Albion graduates told to follow ‘moral compass’

Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion graduate Sierra Morgan is congratulated and handed her diploma by Margy Brown, president of the Board of Education.

Chris Rivers holds up his diploma in the high school gym, where 2,000 people attended the district’s 136th annual commencement.

The Caledonia Pipe Band continued an Albion Commencement tradition, leading the graduates into the gymnasium.

ALBION – Students celebrated the culmination of their high school careers on Friday, with class speakers thankful for a nurturing environment at Albion Central School.

The 166 graduates in Albion’s Class of 2014 have left a record of accomplishment in the classroom, on the athletic fields and in the performing arts, the group was told during Commencement on Friday night.

The graduates were urged to keep pushing for excellence, with a focus on serving others and working towards the greater good.

“Just as we need others, others need us,” said Valedictorian Martha Smith.

Martha Smith addresses her classmates.

She said social media and texting feed a “hyper-awareness of oneself in today’s image-based society.” She urged her classmates to turn off their phones and televisions and spend some of that time volunteering or talking with a neighbor.

“If there is one challenge which I would like to present this evening, it is this: To pause the selfies long enough to appreciate the beauty in others before oneself,” Smith said from the commencement stage. “To halt the personal status update and instead inquire after the welfare of a friend.”

Smith will study English at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester. Class Salutatorian Jonathan Trembley will be an engineering major at the University of Buffalo.

Trembley urged his classmates to be “mentally self-inspective consumers” because what the world tells them is often wrong. It was once widely accepted that sailors could fall off the edge of the earth if they went too far, he noted.

Jonathan Trembley urges the class to delve for the truth.

“The world isn’t going to tell the truth all the time,” Trembley said. “To battle this you should read, read, and maybe after that you should read some more. Cross-reference, delve deeply, and find the truth.”

Class President Lydia Erakare urged the class to “Live with Purpose.” That was the class motto.

“Do something wonderful, make a difference, and carry that phrase ‘live with purpose’ proudly for the rest of your life,” said Erakare, who will be an early childhood education major at SUNY New Paltz. “Keep it in your heart and let it motivate you each and every day.”

Lydia Erakare served as class president.

She shared the lyrics from the High School Musical song, “We’re all in this Together,” and told the group the graduates will always be a part of the Class of 2014.

“Even though we will no longer be in the same building or even the same town, we are still all in this together,” Erakare said. “Remember your friendships and memories and know that if you ever need someone you can count on your classmates at anytime.”

Erakare remembered three classmates who sadly died but still have a lasting impact on the class: Nicholas Kovaleski, Amanda Katsanis and Demitri Alexanderis.

Graduate Christian Trevino is happy to accept his diploma.

Board of Education President Margy Brown praised the class for working so hard. She reminded them of their school beginnings at the elementary school where eight giant crayons line the entrance. The crayons are labeled with the following words: perseverance, optimism, honesty, respect, compassion, integrity, responsibility and loyalty.

“You’ve been given the tools to go out into the world and make a difference,” Brown said.

District Superintendent Michael Bonnewell also addressed the class, and told them commencement marks a beginning for their lives as the start college, enter the military or join the workforce.

The students will need a compass as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. A compass is used to find direction or to stay on a planned path, Bonnewell said.

Seniors who are in the high school chorus sing “For Good.”

“Like a boat pushed about by a strong wind, unforeseen events and people will, at times in your life, push you off your course – redirect you from your planned course,” Bonnewell said. “Sometimes you will lose your direction briefly, other times you may find yourself lost, far off your planned course.”

Driesel

These are the times graduates will need their compass to get their bearings, he said. Sometimes a change in course is needed when new opportunities arise and the compass needs to be reset.

But one compass should stay constant – the moral compass, what people do when no one is watching and no one else is there to offer encouragement.

“You have a moral compass, you know right from wrong,” Bonnewell said. “Hold tight to that compass – and let it direct you and your behaviors and decisions.”

The small-school atmosphere with opportunities inside and outside the classroom was cited by students interviewed by Orleans Hub.

Dumont

Brad Driesel plans to enroll at Monroe Community College to study fire protection. He wants to be a professional firefighter. He volunteers with the Barre Fire Company and did an internship with the Medina Fire Department. That internship, coordinated by the school, affirmed he wanted to pursue firefighting as a career.

“When I was standing at a crossroads, it provided a road map,” Driesel said.

He is eager to start college, and he said he will stay connected with many of his classmates.

“I made quite a few friends who will stick with me the rest of my life,” Driesel said.

Samantha Dumont enjoyed the school’s musical programs, and the close friendships in the school. She will go to GCC to study human services.

Grimble

“You know everyone and everyone is so close,” she said about Albion. “But I’m happy it’s over and excited for the new chapter of my life.”

Jordan Grimble was active in the school musicals, working on the stage crew. She designed and made the 10-foot-high chairs in The Wiz for The Wizard and The Witch. She praised musical director Gary Simboli for pushing students to excel in the musicals. She is majoring in technical theater arts at Niagara University.

“I now get to go to college and do what I really want to do,” Grimble said. “I’m thankful for Albion because we have such a diverse program from the arts to the sports. We’re a diverse community and you can find anything here.”

Steven Olick will spend a month studying in Italy

Photos by Tom Rivers – Steven Olick sings “Lilacs” by Rachmaninoff during the Albion Rotary Club’s meeting Thursday at The Village Inn. Olick, a 2010 Albion graduate, is training to become an opera singer.

ALBION – An Albion graduate who is working to become an opera singer has strong support from his hometown in pursuing that goal.

Steven Olick IV performed a concert Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church, an event organized by the Albion Alumni Foundation. The concert was a fund-raiser so Olick could spend a month this summer studying opera in Vado, Italy.

Last night Olick was presented with a check for $3,300 to help pay for the study abroad. The funding comes from the concert, the Alumni Foundation and the Albion Rotary Club.

Charlie Nesbitt, a Foundation board member and Rotarian, pushed to raise the money for Olick, calling the experience for the student a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

During the intensive month-long program, Olick will receive 45 hours of language training by teachers from the Italian Scuola, two voice lessons a week, two private coaching sessions, two acting lessons a week and two master classes. The program will culminate with Olick performing four concerts. He will study with college professors from around the U.S. as well as baritone from the Met, David Malis.

Charlie Nesbitt, left, stands next to Steven Olick IV with Albion Alumni Foundation members Gary Simboli and Ed Fancher, right. They presented Olick with a check for $3,300 to study opera in Italy. Olick is going into his senior year at Fredonia State College.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Dale Banker, front, marches with the Albion Fire Department in the June 14 Albion Strawberry Festival Parade. Matt Francis is in the line behind Banker.

ALBION – Orleans County will have a new emergency management coordinator next month, and the new leader is a familiar face to local firefighters.

Dale Banker, a past Albion fire chief, has been an active volunteer firefighter for more than three decades. He also served on the Albion Village Board and currently works with the state Department of Transportation.

“He has outstanding credentials and almost a lifetime of experience,” said David Callard, chairman of the Orleans County Legislature.

He made the appointment today. Banker will succeed Paul Wagner, who is retiring July 18 after 14 years as director of the Emergency Management Office.

Wagner has been busy trying to see through an overhaul of the county’s emergency radio system. That system was activated last month.

“The radios have dominated but now it’s time to push the fire service ahead,” Callard said. “Dale really was quite visionary in his thoughts, which is what we need going forward.”

Rocky Sidari, the current Albion fire chief, and Dave Knapp, a past Holley fire chief and current county fire investigator, both pursued the EMO position.

Callard likes Banker’s long-term experience working with the public and political leaders.

“The other candidates were also experienced and very likable,” Callard said. “But Dale has the most outstanding credentials.”

The job was Callard’s to fill. He made the appointment, and noted Banker had the support of the Fire Advisory Board.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Jonesie and Cruisers, led by lead singer Gary Jones, performed on East Bank Street this evening in the village’s “Concerts by the Canal” series, which debuted last week.

The band Whiskey Rebellion opened today’s concert and then veteran rock and roll band Jonesie and the Cruisers performed in the series sponsored by the village, the Albion Rotary Club and Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

Keyboardist and singer Gary Withey, right, joins Jones in one of the songs. Withey owns and operates Fischer’s Newsroom on Main Street.

The concert series will take next Thursday off and then returns July 10, 17 and 24.

Photos by Sue Cook – Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers began a middle school assembly by sharing a picture from the Oct. 17 fire at Orleans Pallet in Albion. Many remembered the fire, but Rivers told them it was his job to think beyond the spectacle of the event to the impact on the community and the owner. He praised building owner Shawn Malark for his resilience in keeping his business open after such a disastrous fire.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

ALBION – Albion Middle School students have been working hard in the classroom all year, with an emphasis on writing. On Wednesday they heard from local author and Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers, who shared some tips from getting a good story.

Elizabeth Marquette, the New Teacher and Mentor Coordinator, invited Rivers. He was given the opportunity to tell students about his work as an author, reporter and photographer.

“He’s a local author,” Marquette said. “A lot of the kids know him and he’s a familiar face in the school community. We’re excited to have him.”

She explained that the students had already become familiar with Rivers’ work in class. Rivers wrote “All Ears: A decade of listening and learning from small-town Western New Yorkers” and “Farm Hands: Hard work and hard lessons from Western New York fields.”

“The students received vignettes of the books, and studied and answered analytical questions with their English teachers,” Marquette said.

The school purchased 464 copies of “All Ears” at a discounted price and each student received a book at the end of the assembly.

The entire student body, sixth through eighth grade, was at the presentation.

The students were shown a variety of images in the Albion community, including this picture of a tree at Mount Albion Cemetery after a December ice storm.

Rivers wanted the students to get more than just a talk about the importance of reading and writing.

“I want them to be more curious about their surroundings,” he said before his presentation. “They should ask more questions. In your community, you don’t always pay attention to the great things around you.”

He encouraged students to learn things around them that they perhaps had never seen or heard of. He showed the students an image of boot scraper from the 1800s that is outside the Daughter of the American Revolution house in Albion.

Rivers asked if students knew what it was. One boy suggested that it was something for chopping wood, but many of the students had no idea. It was an example of seeking out and asking questions about what look like the simplest things.

Rivers said he often will explore his surroundings after a storm or unusual event to gather information and look for sights others might miss.

Rivers encouraged students to explore the details of the world. He showed images of horses, farmer Ken Nice walking between two different colored rows of flowering trees and various images from the recent winter storms.

The images showed that taking something you see regularly and viewing it from a different angle, time of day or season can bring a whole new life to something.

Rivers enjoys learning about the community and sharing his discoveries with readers on the Hub. He urged the group to learn more about Albion and American history.

“If you love something, you should know about it and know about its history,” Rivers told the students.

Rivers explains to the students about taking a small detail from the big picture, such as one of his images focusing on the dome of the Orleans County Courthouse, rather than the entire building.

Rivers also talked about getting to know the people around you because each person has a story to tell. He explained his process of actually going out and physically learning about something in order to be able to better write about it.

For the book “Farm Hands” he went to several local farms and worked with livestock, as well as working alongside migrant workers in the fields.

Picking cucumbers was the hardest job. He recalled how he struggled with the task. The other workers saw him having trouble keeping up and would put cucumbers into his basket or in a pile to help him keep pace rather than leave him behind.

“It was a powerful lesson for me,” said Rivers. “If you help someone a little it can give them the energy to keep going and not give up.”

Rivers also took the time to remember people in our community who have passed away, but left a big impact on others, like Jenna Stoddard. Years ago, Stoddard was a student in Albion school. She had a kidney disease that required dialysis and eventually she had to go to a Pittsburg hospital for further care. Rivers had heard about how she was one of the favorites of the staff there and paid her a visit to see how she was affecting lives around her, despite her own hardships.

“One of the things I would encourage in all of you as part of your personal story is to be a good friend to each other and reach out to other people,” Rivers said. He told the students that it helps build connections and experiences between yourself and those around you.