CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this article said the Elks Club offered the 5 acres to the village for $20,000. The Elks had a deal with another buyer for $20,000, but that fell through. The village is now talking with the Elks about the land.)

ALBION – The village may acquire 5 acres of land owned by the Elks Club near the Village’s Department of Public Works garage.

The Elks Club is based at West State Street and has land it is willing to sell that is by the DPW garage at the corner of King Street and Washington Street.

Village officials say the Elks were going to sell the land for $20,000 to another buyer but that deal fell through.

The village could use the land because the DPW is cramped for space. The village also is looking to use 1.5 acres by the DPW garage to mount solar panels as part of the bigger project at village facilities. The sewer plant on Densmore Street and water plant on Wilson Road in Carlton would have more of the panels, as part of the project under consideration.

The DPW stores some materials at the sewer plant, and most of that space would be used up as part of the solar panel project, DPW Superintendent Dale Brooks advised the Village Board on Wednesday.

Mayor Dean London said the village would be pressed to come up with $20,000 for the land out of the current budget. He would like to negotiate a lower price and also consider paying the Elks over several years for the land to ease the impact on a single budget.

Village Board members said they would continue talks with the Elks Club.

In other action, the Village Board:

Approved contributing $200 towards a walking guide of historic downtown Albion. That guide is being developed by the Albion Main Street Alliance and includes photos and descriptions of the many of the historic buildings in the downtown, including two village-owned sites: Village Hall and the former Citizens National Bank.

Mary Anne Braunbach, one of the downtown building owners, is trying to raise funding for the printing costs of the guide, which is about $2,000. She is asking building owners in the guide to contribute $100 towards the printing.

The village is giving $200 because it has two buildings highlighted in the guide.

The board was asked to consider putting the banners out on Main Street that note “Historic Albion.” Maureen Bennett, one of the vendors in the Browsery stores, asked if those banners could be out next spring.

London said the village would take an inventory of the banners and assess their condition for next year.

Photos by Tom Rivers – The commemorative wine glasses for the second annual “Sip & Stroll Through History” features the Citizens National Bank, which was upgraded about 15 years ago by the Chamber of Commerce and Village of Albion.

ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association will have its second annual “Sip and Stroll” wine-tasting event on Saturday, and will feature 13 wineries at 14 stops.

The band, The Sophisticats, will play on East Bank Street from 3 to 7 p.m. The street will be blocked off to traffic during the “Sip and Stroll” and will also have seven farm markets selling produce and will also include Bad Ash BBQ and baked goods from Breeze Inn Again.

Debbie Grimm is the main coordinator for the event. She wants to draw people to historic downtown Abion so they can see many of the businesses and step inside the buildings that are included on the National Register of Historic Places.

“We’re showcasing Albion and letting people know what’s in downtown Albion,” Grimm said. “Maybe they will discover a shop they didn’t know about.”

Hazy Jade Gift Shop is promoting the upcoming wine-tasting event.

The event runs from 3 to 7 p.m. There will be catered VIP reception at the Hoag Library from 3 to 4 p.m. with Zambistros serving appetizers. Hoag is also a wine-tasting stop.

Arnold’s Auto Parts will have a cruise-in car show from 3 to 7 p.m. and Bindings Bookstore will host author Miranda Pennock. The Lyndonville native will sign copies of her novel “To Have” from 4 to 7 p.m.

Advance tickets for the wine-tasting are available at the Hazy Jade Gift Shop and Bindings Bookstore or on Saturday at Hoag Library, which is the first stop on the “Sip and Stroll.”

The following shops/businesses are participating in Sip and Stroll: Hoag Library, Pullman Church, Hazy Jade Gift Shop, Dance Reflections, Bindings Bookstore, Arnold’s Auto Parts, Xpress Fitness & Tanning, Uptown Browsery, Knight’s Pride Woodworking/Mmim, Morrison Realty, Krantz Furniture, Fischer’s, Downtown Browsery, Empire Trading and El Gallo.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Christ Church, an Episcopal congregation in Albion, served 325 chicken dinners on Wednesday with proceeds to go towards the historic church’s maintenance fund.

Faith Smith is getting one of the chickens for a to-go container. Smith leads the community kitchen at the church, where dinner is available for the community on Friday evenings.

Besides chicken, dinner included corn on the cob, potatoes, a roll, and cookies.

Faith Smith hands off the dinner to church volunteer Matilda Erakare.

Andrew Cheverie, right, and his father Al enjoyed the chicken dinners at the church fellowship hall.

Christ Church shares its building for chuch services with the First United Methodist Church of Albion. That congregation left its building in April and has been meeting at Christ Church since then. A sign was recently added to note the United Methodists meet there for church at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays.

Provided photos – Maurice and Courtenay Hoag are pictured with Roger Lamont (right), who helped lead the fund-raising for the new Hoag Library in Albion.

Press Release, Hoag Library

ALBION – In hockey it would be a hat trick, in baseball a triple. There is no nickname for a third donation to the Hoag library, but there should be.

Hoag Library in Albion last month received an unsolicited donation in the amount of $100,000 from Maurice and Courtenay Hoag. This is not the first time the Hoags have surprised the library with a generous donation.

In the winter of 2011 the couple was approached by Roger Lamont and Dick Remley, co-chairmen of fundraising for the new library building and the Hoags donated $25,000. In December of the same year they stunned the fundraising committee when they called about making a second donation of $225,000 for the naming rights of the new library, which was formerly called Swan Library.

The third donation arrived July 16, 2015, with a handwritten note hoping that the board would find a use for the $100,000.

Hoag Library officials are pictured with the Hoags are the couple made another $100,000 gift to the library that bears the Hoag name. The front row includes, from left: Roger Lamont, Courtenay Hoag and Ingrid Lamont. The back row includes Board of Trustee members Carol Miller, Kevin Doherty and John Andrews, Maurice Hoag, Library Director Betty Sue Miller, and Trustee Kim Pritt.

Maurice Hoag has strong personal ties to the Albion area where he graduated from Albion High School in 1961 as valedictorian, as well as class president. He continued his education at Cornell where he earned a degree in chemical engineering and met his wife, Courtenay.

The couple currently lives in Maryland, but Maurice has maintained a relationship with Albion and Cornell classmates from the Albion area.

The Hoags return to Albion yearly in August for an annual class picnic. After donating their well-appreciated gift, the couple visited with Roger Lamont, Interim Director Betty Sue Miller, and several library board members.