By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Nature is on the move at the closed Brown Street bridge in Albion. Woodchucks hang out on the approaches to the bridge and weeds have sprouted up through the pavement.
The bridge was closed on July 18, 2012 by the state Department of Transportation after an inspection showed serious deterioration of major elements of the steel truss floor system.
There is no timetable for repairing the bridge over the Erie Canal.
This photo is on the north side of the bridge, looking south.
This photo is closer to the bridge, looking north towards the former St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
In August of 1958 my father Cary Lattin, in the stern of the canoe, took my friend Lee Stevenson, son of Don and Ruth Stevenson, and myself, in the bow of the canoe, on a trip.
We started in North Tonawanda on the Erie Canal, came through the locks at Lockport and camped on the canal bank overnight around Gasport.
The next day we arrived back in Albion. It was a lot of paddling!
I was 13 years old at the time. Wishing us bon voyage from the dock are Angie Brown, Polly Rosch and my mother Avis Lattin.
KENDALL – A Waterport woman is hospitalized after crashing her car this morning in the Town of Kendall.
The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. in the 15500 block of Roosevelt Highway (State Route 18). Norma J. Webster, 80, was operating a 2004 Buick sedan traveling east on Rt. 18 when she failed to negotiate a curve just east of Transit Road.
The car ran off the south side of the roadway and struck a tree. Webster, the sole occupant, was trapped in the wreckage for approximately 45 minutes before being extricated by Kendall firefighters. She was then flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight helicopter.
The incident was investigated by Deputy A.L. Jenks, assisted by Deputy J.J. Cole.
MEDINA – Firefighters from Medina will be at McDonald’s on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with fire trucks, ambulances and equipment.
Children, their parents and other community members are welcome to see the vehicles and also receive information about fire prevention, said Jonathan Higgins, captain of the MFD.
This is the first time the fire department will have the public education program at McDonald’s, which is located at 11201 Maple Ridge Rd.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – There is a big field full of tall sunflowers on Route 237, across from Hendel Farms. An Orleans Hub reader sent us an email, encouraging us to go and take some photos.
“The absolute beauty of this field of sunflowers has caused many folks to stop and take pictures,” according to the reader.
The field is north of Telegraph Road and south of Skillington Road.
Contributed Story Posted 14 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Contributed Photo
A large field of 72 participated in the Shelridge Women’s Golf Association’s Rally for the Cure Tournament on Wednesday. The event raised over $1,400 for cancer research. The participants are shown here. The overall winners were the foursome of April Serianni, Crystal Buchan, Kathy Allesandro and Lynn Evans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer met with local officials and the media today at the former Diaz Chemical site on Jackson Street in Holley. The EPA is planning a $14.5 million project to finish the clean up of the site, but the money isn’t available.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to say the village is seeking additional power from the New York Power Authority, and not National Grid.
HOLLEY – A $14.5 million project that would knock down the remaining buildings at the former Diaz Chemical site and also remove the soil of contaminants has been stalled.
The federal Superfund program doesn’t have the money to move the project forward. So the Holley community must continue to bear the burden of having the ruins of Diaz Chemical along a residential neighborhood.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is trying to direct money to the Superfund through a “Polluter’s Tax.” That tax expired, depriving the Environmental Protection Agency of money to get contaminated sites cleaned up.
Sen. Charles Schumer speaks in front of the former Diaz Chemical today. He is joined by from left: Holley Mayor John Kenney, Village Trustee Kevin Lynch, Village Trustee Skip Carpenter, and county legislators John DeFillipps and Ken DeRoller.
“The taxpayers can’t afford this in a small village,” Schumer said today in Holley while standing in front of the office building at the former Diaz. “It would bankrupt the village. That’s why the federal government has to step in.”
Diaz declared bankruptcy in 2003. The EPA has been the caretaker of the property since then and spent $12 million taking down some of the buildings and removing barrels, pipes and some contaminants.
But some buildings remain, as well as contaminated soil.
“A lot of work has been done but we haven’t crossed home plate,” Schumer said. “To have this site just sitting here adds salt to the wound.”
The remains of the plant are mostly fenced off from the public.
Diaz was the village’s largest private employer with about 60 workers before the company shut down. The company was a major taxpayer and user of water and sewer services.
The company had an accidental release in January 2002, and some chemicals landed on residential homes and yards. Eight homeowners moved out and didn’t come back.
The EPA took possession of those houses and had them cleaned, but they’ve sat empty and off the market for a decade. Holley Mayor John Kenney has pressed the EPA to put the houses up for sale.
The contaminated Diaz site has hurt the community of 1,800 residents, Kenney said.
“When you’re 1 square mile it doesn’t take much to create a blight,” he said.
Holley Mayor John Kenney wants to see the Diaz site cleaned up. He also wants eight houses feared contaminated by the former chemical plant to be put on the market.
Schumer said he would contact the EPA, trying to get the houses for sale soon. That would boost the village’s tax base and could bring more residents into the community.
Kenney said the town of Murray, Holley Central School and Orleans County also have taken tax hits because of the Diaz bankruptcy.
Reinstating the polluter’s tax would direct more than $1 billion annually into the Superfund and return contaminated sites to contributing properties, Schumer said.
“There may be no better example of a stalled cleanup than right here at Diaz in Holley,” he said.
The Diaz site could again be an asset for the community. The property is next to Holley Business Park and a railroad. It has access to water, sewer and the village’s low-cost municipal electric.
Kenney said he wants to see another company operating at the site someday soon.
But Schumer said that can only happen if the EPA has the funds to get the buildings down and the soil cleaned up.
“No one will come here because this site is contaminated,” he said.
The EPA’s first cleanup took out the more pressing concerns for the community – processing buildings and barrels of chemicals. But Schumer said the site is still dragging down Holley.
“This is not a health emergency but it’s an economic crisis,” he said.
Signs warn people to stay away from the former chemical plant, which was operated for about three decades in the village of Holley.
Part of the EPA’s proposed cleanup plan involves heating the soil to break down contaminants. The EPA could need 3 megawatts or more of electricity for the work, Kenney said.
Holley has the capacity on its system for the added power, but the New York Power Authority hasn’t approved the additional power allotment for the project. Schumer said he would get involved, insisting on the power allocation for the project, which Kenney said would stretch over 443 days.
He would like NYPA to make that power available after the cleanup is done so Holley could woo more companies. Schumer sees Holley as a draw given the low-cost power and close proximity to Rochester.
“Residents of Holley have waited far too long for this site to become viable again, and I will do everything in my power to get the funding the program needs so clean-up projects like the one at Diaz Chemical can get underway,” Schumer said.
Diaz operated out of a site that for 60 years was used by Duffy Motts.
MEDINA – A Medina resident was charged today with unlawfully growing cannabis after police acted on an anonymous tip.
James E. Hobbs, 67, of 216 Park Ave. also was charged with one count of marijuana possession.
Medina police and the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force observed numerous marijuana plants growing along a wooden fence of the property. Police seized 20 marijuana plants and a small quantity of dried marijuana.
Hobbs likely faces additional possession charges, police said, pending certified lab results from the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department Laboratory.
Hobbs was released on an appearance ticket for Ridgeway Town Court for 9 a.m. on Oct. 6.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Members of Christ Church, an Episcopal parish in Albion, served more than 300 chicken barbecue dinners on Wednesday. In the top photo Mitzy Peglow gets ready to take six of the dinners home as take-outs. Matilda Erakare, one of the church parishioners, assisted at the event.
Several church members and volunteers worked in the kitchen including (from front to back) Lori Draper, Faith Smith, Mike Smith and Jim Theodorakos.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 August 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Some members of the Village Board want to limit how often residents can have garage sales after complaints that two locations currently have sales almost every day during the summer.
The board is considering enacting a local law that would limit garage sales to Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti suggested residents be required to register a garage sale. There won’t be a fee to the village, but Vendetti would like to have a record of when residents have garage sales. He would like to limit locations to no more than two different garage sales a year.
Village Board members didn’t want to go that route yet. Limiting sales to three-day maximums would address some of the current sites that seem to have sales perpetually during the summer.
“This is an attempt to define a garage sale so it’s not a business,” Vendetti told the board.
Trustee Stan Farone doesn’t want to see any restrictions on garage sales, especially when there are only two that are prolonged.
Mayor Dean London would like to see some guidelines in a local law. “There’s only two now but there could be 10 in the future,” London responded.
The village will have a public hearing on the proposal at 7 p.m. on Sept. 10. That hearing is for setting Friday through Sundays as options for garage sales.
Vendetti also would like to see the village impose sign standards for garage sales. He said the signs advertising a sale should be limited to a person’s property, and not be posted on telephone poles and other prominent spots in the community.
“You have no idea how we chase down all these people with yard sale signs,” Vendetti said. “They’re good at putting up the signs but not so good about taking them down.”
Farone said he opposed a local law about garage sales. He said the sales draw people to the village.
“I don’t want to punish everyone in the village because one person has a garage sale seven days a week,” Farone said. “I don’t want to be known as the village that restricts or bans garage sales.”
London said he welcomes feedback from the community during the public hearing.
“We can look at it and start somewhere,” he said. “We can always revisit it.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Gia Arnold is pictured at the Lyndonville parade of July 4, one of numerous campaign events she has attended since announcing her campaign in March.
HOLLEY – A political newcomer who won a following with her fearless campaign for the State Senate has withdrawn from the race.
Gia Arnold, 24, said she had an extramarital affair in early August. She admitted to the relationship because “I believe honesty and integrity are of utmost importance in life.”
Arnold made character issues a key part of her platform. She emerged in the public eye last year as one of the most outspoken critics of the SAFE Act. She crisscrossed the state leading rallies against the gun control law.
In March, she launched her campaign for State Senate against George Maziarz. She had support for the race, including from some high-ranking officials. When she made her announcement in Niagara Falls, Carl Paladino, the former GOP candidate for governor, was at her side.
She ran a high-energy campaign the past five months with numerous public appearances at parades, county fairs, local libraries and other sites. She was typically joined by her husband Jeremy and their three young children.
“I hope that all I have disappointed will understand that I am only human and imperfect,” she said in a statement.
On her Facebook page, many of her supporters are encouraging her to stay in the race.
“I think it is a huge mistake to fold now,” one supporter wrote. “Scandal is nothing new to politics. I understand that marriages fail but to cave to political pressure only perpetuates dirty politics. Stay in it. You are scaring the left.”
Maziarz decided against seeking re-election last month. North Tonawanda Mayor Rob Ortt became the endorsed candidate for the Republican, Independence and Conservative parties.
Arnold and her supporters secured signatures to force the Republican Primary, which is set for Sept. 9. But Arnold is withdrawing from that contest.
“It is with sincerest apologies that I must step away from actively campaigning this election cycle,” she said. “I have appreciated all of the support, encouragement, and donations along the way and hope to continue the relationships that I have made further.”
Ortt can now focus on the November election, where he will be pitted against Johnny Destino, a Niagara Falls attorney who has been endorsed by the Democratic Party.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Stephen Thomas of Albion visited the new playground at the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School today with his 3-year-old granddaughter Layla Thomas.
Mr. Thomas said the new playground is a big hit with his granddaughter. They have been over many times this summer.
Today will have a high of 72 degrees, while Thursday is forecast for a high of 67 with a chance of rain. Friday will have a high of 70 with a chance of rain, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Contractors are expected to begin stabilizing the corner of the Bent’s Opera House later this month. The three-story building was built during the Civil War in 1864.
MEDINA – It was about a year ago when the owner of the Bent’s Opera House realized the 150-year-old structure was in danger due to a rotted structural support beams on the southeast building.
To buy time, the Orleans Renaissance Group hired Matthews House Movers in Rochester to install “cribbing” as a temporary support so the rotted beams could be removed and the new supports installed. That more permanent solution will soon be under way.
The building was compromised after renovations in the 1930s and 1970s. First-floor masonry walls were removed. Those walls originally defined three distinct storefronts and helped support the two stories of the stone above, said Chris Busch, vice chairman for the ORG.
The original wooden beam also decayed due to water infiltration. ORG will replace the decayed section of the wood beam with new steel. The organization will also reconstruct the missing masonry walls from footers below the basement up to the beam that supports the second- and third-story stone façade, Busch said.
ORG will also have a contractor use new mortar to rebuild and repoint some of the existing stone. The projects could be done by the end of the year.
The Orleans Renaissance Group secured a $100,000 emergency loan from the Preservation League of New York State to address the main structural support timber on the building’s southeast corner.
“Upon engineering assessment, the necessary work that needed to be completed was greater than was initial thought,” Busch said. “It was absolutely critical that these deficiencies were addressed immediately.”
ORG already has plans for Phase 2 at Bent’s. That will include restoration of the original three storefronts using decorative cast-iron columns and cornice. The Village Planning Board approved a certificate of appropriateness for that work last week.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 August 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Two Albion police officers have been trained to administer naloxone, an antidote for heroin and other opioid overdoses.
The officers will teach all members of the Albion Police Department on how to properly administer naloxone, which will be carried in all Albion patrol vehicles, Police Chief Roland Nenni said.
A rise in heroin and other opiate use has resulted in many overdoses leading to death and other serious long-term medical issues, Nenni said.
Albion police are often the first to arrive at the scene when someone has overdosed.
“If a person has overdosed on an opiate and is serious condition, officers will be able to administer naloxone in an attempt to save the person’s life,” Nenni said. “The administration of naloxone has saved many lives across the country.”
The two Albion officers attended a training on Tuesday with about 30 officers from several police agencies in Western New York. The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services led the training and provided supplies of naloxone at no cost to the police departments.
The training was at the Rural Police Training Academy at Genesee Community College in Batavia. The training is part of a statewide initiative to combat the rise of heroin use.
The officers’ training also included an overview of the state’s Good Samaritan Law, which is intended to encourage individuals to seek medical attention for someone who is experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose or other life-threatening injury. Those witnesses may not be inclined to seek help for fear of criminal prosecution.
“As a former District Attorney, I have seen first-hand the devastating and far-reaching effects of opioid abuse,” said DCJS Executive Deputy Commissioner Michael C. Green. “Key to DCJS’ mission is providing training and support to local law enforcement. This training will help local law enforcement agencies deal with this public health and public safety crisis in a smart and effective way.”
KENDALL – Brittany Kennedy returned to West Kendall Road home yesterday to see a black bear by her house. The bear went up on her porch and sifted through a recycling bin and grabbed a coffee can. It was flipping it around when it noticed Kennedy in her vehicle. The bear then took off for the woods.
Orleans County dispatchers think there are two bears in the county. Whenever they get a call they notify the state Department of Environmental Conservation. If residents see a bear, they should leave it alone. The bears are unlikely to confront a person, a dispatcher said.
