.)
I wanted to share a few more pictures from the trip, including a shot of the breakwall at the Oak Orchard Harbor and one of a guy fishing from the east pier. The other picture is a view from the back of the vessel while we head out to the lake.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Scientists from the Great Lakes Observing System were at Point Breeze on Saturday to send an autonomous underwater vehicle into Lake Ontario. Dick Anderson, a Point Breeze resident, sent us these photos of the AUV. The GLOS sent the vehicle into the lake for four hours to gather data about water temperatures and water quality. The GLOS is based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 May 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – I heard the bell on the Main Street lift bridge a little after 9 this morning and headed out the door with my camera, just in time to get this boater passing underneath the bridge, working his way westward with his dog as a companion.There are 16 lift bridges along the canal, and Orleans County has seven of them. There are four in Niagara County and five in Monroe.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
This double-rainbow appeared at about 8 p.m. today. I was at the Albion Village Board meeting and left the meeting to try to get a picture. I missed the double-rainbow at its peak. One rainbow shows up better than the other in this picture looking at the top of the United Methodist Church on Platt Street.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 May 2013 at 12:00 am
The 524-mile state canal system, which runs through Orleans County, officially opened today for its 189th season.
Canal village residents will soon be hearing the bells on the lift bridges, and tugboats, tenders and recreational boaters will be traveling along the iconic waterway.
Several official canal vessels, including the tender in the photo above, stay in Albion during the winter months. The tender is a working vessel on the canal.
The bell on the Main Street Lift Bridge in Albion is pictured in the photo below.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 April 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
Jeff Robinson of Lyndonville spent the morning fishing in Johnson Creek with his daughters Alexa, center, and Brooke. Robinson said it’s a little early for the fish to bite, but he enjoyed the outdoors with his children. In the photo below, Alexa, right, and Brooke wait for a tug on their fishing line.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 April 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
Volunteers are out picking out garbage and debris along the Erie Canal this morning in Albion and Medina. Colby Ricker, 13, of Albion, left, joins his friend Nate Grammatico, 11, of Albion along the canal between the two lift bridges. Colby’s mother Carolyn also hunts for trash on a chilly and windy morning. Volunteers are picking up garbage between Gaines Basin Road boat launch and the Brown Street bridge. In Medina, volunteers are picking up debris along the Towpath going towards Bates Road. The effort if part of the 8th annual “Canal Clean Sweep.”
Cleanup crews will be working this Saturday to collect brush and garbage along the canal in Albion and Medina. The effort is part of the 8th annual “Canal Clean Sweep.”
In Medina, the Sons of the American Legion is hosting the project. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Legion at 9 a.m. They will start picking up debris along the Towpath going towards Bates Road. For more information, contact the Legion at 798-0318.
Volunteers also will meet in Albion at the firehall beginning at 9 a.m. They will pick up litter, brush and debris on the south side of the canal between Gaines Basin Road boat launch and the Brown Street bridge. The Albion Main Street Alliance is sponsoring the event. For more information, contact Lisa Stratton at 590-7987 or at slb14411@yahoo.com.
Volunteers are encouraged to bring along a rake and some work gloves.
Photo by Tom Rivers – The lighthouse at Oak Orchard Harbor stands near a port that hasn’t been dredged in nearly 10 years.
Press release
CARLTON – The Oak Orchard Harbor, a port on Lake Ontario that is critical to Orleans County’s $12 million annual fishing industry, will finally be dredged in 2014, U.S. Rep. Chris Collins announced.
The harbor hasn’t been dredged since 2004, and some boats were grounded last year in shallow parts of the channel. County officials have been pressing for several years for federal funds to be released to remove sediment from the harbor.
Collins said the Oak Orchard, Olcott and Wilson harbors will all be dredged next year. The Army Corps of Engineers has the money lined up for the harbor work.
“The dredging of these three local harbors is long overdue,” Collins said. “Local residents and government leaders have been pushing the federal government to prioritize the work in order to maintain and maximize the harbors’ economic and recreational importance.These waterways are not only used for summer boating and recreation, but play a critical role in supporting the regional economy through the charter fishing industry.”
According to the US Army Corps of Engineers:
Oak Orchard Harbor in the town of Carlton was last dredged in 2004 when 10,700 cubic yards of material was removed.This harbor should be dredged every three to five years.In order to maintain adequate channel depth, 18,000 cubic yards of dredging will be required.The total sediment backlog is estimated at approximately 35,000 cubic yards.
Olcott Harbor in the village of Olcott was last dredged in 1997 when 9,900 cubic yards was removed.This harbor should be dredged every five to ten years.The current sediment backlog is estimated at approximately 55,000 cubic yards.
Wilson Harbor in the town of Wilson was last dredged in 2000 when 5,100 cubic yards was removed.This harbor should be dredged every three to five years.The current sediment backlog is estimated at approximately 55,000 cubic yards.
Collins is co-sponsoring the Realize America’s Maritime Promise Act or RAMP Act (H.R. 335) which would help ensure the funding is in place for routine maintenance dredging.He said the bipartisan legislation guarantees that the funds collected on imports at ports in the United States is used solely for its intended purposed of dredging and maintaining the nation’s waterways.
Collins also supports continued funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.The inter-agency program helps to protect and preserve the Great Lakes ecosystem.The Great Lakes are the source of drinking water for 30 million Americans, and hold 95 percent of our nation’s supply of fresh water. Collins’ congressional district is bordered by Lake Erie to the west and Lake Ontario to the north.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Scott Ecker, a worker with the state Canal Corp., directs a drum into a dredger at the canal this morning in Albion. Canal workers refurbished the drum and other parts of the dredger over the winter. The drum is used to run the dredging equipment. Albion serves as a maintenance base of operations for the canal between Lockport and Pittsford. The canal season opens in early May.
