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.

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.

Group heads east on Monday, through Albion and Holley

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.

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.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – These deer were out on Wednesday evening along West Countyhouse Road in Albion.

The weather looks nice for the July 4th weekend.

Today it is forecast to be mostly sunny with a high of 72, followed by a sunny day with a high of 75 on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

On July 4th, there will be a high of 77 with a chance for rain between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., according to the Weather Service. It will be mostly clear at night when it’s time for fireworks. (Lyndonville is hosting a fireworks show at 10 p.m.)

On Sunday it will reach 78 degrees and it will be sunny. (Albion will have fireworks from Bullard Park that night.)

Here’s is another picture of one of the deer in Albion.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Two people walk along the Erie Canal in Medina in this photo from last July.

As the Erie Canal approaches its bicentennial, the New York State Canal Corporation is inviting New Yorkers to share their ideas for the future of the Canal system, by completing a survey (click here).

Public input will play a central role in updating the Canal Recreationway Plan, a long-term framework for development of recreational opportunities throughout the Canal system, said Brian U. Stratton, director of the New York State Canal Corporation.

The plan was developed for the Canal Recreationway Commission, an advisory body to the Canal Corporation. It was initially adopted in 1995 and will be updated for the first time this year.

The New York State Canal system includes the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals as well as the adjacent Canalway Trail. Construction on the original Erie Canal began in 1817, and was completed in 1825.

“The original Canal Recreationway Plan was a landmark document that provided a blueprint for the revitalization of the Canal system,” Stratton said. “Now, 20 years later, ‘Canal 2025’ will chart the next chapter in the history of this iconic waterway.”

Canal 2025 will summarize the accomplishments made since the Canal Recreationway Plan was completed and recommend new projects and initiatives going forward through 2025, the bicentennial of the opening of the original Erie Canal. Individuals and groups wishing to submit comments should complete the survey.

Recent studies have determined that the Canal system helps support $6.2 billion in annual economic activity, as well as $380 million in tourism-based spending. Another study recently released by Parks & Trails NY established that the Erie Canalway Trail – which parallels the Erie Canal from the Hudson River to Lake Erie – has an economic impact of approximately $253 million annually and supports 3,440 jobs in the trail corridor.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The lift bridge in Eagle Harbor is one of 17 on the Erie Canal, and one of seven in Orleans County.

Press release
State Sen. Robert Ortt

Legislation sponsored by State Sen. Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda) would close unreasonable loopholes in the canal law and hold New York State responsible for maintaining and repairing canal infrastructure before lift bridges fall into disrepair. The bill (S2658) passed in the State Senate on Tuesday.

“Under this bill, the state would be mandated to improve deteriorated lift bridges, and would no longer be able to skirt current law by simply closing the bridge,” Ortt said. “It’s absurd to think that letting infrastructure needs fall to the wayside is acceptable. Not only would this measure address safety and economic concerns, it would also hold the state accountable, close loopholes and ultimately protect our children and communities.”

Currently, the New York State Department of Transportation and the state Canal Corporation, under the direction of the Thruway Authority, are required to maintain canal lift bridges. Certain loopholes in the law, however, often result in the deterioration and closure of the bridges. As the law currently stands, the state can choose whether or not to repair a canal lift bridge as long as there is an alternate transportation route.

In addition, a rundown lift bridge may not be closed, but often times restricted to emergency and commercial vehicles, including tractor trailers, school buses, and other large trucks exceeding a certain weight limit. As a result, residents and those in the agriculture industry are forced to take alternate routes that are typically longer and end up costing more money in travel expenses.

The bill would require the state to maintain canal lift bridges, but doing so in a way that would not hinder commerce, transportation of students, or agriculture.

“Local commerce takes a hit when farmers or other small businesses can’t cross a restricted canal bridge, because of a weight limit,” Ortt said. “It’s unfair to make farmers, school buses, and tractor trailers travel 25, 30, 40 miles out of the way to get where they need to go. That, along with ignoring vital infrastructure needs, is completely unacceptable.”

Additionally, the bill would call for at least one public hearing before a lift bridge is closed.

The bill is being sent to the Assembly.