By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Provided photo – Terry Woodworth, Village of Lyndonville DPW superintendent, and his granddaughter Haley put up trees in Veterans Park last Saturday along with assistance from the Lyndonville Fire Department, Carla Woodworth and Teri M. Woodworth (Village Clerk-Treasurer).
LYNDONVILLE – There are 42 Christmas trees in Veterans Park, and they will be decorated with lights and other themes in time for a Dec. 6 Christmas celebration in Lyndonville.
The Village of Lyndonville is teaming to put on the event with the Lyndonville Fire Department/Auxiliary, Lyndonville Lions Club and Lyndonville United Methodist Women.
Lyndonville debuted the celebration last year with 27 trees. There are 42 this year.
The events on Dec. 6 begin from 8 to 11 a.m. with a community breakfast at the Presbyterian Church. Other activities are planned throughout the day, including games and crafts at the library, horse-drawn carriages, a mini mall at the United Methodist Church, a wine tasting at Sixes & Sevens Spirits, caroling at Veterans Park, and Santa’s arrival and the lighting of the trees at the park at 5 p.m.
Santa will then move to the Village Hall to greet children from 5 to 7 p.m. The day will be capped with a Christmas choir “LaLaPalooza” at the Lyndonville Presbyterian Church at 7 p.m.
For more information on the day’s events, click here.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Community members gather around the decorated trees during the debut celebration last December at Veterans Park.
MEDINA – Artist Judith Villavisanis has been working on a book-shaped entrance to the children’s library at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library this week. She is expected to be on site for about two more weeks, creating an entrance with words and illustrations.
“It is an invitation to enter the area and the world of imagination,” said Catherine Cooper, library director. “It will have rich and vivid colors.”
Villavisanis lives in a Florida and is a muralist. She has many Albion connections and submitted a proposal for the project.
The “Storybook Entrance” project is part of the interior renovations in the library. Lee-Whedon leaders expect the entrance will become an iconic part of every child’s experience at Lee-Whedon.
Here is how the entrance looked before Villavisanis went to work.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial
Photo by Tom Rivers – This photo shows downtown Albion after a storm barreled through the area in June. Albion is among the top 100 jurisdictions for highest tax rates out of 3,663 in the state.
Orleans Hub reported on Tuesday that several of our local municipalities are among the most tax oppressed in the State of New York. Medina tops the local communities and nearly all of 3,663 jurisdictions in the state for highest tax rate. (Click here to see that article.)
Only Wellsville and a few other Allegany County towns and villages top the $54.13 combined tax rate in Medina. That ranked 13th in the state, according to the Empire Center’s study.
Medina’s overall rate includes $25.63 for the school district, $15.52 for the village, $9.63 for county and either $3.35 for Town of Shelby, according to 2012 data.
Other Orleans communities are close behind Medina. The Village of Holley is 50th overall at $49.98 – $24.94 for school, $12.99 for village, $9.65 for county and $2.40 for town of Murray.
The Village of Albion is 77th at $47.77 – $18.06 for school, $15.92 for village, $9.60 for county and $4.19 for town of Gaines.
You see the report and it’s easy to point fingers at the villages, to blame the village officials for the crushing tax burden in these locales.
But it’s not the villages’ fault. New York gives the villages very little in state aid, while showering cities with funds. Cities get the lion’s share of Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, state funds designed to help preserve the population cores by helping to maintain aging infrastructure and keep up with critical services such as police and fire protection.
Villages have these same issues, but the state turns its back on these communities. To keep police officers, patch pot holes and maintain parks and cemeteries, villages have to pass nearly the full cost onto to village taxpayers. That’s why these tax rates in the villages are so sky high.
Villages get about $5 to $10 in per capita AIM funding. For Medina, that totaled $45,523 for 6,065 people or $7.51 a person. That is far cry from what a similar size city gets. Consider the City of Sherrill in Oneida County. That city actually has half the people as Medina. The city gets $372,689 in state funding or $121.35 a person. Sherill’s combined tax rates are only $32.66, more than $20 less than in Medina.
Cities also have the added benefit of being spared a town tax. Villages not only are deprived of state aid, but a village resident gets double taxed by towns. In Orleans County, if you live in a village you will pay a double-digit tax rate and then pay about $3 to $4 more per $1,000 of assessed property to a town.
It is a crushing burden. These villages are at a major competitive disadvantage in attracting and keeping residents and businesses. Move to a small city or out in the country and you’ll pay far less in taxes.
Consider the City of Batavia. That city of 15,465 receives $1,750,975 in state funding. That helps drive down the city tax rate to $10.52 per $1,000, about half of the combined village/town rates in Medina, Albion and Holley – our local villages that are high on the tax oppressed list.
The bigger the city, the more generous the state is in helping those municipalities provide services and ease the tax burden for residents, who are often senior citizens and lower-income people – the same situation in villages.
Consider the City of Buffalo, which receives a whopping $161.3 million in state AIM funding for 261,310 residents or $617.22 per person. Buffalo’s combined tax rate is only $27.74 per $1,000 of assessed property, about half the rate in Medina.
I fully support the aid for cities, but the state needs to direct similar funding to the villages, or else they will continue to see property values fall and tax rates jump, creating a vicious spiral.
Our local officials need to sound the alarm about this situation and demand equitable treatment from the state. By propping up the cities, the state is picking winners and losers. It’s particularly destructive in small rural counties like Orleans and Allegany where there are no cities. These counties don’t have any population centers with reasonable taxes. Every village is a high-tax environment.
That ultimately chases businesses outside the county, which results in fewer jobs and retail establishments. That means less local sales tax for the counties, which further drives up our property taxes. The vicious cycle continues, with no end in sight unless that state can be fair with the AIM dollars.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Black Friday isn’t just about buying Christmas presents. Many local residents find the day after Thanksgiving to be an ideal time to buy a Christmas tree.
In the top photo, Emily Bannister, left, and Kristin Pahl pull a Douglas fir tree through a baler at County House Christmas Trees in Albion. The site is located at Panek Farms, 13420 West County House Rd.
For many years Hugh and Eleni Dudley operated a Christmas tree farm on County House Road before their granddaughter Katie Klotzbach moved the operation down the road to her parents’ farm last year.
Bannister and Pahl both work at the site during the holiday season.
MEDINA – Medina Mayor Andrew Meier will host a series of office hours to provide constituents an opportunity to ask questions about the village government dissolution plan and the upcoming dissolution vote scheduled for Jan. 20.
Office hours will be at Village Clerk’s Office, 119 Park Ave. in Medina. The first set of office hours will be as follows:
Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 3 to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 9 from 4 to 7 p.m.
Residents seeking clarification or who have general or specific questions regarding the dissolution of village government are welcomed and encouraged to attend. The format will be informal and conversational, and no appointment is necessary.
The dissolution referendum will be Jan. 20, 2014 with polls open from noon to 9 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center on West Avenue in Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Aleka Schmidt appointed pastor at First Baptist in Albion
Photos by Tom Rivers – Aleka Schmidt has been serving as a guest preacher at the First Baptist Curch in Albion. She starts a one-year, part-time appointment leading the church in January.
ALBION – Aleka Schmidt was 28, married with a 2-year-old daughter when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in the fall of 2006.
It was a fight for survival, with surgery, chemo and radiation. After 18 months, Schmidt completed her treatments and made it through the fight.
“It was hard facing mortality,” she said. “There were body issues and the side effects. But it many ways it stripped away the distractions of life. I listened to the spirit and the God nudges.”
Schmidt said the battle with cancer brought her closer to God. She grew up in Kendall, and attended the Concordia Lutheran Church. When she married Scott Schmidt and moved to Albion, they attended the Barre Center Presbyterian Church. Scott played the organ and Aleka directed the church choir and hand bell choir for a decade.
After cancer, she shared her story at church, about her deepening of faith. She served as guest preacher a few times. Then other churches asked her to preach, including the First Baptist Church in Albion.
Aleka Schmidt when she was fighting cancer.
“I felt like God was preparing me to say something and to do something,” she said. “I want people to know there is hope in this lifetime and in the next.”
Schmidt, now 36, felt a calling to the ministry, and on Jan. 1 she will begin her first pastoral appointment at the First Baptist Church. Schmidt will serve in a part-time role while working on a seminary degree at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester. She also works as a music therapist for The Arc of Orleans County and the Orleans-Niagara BOCES.
She officially starts on Jan. 1, but Schmidt already is preaching and maintaining some office hours at the church. She also is joined by new church organist, Gary Simboli.
Schmidt is a classically trained musician herself. She said music will be a big part of the church’s worship experience.
Her husband is continuing as the organist at the Barre Center church. Mr. Schmidt will be a guest organist at times for the Baptists.
The congregation at the corner of Liberty and West Park streets meets in a building that was constructed in 1860. The building includes a clock tower, numerous stained glass windows and a large pipe organ. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Aleka Schmidt is pictured by the church, which is made of brick and Medina sandstone.
There are only about 15 to 20 regular attendees, but Schmidt said she is impressed by their faith and optimism that the church can make a big difference for the community.
While at the church on Wednesday, she noted that sanctuary was decorated for the holidays.
“They just did it,” she said about the members.
The church-goers also committed to appointing her for the year, while also hiring Simboli, a high school music and drama teacher, to play the organ.
“That is a sign for a hope for the future,” Schmidt said about the church appointments.
Besides preaching on Sundays, Schmidt will do home and hospital visits, program development and represent the church in community events.
She is thankful to be serving the Baptist Church, with a congregation of so many mature and welcoming Christians. Many of them, like her, have seen their faith tested and come out stronger.
“Breast cancer didn’t change me,” she said. “It just made me more of what was already inside.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 November 2014 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – This house at 8 Eagle St. was decked out for the holidays last year.
Press Release
Lyndonville Lions Club
LYNDONVILLE – Bright holiday lights and happy decorations will soon line the streets of Lyndonville, as they will in most towns and cities. In an effort to encourage and thank the residents for their decoration skills, the Lyndonville Lions Club will sponsor its annual “Spirit of Christmas” lights and decoration contest.
Plaques awarded to the homes that are picked as the winners of the contest. Residents do not need to pre-register their homes for contest entry. Committee members will be the judges of the contest.
In order to have your home included in the judging you need to have your lights and decorations turned on by 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 8. The judges will canvas the entire Lyndonville area.
A burst of snow is expected this evening in the Niagara Frontier, bringing about 1 to 3 inches to Orleans, Niagara, Genesee and northern Erie counties, the National Weather Service said.
“Expect brief periods of visibility below a half mile which will result in slick roadways and difficult travel,” the Weather Service advised.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Most of the close parking spaces at the Albion Walmart were occupied, but there will some to be had at the far end of the parking lot at about 6:30 p.m. today.
The store was open for Thanksgiving and offered its doorbuster deals between 6 and 7 p.m., bargains that included 50-inch flatscreen TVs for $218.
Major retailers used to be closed on Thanksgiving but that has changed with many of the stores open today.
There were threats of boycotts from shoppers, but by the looks of the Albion Walmart several hundred people took the opportunity to jumpstart their shopping.
Peebles in Albion also is open today. The store advertised its holiday hours with this sign by Route 31 in Albion.
Press Release, Albion Police Chief Ronald Nenni III
The Albion Police Department hosted and supervised a multi-agency Orleans County Wide DWI Saturation Patrol from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 3 a.m. today.
This type of detail has never been done in Orleans County and combined the law enforcement efforts from every law enforcement agency in Orleans County along with state and federal resources.
The agencies involved consisted of the Albion Police, Medina Police, Holley Police, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, Orleans County Probation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The detailed results are as follows:
7 DWI Arrests (4 in the Village of Albion, 1 in the Village of Medina, 1 in the Village of Holley and 1 in the Town of Yates).
Traffic Stops: 45
Tickets Issued: 31
Other: 1 Unlawful Possession of Marijuana Arrest, 1 Probation Violator and 1 Warrant Suspect wanted by Livingston County taken into custody.
The Albion Police Department and the other law enforcement agencies are committed to making the roadways safe for all those who travel upon them.
Intoxicated drivers do not follow jurisdictional lines so we decided that we would not either.
The commitment and dedication by the officers who worked the detail undoubtedly saved lives in Orleans County.
ROYALTON – A Medina resident who allegedly caused a standoff with police in September, forcing Ridge Road to be blocked off for several hours, faces new charges after an alleged incident on Tuesday in the Town of Royalton in Niagara County.
State Police in Lockport arrested Gerardo Quiros, 28, of Ridge Road in Medina, for burglary in the second degree, a class C felony; grand larceny in the fourth degree; criminal mischief in the third degree and criminal contempt in the first degree, class E felonies.
Troopers responded to a report of a violation of an order of protection in Royalton. The investigation revealed that Quiros enter the protected person’s residence and caused damage to personal property and stole property from the residence.
Quiros was arrested and then arraigned before a Town of Lockport judge who remanded him to the Niagara County Jail on $30,000 cash bail. He is scheduled to appear before the Town of Royalton Court on Dec. 11 at 5 p.m.
Quiros faces charges of menacing and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree for the Sept. 24 incident in Ridgeway.
File photo by Tom Rivers – Some of the floats, including one by Habitat for Humanity, work their way down Main Street during last year’s Parade of Lights. The sixth annual parade with be at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
MEDINA – The 6th annual Parade of Lights will return Saturday at 6 p.m. in downtown Medina. The event for the first time will include fireworks at 5:45 p.m.
The parade committee also has picked a grand marshal for the parade. Randy Bushover will serve in the role.
“Randy is a local guy who promotes his beloved community of Medina,” said Jim Hancock, parade chairman. “He is an ambassador for Medina and is well liked and known to most of Medinans.”
Bushover will lead a tree lighting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. at Rotary Park in the downtown.
“This is a honorary position and we are happy to acknowledge Randy and for all that he has done to support our community,” Hancock said about the grand marshal.
For more on the parade and the schedule of events on Saturday, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2014 at 12:00 am
School district will discuss capital project on Tuesday; Vote is on Dec. 9
HOLLEY – Holley Central School welcomes the community to check out a fitness center on Monday during a celebration beginning at 6 p.m.
The district used an $800,000 federal Carol White grant for the project. The grant will also pay for an initiative to promote good nutrition among students, staff and families, said Robert D’Angelo, district superintendent.
The new center, located in the elementary school, will be open to the community on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. with certified staff on hand. If there is demand for more hours, the district will try to accommodate the need.
Holley will also host an informational meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the middle/high school auditorium. That meeting will include a presentation on a proposed $8.9 million capital project. The vote will be on Dec. 9 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The capital project include includes roof top HVAC units, windows, radiators, flooring and exterior doors. The district also wants to improve the student drop-off area and the playground at the elementary school and move the tennis courts.
The district already has $2.5 million set aside in a capital reserve account to cover the local share of the project, which will be mostly paid for from the state.
Contributed Story Posted 26 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Contributed Photo – LONG-TERM LOYALTY – Brad Balschmiter, veteran maintenance superintendent at Shelridge, was honored this year for 30 years of unbroken certification by the Golf Course Superintendents Assoc.of America. He attended a special awards luncheon. Balschmiter uses his “off season” period each year to attend technical courses. Certified superintendents are required to get 150 hours of professional development every five years in their career.
Shelridge Country Club ended its 2014 season this month with an annual meeting that sent Matt Bush into his second term as president. Supporting Matt are John Grabowski as V-P, Steve Barnes as secretary and Marc Eglin as treasurer. Other board members for 2015 are Dave Bellucci, Elaine Casler, Rob Dennis (who has been golf chairman), Doug Beltz and Steve Lasch.
Reports were rendered on a successful 2014 club operation with favorable weather, an average of 225 members coming from Orleans, Niagara, Genesee and Erie Counties, and one major golf course improvement project — an $80,000 program to totally rebuilt, reshape and refit the sand bunkers on the course. It is a 2-year project and first half has been accomplished.
The past season was marked by the resignation of Assistant Pro Dave Rose and efforts are under way by Head Pro Dave Green to secure a replacement. He is working through the Western N.Y. PGA apprentice-ship program.
The club has received notification from the Golf Course Superintendents Assoc. of America that the Shelridge “turf boss”, Brad Balschmiter, has attained a special honor level in his year-by-year program of study and self improvement.
Contributed Photo – IMPROVED BUNKERS – An $80,000 program at Shelridge is aimed at totally rebuilding all of the sand bunkers on the course and half were completed this past season. Drainage, design and all new sand are involved and the local club reports great satisfaction so far. Club President Matt Bush, second from right, is shown as the 2-year project got its start. Shown with Bush are, from left, Shelridge Pro Dave Green, Golf Committee Chairman Rob Dennis and course Superintendent Brad Balschmiter.
Superintendents are required to put in 150 hours of professional development every few years and Balschmiter has now been certified by the association for 30 years. There are 1,500 certified superintendents as members.
“The Shelridge course played well this year,” said Pro Dave Green. “It keeps fooling visiting golfers who often come here thinking of it as an easy golf course; then they get a surprise.” Green said Shelridge now has reciprocal golf privileges with 16 other courses and welcomes a steady flow of visitors.
A final note provided by the board of directors reveals that there will be a complete change in the contract for the dining room and bar. The ownership of the Manhattan Restaurant in Lockport will take over the contract which has been held by Zambistro of Medina. Manager will be Kerry Holzman, familiar to club members as the previous bar manager.
