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Women warm up to baskets, prizes and “change of life” advice at fundraiser

Staff Reports Posted 7 May 2015 at 12:00 am

325 attend annual event ‘For Women Only’

Photos by Marsha Rivers – A big crowd turned out on Wednesday night for the annual “For Women Only” fundraising event at White Birch Country Club.

LYNDONVILLE A warm spring evening, made even warmer by robust attendance, set the tone for this year’s Community Partners “For Women Only” fundraising event at White Birch Country Club.

The theme “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot!” taught attendees how to manage menopause, including the bodily temperature fluctuations known as “hot flashes,” along with other symptoms of hormone changes women experience in middle age.

The event annually raises money for the prevention and support branch of Orleans Community Health. Cindy Perry, director of health education, wellness and outreach for Community Partners, said they had “maxed out” at about 325 attendees. Among those present and honored with a gift were about 20 cancer survivors.

Cindy Perry, left, is director of health education, wellness and outreach for Community Partners. She is pictured with Taalibah Amatul-Haqq of Wildflower Natural Foods in Medina.

One survivor, Kathy Vicknair, shared the story of her diagnosis and treatment, and said how glad she was that she received the news in a place where she felt comfortable and valued, “not just a number.”

“I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else,” Vicknair said of Medina Memorial Hospital, giving special recognition to the Mammography Department. “So many people depend on our hospital – I know I do. Let’s all continue to support it.”

Another cancer survivor was keynote speaker Taalibah Amatul-Haqq, president and manager of Wildflower Natural Foods, of Medina. As a longtime advocate of alternative medicine and the importance of good nutrition, Amatul-Haqq said her breast cancer diagnosis came as a shock, and it shook her sense of identity as a wellness proponent. Throughout her treatments and afterward, she struggled with physical exhaustion and depression. It took the testimonial of a former customer to restore her sense of confidence in her wellness work.

Joan Mrzywka and Linda Karp are pictured with some of the raffle tickets for many of the baskets up for auction.

Amatul-Haqq told the women that menopause is “a beginning as well as an end.” She told them about other cultures where menopausal women are held in higher esteem than young women because of the wisdom the change represents.

She explained various physiological aspects of menopause and recommended wholesome nutrition – including supplements such as vitamin D3, curcumin, and transdermal progesterone cream – plus regular exercise, as antidotes to troublesome symptoms.

“Food is your medicine, or food is your poison – you have to choose,” Amatul-Haqq said.

Amatul-Haqq also noted the importance of emotional levity for menopause survival and peppered her talk with funny sayings and anecdotes.

“If you don’t have a sense of humor going through menopause, you’re in trouble,” Amatul-Haqq said.

Cindy Perry said she felt the mission of the evening had been accomplished: “Hopefully everyone learned a little bit and had some fun while raising money for the services not covered by our grant.”

Albion man could get 10 years in prison for stealing from FAA

Staff Reports Posted 7 May 2015 at 12:00 am

ROCHESTER – An Albion man pleaded guilty in federal court today to converting to his own use machinery belonging to the United States Federal Aviation Administration, a charge with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or both.

U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Justin D. Weese of Albion pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.

Weese was an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration. In June 2014, he was tasked with taking a welder, a mower, and a trailer to a scrap yard. Instead, Weese kept the items for his own personal use, stated Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley E. Tyler, who is handling the case. In addition, Weese was supposed to take an all-terrain vehicle to be traded in for a newer model. He kept the vehicle for his own use, Tyler said.

The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General. Sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Aug. 6.

Medina sending 2 Destination Imagination teams to competition in Knoxville

Posted 7 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – After winning honors for creativity, teamwork and problem solving in local, state and regional tournaments, the Medina High School has earned the right to travel to Destination Imagination’s Global Finals. It is the largest creative thinking and problem solving competition in the world, to be held May 20-23 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Medina’s team members from the 10th grade team include: Kristian Snyder, Aedoon Cayea, Sarah Granchelli, Nicholas Bogan, Madeline Winters and Martha Gardner. Nicole Goyette is the coach.

Team members from the 8th grade team include: Jessica Granchelli, Alissa Blount, Margaret Griffin, Ray Paull, Kody Leno and Brandan Heschke. Lois Donovan is the coach.

They will compete with other teams in the Making Waves and Improv Games challenges. There are seven open-ended challenges that require young people to apply science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), in addition to improvisation, theater arts, writing, project management, communication, innovation, teamwork and community service.

“I am so proud of the teamwork and dedication these kids show to all aspects of their lives,” said Team Manager Nicole Goyette. “They are great kids!”

The Medina teams were lucky to each receive a grant from ThermoFisher in Rochester to cover the costs of their trips to compete. The remaining funds were provided by a grant from Baxter Inc. in Medina.

Destination Imagination has had a positive impact on more than 1.5 million young people and adults who have benefitted from taking part in its acclaimed Challenge Program. This year, another 100,000 young people have competed in tournaments throughout the U.S. and in 30 countries to earn a spot at the Global Finals competition in May.

The Medina teams will be among more than 16,000 students representing more than 1,400 teams that will advance to Global Finals, which is being sponsored by Disney and will be held at the University of Tennessee.

“The Destination Imagination Program allows students kindergarten through university students to learn and experience the creative process,” said Chuck Cadle, CEO of Destination Imagination. “Quantitative reasoning, problem solving, risk taking, collaboration, presentations and thinking on your feet are some of the important skills learned in the program.”

This year, vocal pop group The Exchange will kick off Global Finals with a performance at the Welcome Ceremony on May 20. The band members will also host a vocal skills workshop for participants and perform at the annual 3M Duct Tape Costume Ball during the four-day event.

This year’s Global Finals Innovation Expo will house dozens of hands-on exhibits from NASA, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, National Geographic, Oracle Academy and many other innovative companies. In addition, students and families will have the opportunity transform their surroundings in an all-new Scotch Imagination Treehouse exhibit, sponsored by 3M and Scotch.

Destination Imagination participants and attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in more than 100 skills workshops ranging from 3-D printing to Broadway dance to computer science.

Destination Imagination is an educational program where student teams are immersed in the creative process needed to solve open-ended Challenges, and then present their solutions at regional and state tournaments. If they win at those levels, they may receive an invitation to Global Finals.

Hawley says raising minimum wage will kill jobs

Staff Reports Posted 7 May 2015 at 12:00 am

ALBANY The state Assembly on Monday passed a bill that would allow for a higher state minimum wage in New York City and nearby counties.

The legislation, which faces opposition in the Senate, seeks to phase in a minimum wage that would reach $15 an hour by the end of 2018 in the city and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) said the legislation is misguided and does not improve the already suffocating business climate that New York has perpetuated in past years. The 2015-16 State Budget provides no tax or regulatory relief for small businesses or the middle class.

Hawley issued this statement:

“As the owner of small businesses for over four decades, I know the struggles of operating in New York’s tax and fine environment,” Hawley said. “I voted against a minimum wage increase because when businesses are legally obligated to pay their employees more, they are therefore able to hire less employees and therefore create less jobs. A more viable option to help taxpayers would be a widespread middle class tax cut, something the Assembly Majority again failed to include in this year’s budget. My district is heavily agriculturally based and a minimum wage hike would jeopardize the ability of farming operations to hire additional employees, especially on an hourly basis. I will continue to support my district’s business interests and alternatives exist that would address the root problem of high taxes and regulations that is hindering our middle class and business community.

“Furthermore, this bill raises the minimum wage to a much higher rate in New York, Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau Counties than the rest of New York State. This is another piece of evidence highlighting the growing disparity between upstate and downstate and why we should allow the public to decide if they would support a division of New York into two separate states by passing my legislation, Assembly Bill 4167. New Yorkers deserve this choice now more than ever considering downstate interests dominate our legislature while the social and economic concerns of millions of upstate New Yorkers are ignored.”

Hawley is the owner of an insurance agency based in Batavia and the former owner/operator of Hawley Farms.

Kendall school leaders discuss upcoming vote on May 19

By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 7 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Legislator worries about shrinking school enrollment

KENDALL – Kendall Central School District residents will see five propositions, including the 2015-16 budget, on the May 19 ballot.

School Board of Education members and District Superintendent Julie Christensen presented the budget during the annual meeting on Wednesday.

The proposed 2015-16 budget is $15.07 million and is Proposition 1 on the ballot. The budget includes a 0 percent increase in the tax levy.

Although enrollment continues to decline, there is no reduction in staff. The overall budget represents a 1.62 percent increase over the 2014-15 budget.

Christensen explained that the budget remains relatively flat because increases in cost of living have been offset by a decrease in pension costs, a decline in health insurance costs and energy savings from the district’s energy performance contract.

The proposed tax rate for Town of Kendall residents is $17.39 per $1,000 of assessed value. Property owners will see an estimated increase in their tax bill of $3 for a house assessed at $100,000, “mostly due to the PILOT agreement for the Cottages at Troutburg project,” Christensen said.

Proposition 2 would create a school bus replacement reserve fund not to exceed $100,000 annually.

Proposition 3 would allow the purchase of school buses to replace existing vehicles at a sum not to exceed $250,000.

Proposition 4 would allow the creation of a capital improvement reserve fund not to exceed $5 million.

Propositions 2, 3, and 4 will have no additional taxes if approved, the district said.

Proposition 5 is the election of one, five-year term member to the Board of Education. Current School Board President Nadine Hanlon is the incumbent and is seeking re-election. She is the only candidate for the single open seat.

Hanlon says she has enjoyed serving the last five years on the board. “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge,” she said. “It’s been a pleasure to work with this board.”

She noted that she looks forward to moving ahead with the district’s “wonderful capital project” and the Urban/Suburban program that would welcome Rochester students to Kendall.

Orleans County Legislator Ken DeRoller attended the meeting. During the public comment portion of the hearing, DeRoller expressed concern over the average loss of 28 students from the district each year and explained Orleans and Niagara counties are working together to bring broadband to the community, which would help draw more businesses and new residents.

He also discussed the PILOT for the Cottages at Troutburg which is impacting the school budget for the first time.

“There are new investors” for the project, DeRoller said about the development at the former Salvation Army camp by Lake Ontario “It is a positive and robust picture at this point.”

DeRoller also said Kendall is in a “tough spot” due to a “flattening of the assessment roll.” He explained additionally there has been, on average, the construction of only one new home in Kendall each year over the last 10 years.

He explained the county, school district and town will work together to help the community grow.

“We have tough work ahead of us,” he said.

The Annual District Vote will be held May 19 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Kendall Elementary School gymnasium. Voters must be at least 18 years of age, a U.S. citizen and a legal resident of the Kendall Central School District for at least 30 prior to the vote. Proper ID is also required. Applications for absentee ballots can be obtained through the district clerk.

Republicans don’t endorse candidate to run against Fred Miller

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Fred Miller

ALBION – The Orleans County Republican Party Committee didn’t endorse a candidate to run against Fred Miller, the lone Democrat on the seven-member County Legislature.

Miller won an upset election in November 2013, defeating incumbent Henry Smith for a district that includes the towns of Albion and Gaines.

No candidates were nominated this evening to run against Miller, owner of Family Hardware in downtown Albion since 1986.

“I hear nothing bad about him from the other legislators,” said Ed Morgan, the Republican Party chairman. “He asks the right questions.”

Morgan said it isn’t unprecedented for the Republican Party not to run a candidate against an incumbent Democrat. For many years, Richard Bennett of Barre was unopposed as a Democrat on the Legislature.

Prior to being elected to the County Legislature, Miller served five years on the Village Board. Miller is the first resident from the village of Albion to serve on the Legislature in 30 years, despite Albion being the county seat.

Miller was endorsed by the Conservative Party in the 2013 election, but that party isn’t endorsing any of the incumbents this time. It has backed Paul Lauricella to run for legislator against Lynne Johnson.

The other six Republican legislators were all backed by the Republican Party for new two-terms. That team includes Legislature Chairman David Callard of Medina, John DeFilipps of Clarendon and Don Allport of Gaines for county-wide legislator positions; Ken DeRoller of Kendall for a district that includes the towns of Carlton, Murray and Kendall; Bill Eick of Shelby for a district that includes Clarendon, Barre and most of Shelby; and Lynne Johnson of Lyndonville for a district that includes Yates, Ridgeway and a small portion of Shelby.

The Republican Committee also endorsed Rocky Sidari, a former Albion fire chief, to serve as county coroner. He was appointed to the position in January, filling a vacancy created by Joe Fuller when he was elected Albion town justice.

Drennan gets Republican endorsement for sheriff

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – Tom Drennan, left, and Randy Bower shake hands after the Orleans County Republican Party Committee made its endorsement tonight.

GAINES – Tom Drennan has the Orleans County Republican Party endorsement to be the county’s next sheriff.

Drennan, the chief deputy the past nine years, has worked for the Sheriff’s Department for 23 years, starting as a deputy. The Kendall resident secured just over 60 percent of the GOP Committee’s vote this evening, getting 6,151 votes to 3,951 for Randy Bower, a long-time dispatcher for the county.

There were weighted votes for the 75 committee members who cast ballots this evening. (Two committee members abstained.)

Ed Morgan, the GOP chairman, praised both Drennan and Bower for working hard the past three months, meeting with Republican committee members throughout the county.

“They’re both good people,” Morgan said after the committee meeting at Tillman’s Village Inn. “They’ve both been above-board.”

Bower already has the Conservative Party line for the November election. He said he wanted to take a few days before deciding whether or not he would force a Republican Primary.

He thanked the committee members for their support.

Bower has the endorsement from the Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Drennan had many letters submitted on his behalf, from the current sheriff, Scott Hess, to former sheriffs, undersheriffs and the current District Attorney Joe Cardone. (Hess is retiring after Dec. 31.)

Drennan said he stressed his experience as a law enforcement officer. He also has worked nearly a decade as a supervisor.

“Experience is a big factor,” he said. “I’m not a politician. I’m a cop.”

Bower won over many committee members with his long-term plan for the department. He also is an impassioned speaker.

“He is dynamic with a great personality,” Drennan said about Bower.

Morgan said it was one of the most contested races for a GOP endorsement in a long time. The committee met for more than two hours, picking candidates for county offices.

“Never in the 10 years that I’ve been doing this have we done a secret ballot like this,” Morgan said. “You didn’t know the outcome coming in.”

Office for the Aging honors ‘senior citizens of the year’

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – The Office for the Aging celebrated local senior citizens today with lunch for about 150 people at the Trolley Building at the 4-H Fairgrounds, and the agency also presented recognition awards for three local seniors.

The top photo shows Meredith Minier of Albion looking over the citation she received as one of two honorees in Orleans County as “Senior of the Year.” Minier and the other winner, Sally Grout, will be invited to Albany to be recognized in the state capitol.

Minier has long been dedicated to local youths, helping to build a strong Albion PTA when her daughter Marissa was a student. Minier worked for Photos by Bruce and also is the secretary at the Albion United Methodist Church. She has volunteered at the library and the Cobblestone Society Museum.

She has been active in the Suicide Prevention Coalition, helping to raise awareness in the community for people who despair with depression. Minier’s late husband Lee, his father and Lee’s grandmother all ended their own lives.

Minier has tried to remove the stigma of suicide and connect people with resources to get them through difficult times.

Sally Grout

Sally Grout is a retired nurse who worked at the former Arnold Gregory Memorial Hospital in Albion, and then for Dr. David Meza before spending 22 years as school nurse at Medina Central School.

Since she retired in 2004, she has volunteered as a nurse for the Care Net Pregnancy and Family Center of Greater Orleans in Albion.

She has attended church mission trips to Romania, serving children in orphanages. She is active at the Hartland Bible Church, and she also volunteers in an equestrian program that offers therapeutic riding.

Sen. Robert Ortt (left) and Melissa Blanar (right), director of the Office for the Aging, also recognized Karl Kast as the agency’s volunteer of the year.

Kast, a retired postal worker, helps collate the “Friendly Carrier,” the OFA newsletter that is mailed to 2,200 people. Kast has recruited other volunteers for the task.

“He is a generous and kind person with a great sense of humor,” Blanar said.

Ortt, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley and three county legislators – David Callard, John DeFillipps and Don Allport – all attended the event this afternoon honoring local senior citizens as part of “Older Americans Month.”

County Legislature Chairman David Callard addresses the group of senior citizens today during a luncheon at the Trolly Building.

Ortt said the month should be named, “Wiser Americans Month.” He thanked the many volunteers who serve senior citizens, especially the Meals on Wheels drivers.

“You’re not just delivering a meal,” Ortt said. “You’re often the only person they see that day. You’re helping to keep them in their homes.”

Callard, chairman of the Legislature, thanked the seniors for their years of service and contributions to the community.

“You’re the backbone of Orleans County and senior citizens are the backbone of this country,” Callard said.

Gary Deiboldt played the keyboards and Joe Sacco sang and played the saxophone during today’s event.

Study says hard for poor children to rise above poverty in Orleans

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Orleans County is a tough place for children to break out of the cycle of poverty, according to a study that looks at upward mobility of kids in counties throughout the United States.

“Orleans County is pretty bad for income mobility for children in poor families,” states a May 4 article in the New York Times. (Click here to see “The Best and Worst Places to Grow Up: How Your Area Compares.”

Orleans County is in the 35th percentile, 871 out of 2,478, for best places to grow up for income mobility for poor children. About 65 percent of other counties have higher income mobility for the poor.

Orleans and several other Western New York counties are difficult places for poor children to change that economic outcome when they are adults.

The study says poor children in Orleans County can expect to earn $120 less at age 26, compared to working in the average county. Wyoming County offers the best economic prospects for poor kids in Western New York. In that county, poor children will make $3,320 more annually at age 26, compared to being in the average county.

(Monroe County fares the worst of 11 WNY counties. Poor children who grow up in Monroe earn $2,380 less annually at age 26 compared to the average county.)

The study reported in The New York Times was compiled by Harvard economists Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren.

The say location is a big factor in a child’s economic prospects. Chetty, Hendren and other researchers identify five factors with strong upward mobility: less segregation by income and race, lower levels of income inequality, better schools, lower rates of violent crime, and a larger share of two-parent households, according to The New York Times.

“The broader lesson of our analysis,” Chetty and Hendren say in their report, “is that social mobility should be tackled at a local level.”

GO Art! names winners of annual poetry contest

Staff Reports Posted 6 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Provided photo – Two Albion elementary students, Lucy Rivers (left) and Leah Kania, both won first place in the grades 3 to 5 category in the recent poetry contest. They are pictured at Bindings Bookstore in Albion.

The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council teamed with two local bookstores for a student poetry contest in April, which is National Poetry Month.

The contest was open to all students between kindergarten and college levels. In Orleans, no one entered at the high school or college levels.

Prizes and certificates were awarded in grade-grouped categories.

The following were award winners in Orleans County:

Grades K-2
First Place: Abigail Worsley for “Angels”
Honorable Mention: Logan Poupore for “April”

Grades 3-5
First Place: Leah Kania for “Snow”
First Place: Lucy Rivers for “Sharing My Room”
Honorable Mention: Ayesha Way for ” I Got a Pet”

Grades 6-8
First Place: Annabella Salisbury for “Life” and “Choices”
First Place: Nate Sherman for “Science Fair”
Honorable Mention: Jordan Lugo for “My Demon”
Honorable Mention: Jenny Benton for “Lay Your Head Down, Darling”

Here comes the Sun

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Photo by Matilda Erakare

ALBION – Matilda Erakare, a freshman at Albion High School, took this photo at about 6:50 a.m. on Tuesday while she was walking along East Avenue on her way to school.

There will be plenty of sunshine in the coming days with highs at 68 today, followed by 78 on Thursday, 85 on Friday, 84 on Saturday, and 81 on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

Medina bowling alley adds synthetic lanes

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Rob Rezabek, an employee with Gold Crown Service in Foxboro, Mass., works on installing a new synthetic bowling surface at Medina Lanes today.

Gold Crown will replace the 20 wooden lanes with new lanes covered with a synthetic material that will better retain its finish, giving bowlers a more consistent lane with less maintenance and need for resurfacing by Medina Lanes staff.

Gold Crown started on the project last Friday by removing the gutters. The project should be done early next week.

The new lanes have excited local bowlers, said Eric Greenleaf, general manager for the bowling alley on Maple Ridge Road.

There are already 22 teams committed to summer bowling leagues, a big increase from last year, Greenleaf said. There are about 250 regular bowlers that participate in leagues at Medina Lanes, he said.

He credited the owners – Dr. David Stahl, Gerry Allen and Chris Bacon – for a series of improvements at Medina Lanes in recent years.

“They’re not afraid to spend money,” he said. “Every year they try to do something.”

The owners have upgraded the bar area, the floors inside and made other equipment improvements.

Jim Foss, a maintenance employee at Medina Lanes, works on putting down one of the new synthetic lanes today.

Ortt supports stripping Skelos of power as Senate leader

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2015 at 12:00 am

State Sen. Robert Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, says Dean Skelos should step down as leader of the State Senate.

Skelos faces federal extortion charges that he used his political influence to direct business deals for his son, Adam Skelos.

Skelos, a Republican from Long Island, leads the State Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara brought the corruption charges against Skelos.

Ortt issued this statement this evening:

“When the Senate returns to session, I will be supporting, with a heavy heart, a motion, or submitting one of my own if required, to replace Senator Skelos as Majority Leader.

“Senator Skelos has done a lot of good work for New York State. But, one thing I learned fighting in Afghanistan is that being a leader means doing what’s best for the people you serve, not yourself, even if it’s painful or unpopular.

“The Senate Conference is bigger than one individual. We have critical issues facing us in New York, and we need a leader who can effectively advocate for Upstate New York without the cloud surrounding the current Senate leadership.”

Medina Mustang Band Boosters pick leaders

Contributed Story Posted 6 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Provided photo

MEDINA – The Medina Mustang Band Boosters held its elections on Monday. These individuals will serve the organization for the 2015-2016 school year.

Sitting, from left: Trisha Laszewski/President; Karen Furness/Student Accounts; Mindy Kenward/Vice President; Kathy Dreyfus/Publicity; Kelly Allen/Treasurer.

Standing, from left: Alan Bilicki/Delegate; Julie Granchelli/Secretary; Kelly Squires/Delegate; Julie Keller/Delegate; Diane Grosslinger/Uniforms; Karey McMullen/Delegate; Doug Waild/Transportation; and Amy Strickland/Chaperones.

Even though the school year is coming to a close, the Boosters will hold meetings during the summer to begin organizing the fundraising events scheduled through the summer and fall.

These meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. in the band room on June 8, July 6, Aug. 3 and Sept. 8. While these people are elected to head up the various committees, the Boosters always welcome parents and friends to join the effort.

New season for artists begins with a big void

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Emil Smith is pictured doing a blacksmith demonstration in August 2012 with his friend George Borelli. Smith hosted the event at his property on Route 63, just south of the Village of Medina.

A new season has begun with exhibits and demonstrations to highlight local painters, sculptors and others in the creative arts.

Emil Smith was a mainstay at these events in recent years, as both a supporter of the artists and an exhibitor of his metal sculptures. The art community has been mourning his loss since his death on April 15. Smith, 54, was driving a truck in Wyoming County when he was killed in an accident.

“All artists are united,” said Arthur Barnes, a painter and long-time friend of Smith’s. The two grew up in Shelby and knew each other since they were kids. “We’re kind of a brethren.”

Smith created this cross with a crown of thorns. It’s in his front yard on South Gravel Road.

Smith’s work was immense, heavy and tall and that made it difficult to set up in local galleries.

But some of his smaller sculptures – a pinecone candle holder, a cattail and roses – were exhibited and they were popular with the public, said Noelle Wiedemer, co-owner of Wide Angle Art Gallery on Main Street in Medina.

“There was a ton of interest in his rose,” Wiedemer said.

Some metal sculptors will engineer their work and have very polished pieces. Smith created on the spot.

“He used a very organic process and he sometimes he brute-forced pieces into place,” said Kim Keil, co-owner of the Wide Angle gallery. “He was learning new techniques.”

Some of his work – metal creations of large crosses, birds, lady bugs, swamp scenes and flowers – have been on display for about a decade in his front yard and across the street on Route 63.

Emil Smith created these 11-foot-high iron crosses as a memorial to his father, Garra Smith. They are pictured on the Smith Farm, on the east side of South Gravel Road.

Smith put the crosses up in 2003. They were intended to be temporary, but the community gave him such good feedback he decided to keep them up year-round.

The three crosses are a traditional cross (center), an Oync cross (left) and a Celtic cross.

Smith took up the blacksmith arts after taking a welding class. He wanted the welding skill so he could do more projects on the farm.

Smith took old metal pieces – sometimes rusted corrugated water pipes, CO2 cylinders, ice tongs, a ball hitch, and other scrap pieces – to create animals out of metal.

Wide Angle Art Gallery was trying to keep permission from village officials to have some of the larger pieces on display on Main Street, Keil and Wiedemer said.

Smith wasn’t just an artist. He was one of the biggest cheerleaders for other artists. He attended almost every artists’ reception. He was generous in praising their efforts.

“People that support the arts are hard to come by,” said Kim Martillotta Muscarella, owner of Marti’s on Main, an art gallery on North Main Street in Albion.

“Not only was Emil an art appreciator, he was an artist,” she said.

Smith was a regular at the First Friday art openings at Marti’s. After seeing that exhibit, he liked to go listen to live music at the former Elsewhere Café in Albion. He was also a regular at the Boiler 54, which featured live music in Medina.

Smith enjoyed opera, playing the blues harmonica and liked to quote Shakespeare, sometimes while wearing a kilt. He loved Celtic culture. He was one of the leading performers in the Highland Games, where competitors throw heavy stones, sheafs and large poles. Smith could outpower many of the competitors who were half his age.

But he was a “gentle giant” who loved nature, his family and the arts, his friends said.

“He was one of those characters who will be missed,” Barnes said. “He really liked people and he liked to talk to people. He was a good guy.”

The local artists are interested in pursuing one of Smith’s ideas. He talked to the galleries about an art trail that would run along the canal villages from Lockport to Brockport. He wanted to see the galleries on the trail work together for an art festival.