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Farmhouse damaged in fire will be razed

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Grand structure was year-round residence for 6 farmworkers

ALBION – The fire that badly damaged a grand old house on Route 98 has displaced six year-round farmworkers for Watt Farms and will also result in the building being razed, said Karen Watt, co-owner of the Watt Farms with her husband Chris.

The fire broke out at about 2 p.m. on Sunday in a house owned by Watt Farms at 3161 Oak Orchard Rd. The house is the year-round residence for six workers. Some of the workers lost their possessions during the fire, Watt said.

The Red Cross paid for them to stay at Dollinger’s Motel last night. Watt Farms will move them to a seasonal housing for the short-term. Watt said she is working on housing for the winter, as well as clothing and other supplies for the workers.

They are the core members of the farm’s work crew, with some of them working for Watt for 20 years.

“We’re trying to figure out what to do,” she said. “That was their home, but it would be cost prohibitive to fix it.”

Here is how the house looks this afternoon, a day after the fire. A new metal roof had recently been put on the house.

The red brick house was built about 150 years ago with additions to follow. It had “a beautiful staircase and woodwork,” Watt said.

Fire investigators told her it looks like an electrical fire triggered the blaze.

The building will be knocked down. It was part of the former Harding farm.

“It’s really too bad,” Watt said.

Albion firefighter James Fisher was one of the first on the scene. He sprays water on the fire yesterday afternoon. Watt said the fire destroyed the framework for the brick house.

‘I need help,’ woman says, before being sentenced to year in jail for drug crime

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 October 2015 at 12:00 am

ALBION – One woman was sentenced to a year in jail today while another man scheduled for sentencing was jailed without bail and had his sentencing delayed after he showed up in court under the influence of drugs.

Nathan L. Parsad, 24, of Williamson was due to be sentenced today for criminal possession of a controlled substance. But Orleans County Court Judge James Punch said Parsad was clearly under the influence. He was swaying while trying to stand up in court, and showed up for sentencing more than an hour late.

Parsad admitted in court he had been using heroin.

Parsad was driving on Jan. 12 on Ridge Road in Gaines when he was in an accident. Parsad and two of his passengers – Caitlin E. Jones, 29, of Canandaigua and Eric L. Shirley, 28, of Canandaigua – all faced drug charges after police found drugs in the vehicle.

Parsad and Jones were both due to be sentenced today. They were initially eligible for Drug Court. If they completed that court, the drug charge would have been reduced to a misdemeanor. But they were kicked out of Drug Court when they tested positive for drugs.

Parsad will be sentenced on Thursday after he is given three days to sober up. He is being held in jail without bail.

Jones also was an hour late for sentencing. She admitted she had recently been using cocaine and heroin. However, she said she wasn’t under the influence of the drugs and could be sentenced today.

Her attorney Lance Mark asked that Jones be sentenced to treatment.

“She has a long history of drug problems,” Mark told Judge Punch.

Jones was given an opportunity to speak at sentencing.

“It’s been ruining my life,” she said about drugs. “I need help.”

The judge said Jones said she didn’t want Probation, which could have included conditions for treatment.

“You don’t seem to have the wherewithal to overcome this problem,” Punch told her. “We can’t force you to accept treatment.”

Medina man sentenced to year in state prison for drug crime

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 October 2015 at 12:00 am

ALBION – A Medina man who was unsuccessful in staying off drugs during Drug Court was sentenced today to 1 year in state prison.

Matthew J. Albone, 33, of Medina was charged in January 2014 with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.

He pleaded guilty on June 9, 2014 court to CPCS in the fifth degree and CPCS in the seventh degree. He admitted in court to selling prescription narcotics that were prescribed to him.

If he completed Drug Court the charge of CPCS in the 5th degree would have been dismissed. However, Albone continued to use drugs.

His attorney, Shirley Gorman, said he was successful for six months at a residential treatment program and another five months of supportive living. But he met somebody he knew from when he used drugs and that triggered a relapse, Gorman said in court today.

In one case he had to be revived after being found unconscious in a field in Rochester.

“It’s certainly a long difficult path that brought you here,” Orleans County Court Judge James Punch said during sentencing. “You’ve been provided numerous services and treatments. There are people who would give anything for the treatment you have rejected.”

In other cases today:

Kaylee M. Loiacono, 27, of Brockport admitted she sold cocaine from her home on Taylor Road on April 6, 2015.

She pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. That charge normally carries a maximum of 2 ½ years in state prison. As part of a plea deal, she will face a maximum of six months in the county jail.

An Albion man rejected a plea offer that would have capped his state prison sentence to 4 years. Brandon A. Honore, 30, of East Park Street has been charged with 2 counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree, and 2 counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree (Class B felonies).

Honore and Loiacono were among 19 people arrested in July following a seven-month investigation into the sale and distribution of drugs in Orleans County.

Honore’s trial will begin Feb. 17.

Joseph Koneski, 49, of Holley was arraigned for violating his probation. He was previously sentenced for driving while intoxicated in Ontario County. He allegedly violating his probation by drinking alcohol, using drugs and leaving the jurisdiction without notification, Judge Punch said during arraignment today.

Koneski was remanded to jail on $2,000 bail.

Pride Pak plan passes County Planning Board

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 October 2015 at 12:00 am

This shows a rendering of the new building on Maple Ridge Road across from GCC.

MEDINA – The Orleans County Planning Board reviewed the site plan for a new 62,000-square-foot vegetable processing facility last week and recommended the Village of Medina approve the plan.

Pride Pak wants to break ground on the project next month and be ready for production in June. The Canadian-based company says it will hire 85-100 employees in phase one of the project. It expects it will expand from the 62,000-square-foot building in the future and employ 200 people.

The company will build on Route 31A across from Genesee Community College in an area zoned as light industrial in the Maple Ridge Overlay District.

The company is proposing 106 parking spaces, with 100 designated for employees and six for visitors. The village code for the Maple Ridge Overlay District calls for 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet for a building, which would be 310 spaces for a 62,000-square-foot building. For light industrial sites, there should be 2 spaces per 1,000 square feet or 124 for Pride Pak, according to the code.

However, Medina allows for “a reasonable reduction” in parking spaces if the company can show there isn’t an overflow parking problem and it won’t adversely impact access roads.

The County Planning Board said additional parking could always be added if it proves a problem, but the board didn’t foresee a need for more than 106 given the production-only nature of the facility.

The site plan goes to the Village Planning Board for a final vote on Nov. 3.

Albion DPW beats the cold with paving work

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Jay Pahura, a motor equipment operator for the Albion Department of Public Works, runs a roller over fresh pavement on Friday on Hamilton Street.

The DPW has been busy with paving projects just before winter hits. The DPW on Monday put new pavement around manhole covers on East Avenue.

The village this year also paved portions of Caroline Street, Brown Street (from canal going north to village line, Lyndon Drive, East State Street and West Bank Street.

Bryan Hazel, an employee with the Orleans County Highway Department, operates the paver while Tim Banker of the DPW works behind the big machine. The county shares the paver and some of its personnel for the paving projects.

Dale Brooks, the DPW superintendent, oversees the project on Hamilton Street. Brooks will likely become the new Barre highway superintendent on Jan. 1, replacing the retiring Dale Ostroski. Brooks is unoppsed on the Nov. 3 election after winning a Republican Primary.

Fire heavily damages house for farmworkers owned by Watt Farms

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 October 2015 at 3:22 pm

Photos by Tom Rivers

GAINES – A fire broke out at about 2 p.m. today in a house owned by Watt Farms at 3161 Oak Orchard Rd. The house is the year-round home for six farmworkers.

The house is at the northeast intersection of the Five Corners where Route 98, Bacon Road and Route 279 all intersect.

Albion firefighters hurry to attach a hose to a hydrant.

Flames were feasting on the house, a big residence.

Darryl Szklany of Albion surveys the scene. Several other fire departments sent crews to help contain and put out the fire.

Firefighters spray water on the fire.

The fire gave off big clouds of smoke after water was directed on the house.

Rotarians stay committed to eradicating polio

Posted 25 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Local dentist shares how polio took his mother’s life when he was a young boy

Photos by Kim Pritt – Albion Rotary Club member Don Bishop, a dentist, speaks about Rotary’s efforts to defeat polio during Thursday’s meeting at Tillman’s Village Inn. Bishop shared his family’s difficult experiences with the disease.

By Kim Pritt, Correspondent

ALBION – Rotary Club International joined the fight to eradicate polio in 1985 with their Polio Plus Program – a world-wide commitment to raise funds and awareness to combat this devastating disease.

Poliovirus is a highly contagious virus that affects humans with no known cure. At one time 350,000 children were diagnosed with polio each year world-wide. Through research and vaccines made available in the early 1950s, polio has been nearly wiped out in most of the world.

This past year, only two countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan – have reported new cases of polio and Africa has not seen a new case in over a year. However, as long as there continue to be new cases reported, Rotary Club International’s Polio Plus Program will continue its work to raise awareness and funds.

Locally, Albion Rotary Club has been a strong supporter of the Polio Plus Program since its inception in 1985. To commemorate World Polio Day, the Albion club devoted its regular Thursday meeting to raising awareness and funds for this disease and the program committed to eradicating it.

The eradication of polio is not only a priority for the Albion Rotary Club, but it is also very personal for Albion Rotary member, Don Bishop.

Bishop spoke at the Thursday meeting about his personal experience with polio. When he was a child, his family was exposed to the poliovirus, resulting in two of his family members contracting the disease. Bishop’s mother was severely afflicted with the disease, causing her to be completely paralyzed from the neck down and confined to an iron lung.

Bishop talked about visiting his mother in a clinic in New York City where she was isolated with other polio victims in an effort to control the spread of the disease. They were eventually able to bring their mother home with her iron lung after they converted their living room into a hospital room for her, but she soon had to return to the hospital and succumbed to the disease in 1957.

Albion Rotary Club President Karen Sawicz, right, presents Don Bishop with a certificate for 25 polio vaccinations to be donated in his name.

He went on to say that at the age of 7, he and his sister, aged 4, were placed in a vaccine trial because of the unknown risk of them passing the disease on to others. They discovered that he did receive the vaccine, but his sister had received a placebo. Shortly after that, his sister began to exhibit symptoms of the disease.

Bishop’s sister developed a much milder case and responded to various therapies over the years, including painting therapy. She earned an art scholarship to Nazareth College and went on to a career as an art teacher.

Bishop talked about seeing images of clinics with rows and rows of thousands of iron lungs and stated those images were not an exaggeration, as he witnessed similar scenes while visiting his mother. As further research and the success of the vaccine helped to reduce the numbers of people diagnosed with polio, the use of the iron lungs has also reduced.

Bishop shared that he recently read that in 1959 there were 1,200 people confined to an iron lung and in 2004 there were only 39 such people. Others in the group commented about knowing children here in our community during the 1950s and 1960s, who had polio and how terrifying it was during the height of the epidemic.

During the Albion Rotary Club’s meeting two sets of Sabres hockey tickets were donated and auctioned off for the purpose of donating the funds raised to the Polio Plus Program. The Gates Foundation has teamed up with Rotary Club International and will do a two-to-one match of any funds raised for the Polio Plus Program. So, thanks to the Gates Foundation, the $120 raised in the auction will be tripled to make a $360 donation to the Polio Plus Program.

In addition to raising awareness and funds for the Polio Plus Program, it is Albion Rotary Club’s practice to present a certificate to their guest speakers indicating a pledge to vaccinate 25 children in countries still reporting new polio cases in the name of the guest speaker. Don Bishop was presented with a certificate for sharing his family’s story at the Thursday meeting.

Doug ‘The Plumber’ gets roasted to benefit Children’s Foundation

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 October 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

GAINES – Marcy Downey plays Ernestine, a telephone operator, during a roast on Saturday night of Doug Bower, right. Bower works as a plumber and co-host of the WHAM Home Repair Clinic with Jim Salmon, left.

Bower provided plenty of material for the sold-out roast at Tillman’s Village Inn, which was a benefit for The Salmon Children’s Foundation. That foundation has donated more than $7,000 to Albion High School graduates in scholarships in memory of Nicholas Kovaleski.

Downey pretended to be a 9-1-1 operator who received an emergency call from Bower. He was injured in an accident on July 22, 2012, when his van, which was left in neutral, rolled back in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The van tripped Bower and ran over his right leg and torso. He was seriously injured that day, but has recovered from those injuries and can now joke about the accident.

Jim Salmon took delight in picking on his friend and radio co-host Doug Bower.

Kelly Kovaleski tells Bower and more than 100 people at the Celebrity Roast that her son, Nicholas, had a great sense of humor and enjoyed making people laugh.

Nicholas was 15 when he died from leukemia on June 29, 2011. He was a guest on the Home Repair Clinic with Salmon and Bower and talked about fighting cancer.

The memorial scholarship for Nicholas goes to a student who “Lives With Purpose,” which was Nicholas’s motto.

Charlie Nesbitt, a former state assemblyman, took a turn roasting Bower.

Phyl Contestable, “The Reverend Mother,” also joined the roasting revelry, picking on both Salmon and Bower.

Gary Simboli portrays the comedian Foster Brooks, pretending to be a short-lived plumbing partner for Bower early in his career, during Saturday’s roast.

Big donations make van possible for paralyzed Albion teen

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 October 2015 at 12:00 am

$20,000 given by West Herr, $5K by Lions Club

Photos by Tom Rivers – Ashley Wiegele’s mother Danielle Shulenburg is overcome with emotion while holding a ceremonial check for $20,000 given by the West Herr Automotive Group. She is pictured with Scott Green, left, a guidance counselor at Albion High School and Rich Wilkinson, general manager for West Herr.

ALBION – Organizers of a benefit today for Ashley Wiegele, a paralyzed Albion teen-ager, hoped to raise $10,000 to go towards a van with modifications that would allow her to travel to the grocery store, the movies, her doctor’s visits and other places in the community.

That $10,000 was seen as a good start towards the van. It might not be enough to buy it outright.

When a benefit for Ashley started a 3 p.m. today, the general manager for West Herr Automotive Group in Rochester showed up with a check for $20,000. No one expected that.

Ashley Wiegele is pictured in her senior photo.

Rich Wilkinson, general manager for West Herr, said one of the company’s owners called him at 10 a.m. this morning and wanted to help Ashley, who was injured in June 2014 in a boating accident, just days before she was to walk the stage at graduation.

“We heard about it,” Wilkinson said about the fund-raising event for Ashley. “We’ve been blessed, and community is a big part of what we do.”

West Herr isn’t alone in supporting Ashley. The Albion Lions Club announced a $5,000 donation towards the van.

Ron Albertson, a Lions member, made the annoucement during the benefit today at the Elks Club.

Ron Albertson

“The Lions Club is very community oriented,” he said. “Albion is a great place to live.”

Ashley’s mother, Danielle Shulenburg, accpeted the donations with tears in her eyes.

“I am overhwelmed,” she said. “This is unbelievable. It is amazing how the community comes together to help someone in need.”

Staff at Albion High School, led by guidance counselor Scott Green, worked to organize the benefit, which includes bands and live music from 3 to 9 p.m. There are also 100 baskets to be raffled off.

Green said the community was generous in donating the baskets.

Sandy Linberg looks over some of the baskets at the raffle to benefit Ashley Wiegele.

Ashley has been paralzyed from the chest down since the accident on June 20, 2014.

She is home in an Albion apartment with her mother, and receives physical and occupational therapy. Ashley is hopeful she will one day walk again.

For right now, she is mostly limited to her apartment, which isn’t handicapped accessible.

Her mother said the van will make it easier for Ashley to receive outpatient therapy.

She said the community support will give her daughter a big boost and lift her spirits.

“Hopefully she can be an inspiration to other people,” Shulenburg said.

Today’s event continues until 10 p.m.

Shannon Vanderlaan is among the performers at the benefit today for Ashley Wiegele.

Narby’s in Carlton was once a hotel

By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 24 October 2015 at 12:00 am

CARLTON – This image shows the old “Two Bridges Hotel” located in Carlton near the Oak Orchard River and Marsh Creek. Residents of the area may recognize this building as it stands today as “Narby’s Superette and Tackle.”

The hotel area of the structure was located on the west end. Two doors are located on the front end of the building, one marked “Bar Room” and the other marked “Hotel Entrance.” A sign outside of the main doorway shows that oysters were being offered in the dining room.

Along the west side of the building, “Two Bridges Hotel” is painted between the windows on the second floor and the name of the hotel is again depicted at the peak of the building on the front side. The two bridges that gave the area its name are shown; the covered bridge spanning the Oak Orchard River and the bridge crossing Marsh Creek.

Located on the east end was the general store and postmaster’s office. Prior to the advent of rural delivery, Carlton’s post office was located at this site. Further to the east was a stable for horses. These two pieces were later removed.

The earliest hotel on this site was a brick structure built prior to 1870. When that building burned, this structure replaced it. The hotel had a long list of proprietors starting with R. R. Tenant in its earliest years and later falling under the ownership of Whaley & Palmer, Wyland & King, George Gunther, George Root, Ashley Blake, Philip Podgers, Charles Conley, and Benjamin Bamber.

The store also had a lengthy list of owners who often doubled as postmaster during their tenure. Benjamin Fowler, who was likely the owner of the store when this photo was taken, and James Waldron were two of the earlier proprietors of the business before Ben Bamber took control.

The hotel was the center of community events during its heyday. Proprietors frequently held parties for New Year’s Eve, Washington’s Birthday, Independence Day, and other patriotic celebrations. The store was one of the few local spots where residents could purchase dry goods and other necessities such as medicines.

In 1937, the area ceased to exist as “Two Bridges” when the name was inadvertently changed to “The Bridges” with the addition of the Rt. 18 span over the Oak Orchard River. I suppose with the removal of the Oak Orchard River Road Bridge, we can once again call the area “Two Bridges.”