By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – This house at the corner of South Main and Eagle streets is one of many decorated for the holiday season in Lyndonville.
The Lyndonville Lions Club will do its annual judging of houses decorated with lights on Dec. 15. Judges will canvass the community on Dec. 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. to look at the displays.
“Lyndonville has some of the best Christmas-decorated homes around during this wonderful time of the year,” said Lynne Johnson, the Lions Club president.
The Lions Club is also doing its annual toy drive for children. That started today and people are welcome to drop off toys at the M & T Bank and Yates Community Free Library, both on Main Street.
Last year, the toy drive resulted in 125 children receiving five toys each and a new pair of pajamas. The toys will be collected until about a week before Christmas.
“We hope we can exceed last year’s total and make each child happy and reflective on the Season of Giving,” Johnson said.
File photo by Tom Rivers – Genesee Community College and Orleans Hub honored four “Heritage Heroes” on April 24 during the Civil War Encampment at GCC’s Medina campus center. The following were recognized, from right to left: Doug Miller (accepting for his wife Susan Starkweather Miller), Andrew Meier, Holly Ricci-Canham, and William Menz.
Press Release, GCC
BATAVIA – Genesee Community College is eager to recognize the efforts of dedicated citizens who work hard to preserve the county’s history. The college is seeking nominations for the third annual Orleans County Heritage Heroes Awards. Nominations will be accepted through Feb. 15.
“Residents of Orleans County take great pride in their heritage,” said Jim Simon, associate dean of GCC’s Orleans County Campus Centers in Medina and Albion. “For our third consecutive year, we want to continue to recognize the time and investment of individuals who are tireless advocates for local history.”
Nominees for Heritage Heroes Awards can be any age but posthumous nominations will not be accepted. History professionals and GCC employees are also not eligible for the award, nor are those who serve on the awards selection committees. Nominees must be Orleans County residents.
Four winners were honored last year including Holly Ricci-Canham, Susan Starkweather Miller, Andrew W. Meier and William A. Menz. Because nominations are not retained for future consideration, nominees not selected to receive awards in previous are encouraged to re-submit a nomination again for this coming year.
“Many residents from all over the county work hard on restoring historic houses and protecting other community assets, including museums and churches,” said Tom Rivers, Orleans Hub editor. “The dedicated people working to preserve these treasures deserve praise for adding to the quality of life and character of our community.”
To nominate someone for the Heritage Heroes Awards, write up a brief statement outlining the person’s contributions, projects and community affiliations. Anyone sending in a nomination should provide their name (anonymous nomination packages will not be accepted), address, phone number and email address. The more in-depth the detail provided in the nomination, the stronger the submission.
Submit the nomination to:
ATTENTION: Heritage Heroes Committee
Genesee Community College / Medina Campus Center
11470 Maple Ridge Rd.
Medina, NY 14103-9675
Nominations may also be emailed to Jim Simon at jsimon@genesee.edu. Please write Heritage Heroes Nomination in the subject line.
A screening committee made up of community members, history professionals and GCC students will review the nominations and select finalists. From those finalists, a committee including GCC Associate Dean Jim Simon, Associate Professor Derek Maxfield and Orleans Hub Editor Tom Rivers will choose the Heritage Heroes.
“We’re excited to continue these awards,” said Maxfield. “When we held the Civil War Encampment in Medina for three years, it became obvious how Orleans County values its history and embraces its preservation. These efforts often go unnoticed. This is a way to shine a light on those who make many personal sacrifices in order to preserve history for future generations.”
The Heritage Heroes will be recognized during a ceremony at GCC in Medina in April 2016.
LYNDONVILLE – After being a certified AVID site for four years, Lyndonville Central School District has achieved Highly Certified Status, the highest possible certification at the high school and middle school level.
Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is a college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges.
At the high school and middle level, AVID students are enrolled in the school’s toughest classes, such as Advanced Placement, and receive support in an academic elective class, called AVID, taught within the school day by a trained AVID teacher.
What differentiates AVID from other educational reform programs is its astounding success rate. Of the 2013 AVID graduates, 86 percent planned to attend college; 76 percent to a four-year college. At LCSD, 100 percent of the AVID graduates have applied to a four-year college.
Director of Special Programs and Staff Development and CSE/CPSE Chairperson Anne Marie Holland said the school district is working to implement AVID into the culture of Lyndonville schools.
“This is a wonderful achievement. Thank you too all the members of our AVID site team for their hard work and dedication,” said Holland. “And thank you to Superintendent Jason Smith and the Board for their ongoing support of the system.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2015 at 12:00 am
Provided photo – Terry Bliss has been active in the Kendall Lions Club for the past 25 years and also served as district governor in 2007-08.
KENDALL – Last week Kodak announced four $2,500 awards would go to causes led by employees world-wide. Kodak approved funds for humanitarian work in Shanghai, Brazil, Israel and Kendall.
Terry Bliss has worked for Kodak for 31 years, currently as a systems analyst in production support. He also has been a member of the Kendall Lions Club for 25 years.
He served as district governor in 2007-08, leading about 1,360 Lions Club members from Lyndonville to Walworth, and from Lake Ontario to Bolivar.
Kodak announced its second annual “Kodak Cares: Leaders in the Community Program” awards last week. The company approved $2,500 for the Kendall Lions, the only organization in the United States to receive funding.
Kodak notes that Bliss has served in leadership roles for the Lions Club, and has supported “countless community activities.”
Kodak cited one example of him loading his truck with 10,000 pairs of glasses and sending them to recycling center to be cleaned, sorted and distributed to people in developing countries.
Bliss said the Lions Clubs in six counties near Rochester collect about 85,000 pairs of glasses each year. Those glasses are taken to Ridgeway, Pa., where they are sorted by prescription and then sent to third-world countries.
Bliss remains an active leader in the Lions Club, at the local level and in the district. He is influential in training and mentoring new leaders for the Lions.
He is pleased the Kendall Lions have a successful Leo Club in the Kendall High School. The Leos will celebrate their 10th anniversary next year, and Bliss said some of the $2,500 from Kodak could be used to support the Leos.
“We want to recognize them for all the work they’ve done in the past 10 years,” Bliss said.
The Kendall Lions Club just learned about the $2,500 from Kodak last Thursday. Bliss said the club leaders are discussing how to best use the funds.
“The $2,500 is great for any organization,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing because there were four recipients and we were the only one in the U.S.”
The Kendall Lions have 64 members and expect to add two more next month. It’s the second largest club in the entire district.
Provided photo – Pictured include from left: Clifford Wise Middle School Vice Principal Chris Hughes, Corrections Officer Kenny Gold, Dean of Students Eileen Regan, Social Worker Elaine Ryan, Counselor Kelly Linnan, Guidance Counselor Lindsay Fassel, Corrections Officer Matt Lamar, NYSCOPBA Business Agent Dave Tessmer, NYSCOPBA Regional Vice President Joe Miano and NYSCOPBA Business Agent Al Mothershed.
Press Release Medina Central School
MEDINA – Santa arrived early to the Medina Central School District to make the holidays a wonderful time for many families in the district.
For the past three years, employees from the Orleans Correctional Facility have looked to adopt a family from the area for the holidays. When Corrections Officer Matt Lamar reached out to some counselors at the school district he was saddened to hear there were so many needy families, it was hard for them to just pick one to single out for their generosity.
“The Western New York NYSCOPBA (New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, Inc.) adopts five families each year,” Lamar said.
Guidance Counselor Elaine Ryan says the staff at the district usually takes up a collection of clothes, toys and money for their Angel Tree, to make the holidays a little brighter for some of their families, but they were about $500 short of being able to take care of all of them.
“We had more less fortunate children than we usually have,” Ryan said. “There are a lot of families that are struggling right now.”
When Lamar shared the news with the NYSCOPBA Regional Vice President Joe Miano, he approved enough money to make sure that the district had everything that it needed.
Mrs. Ryan said the district is very grateful to NYSCOPBA representatives and what they are doing for their students.
“Our kids are going to have a better Christmas and that is what we all care about,” she said. “We are so pleased that they helped us out with this. They are wonderful.”
KENDALL – A highly successful Course Option Night was held recently at Kendall Junior/Senior High School with more than 200 people attending the interactive display of courses offered at the school.
Jeannine Gallina from the Career and Technical Education (CTE) department of Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES started the evening by highlighting the career opportunities available in the middle skills sector. After the presentation, everyone was encouraged to explore the hands-on exhibits.
Elementary students up to juniors in high school visited the display booths to find out more about current and new courses being offered. Nineteen staff members were on hand to provide students with information so they can make informed decisions about what courses to take next year. New course offerings connect NYS standards to students’ interests and include:
21st Century Computer Skills
Video Game Design
International Cooking
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Biology
Intro to Statistics
World History on Film
Woodworking
Robotics
Genocide
CEP 101- Career and Educational Planning
Overall, the evening was a great success, with students and parents in attendance saying that they felt the evening was helpful and informative. Principal Carol D’Agostino was pleased with the turnout at the event and comments from attendees.
“Course Option Night was a huge success,” she said. “Numerous parents and students expressed how much they appreciated the information that was demonstrated and presented. Students are really excited about our new electives and traditional courses.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Trinity Lutheran Church will celebrate its new organ with a 7 p.m. concert on Friday at the church, 1212 West Ave.
The organ actually isn’t new. The 28-rank organ was in Christ Episcopal Cathedral of Cincinnati. That church donated the Holtkamp pipe organ to Trinity in 2014. Chesapeake Organ Service was hired to clean, rewire, and reinstall the organ at Trinity.
The organ replaces one from 1925 with eight ranks or eight sets of pipes and two manuals or keyboards. Trinity’s new organ has three keyboards.
The organ, located in the balcony, debuted for the church on Easter Sunday on April 5, but only became near fully functional in the past three to four months.
“It’s had a marked change in the energy of the service,” said Andrew Meier, the church organist.
Friday’s concert will feature Tim Smith, founder and executive director of the Portageville Chapel in Wyoming County. That site offers retreats for organ musicians and has been booked every weekend from April through November.
Smith also owns Chesapeake Organ Service, the company that took out Trinity’s old organ and put in the much-improved instrument, which is distinguished by its exposed pipes, limited casework, and bright, assertive voicing.
Admission to the concert on Friday is no charge with a free-will offering.
Andrew Meier, organist for Trinity Lutheran, plays the instrument last week.
Meier said Medina has several high-quality organs. St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Medina also is putting in a new one.
The organs could add to Medina as a destination, said Meier, who is also Medina’s mayor. More importantly, the instruments add to the worship expeirence at local churches.
He said some churches shifted to electronic instruments, but now the organs are becoming more desired by some congregations.
“In the ’60s and ’70s, the trend was toward electronic organ technology,” he said. “But the pendulum is going the other way. It’s a bonus now when you have a pipe organ.”
Trinity’s organ has about three times as many pipes as the previous one that had about 500.
“There is a real presence a pipe organ has during a service that you don’t get with an electronic instrument,” Meier said. “Electronic is one-dimensional, but a pipe organ hits you from many levels.”
The concert on Friday includes a mix of traditional and classical Christmas music and carols.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A reindeer on the lawn at Orleans County Courthouse Square is pictured while the sun sets in background on Sunday.
There is still no sign of winter hitting Orleans County and Western New York. On Dec. 4, Buffalo set a new record for the latest measurable snow, breaking the 116-year-old mark of Dec. 3 set in 1899.
Today has a high in the mid-40s, followed by highs of 52 on Wednesday, 53 on Thursday, 56 on Friday, 56 on Saturday, 59 on Sunday, 50 on Monday and 44 on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2015 at 12:00 am
‘My focus will be to kill the project.’ – State Sen. Robert Ortt
Photos by Tom Rivers – State Sen. Robert Ortt told a crowd of about 200 people on Tuesday night that he opposes the Lighthouse Wind Project and will work to defeat it. He thanked the volunteers in Save Ontario Shores for their efforts to educate the community about the project.
BARKER – Residents in Yates and Somerset, where as many as 71 towering wind turbines are proposed by Apex Clean Energy, shouldn’t expect the two towns and local state officials to quietly step aside and allow the controversial project, 200 residents were told during a public meeting on Tuesday at the Barker Fire Hall.
“My focus will be to kill the project,” said State Sen. Robert Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, “and that’s because I represent you.”
Ortt said residents have overwhelmingly shown opposition to the project, from survey results to their attendance at public meetings.
Dan Engert is the Somerset town supervisor who has come out strongly against the proposed Lighthouse Wind.
“We will defeat this project, there is no question about it in my mind,” Engert told the crowd in Barker.
Somerset Town Supervisor Dan Engert, right, tells residents Somerset will keep up the fight against Lighthouse Wind.
Engert said residents have been “very clear” in opposition to the project.
“I have received very few comments from the community in support of the project,” he said.
Ortt said he worries the project, with about 70 turbines within 3 to 4 miles of the lakeshore, would jeopardize the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. The turbines, at about 600 feet, could interfere with flights and radar for the Reserve Station, Ortt said.
“This is about an energy agenda that is being forced on all of us,” Ortt said.
Apex Clean Energy on Nov. 23 submitted the Preliminary Scoping Document that presents Apex studies and responses for environmental issues with noise and vibration; geology, seismology and soils; terrestrial ecology and wetlands; visual impacts; socioeconomic effects; and other issues.
About 200 residents, some wearing T-shirts opposing the wind turbine project, attended the meeting at Barker Fire Hall.
Town officials and residents were initially given until mid-December to respond to document, but that deadline was moved back to Jan. 6.
Dennis Vacco, the former state attorney general, has been hired to the Town of Somerset to fight the turbine plan. Vacco is a partner in the Buffalo law firm of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman.
Vacco said he sees the project as a threat to Air Reserve Station in Niagara Falls, a site that the community has twice rallied to save from being closed.
Vacco told residents on Tuesday he has internal records from state officials expressing concern about Lighthouse Wind on birds because the project is targeted for a major migratory bird path, a critical corridor for raptors and eagles.
Dennis Vacco, a former state attorney general hired by Somerset to fight Lighthouse Wind, holds internal emails from state officials, where he said they express concerns about the turbines on the bird population.
Vacco said he wants to avoid litigation in the fight against the project. However, he said litigation is a “tool” that can be used. Right now, he is “developing ammunition to hold them accountable.” He already has thousands of records from the state using the Freedom of Information Act.
He urged residents to post comments on the Public Service Commission website about the proposal (click here). Vacco said some residents should consider stepping forward in a lawsuit, filing a “nuisance claim” about the turbines, which would be about 600 feet high from the top tip of the blade.
“We’re going to do everything we can to bring this to a halt as cost effective as possible,” Vacco said.
He and Somerset Town Supervisor Dan Engert were critical of Apex for not detailing the turbine locations and how many are planned for the two towns. In its PSC filing, Apex says Lighthouse Wind will be a 201 megawatt project. It will have up to 71 turbines if they are 2.85 MW each or 61 turbines if they are 3.3 MWs, the company said.
Engert said the lack of specifics makes it difficult for the town to prepare a response and rebuttal to the Apex preliminary scoping document. Somerset has asked for 90 days to submit comments and requests for more information about the project, rather than the 45-day window provided by the PSC.
“This is a very significant document that takes time, that takes a coordination of consultants,” Engert said.
Jim Simon, newly elected Yates town supervisor, said the state Siting Board for reviewing the Lighthouse Wind project is stacked with too many state officials and not enough local residents.
Engert said a committee reviewing the Somerset law for wind turbines, enacted in 2006, could make recommendations as soon as Wednesday (Dec. 9) for the town to adopt. The revised Somerset law is the ordinance Apex will need to comply with for the turbine proposal, Engert said.
Save Ontario Shores President John Riggi also addressed the group. He announced he is no longer going to be president of SOS because he is joining the Yates Town Board on Jan. 1. Pamela Atwater will be the new Save Ontario Shores president.
“She will do a fantastic job shepherding us through a successful conclusion,” Riggi said.
Jim Simon was elected the new Yates town supervisor following a write-in campaign. He thanked the supporters and voters in the community.
He praised Engert and the Somerset officials for being aggressive in fighting the turbine plan, through a survey, resolutions, updated laws and hiring Vacco’s law firm.
“We need to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Town of Somerset,” Simon said.
John Riggi, the president of Save Ontario Shores in the gorup’s first year, addresses the crowd in the Barker Fire Hall.
The state is changing the process for siting large-scale wind turbines, projects with 25-plus megawatts. The state will have a Siting Board with five state officials and two representatives from the local community where a project is planned.
That change, giving the state the majority of the say in the project over local officials, irked all of the speakers during Tuesday’s meeting. Ortt said he will work with local State Assembly members Jane Corwin, R-Clarence, and Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, to have the Siting Board be expanded to at least four local representatives. The state legislators will take up the issue in Albany in January, Ortt said.
The state changed the process for reviewing the projects in legislation known as Article 10.
“It will result in more projects like this being shoved down communities’ throats,” Ortt said.
Simon said the Article 10 changes run against the country’s principles.
“We ought to have a say as residents of the two towns for our future,” Simon said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 December 2015 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A Lockport man pleaded guilty today in Orleans County Court to attempted assault in the second degree.
Markel Hill, 25, could face up to 1 ½ to 3 years in state prison when he is sentenced on March 14. The charge normally carries a maximum to 2 to 4 years in state prison. If Hill’s sentence is longer than 1 ½ to 3 years, he can withdraw the plea and go to trial.
He admitted in court today he punched a woman in the face on Oct. 9, 2014. He was arrested by the Medina Police Department and charged with second-degree assault.
The woman who was punched in the face suffered a broken jaw and needed surgery. Her mouth was wired shut. She continues to suffer pain from the injury, District Attorney Joe Cardone said.
Judge Punch could also issue an order of protection, and require a DNA fee and surcharge when Hill is sentenced.
