By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 October 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A state grant will pay for advanced soil testing at 25 farms in Orleans County, a project intended to help farmers boost yields and better utilize fertilizer and resources for soil health.
Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District received a $20,674 grant from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. It will contract with BCA Ag Technologies to do the samples and take them to Cornell for testing.
Dennis Kirby, the Soil and Water district manager, would like to do the soil sampling in the spring. He welcomes interested farmers to call Soil and Water at 585-589-5959 to inquire about participating in the project.
Kirby would like to have a cross-section of farms of different sizes and crop types across the county.
The samples will provide a baseline for soil health. The goal is to improve soil health so farmers can maximize their yields while maintaining optimum soil health and reducing the impact of farming practices on the environment.
The soil tests will an expansion of the typical soil tests done at farms, Kirby said. The Cornell Soil Health test emphasizes the integration of biological and physical measurements along with the chemical measurements done in the existing test.
Soil and Water will look at water holding capacity, organic matter content and soil microbial activity. The report card on the soil will point to the best soil management practices.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 October 2014 at 12:00 am
DiLaura helped keep Sandstone industry alive
Provided photos – Pasquale DiLaura, right, and his son Ellis DiLaura discuss stone specifications. Ellis went on to succeed his father as owner of the O’Brien Quarry and DiLaura Construction.
This photo, taken about a half century ago shows the completed Manitou Road bridge over the Lake Ontario State Parkway. The DiLaura Stone Co. did the Medina Sandstone work on the bridges and culverts on the Lake Ontario State Parkway in the 1950s and 1960s, perhaps the last major public works project with local Medina Sandstone.
BROCKPORT – A new exhibit opens in Brockport today by the great-granddaughter of a man who kept the Medina Sandstone industry alive in Orleans County from the 1920s through the 1960s.
The sandstone business was a powerhouse in 1900, employing about 2,000 people. But by 1920, it was struggling against cheap competition – cement.
In the 1920s and ’30s, Pasquale DiLaura was urged to leave the Albion area and join many of his quarrymen friends who left the area to the work in the auto factories in Detroit and Michigan.
DiLaura decided to stay put. He bought a quarry on Howard Road in the Town of Clarendon. The quarry was cheap. Its previous owner, the Orleans County Quarry Company, hadn’t paid the taxes.
Workers are pictured at the O’Brien Quarry on Howard Road in the Town of Clarendon. Pasquale DiLaura purchased the O’Brien quarry in 1939 after the previous owner, the Orleans County Quarry Company, owed back taxes. Although his quarry company was named DiLaura Stone Co., he never changed the name of the quarry. This photo is one of about two dozen featured in an exhibit opening today at A Different Path Gallery on 27 Market St.
Sadie Malone, left, and Gerry DiGirolamo dress stone at the quarry.
While many of the quarries shut down, DiLaura kept promoting the product and gave it about 40 more years of life.
He wrote letters to U.S. senators and the Works Progress Administration in Washington, D.C., urging them to pick a project with Medina Sandstone for the public benefit. DiLaura led the crews that built the Hamlin Beach State Park. He taught the young men in the Civilian Conservation Corps how to cut stone. Many of those structures endure about 80 years after they were built.
Jennifer Wells-Dickerson was looking over family photographs, and showed them to a friend in an arts guild in Brockport. That friend helped Wells-Dickson enlarge and display photographs of her great-grandfather and his employees working in the quarry and on major local projects, including Hamlin Beach and the Parkway.
There is an opening reception for the exhibit today from 7 to 9 p.m. at A Different Path Gallery on 27 Market St.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Jennifer Wells-Dickerson and her mother Suzanne Wells are pictured in the gallery displaying photos of quarry workers in the 1950s and 1960s, with a few photos from before that era.
Wells-Dickerson, 34, works as a professional jewelry maker. She lives just across the Orleans County line in Hamlin. She first researched the local quarry industry as a high school student for a class project.
She has become more interested and appreciative of the quarry workers and her family’s role in the business because she sees the stonework almost every day at the Parkway and Hamlin Beach.
“I appreciate hand-made things and the craftsmanship,” she said. ‘It’s the opposite of what we have today.”
Her great-grandfather kept detailed records with his ledgers and calculations for how much stone would be needed for projects. Jennifer’s mother, Suzanne, remembers Pasquale always having a ruler in his pocket or hand.
Masons from the DiLaura Stone Co. check their work on the walkway on one of the bridges of the Lake Ontario State Parkway. Pasquale DiLaura is at center with the ruler.
This crew takes a break in 1962 while working in the quarry. Pictured include Roosevelt Fields (leaning on truck at left), Pasquale DiLaura (center), Sadie Malone, Gerry DiGirolamo, (?) Passarell, Margaret Ann DiLaura, and Ellis DiLaura (in cab).
Suzanne, a retired Albion art teacher, has looked over Pasquale’s records and developed deep respect for his drive to keep the industry alive in the county – and keep local men employed.
He was a Medina Sandstone ambassador and persuasive salesmen, securing the contracts and work at Hamlin Beach and the Parkway. The family also has his rough drafts of letters he sent to Cleveland and other cities, suggesting Medina Sandstone for public works projects.
The Brockport exhibit includes one of his drawings of the Manitou Bridge stone work, a list of names of his employees and a letter from the Albion branch of the Journeymen Stone Cutters Association of North America.
The union sent a letter on May 27, 1938 to Harry L. Hopkins, director of the W.P.A. in Washington, D.C. The letter says that Pasquale DiLaura had operated a quarry for 20 years, including during the Great Depression, keeping “a large number” of the stone cutters on the payroll even without an outlet for the material.
The Stone Cutters said, in its letter to the WPA, that DiLaura “has proven himself a real friend of the working men of this community.”
DiLaura would pass the business to his son Ellis, Suzanne’s father.
Wells-Dickerson hopes the exhibit in Brockport will shine a light on the quarry workers.
“A lot of people drive down there and they don’t know who’s behind it,” she said.
She also hopes to have the exhibit at other locations, including libraries and galleries in Orleans County.
Photo by Jennifer Wells-Dickerson – The DiLaura Construction Company did the stone work on the culverts and bridges along the Lake Ontario State Parkway.
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 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.
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.
Elizabeth Carpenter took this picture of the “blood moon” at 7:06 a.m. in Lyndonville today.
This morning there was a total lunar eclipse when the Earth was positioned between the sun and the moon. That full lunar eclipse has been called a “blood moon” because of the reddish glow.
Photo by Tom Rivers
About 12 hours later, the moon was a bright white. This picture was taken with the flag in the foreground outside Brunner International in Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 October 2014 at 12:00 am
6 new bridges tops the infrastructure list
Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County officials want to see fewer road closed signs in the county. This sign is out while the Village of Medina rebuilds a section of Horan Road.
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature approved an $8 million bond today so the county can get to work on replacing bridges, culverts, roofs and other infrastructure work.
The bond will provide $4,963,000 to replace six bridges from 2015 to 2017. The county is moving forward with the projects after getting little state and federal dollars for bridges. Another state and federal funding cycle doesn’t come up until 2017.
If the county waits until they to again seek funding, some of the bridges may be closed. The bridge funds tend to go to projects with high-volume counts, making it unlikely the rural county could rely on state and federal money for its infrastructure needs.
“Failure to act on our part will result in further deterioration of our infrastructure assets and unnecessary closures of county-owned roads and bridges,” said Legislature Chairman David Callard.
The county has identified six bridges for replacement, starting with two in 2015: a bridge from 1934 over Beardsley Creek on Waterport-Carlton Road in Carlton, and a bridge from 1968 in Barre over Manning Muckland Creek on Oak Orchard Road.
Other bridges to follow include one from 1959 in Kendall on Carton Road over Sandy Creek, a bridge from 1936 in Ridgeway over Fish Creek on East Scott Road, one from 1928 in Ridgeway over Fish Creek on Culvert Road, and a bridge from 1956 in Kendall over Sandy Creek on Norway Road.
Callard said that plan could be altered if a different bridge is “red flagged” by the state and closed.
The county also plans to replace six culverts for $1,500,000. Those culverts are identified as two on Knowlesville Road in Ridgeway, two on Platten Road in Yates, and two on South Holley Road in Clarendon.
The infrastructure investment plan also includes $1,540,000 in work at county buildings, including two new pole barns. Those 60-by-150 foot barns are estimated to cost $230,000 each. One would be used by the highway department and the other by emergency management.
The county also wants to replace the roofs on the County Administration Building and the Public Safety Building, with each at an estimated $510,000.
The remaining project includes a generator for the mental health building for $60,000. That generator will service a new hub for county information technology infrastructure, Callard said.
The bond is expected to cost the county a little over $400,000 annually for the next 20 years. The borrowing terms will be worked out in the coming months. Interest rates have been at about 2 percent, noted Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.
“That’s another factor: the money is so cheap right now,” he said.
The county doesn’t anticipate higher taxes because of the bond because it will be done paying off the debt for the Public Safety Building’s original construction next year, the final $160,000 payment. The county also is to receive $268,000 annually as part of a state gambling compact. The first partial payment arrived this year.
The gambling funds and the relief from the Public Safety Building debt should cover the new borrowing costs for the projects, making the work cost neutral on the county budget, Nesbitt said.
The 1911 Orleans County Directory lists the Hippodrome Theatre at 33 East Bank St. in Albion.
It was established by Louis Smith in 1906 as the first motion theater in Albion. Note his name on the top of the building in the upper left corner of the photo.
Smith is also listed as living over 29 East Bank St. at the time. The 1911 directory also lists Martin Britton as running a saloon at 35 East Bank St. His name appears on the window of the adjacent storefront. A sign in that window advertises: “American Brew Co Vienna Cabinet on Draught Here.”
Admission to the movie was 5 cents and I expect a draft beer was the same.
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.
