By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Valerie Childs
SHELBY – This house on Telegraph Road in Shelby was taken down in a controlled burn this morning by firefighters from the Western Battalion.
Valerie Childs, a Ridgeway firefighter, took the pictures.
Shelby has been using the vacant house for training drills, including bail-out exercises and interior firefighting skills.
Today, Shelby was joined by firefighters from Lyndonville, Ridgeway and East Shelby in burning down the structure, which has been vacant for several years.
About 30 to 40 firefighters were part of the controlled burn, which took about two hours.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – These icicles hang on the building owned by GCASA in Albion at the corner of East Avenue and McKinistry Street. This picture of the former Knights of Columbus building was taken on Saturday.
The weather warmed up to the 20s this weekend, but will plummet overnight when temperatures fall to minus 4. Monday only has a high of 2 degrees with a low of minus 4, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
That has prompted the Weather Service to issue a wind chill warning for Orleans County and much of central and western New York from midnight tonight until Tuesday morning.
The wind chill values could fall as low as 25 to 35 below zero, which could lead to frostbite and hypothermia if people are not dressed properly.
Contributed Story Posted 22 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Yvonne Newbould
ALBION – Local Girl Scouts in the Cobblestone Service Unit had a “World Thinking Day” celebration on Saturday. Girl Scouts participated in activities and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries.
Pictured in the front row, from left, include Daisy Troop 82007 members: Emma Martino, Leah Pawlak, Kylie Sue Allport, Julianna Newbould, Aubrey Gannon, Peyton Nolan, Kendall Newbould, Neveya Barnes and Emma Snitzel.
The back row includes Brownie Troop 82127: Riannon Newbould, Julia Fuller, Autumn Flugel, Abrielle Shuler, Liana Flugel, Sophia Albanese, Sarah Thom and Julia Knight.
The activities through World Thinking Day we designed to promote peace through partnerships. In this photo, Brownie Abrielle Shuler helps Daisy Julianna Newbould with friendship knot pin.
Riannon Newbould shows some of the international flavors the Girl Scouts tried.
Girls work on good luck hands and international peace signs.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Kendall star honored with teammate Louis Orr
Photos by Mike Okoniewski, Syracuse University Athletics – Roosevelt Bouie, left, and Louis Orr, his teammate at Syracuse University, were both honored at the Carrier Dome this afternoon when their numbers were retired by the university and hung from the rafters.
SYRACUSE – A former Kendall basketball star was honored in a big way at Syracuse University today.
Roosevelt Bouie had his No. 50 jersey retired by Syracuse today in a ceremony when Syracuse also retired Louis Orr’s No. 55. The two were a dynamic duo for Syracuse, leading the Orange to a 100-18 record from 1977-1980.
Syracuse University retired Roosevelt Bouie’s No. 50 and Louis Orr’s No. 55 during a ceremony today at the Carrier Dome.
Bouie’s freshman season was also the start of Jim Boeheim’s career. The legendary coach has credited Bouie and Orr for getting his coaching career off to a hugely successful start. Boeheim is second on the list of all-time wins for a NCCAA Division I coach with nearly 1,000.
The Orange reached the NCAA Tournament each year of the “Louie and Bouie Show.” Bouie was a four-year starter and still ranks second in program history in blocks (327), seventh in rebounds (987) and 18th in scoring (1,560 points).
“We couldn’t have accomplished it without having each other and the rest of our teammates,” Bouie told Cuse TV after the ceremony. (Click here to see the interview.)
Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr shake hands after being honored at halftime in the Carrier Dome today.
Bouie was a first-team All-BIG EAST Conference selection in 1979-80. He was picked in the second round of the 1980 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Bouie signed to play professionally in Europe and played overseas for 13 seasons.
He has returned to Kendall and he attends many of the Kendall basketball games and is active in other local community events. Kendall retired his jersey in June 2012, the first one picked by the school with the recognition.
Bouie said he was grateful to be honored by Syracuse and to see many of his former teammates as part of the celebration.
“It’s really special we got a chance to see all of our friends last night,” he told Cuse TV.
Bouie is congratulated after having his number retired by Syracuse University.
Orr grew up in Cincinnati and played eight years in the NBA after Syracuse. He said Bouie has been like a brother.
“I’m honored and blessed to have a great teammate and friend to share the moment,” Orr told Cuse TV. “You never accomplish anything by yourself. It’s a team effort.”
Orr said Boeheim was instrumental in Bouie’s and Orr’s success.
“Coach Boeheim believed in us and trusted us a long time ago,” Orr said. “He gave us the opportunity and without the opportunity there is nothing you can accomplish. I thank Coach Boeheim and I thank him for seeing something in Roosevelt in me and for trusting in us.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 February 2015 at 12:00 am
However, winter weather advisory in effect until Sunday morning, more cold on Monday
Photos by Tom Rivers – A snow-covered field is pictured along Maple Street in Barre on Friday afternoon. This photo was taken from Johnny Cake Lane.
This weekend is providing a much-needed break from the brutally cold temperatures this past week. The plummeting mercury set records in the Northeast.
The minus 6 for a low in Buffalo on Thursday broke the record of minus 5 set in 1944. Rochester broke its record for lowest temperatures with minus 7 on Friday, dropping below the minus 4 set in 1934.
New York City also set new records for the deep freeze. The 9 degrees on Thursday broke the record of 11 degrees in 1959, and the 2 degrees on Friday was less than the 7-degree record in 1950, according to the National Weather Service.
Today is forecast for a high of 26 in Orleans County followed by a high of 22 on Sunday. However, the temperatures will fall to a high of 4 degrees on Monday with a low of minus 3.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for Orleans County and Western New York until 10 a.m. Sunday due to snow and freezing drizzle. The area could get 2 to 5 inches of snow.
Nature has found a way to stand tall despite the punishing winter. This picture was taken along Johnny Cake Lane on Friday in Barre.
MEDINA – Employee representatives at Orleans Community Health’s Medina Memorial Hospital have called for the intervention of a federal mediator in their ongoing labor negotiations with the facility’s management.
Negotiations for a new contract for 300 staff of OCH began in November. Open issues in the current talks include wages, benefits, and recognition at future locations of the Medina based organization, the union said.
To date, there have been 21 collective bargaining meetings, according to the employees’ union, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. The old contract expired Dec. 31, 2014 but its terms have been extended until the end of this month.
Frustrated with the pace of negotiations, employee members of the union’s negotiating committee have asked for the assistance of a Federal Mediator, union leaders said.
Involvement of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is required under federal labor law when labor negotiations affect the operations of a hospital. Although a federal mediator has been assigned to this negotiation, OCH management has thus far refused to cooperate with his involvement, union leaders said.
In 2012, a strike was narrowly averted in the “11th hour” with the help of a federal mediator.
Employees covered by the union contract include registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and medical technicians, service maintenance and clerical employees.
Photo courtesy of Orleans County Department of History – Members of the Ku Klux Klan met in Albion for a rally in September 1925 at the Fairgrounds on Washington Street.
MEDINA – Lee-Whedon Memorial Library on Monday will host a program that explores the rise of the Ku Klux Klan locally in the early 1900s.
The waves of European immigrants who moved to the United States early in the 20th Century faced hostility and prejudice. The attitudes and fears of the established “old immigrants” brought about a revival of the KKK in the North.
Guest speaker Ray Cianfrini will present a program, “Clash of Cultures: the Rise of the KKK in Genesee County,” at 7 p.m. Monday at library, 620 West Ave.
Cianfrini, an Oakfield attorney and chairman of the Genesee County Legislature, has researched the Klan in Genesee and Orleans counties and unearthed a trove of photographs, newspaper articles and other documents that chronicle the sudden and frightening popularity of this fearful group in this area.
Cianfrini’s program is presented by the Medina Historical Society.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 February 2015 at 2:40 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A section of South Main Street in Albion has been blocked off this afternoon after a minor accident involving three vehicles near the intersection at Beaver Street. Albion firefighters and police have been at the scene since about 2:10 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Provided photos
Linda Dale of West Bacon Road has found a bright spot in the brutal cold weather: a frequent visitor she calls “Allie.”
She took this photo of Allie – a spotted deer – on Wednesday. This Piebald deer was eating seeds from the bottom of a bird feeder.
“She’s such a delight!! Just look at that face!!” Dale said in an email.
Jason Smith was driving to work today as superintendent of Lyndonville Central School and took this picture of a sundog on West Countyhouse Road in Albion.
The sundogs resemble rainbows. They appear sometimes in the winter when low-lying sun creates ice halos.
John Wolski, Lyndonville’s business administrator, was driving in Pembroke last evening when his son Michael, a fifth-grader, took this picture of a sundog.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 February 2015 at 12:00 am
ROCHESTER – Richard Brummel is making another push in court to stop the Squirrel Slam hunting contest in Holley.
He said he will seek an injunction in the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court in Rochester this afternoon. Brummel disagrees with a decision by Orleans County Court Judge James Punch to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Lauren Sheive of Williamson in Wayne County.
Sheive and Brummel, an environmental activist from Long Island, argue that the Squirrel Slam has an environmental impact by wiping out thousands of squirrels.
Punch dismissed the case on Thursday and said the hunters in the contest are doing nothing illegal. They are hunting during the squirrel season. The Holley event is capped at 600 tickets or 300 two-person teams, said Fran Gaylord, president of the Holley Fire Company. He said less than half actually hunt in the contest.
The hunting season for gray, black and fox squirrel runs from Sept. 1 to Feb. 28 and there is a daily bag limit of 6. Red squirrels may be hunted anytime and there is no limit, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Brummel said the Holley Fire Department neglected to do an environmental impact study detailing the hunt’s impact on the squirrel population.
Brummel said an attorney from Buffalo has taken on the case and prepared the appeal that will be filed this afternoon. Brummel said he hopes the court will take action and stop the Squirrel Slam, which is scheduled for Feb. 28 and raises about $4,000 for the Fire Department.
