By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 November 2015 at 12:00 am
Provided photos
MEDINA – Parents in the Head Start program spent last Saturday decorating a float for tomorrow’s Parade of Lights in Medina.
It will be a spectacle of light and small-town pride on Saturday for the Parade of Lights. Organizations have been busy working on their floats for the 6 p.m. parade which starts at the Olde Pickle Factory on Park Avenue and heads into downtown.
(Police Chief Jose Avila, the honorary parade grand marshal, will flip the switch to light up Rotary Park at 5:30 and there will be fireworks at 5:45, just before the parade.)
Parents in the Head Start program met at the Head Start site on Ensign Street in Medina to work on the float.
Last year, Head Start won the “Littlest Elf Award” for the best float for involving youths and adults.
Here is how Head Start’s float looked last year during the parade.
Provided photo – Rick Wartinger, manager of the Tops store in Albion, holds a turkey. The store again donated a Thanksgiving dinner for residents at the Martin-Linsin Residence in Albion.
Press Release Hospice of Orleans
ALBION – Thanksgiving Day at the Martin-Linsin Hospice residence once again was celebrated with a freshly baked Thanksgiving dinner courtesy of Tops Friendly Markets.
Last year residents reported that the smell of freshly cooked turkey made it seem like a real traditional Thanksgiving even though they weren’t at home.
“These dinners are a testament to the compassion and generosity of area business such as Tops in supporting Hospice patients,” said Becky McAnn, Care Coordinator at the Residence. “They will certainly help make the day special for our patients.”
Tops District Manager Joe Salhab and Albion Store Manager Rick Wartinger both voiced their enthusiasm about the donation.
“We at Tops are pleased to be able to make this donation knowing that it will brighten the day for people who are not able to be cared for at home,” said Joe Salhab.
Rick Wartinger posed with a Tops turkey next to the Thanksgiving centerpieces to illustrate Tops commitment to providing the dinner.
The turkey dinner features a fully cooked turkey, herb stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, turkey gravy, sweet potato casserole, cranberry orange relish and, of course, a pumpkin pie. Hospice personnel picked up the complimentary meal, valued at $74.99, around 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, warmed it up for the recommended two hours, and served the waiting residents.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Al Capurso is pictured last month with a new historical marker for a former Cobblestone Schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road. Capurso has led volunteer efforts to save the building from ruin and find a new use for the structure from 1832, one of the oldest cobblestone buildings in the region.
Do-gooders get a bad rap. Look up do-gooder in the dictionary, and it says a well-intentioned person who is naïve and impractical.
We could use more people who don’t let practicality get in the way of effort. People who don’t sit on the sidelines and watch things crumble, deeming them a lost cause.
There are many recent successes in the county that probably seemed like pie-in-sky ideas in the beginning. I think of the group that built the replica lighthouse at Point Breeze, which has become a popular landmark in the past five years. I’m sure there were a lot of naysayers.
Community members and the trustees at the former Swan Library pushed for a new modern library for Albion. They set a fund-raising goal for $990,000. Some may have thought that too ambitious. The community gave more than $1.3 million for the new library that opened in 2012.
There are a lot of recent examples of the community rising above fund-raising challenges. The renovations of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Holley is the latest. Church leaders sought $300,000 for a new roof and other upgrades for the parish that includes St. Mark’s in Kendall. Parishioners came through with more than $585,000.
People have been generous with the new residence for Hospice of Orleans County, and the Education Center at the 4-H Fairgrounds.
This Thanksgiving, Orleans Hub wants to say thank you for a generous community, for the people with the ideas and those that bring projects to fruition. Many would say a bold project is impractical, a waste of money in a struggling community. But many people, thankfully, don’t give up. They dare to do good.
Here are some other examples that don’t involve big dollars, but nonetheless took a can-do attitude, a big heart and some support from the community.
A group of Christians from many different churches in the Medina area provided food for at least 141 families today for Thanksgiving.
Cindy Curtin of Medina is pictured last Friday at the First Baptist Church. Curtin has led the effort the past 11 years, and watched it grow.
People wanted to give, but the effort needed a leader. Curtin and her husband John organize the food drive, and make sure the families will have full stomachs today.
Mary Campbell, right, directs the Kendall Community Choir during last Friday’s concert to benefit the Kendall Food Cupboard. The choir performs at several community events throughout the year.
Campbell, a retired music teacher, wanted to give Kendall area residents a chance to sing together in 2008. She got word out about a community choir, but wasn’t sure how many would show up.
Fifty people joined and that number has been steady since then. The group not only provides fun and fellowship for the singers, but also entertains the community and raises funds for important causes.
For more than a century, the building on Gaines Basin Road, just north of the canal, was used as a one-room schoolhouse. The site was largely abandoned after decentralization in 1944.
Al Capurso of Gaines saw potential in the boarded-up building. This year he rallied the community to clean out the building, put in new windows, replace the roof and put up a historical marker noting that Caroline Phipps taught at the school. She went on to be a distinguished educator and ran the Phipps Union Seminary in Albion from 1837 to 1875. That spot later became the County Clerks Building.
There is more work to do at the building, which Capurso, the Gaines town historian, would like to see used as a meeting hall and a spot to display and store artifacts.
Ashley Wiegele’s mother Danielle Shulenburg holds a ceremonial check for $20,000 given by the West Herr Automotive Group during an Oct. 24 benefit. She is pictured with Scott Green, left, a guidance counselor at Albion High School and Rich Wilkinson, general manager for West Herr.
The guidance counselors and staff at Albion High School have been checking in with Ashley Wiegele and her mother Danielle Shulenburg since Ashley was paralzyed in a June 2014 boating accident, just days before she was to walk across the stage and get her high school diploma.
Scott Green, the high school guidance counselor, was talking with Shulenburg, who said a handicapped accessible van would help get Ashley to medical appointments and be more active in the community.
Green set out to raise $10,000 to buy a van. Green said that might only be a start towards buying the vehicle.
At a benefit on Oct. 24, more than $30,000 was raised with the West Herr Automotive Group giving $20,000 towards the van. The Albion Lions Club contributed $5,000 and many others pitched in.
Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County historian, leads about 30 people on a tour of the Millville Cemetery in September.
There isn’t much glory in preserving a cemetery, but a group of volunteers have been committed to the task in recent years. The Millville Cemetery is a grand site that is recognized on the National Regitser of Historic Places.
The cemetery was established in 1871 as an early Quaker burial grounds. Back then the graves were close together. The cemetery would take on the rural garden cemetery style, with bigger spaces between graves, towering trees and ornamental grave stones.
Volunteers and the Town of Shelby in September unveiled a new historical marker for the cemetery.
The volunteers also completed a big project this year: the chapel was repainted. An anonymous donor gave more than $6,000 to have that done.
Those volunteers, and the many others in the community, deserve thanks for their efforts to preserve our historic sites and take on other important projects in the community.
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 26 November 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Kristina Gabalski – Ruthie Miller, Mikayla Auch, Holley Middle School/High School Principal Susan Cory, and Makenzie Ferranti are shown during a recent Board of Education meeting.
HOLLEY – Three students have been recognized by the Holley Central School Board of Education with this month’s Soaring to New Heights Award.
Eighth-graders Mikayla Auch and Ruthie Miller and 11th-grader Makenzie Ferranti received their certificates at the Nov. 16 meeting of the Board.
Mikayla runs with Ruthie, who is visually impaired, for practice, facilitating Ruthie’s participation on the school’s cross country team. Makenzie runs with Ruthie during competitions allowing Mikayla to compete.
“Ruthie doesn’t let anything slow her down,” Holley Middle School/High School Principal Susan Cory said.
The awards recognize the students for going above and beyond expectations and for lending their skills and abilities to help others. Ruthie was recognized especially for her “great spirit,” Cory said.
Board member Melissa Ierlan said she frequently sees the girls out running as part of their training. “Way to go Ruthie,” Ierlan said.
Mike Crissman and Susan Cory during the award presentation on Nov. 16.
Social Studies teacher Mike Crissman also received a Soaring to New Heights Award
for his dedication to his students and his exceptional efforts in preparing them for college and life beyond high school.
“Mr. Crissman works really hard with his students and let’s them know he believes they can do anything they set their mind to,” Cory said in presenting the award.
Board President Brenda Swanger said Mr. Crissman started his career at Holley when Swanger’s daughter was in school. “We are so proud you are here at Holley,” she said.
“You make them work hard,” Board member John Heise said of Crissman’s students, “but they also notice that you work hard.”
ALBION – The Albion Police Department hosted and supervised a multi-agency Orleans County DWI Saturation Patrol on Wednesday and earlier today.
This detail combined the efforts from every law enforcement agency in Orleans County along with state and federal resources.
The agencies involved consisted of the Albion Police, Medina Police, Holley Police, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, Orleans County Probation, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The detail results include four DWI arrests (3 in Albion and 1 in Holley); one DWI Drugs (in Albion); 79 traffic stops; and 34 tickets issued.
One person arrested also was interviewed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement related to U.S. entry status. Another person was arrested for disorderly conduct related to vehicle operation
The Albion Police Department and the other law enforcement agencies are committed to making the roadways safe for all those who travel upon them.
Intoxicated drivers do not follow jurisdictional lines, so we decided that we would not either. The Albion Police Department and its partners are planning similar details for the future. We will continue to use every resource and tool available to create a reduction in offenders and arrest those who continue to endanger others by driving while intoxicated.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The rising sun created a blaze of colors this morning in this photo that shows the columns on the Orleans County Courthouse.
It is going to be a warm Thanksgiving with a high forecast for 59 degrees on a mostly cloudy day, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
It will also be warm on Friday with a high of 60. The temperature drops on Saturday when the Weather Service says the high will be 39 degrees.
It was a striking sunrise this morning with colors in the clouds.
I like this tree with its wild branches on Butts Road north of the canal. I’m going to try to get pictures of it in different seasons.
Here is the same tree on Nov. 5 when it was 70 degrees.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 November 2015 at 12:00 am
The unemployment rate in Orleans County dropped to 5.3 percent in October, which is down from 6.3 percent a year before and 8.5 percent in October 2013.
The State Department of Labor reports that the rate state-wide is 4.8 percent, the lowest rate in New York since November 2007. That includes a 4.8 percent rate in New York City and 4.9 percent in upstate.
The data from the DOL shows that 17,400 people were working in Orleans County in October, up by 400 from the 17,000 in October 2014. The number of unemployed fell from 1,100 in October 2014 to 1,000 last month.
The state’s private sector job count increased by 168,600 from October 2014 to October 2015. In October 2015, the number of private sector jobs in the state reached an all-time high of 7,859,000, according to the state DOL.
Unemployment in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro area fell from 5.4 percent in October 2014 to 4.8 percent last month. The jobless rate in the Rochester metro fell from 5.1 to 4.5 percent in that time.
Other nearby counties have unemployment rates below Orleans County’s: Genesee, 4.2; Wyoming, 4.4; Livingston, 4.2; Monroe, 4.6; Niagara, 5.2; and Erie, 4.8.
Only two counties in the state had rate a 6.0 percent or higher: Oswego (6.0) and Bronx (6.5).
The New York State Police and local law enforcement agencies will crack down on impaired, distracted and speeding drivers during this Thanksgiving holiday. The special traffic enforcement period will run from today through Sunday.
The State Police will supplement regular patrols statewide focusing on speed enforcement, impaired driving, underage drinking, and distracted driving. The effort will incorporate fixed sobriety checkpoints, an underage drinker initiative and the “Operation Hang Up” initiative, which targets drivers talking or texting on handheld devices. State Police will use unmarked vehicles, which blend in with every day traffic but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.
The highest traffic volumes of the year typically occur during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It is also a time when alcohol consumption is widespread. During the 2014 Thanksgiving holiday period, troopers arrested 172 drivers for DWI, issued 4,237 speeding tickets and issued 565 tickets for distracted driving.
“We encourage all New Yorkers to join us in making this Thanksgiving a safe one,” said Joseph D’Amico, superintendent of State Police. “Please follow posted speed limits, make certain that all occupants are buckled up, and put away your smart phones and other mobile devices while driving. Remember, if you’re celebrating with alcohol — don’t get behind the wheel — get a ride home with a sober driver or make other arrangements. Our Troopers will be visible this long holiday weekend and working to ensure everyone’s safety.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2013 there were 301 people killed in traffic crashes across the nation.
In New York, there were 11 deaths resulting from motor vehicle crashes statewide during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2014. Of those, three were due to alcohol-related crashes, five were due to speed-related crashes and two resulted from crashes in which both speed and alcohol were reported as contributing factors.
The New York State Police, Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommend these simple tips to prevent drunk driving:
Plan a safe way home before the fun begins
Before drinking, designate a sober driver
If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation
Use your community’s sober ride program
If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact local law enforcement
If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 November 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Bob Brown, center left, and his brother Eric Brown are pictured with some of their workers from Jamaica. Bob’s son Bobby is in back behind Eric. The Brown family has run Orchard Dale Fruit Farm in Carlton since 1804. This photo was taken in the fall 2011 for article about farm labor for the American Agriculturist magazine.
Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving, and many people will enjoy turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, salad, apple pie and more. If you like food, it will a glorious day.
None of it would be possible without the hard work of farmers and their workers. For some farms it’s a daily year-long effort. In fact, on Thanksgiving, farmers will still be milking cows, feeding them and cleaning barns. They may even deliver a calf.
The fruit farms also are a year-long commitment. After the apples are harvested in October-November, there is lots of work in the warehouse over the winter. The trees also need to trimmed, and that job often will get done standing in the snow during the dead of winter.
In the spring the trees start blooming and farmers need to protect the buds and emerging apples until harvest season.
Ken Nice of Knowlesville checks his fruit trees in bloom in May 2014. The fruit trees, with their colorful blossoms, are a stunning sight in the spring.
The vegetable farmers need to plan during the off-season. They need to order their seeds, line up workers for the next year, and determine which crops and which varieties will be grown in different fields. They want to stagger the harvest and not have everything be ready at once. (You can’t harvest it all at the same time.)
Agriculture is a difficult industry with wild swings in prices, an unforgiving Mother Nature and so much uncertainty with the labor force. It’s capital intensive and increasingly technical. You have to keep up with the times, and be willing to invest – or else you may not stay in business.
Orleans Hub is grateful to be an in agricultural community. We are one of the most diverse farming counties with fruit, vegetable, dairy, and grain farms of all sizes. We have organic farms and Amish and Mennonite families also working the soil.
The Elba Muck stretches into Barre and Clarendon in Orleans County, as well as Elba and Byron in Genesee County. Immigrants started clearing a swamp to create the muck in 1915. The muck, now in its 100th year, remains some of the area’s most valuable and productive farmland. This photo was taken last month.
Agriculture is big business around here. The 2012 Agricultural Census counted $150.3 million in farm revenue in Orleans County, which ranks 13th out of the 62 counties. Wyoming County is the top county at $318.5 million. Our neighbor, Genesee County, is fourth at $237.0 million.
The farms have been critical to other economic development projects in the community. H.H. Dobbins did a big $5 million expansion in Lyndonville this year, adding a 26,240-square-foot controlled atmosphere storage building.
Intergrow has expanded several times since opening a hydroponic greenhouse in Gaines about a decade ago. Western New York Energy spent $90 million building an ethanol plant in 2006-’07 and the company just spent $2 million on a new 800,000-bushel grain bin.
Lake Ontario Fruit opened a new controlled-atmosphere storage site last year in Gaines on Ridge Road. The company has made other upgrades to its packing lines.
Workers at Lake Ontario Fruit fill bags and boxes with SweeTango apples in this photo from September 2014. Lake Ontario Fruit packs all the SweeTangos in New York that are grown west of Rochester.
Pride Pak is building a new $15 million fruit and vegetable processing facility in Medina. It wouldn’t be here without the local farms nearby.
Two new yogurt plants have also recently opened in Batavia and they wouldn’t be here without so many dairies in the region supplying milk.
Many of the farms have upgraded grain storage facilities, equipment, housing for workers and also have donated to community projects, including the new library in Albion, the new residence at Hospice, and the Education Center at the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Agriculture, dating back to the pioneers in the early 1800s, have brought many hard-working families to the community.
The muck gave a chance for many Italian and Polish immigrants to own land and build a life in Orleans and Genesee counties.
The farms continue to draw immigrants, and many of them, such as the Rosario family, have opened businesses in the community. The Rosarios own the Monte Alban grocery store and the Mariachi de Oro Mexican Grill in Medina.
On Thursday, when giving thanks, don’t forget the farmers and their many contributions to the community.
