By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 October 2015 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Medina was one of the inductees in the first class for the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame in 2013. A new class with four sites will be inducted on Oct. 22 and includes two buildings in Orleans County.
MEDINA – Four new magnificent structures will be inducted in the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Oct. 22.
The Medina Sandstone Society welcomes the public to the induction ceremony from 1 to 3 p.m. in City Hall, 600 Main St.
The Sandstone Society created the Hall of Fame in 2013 and has inducted 10 sites in the first two years. Another four will be inducted on Oct. 22. The new class includes two sites in Orleans County and two buildings in Buffalo, said Don Colquhoun, a member of the Hall of Fame Committee.
“All four are terrific examples of Medina Sandstone and I think the public will be pleased,” Colquhoun said this morning.
The 68-foot-high tower in Mount Albion, a Civil War Memorial, was inducted in the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Sandstone Society wants to highlight the long-term stewardship with many of the buildings, and Herculean restoration efforts for many of the sites that likely would have been demolished.
The first class in 2013 included six structures: Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion, St. Mary Catholic Church in Medina, the Medina Armory (now Orleans County YMCA), the Richardson Olmsted Complex in Buffalo, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo, and Saint Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester.
The following were inducted in the Hall of Fame’s second class: Delaware-Asbury Church (Babeville) in Buffalo, St. Louis Church in Buffalo, Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Mount Albion Cemetery, and St. Peter Cathedral in Erie, Pa.
For more on the Sandstone Society and its Hall of Fame, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 October 2015 at 12:00 am
MURRAY – Residents in the Murray north of the canal are being advised to boil their water for a minute due to the presence of E. coli bacteria during water samples earlier this week.
The town on Wednesday morning was informed that water samples on Monday and Tuesday tested positive for the bacteria. Two straight days with positive tests prompts a boil water advisory.
Town officials hand-delivered notices of the advisory to about 500 households north of the canal on Wednesday, said Ed Morgan, the town’s water and highway superintendent.
Highway workers have been flushing hydrants to get fresh water in the lines. Tests on Wednesday and Thursday haven’t shown bacteria, Morgan said. He expects to be given the OK on Friday morning that the boil water advisory can be lifted at noon.
The Highway Department, once the advisory is lifted, will hand-deliver notices to the 500 households.
E. coli can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, and other symptoms.
The positive tests were found in the Murray hamlet. Morgan said that part of town is served by water coming from the Village of Albion through the Town of Gaines from the west, and the Monroe County Water Authority from the east.
The water doesn’t flow one way in that part of town, unlike in most water districts.
“It’s a good thing we sample,” he said. “Fortunately we caught it.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Mount Albion Cemetery employees this morning installed a 2-foot by 3-foot interpretive panel that shares the story of one of the cemetery’s most prominent residents: Charles Howard.
Howard is best known as the man who started a Santa Claus School. He ran it from 1937 until his death in 1966. The school has been moved to Midland, Michigan, and still bears Charles Howard’s name.
Howard also was a farmer and a toymaker with a flair for the dramatic. He was part of community efforts to build a model of Niagara Falls with 10,000 gallons of sweet cider in 1928. He also helped make a 12-foot-wide apple pie in 1929 and a create a 14-foot-high cake that weighed 3.5 tons.
Howard developed the Santa School after noticing many Santas didn’t have training, and didn’t always interact with children well or meet a standard for dress. He established decorum for Santas and his Santa Claus suits became popular.
He remains a revered figure in the Santa Claus community. This past April more than 250 Santas were in Albion for several days for a Santa Claus convention.
The Santa community created a Santa Claus Hall of Fame in 2010 and Howard was inducted in the first class.
He was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa and a consultant on the movie Miracle on 34th Street.
Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County Historian, looks over the new interpretive panel. Lattin worked with Albion students in creating the panel. Lattin, current Historian Matt Ballard, and local Charles Howard expert Ken McPherson all were consultants on the panel, providing inofrmation and sharing photos.
The panel was created by the AP US History students in Rich Gannnon’s class. More than half of the class has taken part in the Ghost Walk at Mount Albion Cemetery.
Albion students used money raised from past Ghost Walks to pay for the panel.
There will be another Ghost Walk on Saturday that will conclude at Howard’s grave.
To inquire about the Ghost Walk, call Susan Starkweather Miller at the school, (585) 589-2087 for reservations.
One of the photos includes Charles Howard with his wife, Ruth.
Takeform Architectural Graphics in Medina made the panel.
The panel is located next to the terrace where Howard is buried on the west side of the cemetery, south of the Civil War section.
BUFFALO – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Donald R. Griffin, 37, of Rochester pleaded guilty to committing a murder in aid of a racketeering enterprise, before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2016 at 1 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce, who is handling the case, stated that Griffin was one of three individuals who broke into the Medina home of 78-year-old Homer Marciniak in the early morning hours of July 5, 2010.
The intent of the burglary was to steal Marciniak’s valuable collection of comic books with an estimated value of $30,000. During the course of the burglary, Marciniak woke up and stumbled into the hallway where he encountered Griffin and the others.
The defendant struck Marciniak in the face causing lacerations. After Griffin and the others left, Marciniak was transported by ambulance to Medina Memorial Hospital where his lacerations were sutured. However, following his release from the hospital’s emergency room, Marciniak went into cardiac arrest and died a short time later.
Medical evidence that the government was prepared to offer at trial demonstrated that the blow Griffin struck, as well as the emotional trauma caused by the burglary, directly contributed to Marciniak’s cardiac arrest and resulting death.
Rico Vendetti, the former owner of the East Side Gold and Audio Pawn Shop and Al’s Green Tavern on North Goodman Street in Rochester, engineered the burglary. He was convicted of Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) Conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.
Defendants Terry Stewart and Brandon Meade were also convicted in connection with this case.
The two other individuals involved in the burglary were Juan Javier, a juvenile at the time of the burglary who was convicted of robbery in Orleans County Court, and Albert Parsons, who will be tried in federal court beginning on Dec. 8, 2015 along with co-defendants Arlene Combs and Dayon Shaver.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the result of an investigation on the part of Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Scott Hess, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn, the Medina Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jose Avila and officers from the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling on Congress to “wake up and pass real, sensible gun control” after a mass shooting in Oregon today at a community college.
A 26-year-old man went on a shooting rampage at a college in a rural community in southern Oregon. The gunman killed 10 and injured at least seven. The gunman died after an exchange of gunfire with the police.
Cuomo issued this statement today:
“The shooting earlier today at Umpqua Community College is the latest in a series of terrible, heartbreaking tragedies resulting from gun violence. My thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of those we lost, and I am praying for the recovery of those who were injured. No one should suffer the pain of losing someone they love to gun violence, although it happens all too often.
“The prevalence of gun violence in this country is a sickness that continues to claim innocent lives and threaten our communities seemingly at random on a daily basis. We have seen too many of these pointless, brutal tragedies, and the sad truth is that, in spite of it all, Washington has done nothing.
“At what point will Congress wake up and pass real, sensible gun control that keeps guns out of the hands of criminals and people who are dangerously mentally ill? How many more families will have to endure this kind of senseless, avoidable tragedy while our elected officials in Washington continue to sit on their hands?
“On behalf of all New Yorkers, I offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to everyone who has been impacted by today’s tragedy.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos courtesy of Howard Owens/The Batavian – Bergen firefighters arrive outside Pearce Memorial Church with the late Barry Miller, a volunteer emergency medical technician who was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 23.
NORTH CHILI – Hundreds of people gathered on Tuesday to mourn the loss of Bergen EMT Barry Miller, who died in the line of duty on Sept. 23. Orleans County Coroner Scott Schmidt was among the speakers to eulogize the volunteer firefighter during a funeral service at Pearce Memorial Church.
Schmidt is president of the New York State Association of County Coroners and Medical Examiners. He knew Miller the past three years when the two attended training sessions together.
“He was a great guy and a valued member of the NY State Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners, and a great colleague and friend,” Schmidt said in an email message.
Miller “was an active and enthusiastic member” of the coroners’ group, which Schmidt said is like a family.
“He instantly became a fixture at conference weekends because of his friendly demeanor and his willingness to not only learn, but to help out in any way,” Schmidt said.
He spoke at the funeral as president of NYSACCME. Schmidt wanted to let the community know another side of Miller in his dedication in the role as a coroner.
Here is the text of Schmidt’s address during Miller’s funeral:
“Mr. and Mrs. Miller, Pam and David, Rebekah, Rachal, Shannan and all of Barry’s family, brothers and sisters in EMS and the Fire Service, his professional colleagues and friends. My name is Scott Schmidt and I am the Chief Coroner in Orleans County, a Funeral Director having worked with Barry helping several families from Genesee County, a 25-plus year member of the Albion Fire Department, a 10-plus year Chaplain of the WNYVFA and President of the New York State Association of Coroners and Medical Examinersotherwise known as NYSACCME.
Barry Miller
“NYSACCME is a NY State Association of 130-plus Coroners, ME’s, EMS, Law Enforcement, Firefighters and Organ Procurement Organizations from around the State and beyond. We are dedicated to providing continuing education in the field of Medicolegal Death Investigation and are advocates for the advancement of Forensic Science. On behalf of our membership, Board of Directors and Officers, allow me to extend our heart-felt sympathies to all of youalong with OUR sadness and countless thoughts and prayers following the death of Barry.
“John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, for as long as you can.”
“Having first met Barry 3 years ago at NYSACCME’s last Coroner 101 class in Cooperstown, that statement is the true personification of Barry. He introduced himself as my neighbor to the South and said that he was, “pretty excited to be here!”
“There was a presence surrounding him which exuded confidence but also an eagerness to absorb and learn as much as he could by attending the 8 hour training class.
“Our class began … and halfway through the first presentation we encountered a computer freeze-up. The presenter vocalized through the microphone that there was a problem and as I looked around for the usual person who helps out when we have AV snafus, he was no where to be found.
“So this prompted me to walk up to the podium and start ‘looking like’ I knew what I was doing. As I was scrolling around the screen with the cursor, Barry quietly approached and said, “Maybe I can help!
“He made one or two key strokes, moved thismoved that and VIOLA! We were back in business. He was instantly commissioned NYSACCME’s I-T Technician. As recently as last weekend in Fairport at our Fall Educational Conference, Barry had purchased a “Techno-Bag” for us {which included any and every cable, device, or product we would ever need for presentations}to help alleviate any further AV issues.
“At that same conference and during a presentation following dinner, Barry vaulted from his chair to adjust the sound system accordingly because it had horrendous feedback and echo.
“Always a person who was giving back, he had numerous times donated a weekend get-away to his family’s resort propertyBeaver River Lodge so that it might be included in our Sunshine Fund Raffle. (NYSACCME has a special fund which we use as needed to pay for flowers, fruit baskets, memorial donations or anything we can offer, to help any of our members through difficult times.) Barry’s donation was always the most coveted prize in the raffle!
“Having known him for just a few short years, being a professional colleague, being a brother firefighter and being his friend, it came as no surprise to hear that Bergen Town Supervisor Don Cunningham said this about Barry.
“Beyond the Fire Department, beyond the community, we’re all going to miss Barry. He will be missed for his ZEAL FOR LIFE.” Whether that zeal was exhibited by his woodworking, or piloting his powered parachute, or serving on the Town Board, or serving as Genesee County Coroner or by having been a 31-year member of the Bergen Fire Department and Chief of Emergency Medical Servicesone thing is clear.
Firefighters from throughout the state attended Miller’s funeral on Tuesday.
“The words over the last few days which have been used to describe him are more than accurate. Generous, Giving, Supportive, Passionate, Energetic, Eager, Patient..and so on, and so on, and so on. Quoting Supervisor Cunningham once again, ” If there’s one positive take away from this, it’s that Barry died doing what he loved. Barry loved helping people, and that is what he was doing the day he died.
“With that knowledge, listen to these words penned by Norman Vincent Peale, “Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it to yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.
“In closing, NYSACCME mourns with all of you as one of OUR family has left our midst. We pray WITH you, we pray FOR you and we REJOICE that we had our time with him as part of OUR family.
“Finally, allow me to echo the words of William Restler, “How rare and wonderful is that flash of a momentwhen we realize that we have discovered a friend.
“May God bless you and may God bless the wonderful soul whom we have known as Barry Miller.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2015 at 12:00 am
Fire Department welcomes public to open house on Sunday
MEDINA – The Fire Department has the Village Board’s permission to seek a federal grant for about $150,000 to replace four defibrillators.
Captain Jonathan Higgins said the department has four defibrillators that are nearly a decade old, and cost $5,000 annually to be checked and maintained.
The Medina FD last month was awarded a $77,837 grant for new fire hoses, nozzles and a thermal imaging camera. That grant is through the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.
Higgins said many departments receive the AFG awards year after year. He urged the Village Board to try for another grant through the program.
The board agreed to pay Grantmaster Inc. $2,400 to prepare the application for the Fire Department. Higgins said that is less than the $5,000 the department has in its budget for grant writing services.
Higgins also invited the Village Board and public to attend the Fire Department’s annual open house on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (A special firefighter memorial service will be conducted at 10 a.m. in front of City Hall at 600 Main St.)
The open house is part of National Fire Safety Week, and allows local residents and business owners a chance to interact with their firefighters and learn fire safety information.
This free event is open to all ages, with special family activities planned throughout the day. There will be a Fire Safety House where people can practice home escape plans and learn about home fire safety. There will also be opportunities to learn proper fire extinguisher techniques, practice calling 911, and to receive information about smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
The community can also see fire trucks (including antique ones) and tour the fire station at 600 Main St.
Special guests and demonstrations include the Medina Police Department K9 Unit, Orleans County SWAT Team, and the New York State Police “seat belt convincer,” an interactive ride allows people to experience a simulated vehicle crash and gain an appreciation for why seat belts matter.
Also present will be the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office “Safe Child” program, where children can be finger printed, and have their child safety seats checked for proper installation.
The department will also have a bounce house for kids to enjoy, as well as food available for purchase.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley shared highlights of Patriot Trip tours on Monday with the Medina Historical Society. Hawley and his staff have taken about 1,000 people to see war memorials in Washington, D.C., and other notable sites, including Gettysburg.
MEDINA – Steve Hawley wanted to give his father, former Assemblyman R. Stephen Hawley, a gift about a decade ago. The younger Hawley took his dad to Washington, D.C. to see the war memorials, including the recently opened one for World War II veterans.
The elder Hawley served in World War II in Burma with the famed Merrill’s Marauders. The World War II memorial opened in 2004 in honor of more than 400,000 American soldiers who died in the war.
Another local World War II veteran, Michael Paduchak of Kendall, heard about Hawley’s trip to Washington and asked the younger Hawley, now the local assemblyman, if he would organize a similar trip for local veterans.
As a state legislator, Hawley thought it might be more appropriate for a federal official to organize the effort. He reached out to Tom Reynolds, the former local congressman, who urged Hawley to lead the effort. Hawley is a veteran and serves on the State Assembly Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
Photos courtesy of Assemblyman Steve Hawley’s Office
The bronze statue depicts Gen. Kemble Warren, the Union general who fought off the Confederates during the Battle of Gettysburg. He is known as the “Hero of Little Round Top.” The Patriot Trip includes a stop at Gettysburg.
Hawley and his staff have now led veterans on eight Patriot Trips. That’s nearly 1,000 people in all. The early trips had many World War II veterans. The most recent one, which departed Batavia about two weeks ago, only had two WWII vets. There were more than 20 veterans from the Korean War, 36 who served in Vietnam, and others who served in Desert Storm, and more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq.
This memorial includes the name of Lyndonville native, Forrest L. Vosler, a technical sergeant who is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He is a Medal of Honor recipient.
The eighth Patriot Trip included 104 people in all and they were able to see the WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Iwo Jima – The Marine Corps Memorial, American Veterans Disabled For Life Memorial, Air Force Memorial, 911 Memorial at the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery including the Changing of the Guard, Wreath Laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns – Vietnam Veterans, Gettysburg Battlefields and Mt. Vernon.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2015 at 12:00 am
Shelby site is listed on National Register of Historic Places
Photos by Tom Rivers
SHELBY – Alice Zacher, the Shelby town historian, speaks after a new historical marker was unveiled on Sunday at the Millville Cemetery on East Shelby Road.
Zacher wrote the application to have the marker paid for by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
Shelby Town Councilman Ken Schaal, left, and Mike Fuller, the highway superintendent, remove a cover from the historical marker on Sunday. The town pays for the upkeep of the cemetery. Fuller and the Highway Department installed the marker.
The Millville Cemetery was established in 1871. The cemetery was 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.
The cemetery in 2007 was included on the National Register of Historic Places. Three other cemeteries in Orleans County are on the National Register: Mount Albion Cemetery, Hillside Cemetery in Holley/Clarendon; and Boxwood Cemetery in Medina.
Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County historian, leads about 30 people on a tour of the cemetery.
Lattin praised the Shelby citizens from more than a century ago for creating such a beautiful place. Those residents went to one-room school houses and graduated with eighth-grade educations, Lattin said.
They may not have earned college degrees, but they they knew about the power of trees, a well-designed chapel and an attractive landscape, Lattin said.
“This cemetery tells a lot about the people back then,” he said. “Look at their appreciation of nature and aesthetics. There is no other chapel like this in the world.”
The monuments and Victorian funerary art reflect the prosperity of the community back when it was home to three sawmills, gristmill and turning mill, according to the description of the site on the National Register.
The cemetery is elevated in an otherwise flat area. “The landscaping and roads and the plantings make it an exemplary vernacular rural cemetery,” according the Department of the Interior, which decides whether a site meets the threshold to be on the National Register.
Bill Lattin leads the group on a tour of the cemetery. He discussed many of the Victorian features of the gravestones, the ornamental symbols to reflect mourning and a belief in an afterlife.
Lattin congratulated current Shelby citizens, led by Alice Zacher, for getting the Millville Cemetery on the National Register and for the work in getting the chapel (behind Lattin in the photo) repainted this past August.
“They should be commended,” Lattin said about the Shelby citizens. “You’re carrying on a tradition of aesthetics.”
Lattin has family buried in the cemetery. He noted the names of many family plots, such as Dresser and Pask, that are names of roads in the community.
Many prominent local residents are buried at Millville, including this large grave marker for Arnold Gregory, who left money to start a hospital in Albion. The statue in back left marks the grave for Asa Hill, a Civil War soldier and local farmer.
