By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Agency wants to send gifts to soldiers for holidays
Provided photo – Jared Ostrander, 7, (left) and his brother Jorden, 10, help sort and pack holiday boxes to be sent to American troops overseas.
ALBION – Kristen Ostrander said she loves the Christmas holiday season, the family memories that are made and the celebrations.
Many local families will miss those close interactions this season because a member of their family is serving with the military overseas.
“We take that for granted,” Ostrander said about the family time over the holidays. “But many soldiers won’t be able to be home.”
Ostrander wants to send soldiers packages with various goodies as a reminder that their community cares about them. She is heading a “Treats for Troops” effort. Ostrander would like to fill at least 50 boxes that are about shoebox size and send them to troops.
The community is welcome to donate items – personal care products, packaged food, magazines, games and other activity items. Ostrander also is raising money to mail the boxes at $15 each.
Community Action led the effort for filling the boxes about a year ago. A donor paid the postage last year. That funding isn’t available this year.
Donations for the packages can be dropped off at Community Action on East State Street in Albion and at its center in Holley, at GCASA in Albion and also at the Kendall Elementary School.
Kendall fifth- and sixth-graders are collecting supplies for the packages and also writing letters to the soldiers.
The deadline for donating is Nov. 1. Ostrander said volunteers will then fill all the packages and have them mailed by Nov. 19 so they can be delivered in time for Christmas.
For more information, contact Andrea Skowneski, case manager at Community Action, at 585-589-5605 ext. 105 or by email at askowneski@caoginc.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 October 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – A consultant has studied the market for a hotel in Medina and concluded a small hotel with 41 to 49 rooms would be profitable.
The Orleans Economic Development Agency hired a consultant, Interim Hospitality Consultants, to do a feasibility study for a new hotel in Medina. The firm, led by Edward Xanders, sees a project as a success in Medina with at least an average daily occupancy rate of 60 percent.
The EDA is talking with Cobblestone Inn and Suites about a project in Medina. That company has built many hotels in small towns, typically working with investors in the host community.
The project is Medina would need about $1.6 million in investment, said Jim Whipple, EDA executive director. In addition to the hotel rooms, the project would have a swimming pool, conference room and a gym.
The EDA thinks a spot on EDA-owned land on Maple Ridge Road across from GCC would be an ideal location because the site already has infrastructure access within the village.
“It has water, sewer and power,” Whipple told the EDA board of directors this morning. “It could ramp up quickly.”
Investors would be needed to make the project a reality. Those investors would ultimately determine the location for the hotel, Whipple said.
Gabrielle Barone, the EDA vice president for business development, said Cobblestone has worked on projects in smaller communities than Medina. A chain hotel would be a lift for the area, boosting bed tax for tourism, sales tax for the county and state, and other spending in the community, Whipple said.
Orleans County ranks last in the state among 62 counties with visitor spending, according to a state report in 2012. The state report, prepared by Tourism Economics, puts the total visitor spending in Orleans at $21.13 million.
The county doesn’t have a chain hotel. That limits many visitors to day trips when they come to Orleans. With a chain hotel some of those visitors would be more inclined to stay overnight, spending more money in the county.
The report from Interim Hospitality Consultants said about 30 percent of the Medina hotel visitors would be on business-related trips, while the others would be people visiting family, or in town for class reunions, weddings and other special events.
Cobblestone prefers the site in Medina versus Albion because it’s farther away from competition in Batavia, where there are numerous hotels by the Thruway, Whipple said.
For more information on Cobblestone Inn, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Charlie Nesbitt, the honorary chairman for the United Way fund drive, announces a $325,000 goal with Marsha Rivers, executive director for the United Way. Penny Nice, president of Orleans County Adult Learning Services, is pictured at right. OCALS receives funding through United Way.
MEDINA – At a downtown center in Holley, Community Action runs an after-school program that wouldn’t happen without support from the United Way.
Community Action also uses United Way dollars to help run the Main Street Store in Albion, which provides job training and skills to many local residents.
The United Way funding is steady each year, bringing stability to an agency that also relies on grants and other government funding that often varies each year, said Ed Fancher, executive director of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.
“The grants are hit or miss,” Fancher said. “If we don’t have them we flex the size of the program to meet the resources we have.”
Community Action is one of about 20 agencies that receive funding through the United Way of Orleans County. The United Way kicked off its annual fund-raising campaign this evening and set a goal of $325,000.
The Boy Scouts (Iroquois Trail Council) is one of the funded agencies through United Way. Jim McMullen, the Scout executive, said the United Way dollars help keep down the costs of the Scouting program.
“Unlike other sources, it’s consistent,” he said about the United Way dollars. “We can rely on it every year. It provides programs for families in need. Without it, everything would be higher.”
File photo by Tom Rivers – Boy Scouts and their families are on a fishing expedition at a former quarry on Keitel Road, now owned by the Albion Sportsmen’s Association.
The Iroquois Trail Council serves Scouts in five counties. McMullen said each of those counties contribute funding through the United Way.
He would welcome more money so the Council could expand Scouting programs and push to attract more youths into the program.
“With even another $1,000 you’d have more opportunities to recruit kids in the community,” McMullen said.
Several agency leaders attended the kickoff celebration at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina. Marsha Rivers started as United Way executive director last month. She said the campaign “is all about building stronger communities.”
Before joining the United Way, she worked for Hospice of Orleans, which provides palliative care for people with advanced illness. Prior to that she worked with younger families through the Care Net Center of Greater Orleans, which offers ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, testing for sexually transmitted infections, and other resources for families.
She thanked a dedicated United Way board of directors for giving its time to support the United Way mission, and the many residents and businesses for contributing money to the campaign. Those funds will help the agencies provides services to residents.
“Everybody here is a giver, whether you’re giving money or time,” said Charlie Nesbitt, the honorary campaign chairman and former state assemblyman. “It’s about individuals and their needs. That’s why we will make a meaningful commitment to those that need us.”
Jodi Gaines, president and CEO of Claims Recovery Financial Services in Albion, serves on the United Way board. She has been pushing the United Way campaign for more than 20 years.
“It’s about helping the community,” Gaines said. “I know these agencies are top notch and well run.”
Some of the funded United Way agencies include 4-H and Cornell Cooperative Extension, Camp Rainbow through the Arc of Orleans, Meals on Wheels, Boy Scouts, Community Action’s Main Street store and after-school program, Community Kitchen at Christ Episcopal Church in Albion, GCASA and Students United for Positive Action, Girl Scouts and Hospice of Orleans.
Other funded agencies include Just Friends, Medina Youth Commission, Ministry of Concern, Habitat for Humanity, Orleans County Adult Learning Service, PathStone Domestic Violence Shelter, Regional Action Phone, Senior Citizens of WNY, and the Orleans County YMCA.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – The Moon is bright tonight and seems to be dancing in the sky.
I was driving back to Albion from the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery on Ridge Road in Medina when I pulled over by the Bates Road Cemetery in Ridgeway to get a few photos.
We have three nice sunny days coming up with a high forecast at 56 degrees on Friday, followed by a high of 54 on Saturday and 59 on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
MEDINA – The Buffalo law firm of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP is issuing the following statement on behalf of its client, Orleans Community Health/Medina Memorial Hospital, in response to recent media reports addressing its decision to apply for status as a Critical Access Hospital.
Dolores Horvath, President and Chief Executive Officer, Orleans Community Health Medina Memorial Hospital:
On the reports that the hospital is downsizing:
Medina Memorial Hospital was certified, on paper, for more beds than it actually needed or used to treat the patients of Orleans County, and this paper surplus of beds was preventing us from accessing important state and federal grants, incentives, and other funding.
Changing to Critical Access status will enable the hospital to receive additional significant sources of revenue, funding that will be crucial as we move forward with the goal of better serving the residents of Orleans County and the surrounding region.
Additionally, our hospital was recently designated a “safety net hospital” by the New York Department of Health, a move that signals the state’s belief that Medina Memorial is a vital community resource that provides necessary medical care – including life-saving emergency care – in Orleans County and beyond.
Addressing reports that there is uncertainty as to whether or not hospital staff will be impacted by a potential change in status:
There have been no discussions of any reduction in hospital staff as part of the Critical Access designation. This isn’t about reducing costs through staffing cuts, it is about updating the status of the hospital to best reflect its current level of service and to open the door to new federal and state funding opportunities. It is incredibly difficult in the current market to operate an independent rural hospital, and this classification will help to provide the funding Medina Memorial needs to ensure that we are able to provide high quality health care that meets the growing needs of our community for many years to come.
Responding to the assertion that the hospital is cutting services:
We are not cutting services. Reports that we are seeking to decertify beds in our pediatric department, for example, don’t account for the fact that we have not had a pediatrician on the hospital staff for several years. In reality, the conversion of those beds is a regulatory paperwork issue, not a cut in services.
As the Federal Rural Assistance Center has explained, “Conversion to Critical Access Hospital status does not mean losing services. In some instances, hospitals that have converted to CAH status may choose to expand their range of services to better meet their community’s needs.” That is certainly true for our facility. Under our current plan, we will be able to add cardiology and expanded orthopedic services, two specialty areas that we did not effectively cover, but will be especially critical to serving a rapidly aging population in the years ahead.
On the reports that Critical Access status is reserved for hospitals in “financial distress”:
That is simply not true. The ability to apply for Critical Access status is something reserved for rural hospitals, to promote access to necessary care. A hospital’s financial condition is not part of the evaluation under Federal law.
Statement from Bruce Krenning, Chairman of the Orleans Community Health Board of Directors:
The board of directors has been working diligently for more than a year to evaluate the ongoing status of Medina Memorial Hospital and to develop a long-term strategy that will best serve the residents of this community. Our foremost goal is always providing the highest level of care to our patients, and applying for Critical Access status is an important step in ensuring that the residents of Orleans County and the surrounding region have a hospital that is capable of meeting their medical needs well into the future.
LYNDONVLLE – This is the interior of John G. Peters Harness Shop shortly after it opened in 1909.
It was located on Maple Avenue in Lyndonville, behind the bank. The Peters family lived on the second floor above the business.
After Mr. Peters died in 1963, his son Fred donated many tools and other artifacts from this shop to the Cobblestone Museum. They are currently housed in a small building at the Cobblestone Museum in Childs known as the J. G. Peters Harness Shop.
The building in Lyndonville was later torn down leaving this site for bank parking. The horse in our photo was a dummy for the display of harness.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 October 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Orleans County residents are encouraged to be wary of an out-of-town paving company that seems to target elderly residents, paving their driveways and making repairs at grossly inflated prices.
Roland Nenni, Albion police chief, said the company uses different names and approaches senior citizens, trying to confuse them into agreeing to pay costs in far excess of the value of work done. Nenni said Wednesday one elderly man was presented with a $6,000 bill for work that Nenni said should have been about $500.
He said the company is treading a fine line between civil and criminal action. Albion police approached the company on Wednesday and Nenni said he hopes they don’t come back. He said the company is trying to sign up clients in the region, and could target other nearby communities.
The company will make its bid proposals for the work, putting the dollar amounts at square footage rather than the overall cost, which is misleading to many residents, Nenni said.
“They are charging unbelievably high rates,” he said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 October 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – The County Legislature unanimously voted on Wednesday to expand the income threshold for senior citizens to qualify for a discount on their county taxes.
Residents 65 and older currently are eligible for a discount if they earn less than $19,200 a year. Beginning with the March 1, 2015 tax rolls, the threshold has been raised to $21,200.
Right now the county offers 50 percent off for seniors with household incomes up to $13,500. The sliding scale exemption drops to 20 percent off for seniors with annual incomes between $18,300 and $19,199. It’s 0 percent for seniors with incomes at $19,200 or above.
The new schedule gives senior citizens 50 percent off if they earn less than $15,500 and then the discount drops 5 percent in a sliding scale to 20 percent before being capped at $21,200.
There are 313 seniors who currently receive the exemption. The county hasn’t changed the income levels in seven years. Seniors have been getting small increases in Social Security, putting some on the verge of losing the county tax discount, said Dawn Allen, director of the county’s Real Property Tax Services Department.
“We’re trying to maintain the current seniors in the program,” Allen told legislators.
Most of the towns in the county have a similar tax discount program for seniors, capping it at incomes above $21,200, Allen said.
The new proposed schedule includes the following percentage exemptions:
50 percent off for incomes up to $15,500;
45 percent off for incomes between $15,500 and $16,499;
40 percent between $16,500 and $17,499;
35 percent between $17,500 and $18,499;
30 percent between $18,500 and $19,399;
25 percent between $19,400 and $20,299;
20 percent between $20,300 and $21,199;
0 percent after $21,200.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Commission is working on projects, improvements for site
Photos by Tom Rivers – Stone pillars hold up large iron gates at the entrance of Boxwood Cemetery on North Gravel Road. The entrance also includes a chapel, built in 1903 from Medina Sandstone.
MEDINA – One of the area’s grandest burial grounds, Boxwood Cemetery, may soon be recognized as a historical asset, a status that could help Medina secure grants for improvements at the cemetery on North Gravel Road.
The Village of Medina and the Boxwood Commission are working with the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to have Boxwood put on the state and national registers of historic places.
Kathy Blackburn, Boxwood Commission chairwoman, said a decision at the state level is expected in December. If approved, Boxwood would join three other Orleans County cemeteries with the historic designation: Mount Albion Cemetery, Millville Cemetery and Hillside Cemetery in Clarendon.
Boxwood Cemetery has many retaining walls made of Medina Sandstone. Some of the walls need repairs.
The commission was reinvigorated last year and wants to draw more people to the cemetery for events and also make needed improvements to the site, Blackburn said.
The historic designation from the state and federal government could help the village obtain grants for resetting headstones, fixing sandstone walls, fighting erosion and tackling other projects.
The commission has made progress in the past year, Blackburn said. It has replaced the door in the chapel from 1903. A house on the cemetery has been cleaned out and the commission is debating the future for the house, perhaps as a museum.
The cemetery is home to many prominent Medina residents, including S.A. Cook who operated a bustling furniture company in Medina.
Blackburn wants to see more events at the cemetery, including lantern tours. She wants to see more flowers by grave sites.
For the second year Boxwood is participating in “National Wreaths Across America Day” on Dec. 13. For $15, wreaths can be purchased and placed at the graves for veterans. For more information, click here.
“It’s remembering and honoring the fallen, and teaching our children,” Blackburn said.
She would like to have 100 wreaths in Boxwood, and expand it to other local cemeteries next year. The Dec. 13 event will also include a ceremony with the Honor Guard and a 21-gun salute.
KENDALL – A Rochester man escaped serious injury last night after crashing the all-terrain vehicle he was operating in the Town of Kendall.
The incident was reported to Orleans County 9-1-1 shortly after 7 p.m. Philip J. McLaren, 24, had been operating the ATV across open land east of the 1800 block of Kendall Road (State Route 237).
McLaren, who was not familiar with the area, came upon a drainage ditch and made a sharp turn to avoid it. In doing so he lost control of the ATV, which then overturned. He was ejected.
McLaren was not wearing a protective helmet at the time of the incident. He was flown by MercyFlight helicopter to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, where he was treated and later discharged.
The incident was investigated by Deputy J.J. Cole. Kendall Fire and EMS personnel also assisted at the scene.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 October 2014 at 8:42 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Ridgeway firefighters head into Brunner International, where a fire in the exhaust system was reported at 7:09 p.m.
Firefighters quickly had the small fire under control. A department was evacuated at Brunner, a manufacturing plant on Bates Road. The company has nearly 400 employees in Medina that makes brakes for tractor trailer trucks.
Firefighters responded from Ridgeway, Shelby and Medina fire departments. A full moon just happens to out tonight.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – The leaves are starting to change near the Holley Waterfalls, making one of the area’s nicest natural attractions even more appealing.
I would highly recommend a visit during October. You can reach the waterfalls by turning onto Frisbee Terrace off Route 31 in the Public Square. Follow Frisbee Terrace past Save-A-Lot and the village’s DPW garage.
The waterfalls seem to burst out of a hill in a wooded area. The east branch of Sandy Creek flows under the canal and then tumbles down the falls in this spot.
The site includes a pedestrian bridge over the creek leading to a picnic area.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 October 2014 at 12:00 am
New auto body and collision shop opens on 31
Photos by Tom Rivers – Bruce Deyarmin, owner and lead painter for American Auto Body and Collision, opened the business on Sept. 15 at 308 East Center St.
MEDINA – Bruce Deyarmin can give new life and a fresh look to a car that looks smashed and ready for the scrap yard.
Since he was 15 he has been honing his skills as a body and collision specialist. After working for other people, Deyarmin last month opened his own business, American Auto Body and Collision at 308 East Center St.
Deyarmin, 30, took a break from body work for about year and worked as a contractor on houses. He missed the collision repair work.
“It’s like being an artist,” he said about bringing back crushed cars. “You can step back and admire the job you did.”
Deyarmin said most of the local vehicles in auto body and collision shops have had deer hits or been in other accidents. He has photos of cars with smashed-in front ends and other crumpled parts. When he’s done with the car, including giving it new paint and detailing, it looks like new.
Bruce Deyarmin is pictured with a custom built car, a 1995 Ford Probe, that he built himself. Deyarmin takes the vehicle to many local car shows.
Deyarmin is a Medina native and was born at Medina Memorial Hospital. He has watched the business district’s rebirth in recent years and wanted to be a part of it. He is near Ace Hardware, which completed major renovations of the former Jubilee store. Deyarmin cited that example and Tom Snyder’s work on a lumber yard and hardware across the street as examples of people investing in the east end of the village on Route 31.
Several other young adults are also investing in Medina and opening new businesses, Deyarmin noted.
“It feels like the whole town is coming back,” he said.
He needed to renovate 308 East Center St., painting the inside of the complex and adding ventilation and filtration systems, among the building improvements. He made a comfortable office a high priority for customers who may decide to wait while their car is being worked on.
Deyarmin also plans to sell used cars from the location. He has room for up to 15 vehicles. He expects to start selling those in about three weeks.
American Auto Body and Collision is open Monday through Saturday. Call Deyarmin at (585) 318-4084 for more information.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – This hitching post was installed this morning on the courthouse lawn by the county highway department. It’s the third hitching post added along Main Street in Albion in recent months.
Two others were put by a village parking lot next to the Presbyterian Church. A fourth hitching post is planned for near Main Street on East State Street, also by the Presbyterian Church.
The Albion Main Street Alliance raised the money to buy the four posts, which were originally property markers from a century ago. Rings were made for the posts and holes were drilled into the posts so the rings could be secured.
Photo by Tom Rivers
An interpretive panel about hitching posts and carriage steps was also added by the two on the north side of the Presbyterian Church. The panel notes that Albion and Gaines have many of these horse-and-buggy artifacts, which have endured partly because they were made with a superior building material – Medina sandstone. Many residents, especially on the village side streets, have kept their hitching posts and carriage steps, even though they are long obsolete.
The one on the courthouse lawn is near a historical marker erected last year for William McAllister and his wife, pioneer settlers in Albion who built a log cabin where the current County Clerks’ Building stands.
This hitching post was set so the unfinished stone work could be observed, trying to show the contrast with the finished stone, highlighting the skill of the quarrymen.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A total lunar eclipse returned to the early morning sky today. I was out trying to get photos around 6:20 a.m., but didn’t get anything great. I’ll need an equipment upgrade. But the top photo shows the reddish glow of when the Earth was positioned between the sun and the moon. That full lunar eclpise has been called a “blood moon” because of the reddish hue.
I took the photo at the very top from the parking lot of the Crooked Door Tavern. I also tried it from the Clarendon Street bridge and took the second photo around 6:45. Anyone with better pictures is welcome to send them to news@orleanshub.com.
While trying to get photos of the eclipse I also took ones of this canal boat just east of Main Street in Albion.
This large canal boat seems to be waking up for another day on the historic waterway.
The Sun is making its way up in this photo, looking east from the Clarendon Street bridge along the railroad tracks.
