By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
John Robinson, left, and his friend Doug Hamlin, right, ride adaptive use bicycles along West Bank Street in Albion on July 1, 2014. The duo and their supporters rode the Erie Canal and stopped in Albion to visit The Arc of Orleans County. They will be back Tuesday morning at 11 for a program at the former Grammar School on East Academy Street.
The Arc provides services at the former school for senior citizens and people with disabilities.
Robinson will leave Medina in the morning and head to Albion. Robinson was born without full arms and legs. He is riding an adaptive bicycle from Tonawanda to Albany.
This is the third year Robinson is making the trip along the 363-mile-long Erie Canal.
Robinson has made the trek to show people that disabled residents can achieve big dreams, too.
Robinson also brings a message seeking job opportunities for disabled residents. Whether in sheltered workshops or other jobs in the community, Robinson said people with developmental disabilities have skills that can be used in the workplace.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2015 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A church looking to start a congregation in Albion is paying for a fireworks show on July 5 at Bullard Park for the fourth straight year.
Members of the Tonawanda Indian Baptist Church in Basom and its sister church, High Point Community Church in Corfu, will also have games, food and music available for the community beginning at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
The top photo shows Albion firefighter Carmen Quatro watching the fireworks last year while standing on top of a fire truck at Bullard Park.
Tonawanda and High Point members are running a park ministry in the village this summer and the churches are working on securing a spot for church services in Albion, said Robert Dean, church pastor.
“We’re just trying to be a blessing to the community,” he said today. “We’re not looking for any accolades.”
Dean said he welcomes volunteers and donations to help put on the July 5 event. For more information, call Dean at 716-812-8330.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2015 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Six people were sentenced in Orleans County Court today, with sentences ranging from probation to five years in state prison.
Steven Johnson, 35, of Medina received the five-year sentence to state prison. Johnson is a second felony offender. He pleaded guilty in April to attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.
He was arrested after allegedly selling drugs in June and July last year.
Judge James Punch gave Johnson the maximum sentence.
“This is a very long and serious criminal history,” Punch said.
Johnson was living at 301 Park Ave. with Tamara Butler, 37. She also was arrested on numerous drug charges. Butler has a prior felony of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. She was sentenced today to two years in state prison.
She pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree in April.
“I take great responsibility for my actions and I know what I did was wrong,” Butler said in court today.
In other cases:
A former Albion woman was sentenced to a year in county jail after she admitted she illegally sold prescription drugs last April.
Ivy E. Schell, 19, was living in Buffalo when she was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. She pleaded guilty today to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, and told the court she sold Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen in Albion last April.
She could have faced 2 ½ in state prison. Schell’s attorney, Paul Vacca, asked that the judge sentence to Schell to youthful offender or probation.
Punch said Schell has been given both of those opportunities before without success.
A Rochester man was sentenced to two years in state prison after he previously admitted he sold cocaine from a vehicle on McKinstry Street in Albion on Oct. 6, 2013.
Timothy J. Turner, 33, of Mount Read Boulevard in March pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.
He is a second felony offender. Turner apologized in court for the crime in Albion.
An Albion man was sentenced to a year in county jail after being arrested with two other people for breaking into a house with four children on East State Street on May 19, 2014.
Dexter Turner, 23, of Caroline Street in Albion has a job and has become a good citizen with little chance of recidivism, his attorney Joshua Ramos said.
He asked that Turner not spend any more time in jail. He already was in jail about two months soon after being arrested. Ramos asked that Turner be sentenced to probation so he could keep his job.
Turner also apologized for the crime.
Judge Punch said probation “was not appropriate” for the crime. Besides the year in jail, the judge issued an order of protection for the victims in the crime.
Katherine Taylor, 24, of Main Street in Waterport was sentenced to five years on probation for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.
In a previous court appearance, Taylor admitted she sold cocaine. She has no prior felonies.
Photos courtesy of Lyndonville Central School – Lyndonville’s Class of 2015 Valedictorian Rebekah Hoffee, left, is pictured with Middle-High School Principal Dr. Aaron Slack and Salutatorian Leann Balcerzak.
Press Release, Lyndonville Central School
LYNDONVILLE – The Stroyan Auditorium was full of excitement, accomplishments and pride on Friday when 53 members of Lyndonville’s Class of 2015 graduated.
The commencement ceremony featured performances by Lyndonville musicians, speeches by students and Lyndonville administrators, scholarship announcements and the presentation of diplomas to Lyndonville’s newest alumni.
Valedictorian Rebekah Hoffee and Salutatorian Leann Balcerzak each took a turn at the podium, addressing their classmates and those in attendance. Balcerzak focused her speech on embracing the future while honoring the past. Hoffee’s speech had a theme of perseverance and included references to “The Little Engine that Could.”
Members of the senior class perform “I Lived” by One Republic.
Superintendent Jason Smith spoke to the students about the willingness to succeed despite adverse conditions. Smith referenced “The Blue Spruce” by former Gov. Mario Cuomo and gave each of the graduating seniors a small faux blue spruce tree with orange roots, to symbolize the students’ beginnings in Lyndonville.
Musical performances by seniors included “The National Anthem,” “I Lived” by One Republic and the Lyndonville Alma Mater.
In the end, all senior had their time in the spotlight as their names were read by teacher and coach Mark Hughes and they walked across the stage.
Kindergarten teacher Robin Boyle is pictured with her daughter, Madison Boyle, after graduation.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Orleans County Legislator John DeFilipps reads a proclamation last week declaring June as Dairy Month. He presented the proclamation to Sydney Seefeldt, the 2015-16 Niagara-Orleans dairy princess.
Seefeldt will serve as an ambassador for the dairy industry, touting the nutritional benefits of milk at community events throughout the coming year.
New York is the third-leading dairy state in the country. New York farmers sell $5.4 billion worth of farm products a year, and milk accounts for $2.4 billion of that total, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – State officials urged Orleans County canal communities to seek downtown development grants. This photo shows the Main Street clock in Albion, which is part of a downtown district on the National Register of Historic Places.
ALBION – A group of Orleans County legislators travelled to Albany to meet with state officials, pressing high-speed Internet, infrastructure money, downtown development and other issues for the county.
“Everyone we met with was very accommodating to us and to hearing about Orleans County and out initiatives,” said Legislature Chairman David Callard. “We are confident that through this trip we have laid the groundwork to be successful in upcoming funding rounds – especially the Upstate Revitalization Intiative and the New NY Broadband Program. We will continue to press our case to ensure that Orleans County gets its fair share.”
Callard travelled to Albany with legislators Lynne Johnson, Ken DeRoller and John DeFilipps. They met on June 10 with local state legislators – Sen. Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda), Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) and Assemblywoman Jane Corwin (R-Clarence) – as well as representatives from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Department of State and the Canal Corp.
Callard said the state government officials had advice for the county in seeking state funds. The county would be a prime candidate for state grants for the canal villages and historic downtown business districts in Albion, Holley and Medina, Callard said.
The state urged the Orleans communities to pursue Main Street development grants, Callard said.
Holley and Albion both have received those grants in recent years, and Callard said more of that funding would help the canal communities. He said the county could take the lead in working with the villages for those grants.
The state also recommended the county’s lakeshore towns of Yates, Carlton and Kendall update a lakefront development study from about 20 years ago. A fresh study could help those communities, and the county access state funds.
The county sought about $160,000 in state funds for projects at the Orleans County Marine Park in Carlton. Orleans was approved for half of that amount last year. Callard said the outdated development plan was a one factor in why the county missed out on the full amount.
The county is already working on applications for broadband Internet coverage throughout Orleans, including rural pockets without the service. Orleans also is pursuing funds for its emergency radio system to make it interoperable with neighboring counties and to boost service in schools and larger buildings.
Callard said the trip to Albany is part of the Legislature’s stepped-up efforts for state funding for projects in the county.
“Given that a vast majority of key decision makers on state initiatives critical to Orleans County are based in Albany, it’s imperative that we get to the State Capitol to meet face-to-face on a regular basis,” Callard said. “By taking the time to travel to Albany to press our case directly with state officials, they can gauge both our sense of urgency and our great desire to gain state resources and funding for our top priorities.”
The county has also retained a lobbyist for $60,000 for a year to help Orleans County have better success with state grants. The firm, Park Strategies of Albany, helped arrange the meeting on June 10 with the various state officials.
Photos from Medina Marching Band – Cheri Pritchard attended the first field band practice on June 23 and said her good byes to the students and parents. Many tears were shed from both sides.
Press Release, Medina Marching Band
MEDINA – Cheri Pritchard, Medina Middle School instrumental music instructor and co-director of the Medina Mustang Marching Band, will be leaving Medina and accepting the high school band director position at the Orchard Park Central School District.
Pritchard graduated from Orchard Park and after college came to Medina
to teach and co-direct the marching band. She was 22 when she came to Medina.
Being a part of the Mustang Band family for 7 years has been a life-changing experience, Pritchard said. She’s proud to be a part of winning multiple state championships, several Gorham championships and many deserving trophies.
While those are exciting experiences, she said the intangibles are what make Medina special: the value of tradition, the many students and their parents who have participated in the program, the community and district support, the high standard of excellence – striving for 100 percent from each student that marches with the band uniform on. These values, in combination with the strong family atmosphere, is what makes this program special, Pritchard said.
The Marching Band program wishes Pritchard the best in her new endeavor. Medina will see her again when Orchard Park performs at Medina’s home show and again when Medina travels to Orchard Park for that show.
Photo from Governor’s Office – Gov. Andrew Cuomo addresses the media at a news conference in Malone after the governor declared the search for prison escapees over after 22 days.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this evening a second prison escapee from the Clinton Correctional Facility is in police custody, two days after another escapee was shot and killed.
“The nightmare is finally over,” the governor said at a news conference in Malone this evening.
David Sweat and Richard Matt, both convicted murderers, broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on June 6.
David Sweat is in custody. Sergeant Jay Cook of the New York State Police spotted a suspicious man walking down a roadway in the Town of Constable at about 3:20 p.m. today. Cook pursued, shot and injured Sweat, who was taken into police custody alive, and is currently in stable condition. He will receive treatment at Albany Medical Center.
“This happened a mile and a half from the Canadian border in the Town of Constable,” Cuomo said during the news conference. “I had a chance to speak with Sgt. Cook and congratulate him on his great police work. He was alone when this happened. Sergeant Cook happens to be from Troop B, which is this area, so he knew the area well. But he was still alone and it was a very courageous act. I said to Sergeant Cook, who has two daughters – 16 and 17 – to go home tonight and tell your daughters that you’re a hero.”
Sweat was captured two days after Matt was shot and killed. On Friday at approximately 3:45 p.m., a member of law enforcement spotted, shot and killed Matt following Matt’s failure to respond to law enforcement commands. Matt had a shot gun in his possession, New York State Police reported.
Cuomo thanked law enforcement officials for their tireless efforts over the last several weeks. When the search concluded today, there were approximately 1,300 federal, state and local law enforcement members involved.
“I want to thank the people in Franklin and Clinton County personally for their courage and every law enforcement officer – literally thousands of law enforcement officers were engaged in this,” Cuomo said. “And it is nice when it ends well. We said that we were going to have a celebration at the appropriate time, but that everyone goes home safe and the escapees have been dealt with. You could not have a better ending. We wish it did not happen in the first place, but if you have to have it happen, this is the way you want it to end.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – Lee Richards, pastor of the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion, preaches from the pulpit at the Cobblestone Universalist Church today.
The Pullman congregation twice a year has church at the cobblestone site in Gaines, a building from 1834. That church is oldest cobblestone church in North America and is a National Historic Landmark.
Universalists met at the cobblestone site until the new Pullman church, built with money from Albion native and business tycoon George Pullman, opened in 1895.
The Albion congregation of Unitarian-Universalists has been holding services twice a year at the cobblestone church for at least four decades, with a service the fourth Sunday in June and a patriotic service the first Sunday in July.
In honor of the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, Richards prepared a sermon as if it was June 28, 1865. He spent a month researching that time frame, looking up sermons, essays and newspaper reports.
Richards dressed as a preacher would in that era, with a large loose tie, a vest and some wild hair. Richards said people in that era hadn’t updated their clothes in years because of the war and they went without haircuts for extended periods.
The church presented a program from June 28, 1865, with the minister at that time named Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham. The church is located in a hamlet that was known then as Fairhaven.
The Cobblestone Universalist Church had endured many ministers who stayed briefly from 1834 to 1865. The church would close in 1865 and reopened in 1874 after a new minister, Rev. Nelson Snell, instilled a newfound zeal in the congregation, according to the church program from today.
During his sermon today, Richards spoke as if it was 1865 and the impending closure of the church would be “one more travesty of the terrible war that just concluded.”
The community and country, at that time, needed religion “now more than ever,” Richards said.
Richards noted the war claimed half a million lives, and left countless others wounded – missing limbs, eyes and bearing invisible scars: “from taken up arms against friends and family.”
Richards’ prepared a sermon from June 28, 1865, which was about two months after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated – “taken from us so suddenly and so shamelessly.” The country desperately needed Lincoln’s leadership for reconciliation between the north and the south, Richards said.
In his sermon, he advocated for rights and education for women and “people of the African race.” He noted that Universalist seminaries were preparing women to preach and lead churches at that time.
Jeremy Rath plays the organ in the balcony of the historic church.
Judy Wenrich dressed as a Native American woman for the service to help commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Wenrich said many Native Americans were assimilated into Christian churches in the 19th Century.
Lee Richards, right, chats with his wife Louise Wu and Matt Ballard, director of the Cobblestone Museum, following the service today. The church will hold its annual patriotic service next Sunday at 11 a.m.
Adrienne Kirby holds her daughter Rosemary after today’s service. Kirby’s father, Bill Lattin, was the Cobblestone Museum director and curator for about 40 years.
By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 27 June 2015 at 12:00 am
HOLLEY – This image shows the horse barn owned by Dr. George C. Kesler of Holley. The photographer directed his camera to the southeast while standing on the north side of East Albion Street.
The house in the background belonged to Dr. Kesler and was situated along the bend of White Street. The barn itself was located on the corner of East Albion and White Streets.
George Kesler, a native of Kendall, graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College on March 25, 1892. After his return to Orleans County, he started his practice in Holley on Main Street at a location west of the hotel. He married Agnes O’Neil and the couple made their home at this site in 1893. Kesler outlived his three wives, Agnes, Ana Wilson, and Ada before his own death in 1937.
Advertising as a Veterinary Surgeon and Dentist, his ads regularly featured the line, “All diseases of animals scientifically treated – open day and night.” The gentleman kneeling in front of the fence seems to have coaxed the horses to pop their heads through the windows for this photo. Both the barn and house of Dr. Kesler were razed and no longer exist at this site.
Medina’s Class of 2015 includes 115 members who graduated on Friday evening.
Photos and article by
Howard Balaban, Correspondent
MEDINA – The Medina High School Class of 2015 was encouraged to be unique at its graduation ceremony Friday night.
Salutatorian Regan Stacey addressed those in attendance by recalling a phrase by one of the class’s math teachers.
“We are all non-bananas,” she said, explaining how the 115 graduates will be stepping into a plethora of life roles later this summer.
“I’m especially amazed at those up here who will immediately start to contribute,” Stacey noted, adding that the world always needs farmers, construction workers, and military servicemen and women, for instance, to allow the rest of us to eat, live, and do so in a free society.
Graduates prepare to enter the auditorium.
Valedictorian Alexandra Markle took to the podium next, and she marked the closing of the high school chapter of life with a simple message: “Run.”
In encouraging her classmates to “get as far away from Medina as possible,” Markle said doing so would allow them all to grow in ways they never dreamed imaginable. The world, she said, is a “huge, daunting place” but meeting new people in new places can open some eyes.
“I don’t care where you go, as long as you’ve never been there before,” she said. New experiences for her and her classmates will only help them grow, Markle added.
“You can learn so much by listening,” Markle remarked. She added that through it all, the people who helped the Class of ’15 get to Friday night’s stage would be there to help.
“We are fortunate to come from a place like Medina,” she stated. She described Medina as a community where people care, and where values like respect, kindness, compassion, and mercy were instilled in the class by teachers and family alike.
Members of the junior class carry the Daisy Chain. Eighteen students worked on the 54-foot-long chain over two days.
While many in the class may not have firm plans for their future, Markle said that was not a problem because “sometimes the journey teaches us about the destination.”
Plus, as Stacey said, “We are not all from the same mold…we have amazing opportunities to be different.
“Discover who you are…Keep an open mind. Be the unique non-banana you were meant to be.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
The weather has been miserable for most of today, with heavy rain and temperatures in the high 50s to 60s.
I usually like to get photos of the local surroundings during nasty weather, but this picture of my back porch, dripping wet, was the best I could muster.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo says it will be chilly again on Sunday with a high of 61 and some scattered showers, but not nearly as heavy as today’s rain.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – Holley graduates are excited are turning their tassels to symbolize the completion of their high school journey. Samantha Barniak, left, Cheyenne Bartlett and Faith Battaglia are pictured during commencement today at the school auditorium.
There were a lot of Smartphones out capturing scenes from graduation at Holley.
Commencement was moved inside due to the rain. Graduation is usually held outside at the soccer stadium.
The 77 graduates in Holley’s Class of 2015 are heading out to college and careers with advantages over graduates from much bigger communities, Holley commencement speaker said today.
Samantha Zelent is a social worker at the school district. She is also a graduate. And she is grateful for the chance to grow up in Holley and be part of the community today.
The Class of 2015 picked Samantha Zelent, a social worker at the junior-senior high school, to be the keynote speaker today.
“Show pride in where you come from,” Zelent told students during graduation today. “You’re not just from Holley. You are from Holley. Holley is truly an amazing place to be.”
She told the class she has been blessed with close-knit friendships and a caring community.
She recalled bringing some of her friends from Geneseo State College home when she was a student there. They went to Sam’s Diner for breakfast and Zelent, then Samantha Heise, was warmly greeted by many of the diner customers, who asked her how college was going. Her Geneseo classmates were impressed by the community.
Lucas Silvis holds his diploma with his mother Robin Silvis, who is a member of the Holley Board of Education.
More recently, this school year Zelent’s husband John was diagnosed with cancer. Zelent took a leave of absence and she felt the love of the students, who sent her frequent texts and Facebook messages.
“Because Holley is so small you have opportunities that others at bigger schools don’t have where they are just a number,” Zelent said. “Here there is an opportunity to know people on a personal level.”
Zelent urged the students to surround themesleves with peace and love.
“Go into the world and do well,” she said. “But more importantly go into the world and do good.”
Class Salutatorian Nicole Boyle urged her classmates to be conquerors and “go out there and show what Holley kids are made of.”
Emily Radford delivers her valedictory address.
Holley Central School Superintendent Robert D’Angelo and Susan Cory, the middle-high school principal, greet graduates at commencement.
Cory said the Class of 2015 has worked hard to prepare themselves for the next step in their lives. Of the 77 in the class, 53 will go to college, two in the military and 17 directly to the workforce. One foreign exhcange student will return home to Thailand, while a few students are undecided with their next step.
The Class of 2015 is collectively graduating with 450 college credits.
Joe DeFelice stands and is recognized for winning one of the scholarships announced today. Holley’s class was awarded about $16,000 in scholarships.
Taylor DeSimone is recognized as a scholarship winner and one of the Top 10 graduates in the class.
Board of Education President Brenda Swanger presents a diploma to Nicholas Pifer, who received the loudest applause during the ceremony. Nicholas was also recently crowned prom king.
Brenda Swanger also presents a diploma to Glenn Robb.
The diplomas are stacked and ready to be handed out at graduation.
Students file out of the auditorium after the commencement program.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos from field courtesy of Andrea Lonnen – Brad McPherson, left, and Zachary Harris were out hunting for daisies on Thursday on Blair Road in this field owned by Bill and Sue Keppler.
Hannah Lonnen picks daisies. Hannah and 17 other Medina juniors filled 90 buckets with the flowers to build the Daisy Chain for tonight’s graduation ceremony.
Photos and article by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – When 16 Medina juniors carry a 54-foot-long chain of daisies into Medina High School Auditorium this evening, it will be the continuation of a nearly century-long tradition at Medina.
The Daisy Chain is a chance to honor the top 16 girls in the Junior Class. They are escorted by the top two boys in the class.
They will have spent two full days picking daisies and assembling the long chain that will be placed in front of the stage for graduation.
“Every year people joke you ought to buy plastic daisies,” said Eric Hellwig, a teacher and the advisor on the Daisy Chain’s construction. “It’s nice to have traditions and history.”
Meghan Allen wraps a new row of daisies on the long chain of flowers early this afternoon at Medina High School.
Caitlyn Davies works on the Daisy Chain, which will be carried inside the auditorium this evening in two 27-foot-long chains.
Besides Hellwig, two other teachers, Marguerite Sherman and Kathy Boje, also are advisors on the project, including the dress for graduation. The girls wear white dresses and gloves and the boys will wear tuxedos with red vests.
Hellwig said the attire adds a formal air to commencement.
He said the district can trace the Daisy Chain back until at least the 1920s.
Medina students spent hours assembling the Daisy Chain, spacing flowers about an inch apart in each row.
The flowers are taped and wrapped closely together to build the chain.
Students picked flowers for two to four hours on Thursday, filling 90 buckets at about a bushel apiece.
Meghan Allen admitted it was tedious and tiring work, but she saw symbolism in the that task with doing well in school.
“You have to work hard four your grades and work hard at this,” she said while building the Daisy Chain.
Michaela Cardone was grateful for the chance to work on the Daisy Chain and be part of a a revered Medina tradition. She said the project was good bonding with her classmates.
“Doing this gets more people involved in graduation and it looks nicer,” she said.
Hellwig said the Daisy Chain remains a popular tradition for the school. He expects it will continue to endure.
Michaela Cardone wraps some daisies in the Daisy Chain today. It will be unveiled during graduation at 7 p.m. today.
The Daisy Chain members for 2015 include Zack Harris and Brad McPherson, and the following: Meghan Allen, Alexis Barcena, Allison Bensley,Michaela Cardone, Davina Birch, Haylee Cogovan, Caitlyn Davies, Emma Gardner, Hannah Lonnen, Amanda Lunden, Liz Newman, Stella Russo, Carlin Sanders, Alyssa Shortridge, Abi Smith and Emma Wilson.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Justice Nauden, a member of Albion’s Class of 2015, walks to the stage to receive her diploma during a commencement program attended by about 2,000 people this evening at the high school gymnasium.
The Class of 2015 graduated from Albion with a send off that showed pride in the students for what they’ve accomplished so far.
Board of Education President Margy Brown presents Isabella Cox with her diploma. Cox was the class treasurer.
Albion graduated 129 students, the smallest class in recent memory. Those students leave with accomplishment, said Michael Bonnewell, the superintendent of schools.
The students logged 7,200 hours of community service. They needed 30 to meet their graduation requirement, but many were well over that with 16 hitting 100 hours or more, five at 200-plus and one beyond 300 hours.
The 7,200 hours is equivalent to 180 work weeks at 40 hours a week, Bonnewell noted.
District Superintendent Michael Bonnewell addresses the Class of 2015.
He said he’s proud of the students and how community service has become engrained at the school.
Students also excelled in the classroom, in music, the arts, and on the sports field.
The Class of 2015 was part of 10 teams that won Niagara-Orleans League titles and six Sectional crowns. The athletes were scholars with 55 of the 68 teams with Class of 2015 members at 90 percent or higher with their grade point averages, Bonnewell said.
Class President Aaron Burnside, left, Class Salutatorian Jacob Squicciarini and Valedictorian Madyson Coville are all smiles as the commencement program gets started.
The class will have at least 80 percent of its members enroll in college. The students are already graduating with 819 college credits, the equivalent of about $250,000 in SUNY college tuition.
“Despite it’s small size, this class has achieved,” Bonnewell said.
They won 11 first place awards in marching band competitions, were recognized for musical performances by the Rochester Stars of Tomorrow, and helped the district continue its streak of national recognition as a Best Community for Music Education.
Kevin Rosario walks up to get his diploma. He was one of 129 graduates in the Class of 2015.
Bonnewell said the Albion community provides students with an opportunity for success in school. And many students have done their part with diligent work and effort.
“This is just the beginning,” Bonnewell told the graduates inside a packed high school gymnasium. “Know you have your Albion community behind you.”
Dyer Benjovsky and his twin sister Monica walk to the risers to join other members of Senior Chorus in singing the National Anthem and then “For Good.”
Members of the Senior Chorus, from left on bottom row, include Sara Maxon, David Stilwell, Aaron Chen, Ben Vanacore and Andrea Muoio.
Board of Education President Margy Brown addressed the graduates and told them the school has worked to help them build their confidence. That is different from arrogance, which is driven by selfish motives, she said.
“Embrace the confidence that Albion has instilled in you,” Brown said. “Go out in this world and make a difference.”
Salutatorian Jacob Squicciarini and Valedictorian Madyson Coville gave a combined speech. After thanking parents, teachers and community members, the two alternated reading “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss.
Many members of the Junior Class, led by Dylan Bader, served as escorts for the Class of 2015, leading the seniors into the gymnasium.
Emily Shabazz is excited as she goes to get her diploma.
Chase Vazquez heads to the stage for his degree.
Class President Aaron Burnside leads the class in the turning of the tassel to signify the last step in graduation.
One graduate had a nice present waiting outside the school.
