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Medina’s wine-tasting event draws big crowd

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – The seventh annual Wine About Winter sold out of 750 tickets fast. The Medina Business Association then added 50 more and they were sold quickly. And then another 50 more.

Those 850 wine enthusiasts were in downtown Medina today, sampling wine from 30 locations in the business district. The event drew people from Rochester to Buffalo, including people who had never been to Medina before.

Aaron Slopa of Amherst gets wine from Cheryl Holt in Ashlee’s Place. Holt was pouring “Stiletto” from Midnight Run Wine Cellars in Ransomville.

Slopa said the wine-tasting showed him a vibrant downtown business community.

“It’s good seeing all of the small businesses I wouldn’t have seen before,” he said.

These friends enjoyed Wine About Winter in Medina today.

Slopa was joined by a friend Chris Sheffield of Kenmore, who was in Medina for the first time today.

“I didn’t realize the small-town charm,” Sheffield said. “There is great architecture here.”

The event continues to grow from the 250 tickets that were sold in the debut in 2009.

Sandy Barnes from Schulze Vineyards & Winery pours wine for Michael Buongiorne and his wife Chris inside The English Rose Tea Shoppe.

Barnes said Medina is one of the few vibrant small-town downtowns in Western New York. She said the Medina business district is comparable to East Aurora and Ellicottville.

“Medina has that old-town feel and it’s still a big area,” she said. “It’s your one-stop town.”

The community is ideal for a wine-tasting event because it has so many independent businesses within a few blocks, Barnes said.

Paul Schwenk of Schwenk Wine Cellars in Kent pours Rainmaker Red for wine-tasting participants inside the Wide Angle Art Galery. Kim Keil, co-owner of the gallery, is in back offering chocolate-covered pretzels and other snacks.

Wide Angle also was a host for the Ale in Autumn tasting in September. Keil said the events give the gallery lots of exposure.

“It’s great publicity,” she said. “It’s bringing 850 people in here to see some awesome artwork.”

Angela Waldriff, owner of Ashlee’s Place, also said her business benefits from the events.

“If there aren’t people who shop now, they come back,” Waldriff said.

Many young adults were walking Main Street and the business district for Wine About Winter. The balloons were outside the 30 wine-tasting spots on the tour.

Kathy Blackburn, vice president of the Business Association, said the members will discuss how the event went with the expanded crowd this year. She said the event is serving its goal of giving people a fun outing in the dead of winter while also promoting the local businesses.

“This draws people who have never been to Medina and when they see it they are quite amazed with the variety of shops and historic charm,” Blackburn said. “You don’t find too many downtowns like this anymore.”

810 Mead Works was popular with its tasting room and honey-flavored mead.

1,000-plus turn out for Rustay benefit

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – A huge crowd crammed into the Elk’s Lodge in Albion today to show support for David Rustay and his family. Mr. Rustay is fighting brain cancer. He is pictured pulling the winning ticket for one of the 123 gift baskets donated for today’s “Rally with the Rustays.”

Donna Vanderlaan, left, helped organize the event. She graduated with Rustay in 1985 from Albion. Many of Rustay’s classmates were the main organizers behind today’s event.

“We went to school with him and we love him very much,” said Marlene Seielstad, one of his classmates and event volunteers. “Once an Eagle always an Eagle.”

Three women who graduated with Rustay call out winning raffle tickets at the Elk’s Club. They include, from left, Dawn Thiel in orange shirt, Kellie Braley, and Pam Jenks.

Rustay has had brain surgery to remove nearly all of a tumor. He has endured radiation and just started a second round of chemotherapy. He has continued to work full-time as a highway mechanic and motor equipment operator for the Town of Gaines.

“Everybody likes Dave,” said Ron Mannella, the Gaines highway superintendent. “He has helped a lot of people through the years. He’s a super nice guy.”

Rustay has proven a dedicated and skilled employee in the highway department.

“It’s remarkable the things he can do,” Mannella said. “He can fix anything.”

David and Stephanie Rustay and their children, Katie and Alex, express their thanks for the community support.

Rustay hasn’t missed much work since he was diagnosed with brain cancer in late September.

“It hasn’t slowed him down a bit,” Mannella said.

Mannella is a member of the Orleans County Highway Superintendents Association, which donated $1,000 to the Rustays to help with medical bills and other out-of-pocket costs.

Organizers estimated more than 1,000 people attended the event today, which included 60 pots of chili and soup, many tables of gift baskets and other raffles.

Rustay said he was overwhelmed by the enormous crowd and all of the support.

“I was so surprised,” he said. “It’s a really satisfying thing for me and my family.”

Community will rally for Rustay family

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 February 2015 at 12:00 am

David Rustay, highway worker for Gaines, fights brain cancer

Photo by Tom Rivers – David Rustay is pictured with his daughter Katie and wife Stephanie at the Albion basketball game tonight. There will be a party and benefit for the family on Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Elk’s Lodge, 428 West State St., Albion.

ALBION – David Rustay has always been the one people call for help. If a car breaks down, a snowblower stalls, or a driveway fills with snow, he gets the call.

Rustay works as a mechanic and motor equipment operator with the Town of Gaines. He likes to help his friends when he’s off work. He enjoys his job with the highway department, connecting with many community members.

“He does a lot for everybody,” his wife Stephanie says.

Mr. Rustay is a frequent presence at youth sporting events. His son Alex, 13, plays soccer and daughter Katie, 15, is a cheerleader and also a pole vaulter in track and field.

Mr. Rustay, 48, has brain cancer. A tumor was removed in early October. He endured six weeks of radiation and 42 days of chemo. He just started round two of chemo.

He has continued to work full-time for the town, including one 80-hour week in early January during heavy snowfall. While out on the community in recent months, he is often stopped by residents, both friends and strangers. They tell him they are praying for him. Many drop off meals for his family.

Rustay tears up talking about it. He didn’t expect so much support while fighting this battle.

“It’s a true testament of a small town,” he said this evening in the high school cafeteria. “I constantly hear from people. I just can’t believe the support.”

Rustay was at the school tonight to watch his daughter be a cheerleader at the girls’ basketball games.

On Saturday, there will be a “Rally with the Rustays” from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Elk’s Lodge in Albion at 428 West State St. More than 100 gift baskets will be auctioned off with other raffles for a kayak, an iPad mini, a queen-sized handmade quilt, a Buffalo Bills golf bag with lots of accessories, a fishing charter gift certificate for $375, and a vacuum cleaner valued at over $600.

There will also be chili/chowder/soup cook-off, and a $5 donation gets an all-you-can-eat bowl with a beverage.

Provided photo – David and Stephanie Rustay are pictured this fall with son Alex and daughter Katie.

Mr. Rustay said he is grateful his energy hasn’t been sapped by chemo and radiation. He has been able to keep working and keep up with his kids’ activities.

He was with his son Alex in the fall when Alex got his first deer with a bow. Alex was with his father when David shot an 8-point buck on Dec. 14, the biggest deer he’s ever got. That one is being mounted and will be displayed in the family home.

Rustay’s energy during the treatments has surprised his doctors.

“They have never seen a patient like him,” his wife said.

Rustay gets up early, takes care of his own driveway and then goes to work, climbing under vehicles in need of repair and driving plow trucks.

He had a seizure on Jan. 27 and will be on light duty until he is cleared by the doctors. Rustay won’t be able to drive a plow truck likely for a few months, but he is still fixing town equipment and checking waterlines.

Rustay graduated from Albion in 1985. He was a member of Albion’s undefeated football team in 1983, playing wingback and cornerback. A picture of that team hangs in the hallway leading to the gym.

Many of his teammates, including those from the other side of the country, have reached out to him since his cancer diagnosis.

The Rustays are looking forward to the rally on Saturday, to seeing so many friends and thanking them for their support.

Another round of snow forecast for Sunday-Monday

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers

The Cobblestone Universalist Church has about 2 feet of snow on its grounds on Route 104, just east of Route 98. This photo was taken on Thursday. More snow is in the forecast.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch from Sunday afternoon through late Monday night for Orleans and several other Western New York and Finger Lakes counties.

The Weather Service says as much as 7 inches of snow could fall. The snow combined with 10 to 20 mile per hour winds will bring snow-covered roads and poor visibility.

The Weather Service has forecast a high of 28 on Saturday and a low of 19, followed by a high of 25 on Sunday with a low of 17. Monday is forecast for a high of 21 degrees and a low of 14.

Rho Mitchell recalled as ‘sparkplug’ for community

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Provided photos – Rho Mitchell is pictured with Lorraine Oakley and the giant Candy Canes he made from drainage pipe and red ribbons. Mitchell placed them along Route 31 as a holiday decorations.

ALBION – As kids growing up in Albion, David and Patty Mitchell remember helping their father wrap red ribbon on white drainage pipes. Rho Mitchell was making giant Candy Canes as holiday decorations along Route 31.

It was one of the many ways he tried to promote community pride. His children, including another son Michael Mitchell, all played in the Clown Band and the Bum Band. Their father was the ringleader. Patty played the clarinet, David the trombone, and Michael the trumpet.

“We just had fun and staggered around the street during parades,” David said.

Rho Mitchell, co-founder of a funeral home in Albion in 1957, died on Feb. 1 at age 86. He is being remembered as a devoted community member, involved in many causes.

Rho Mitchell, left, leads the brass percussion section of the Lions Club Clown Band in May 1982. Other members pictured include, from left: Howard Cotton, drummer; Mark Brailey, trombone; Frank Mack, saxophone; Tom Fitzak, trumpet; Mike Coville, bass; Jeff Long, trumpet; and John Long, trumpet.

“He was a real sparkplug,” said John Keding, a long-time leader in the Albion Lions Club. “He did a lot of work, there’s no question about it. He came up with a lot of ideas and he worked on it. He didn’t just leave the work to other people.”

Keding and Mitchell were longtime friends and members of the Lions Club. Keding was impressed with Mitchell’s creativity and commitment, especially the Candy Canes that lined the Route 31 corridor. Most of the community decorations were focused in the downtown. Mitchell wanted 31 to be jazzed up for the holidays.

Mitchell was a medic in the Navy during the Korean War. Afterhis military service, he was active in the American Legion, twice serving as commander.

Rho Mitchell plays Taps at a Memorial Day service on West Park Street with the VFW and American Legion.

He served as funeral director at many of the services for veterans. He brought along his trumpet and played “Taps” at numerous funerals and also on Memorial Day.

Rho loved music, his children said, and he wanted to promote it as much as possible in the community. Besides the Clown and Bum bands, he recruited members for the Legion Band. When some of the members became older senior citizens and struggled to march and play on a parade route, Mitchell secured a school bus for the band. He and others took the top off the bus so the band could be seen in parades.

“He was a real go-getter,” Keding said. “He made things go.”

Mitchell grew up in Elmira. He married his high school sweetheart, Beverly. She was a year behind him in school. They had a study hall together in high school.

“We sat across from each other and he completely ignored me,” his wife said. “I was surprised when he asked me out for Valentine’s day.”

They attended a dance together and Rho, “Buck” as his wife calls him, impressed her by dancing the Jitterbug.

“He was a good dancer,” said Mrs. Mitchell, his wife of 64 years. “I had two left feet.”

Mitchell initially eyed a career in the printing business as a linotypist. But he was allergic to the lead used in printing. He had a friend whose father was in the funeral business. He suggested Rho pursue it as a career.

After serving in the Korean War as a medic, he graduated from Simmons Institute of Funeral Service in Syracuse. He moved to Albion in 1955, and started his funeral director career at the former Leon Grinnell Funeral Home. At the time Albion had four funeral homes.

“He wanted to help people,” David said. “Being a funeral director came natural for him.”

Rho Mitchell and Ken Scharett started Scharett-Mitchell Funeral Home in Albion in 1957. Here is how the property looked in 1958. Mitchell, a skilled woodworker, made the sign.

Mitchell had hoped to buy the Grinnell business in 1957. Grinnell sold it to another funeral director that year. Mitchell enjoyed the Albion community and didn’t want to leave.

Rho and a friend, a fellow funeral director Ken Scharett, started Scharett Mitchell Funeral Home in Albion in late 1957 at the Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes site on Route 31. The site has been expanded twice since then.

Scharett retired in 1974. Mitchell joined with Michael Christopher and the two opened a new funeral home in Holley in 1971 on Route 31. Christopher would retire from the business in 1982.

Rho’s son David joined Christopher Mitchell in 1984 and David’s son Josh became a funeral director, joining the family business in 2012.

Rho Mitchell is pictured in 2012 with his son David and grandson Josh. All three made their careers as funeral directors. Bruce Landis took this photo that hangs inside Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes.

David said his father welcomed input from his son and staff.

“I was very blessed with dad from a business end,” David said. “He wanted to know what ideas I had to improve the business. He wasn’t stuck in his ways.”

His father was skilled as a woodworker and made wagons, model ships, petal cars and dump trucks as toys for his grandchildren. Those toys have endured for decades and David and Josh say they will be treasured by the family for generations to come.

Rho and his wife moved to Florida for the winters in 1991. Rho was seriously injured in a car accident in 1997 in Florida. He had to relearn to walk and talk after suffering a brain inury, as well as a broken neck and other bones.

He was at The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center in Albion the past four years.

“They took wonderful care of him,” David said. “We can’t say enough about the staff.”
Patty, a vocational painting and wall papering instructor at the Orleans Correctional Facility, said her father left a powerful legacy in the community.

“It was all about working together and making it a better place,” she said.

Kendall Lions stay strong

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers
KENDALL – Randy Unterborn (left), president of the Kendall Lions Club, is pictured with Clifford Provost, one of the charter members of the club that formed on Jan. 19, 1975. Provost and Cole Hardenbrook have remained members of the club for all 40 of its years.

“I just like the thought of service,” said Provost, a World War II veteran who worked for Kodak for 40 years. “We really should be committed to helping our community.”

These are tough times for many local service clubs. Their memberships have dropped, forcing many of the local clubs to cut back on service projects and donations to community causes.

The Kendall Lions Club remains strong with 64 members, one of the biggest service organizations in Orleans County.

The club meets the first and third Thursdays at the Kendall Fire Hall. The club welcomes different speakers for their meetings. Last night I was invited to talk about Orleans Hub.

The Lions support many youth and community initiatives. Unterborn is in his second stint as president. He works as the head of the grounds department at Hilton Central School. He joined the Lions Club about 18 years ago.

“We got a good, strong club and we have a lot of fun,” Unterborn said on Thursday night.

Terry Bliss has been a Kendall Lion for 25 years. He recently served as district governor. Kendall, with 64 members, is in the top three for membership of about 40 clubs in the district.

The club joins for dinner, singing and updates on community projects.

Local growers help promote new apple

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 February 2015 at 12:00 am

RubyFrost gets star treatment from Wegmans, other grocers

Provided photo – Brett Kast, right, of Kast Farms in Albion is pictured with his wife Amanda on Saturday at the Wegmans in Buffalo on Sheridan Drive. Peter Weisenborn, a Kast family cousin, stopped by to sample the new RubyFrost apple.

An apple that debuted last year at farm markets is out in bigger numbers this time, and local growers are helping to promote the new variety.

RubyFrost is one of two new varieties developed exclusively for New York apple growers. The apple is a late season variety. After spending some time in storage, New York apple growers and several big grocery chains are pushing the apple right now throughout the state and the Northeast.

Many of the apple farmers are taking turns in stores, answering consumers’ questions about the RubyFrost variety. Brett Kast, a partner and orchard manager at Kast Farms, was at a Wegmans in Buffalo last Saturday with his wife Amanda.
Customers sampled the apple, and Kast said people were overwhelmingly positive.

“It was a great experience to see the hard work you put into it and then see the consumers’ reaction,” Kast said. “Everybody who tried it absolutely loved it.”

RubyFrost is a cross between Braeburn with Autumn Crisp. The new apple is 95 percent red. It is firm with a sweet taste. Kast said the flavor matures while the apple is in storage.

New York apple growers also partnered with Cornell to grow and market SnapDragon. That apple is a cross between Honeycrisp and NY 752. The apple is ready earlier in the season.

The apple growers formed a new cooperative, New York Apple Growers LLC, to manage where the apples would be grown. The new varieties have been planted on 930 acres in apple-growing regions throughout the state. Roger Lamont of Albion is chairman of the cooperative.

The new apples won’t be grown in other states. Michigan and Washington, which are big apple producers, won’t have access to SnapDragon and RubyFrost. The exclusivity will be a benefit to New York growers.

But they need to make consumers of aware of the new varieties. That’s why Kast and other growers are appearing in stores to introduce consumers to SnapDragon and RubyFrost, and to let the public know the apples are excusively grown in New York. For consumers in the Buffalo and Rochester markets, the apples may have been grown only a short distance away, perhaps at orchards in Orleans or Wayne counties.

Kast said most of the consumers who tried the apple decided to buy a bag of the RubyFrost.

“I didn’t have to push too hard to sell the apple,” he said.

For more information on RubyFrost and where it is available, click here.

Correctional Facility donates to Community Action

Contributed Story Posted 5 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Employees at the Orleans Correctional Facility delivered food to Community Action on East State Street on Wednesday.

The following are pictured: Dan Passarell (kneeling), a teacher at the men’s prison. Back row, from left: Richard Lugo, corrections officer; Willie Thompson, corrections officer; Carol Cornacchilo, offender rehabilitation counselor; and Kelly Montes, offender rehabilitation counselor.

Employees held a competition at the facility among four unions in December and January to see which union could give the most. The management confidential union or administration led the way, with other donations from teachers, corrections officers, counselors and CSEA workers. Altogether there were 188 pounds donated.

The donations come a good time for Community Action, which sees giving drop off after the holidays, said Anni Skowneski, case manager for Community Action. She said the food would be given out at Community Action sites in Albion and Holley.

Arc puts on first chicken and biscuit dinner

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Theresa Schmackpfeffer and her great-granddaughter Kelli Dingle, 7, arrange pies and other desserts at a fund-raising dinner for The Arc of Orleans County today.

The Arc is serving up chicken and biscuits at the Nutri-Fair site at 16 East Academy St. This is the first time the Arc is having a chicken and biscuit dinner as a fund-raiser. Meals will be served until 7 p.m.

Greg Canham emerges from the kitchen with four take-out dinners ready.

GCASA Foundation approves mini grants

Posted 5 February 2015 at 12:00 am

Press Release, GCASA

The Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Foundation has approved three mini grants to local organizations.

The GCASA Foundation was established in 1992 to support the work of GCASA, a substance abuse treatment, prevention and residential services provider in Genesee and Orleans counties.

“GCASA Foundation is committed to supporting the work of GCASA and other grass roots organizations in our community,” said Foundation Board President Kathleen Maerten. “Annually, GCASA Foundation sets aside money to provide agencies with needed funding to further their efforts in making our community a safer, healthier place to live and work.”

This year’s three recipients provide crucial services to individuals and families in the two-county area. The Mental Health Association in Genesee County, Crossroads House in Batavia and Christ Church Community Kitchen in Albion each received $200 mini-grants.

“We receive many requests for funding and find it challenging to limit our mini-grant program,” said John Bennett, GCASA executive director. “The work done by this year’s grantees impacts many of the people we serve at GCASA.”