Facebook

news

Barge canal on path to historic designation

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2014 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – The Horan Avenue Bridge in Medina is one of many that were built when the canal was enlarged between 1905 and 1908.

The Erie Canal could soon receive added recognition as a historical and cultural resource after it was nominated for both the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

The New York State Board of Historic Preservation nominated the canal as “The Barge Canal Historic District” for the state and national registers. The nomination notes many of the historical artifacts from the widening and deepening of the canal from 1905 to 1918.

Orleans County has many of those features: lift bridges, single-truss bridges, guard gates, terminals and waste weirs.

The Barge Canal and 27 other sites in the state were nominated last week for the state and national designations. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is rich in historic assets and can use them to draw more tourists.

“By nominating these sites as historic places, we are working to preserve that legacy for future generations, while also encouraging travelers from every corner of the world  to visit and explore the sites that made New York the Empire State,” Cuomo said.

The Barge Canal Historic District includes the four historic branches of the state’s 20th century canal system; the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca canals – all much enlarged versions of waterways that were initially constructed during the 1820s.

Orleans County has seven lift bridges, including this one on Main Street in Albion.

The district sprawls 450 miles over 18 counties and encompasses 23,000 acres.

“Adding these to the Registers places them in distinctive company and is a momentous step in their long-term preservation and celebration,” said Rose Harvey, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The state Canal Corporation director also commended the Board of Historic Preservation for supporting the Barge Canal’s nomination.

“All along New York’s Canals are communities, both large and small, that share a sense of identity and common heritage that stems directly from the Canal system,” said Brian U. Stratton, Canal Corporation director. “These nominations give this marvel of American engineering its rightful place in history and further it as a mechanism for spurring tourism, economic growth and environmental restoration.”

The New York State Barge Canal is a nationally significant work of early 20th century engineering and construction that affected commerce across much of the continent for nearly half a century, state officials said.

The Erie Canal first opened in 1825. It was the country’s most successful and influential manmade waterway, facilitating and shaping the course of settlement in the Northeast, Midwest, and Great Plains.

It connected the Atlantic seaboard with territories west of the Appalachian Mountains, and established New York City as the nation’s premiere seaport and commercial center.

New York’s canals were enormously successful and had to be enlarged repeatedly during the 19th century to accommodate larger boats and increased traffic. The Barge Canal, constructed 1905-18, is the last and most ambitious enlargement.

The canal remains in use today. This boat passed by Albion last week. The Canal Corporation’s maintenance shop, pictured, was built in 1917 and is a contributing structure for the Barge Canal Historic District.

Congress recognized the canal as a national treasure in 2000 when it created the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. The National park Service since then has been working with canal communities to implement preservation and revitalization strategies, said Mike Caldwell, regional director of the NPS in the Northeast Region.

“This historic district listing will further enhance the Erie Canalway’s stature as one of our nation’s greatest and most recognizable heritage assets,” he said.

State and National Register listing can assist property owners in revitalizing buildings, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

The Barge Canal’s application identifies 566 contributing structures along the canal that add to the historic significance of the barge system.

In Orleans County, the contributing structures include:

The Ingersoll Street Lift Bridge in Albion, pictured in back, was buit in 1911.

Murray – Bennetts Corners Road bridge from 1911; Holley Waste Weir built in 1914; Holley Embankment (the tallest on the system, rising 76 feet above the valley of the East Branch of Sandy Creek); East Avenue Lift Bridge constructed in 1911; Holley Terminal, constructed in 1915 as a 16-foot by 30-foot wood frame freight house;

Guard Gate that is west of North Main Street and constructed 1914; Telegraph Road Bridge built in 1911; Groth Road Bridge built in 1911; Hulberton Road Lift Bridge constructed 1913; Brockville Waste Weir east of Fancher Road Bridge, constructed 1911; Hindsburg Road Bridge constructed 1911; and Transit Road Bridge constructed 1911.

ALBION – Densmore Road Bridge constructed in 1911; Keitel Road Bridge built in 1912; Butts Road Bridge constructed 1912; Brown Street Bridge from 1912 (includes a sidewalk); Albion Waste Weir off State Street behind Community Action, constructed in 1910; Ingersoll Street Lift Bridge from 1911; Main Street Lift Bridge from 1914;

Albion terminal and shops for Canal Corporation, built in 1917; Lattins Farm Road bridge from 1911; Guard Gates from 1913; Gaines Basin Road bridge from 1912; Eagle Harbor Waste Weir that includes three drain gates, built in 1912; Eagle Harbor Lift Bridge, built in 1910 with a wood frame tower; Allen’s Bridge Road Bridge built in 1909; and Presbyterian Road Bridge from 1909.

RIDGEWAY – Knowlesville Lift Bridge from 1910 (During a 1975 rehabilitation, the tower was replaced by one-story brick control building on east side at south end of bridge.); Knowlesville Terminal, west of Knowlesville lift bridge, and built in 1910; Culvert Road (This is the only place where a road passes under a branch of the New York State Canal System. There has been a road culvert under the canal here 1823. Stone portals at either end of the enlarged Erie Canal culvert were dismantled and re-erected when it was extended to its current 200-foot length as part of Barge Canal construction, according to the Barge Canal application to the state.);

Beals Road Bridge from 1909; Bates Road Bridge constructed in 1914; Guard Gate, west of Bates Road bridge, and constructed in 1914; Pleasant Street/Horan Avenue Bridge built in 1914; Oak Orchard Creek Aqueduct, constructed in 1914. (The Oak Orchard Creek span is the only true aqueduct on the Barge Canal system. The structure consists of a concrete arch over Oak Orchard Creek at the head of Medina Falls with concrete walls on either side of the channel.)

Medina Terminal, a 24- by 70-foot frame freight house constructed in 1916; Eagle Street/Glenwood Avenue Bridge, constructed 1914; Prospect Avenue/ Route 63 Lift Bridge, built in 1914; Marshall Road Bridge from 1909; and a Guard Gate near Middleport, from 1913.

Law partners built one of first cottages at Oak Orchard-On-The-Lake

Posted 20 June 2014 at 12:00 am

By Bill Lattin
Orleans County Historian

CARLTON – This stick style cottage, built in 1883, was one of the first at Oak Orchard-On-The-Lake.

The Isaac Signor Family and the Edwin Wage Family built the double cottage together. The Wages occupied the east half, the Signors the west half. Wage and Signor were law partners.

The photo of a gathering was taken in 1886. When the lake eroded to within inches of this cottage it was torn down in 1952.

GTC supports bridge removal, blocked off Albion street

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2014 at 12:00 am

ROCHESTER – The regional transportation council that doles out state and federal funding for infrastructure projects would support tearing out the Clarendon Street bridge in Albion and then blocking off that section of the street.

The Genesee Transportation Council met on Thursday and the board said it would support directing federal and state dollars to the village bridge removal. The GTC previously wanted the funds to be used for taking out the 40-year-old bridge over the railroad tracks and putting in a new one.

The costs for that project jumped by about $600,000 with most of that increase falling on the village’s shoulders. The Village Board expected the state and federal governments to pay 95 percent of the total bridge project costs of about $2 million.

The federal and state share did not go up with the latest cost estimates for the project because there isn’t more money to direct to the project, said Rich Perrin, executive director of the GTC.

The village will now see its share go up from about $100,000 to $700,000. Village Board members say that is too much for village taxpayers. The board prefers removing the bridge and blocking off that section of the street. That would keep the village’s share at 5 percent of the project.

“The board members are sympathetic to the village’s situation because they have all been there,” Perrin said about the GTC board.

Other municipalities have started bridge replacement projects only to see the final costs spike after years of working on design, legal issues and property acquisitions.

The decision to either replace the bridge or remove it will rest with the Village Board, not the regional transportation council, Perrin said. The village needs to make a decision by the end of June or it risks losing the federal and state dollars for the project, he said.

The Village Board had a public meeting on June 11. Some residents expressed concern that a blocked off street would hurt local businesses on the east side of the village, while adding drive time and congestion in that part of the community.

Much of the traffic from Clarendon Street would likely be shifted to McKinistry Street. Bergmann Associates, the village’s consultant on the project, said the blocked off bridge would add 5 seconds to leaving the intersection at McKinistry and Route 31, up from an average of 11 seconds in peak congestion to 16 seconds.

If the village chooses to remove the bridge and block off that section of the street, there will be federal and state money left over. The GTC board agreed on Thursday to direct those funds to the preliminary design of replacing the River Street bridge in the city of Batavia that goes over Tonawanda Creek.

Only a few power restorations left in Carlton

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2014 at 2:49 pm

Some students will be dropped at Rec Hall this afternoon

CARLTON – National Grid has returned electricity to nearly everyone after a severe thunderstorm knocked out power to thousands of Orleans County residents on Tuesday night.

There are about 20 customers still waiting to have their power restored, and National Grid said it expects to have nearly everyone back on line by 4 p.m. today.

There are nine customers without electricity on Route 98 in Carlton near the intersection with Waterport-Carlton Road, and fewer than five without electricity in Kenyonville near Platten Road, according to National Grid’s latest update at 2:32 p.m.

There are also two outages on East Avenue and West Park Street in the village of Albion and fewer than five customers without power in East Shelby.

Albion Central School this morning used the Carlton Fire Company Recreation Hall as a bus pickup because some roads were closed. The Rec Hall will continue to be used this afternoon for bus drop offs for students who live on Route 98 from Waterport-Carlton Road to Route 18. The school expects normal bus schedules to return tomorrow.

Albion closed school on Wednesday due to the aftermath of the storm. Students were supposed to take finals for Grade 8 Latin and Spanish. Those tests have been rescheduled for Friday at 11:30 a.m.

Schumer seeks more federal funds for bridge repairs

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2014 at 12:00 am

File photo by Tom Rivers – The Brown Street Bridge in Albion has been closed to traffic for two years. It is one of several canal bridges in Orleans County that are either closed or have had the weight restrictions lowered.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is co-sponsor of legislation that would direct $48 million more in federal funds to New York to fix bridges.

Schumer’s office says 2,200 bridges in the state are rated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, including 18 in Orleans County.

The federal government currently directs $71 million for local bridge repair projects in state, and that funding hasn’t been increased since 2009. The transportation bill going through Congress would continue to lock in the same federal funding level until 2020.

“Keeping our bridges in good health is a top priority for communities across the state, but towns and counties have had to make upgrades and repairs with a limited amount of federal funding to cover the costs,” Schumer said in a statement.

The Orleans County Legislature and local village and town governments have been pressing the state and federal governments for more help in maintaining the bridges. The closed or reduced-weight canal bridges, in particular, have increased travel times for farm equipment, school buses, fire trucks and residents.

“More and more of our local bridges are in need of repairs each year, but local budgets have gotten tighter and federal funding to maintain these smaller bridges has not kept up with demand,” Schumer said. “Now that we are considering a new transportation bill in Congress, it is the perfect opportunity to finally provide towns and counties with the funding for local bridges they deserve, and this bipartisan legislation does just that.”

Schumer’s office identifies the following bridges in Orleans as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete:

Route 279 over Beardsley Creek; Route 279 over Oak Orchard Creek; Waterport Carlton Road over Beardsley Creek; Hulberton Road over West Branch Sandy Creek; Oak Orchard Road over Manning Muckland Creek; Monroe-Orleans County Line Road over E Br Sandy Creek; Knowlesville Road over the Erie Canal; Marshall Road over Johnson Creek; Culvert Road over Fish Creek; Portage Road over Fish Creek; East Scott Road over Fish Creek; Bills Road over Marsh Creek; Kent Road over Marsh Creek; Carlton Road over Sandy Creek; Dunlap Road over Oak Orchard Creek; Hindsburg Road over the Erie Canal; Allen’s Bridge Road over the Erie Canal; Marshall Road over the Erie Canal; Lattin’s Farm Drive over County Road 2 and the Erie Canal.

Schumer said more federal funds are needed to prevent more bridge closures in the state.

“Counties in New York maintain over 9,000 local bridges, many of which are structurally deficient and in need of replacement or repair,” said Stephen J. Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties. “We need to renew our federal focus on local bridges, and Senator Schumer’s support of this legislation comes at the ideal time.”

Counties and towns across New York State rely on a specific allocation of federal funding to maintain and repair many of their local bridges, specifically the 7,464 local bridges. The dollar amount allotted for these “off-system” bridges has not increased in five years.

In the case of New York, that means the state receives approximately $71 million per year to spend on off-system bridges. On the other hand, funding for the 9,992 other New York State bridges that are considered part of the federal highway system has increased over time at the rate of inflation.

Schumer said that it is unacceptable that funding has not increased for local, off-system bridges, particular when so many of them – 2,268 in total in Upstate New York – have been found to be “functionally obsolete” or “structurally deficient.” These designations mean that either elements of the bridge have been found to have significant deterioration, the bridge no longer conforms to current design standards, or a waterway below frequently rises above the bridge during floods. It also means they are at risk of closure.

Schumer is co-sponsoring legislation to be included in the Transportation Bill that would increase total funding for these local bridges by almost $50 million per year. This legislation would increase the funding amount for off-system bridges from 15 percent of the 2009 total to 25 percent of the 2009 total, which would bring New York State’s total from $71 million to $119 million.

Schumer is co-sponsoring this bipartisan legislation with Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Roy Blunt (R-MO).

Canal concert series rocks downtown Albion

Posted 19 June 2014 at 12:00 am

Photos by Sue Cook – The Dady Brothers were the featured act of the concert, performing a set list of mostly Irish music. John Dady is in front with Joe behind him.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

ALBION – A crowd of about 200 came out to enjoy a free concert on East Bank Street in Albion on Thursday night. The performance was the first in a series of concerts put on by the village of Albion, Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council and the Albion Rotary Club.

Sid Beaty, program coordinator, explained how the GO Art! Reach Grant helped to fund the concert series.

“We got some money from GO Art! to put the concert on and we wanted to try to do a multi-faceted event, so we have the farmers’ market, which hopefully expands,” she said. “The Merchants Association does extended shopping hours until 7 p.m., too. We’re trying to do a lot of things at once to try and bring more people in.”

“Hopefully this is the kind of thing that we’re going to keep doing year after year,” she said.

The Pedestrians band includes, from left, Zach Deluca, Mark Proietty and Bobby Skrzypek.

The evening began with Bobby Skrzypek And The Pedestrians (click here) playing their fusion of rock ‘n roll and reggae music. Their line up included original songs “Beautiful Green Dress Woman” and “Soulless Man,” and some Bob Marley.

Lead singer and rhythm player Bobby Skrzypek started off with a steel drum solo that got the crowd warmed up. He went on throughout the evening to play ukelele and hang drum as well. “We’re all about variety of instruments,” said Skrzypek.

During the concert, the Albion Fire Department sold food and beverages as a small fundraiser. They plan to set up at every concert in the series.

Harry Papponetti, Deputy Fire Chief, said, “I think it’s great for the community and helps bring people around again like during the Strawberry Festival when the bands were playing.”

The Dady Brothers (click here) originate from Rochester, but have played across America and have toured to Ireland several times. Their music is a mix of country, bluegrass, Irish and folk. This year they are celebrating their 40th year as musicians.

A crowd gathered on East Bank Street for the concert.

Joe Dady played multiple instruments throughout the evening including guitar, penny whistle, bodhran (Irish drum), fiddle and harmonica. His brother, John, played guitar and ukelele, but did impersonations of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash that got the crowd howling with laughter.

The brothers played a variety of their own songs and covers that included “Here Comes the Sun,” “Lanigan’s Ball” and “The Orange Blossom Special.”

Joe Dady popped the penny whistle in John’s mouth during the performance while John continued playing guitar.

Gail Allen, a resident of Point Breeze, said “We love Irish music and the Dady Brothers play really great Irish music. I’m glad to see the community doing this sort of thing and we’d be very much in support of having this continue.”

Audience participation was encouraged through sing-a-longs and clapping the rhythm.

After The Dady Brothers concluded their performance, they invited The Pedestrians back up to collaborate together on a reggae song. The joint effort blended the two groups together and made a great finale as the sun set.

John Dady said that Jayden Borrero, 9, had approached them before the concert and asked to join their band. During the final song, he had Jayden play the bodhran to try and keep the beat.

Concerts will take place on June 26 and July 10, 17 and 24. Performances begin at 6 p.m.

Sid Beaty is still seeking farmers interested in joining the market portion of the event. Farmers can call the village at 589-9176 to ask about participating.

Readers share photos from the storm

Staff Reports Posted 19 June 2014 at 12:00 am

Orleans Hub readers had the cameras out Tuesday evening when the sky turned dark and a severe thunderstorm invaded the area.

Pamela Moore of Barre took the top picture when the storm started to hit at about 7:30 p.m.

Lori Laine of Albion was driving on Route 98 in Carlton when power poles fell over. “The wires landed on my car right in front of the Ho-Jack !!” she said. “I am lucky to be alive!!!”

After the storm went through, knocking down trees and power lines, the sky turned a brilliant orange. Greg Stanton of Medina took this picture from his back yard on East Avenue in Medina.

The storm left thousands without power. A Waterport woman sent in this photo of fallen trees. She had five big tree limbs land on her house.

Stray dog, floating cottonwood join youth baseball game

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2014 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The season is winding down for the eight teams in the Albion Midget League, but this evening’s game against St. Mary’s Athletic Club and the Barre Cubs included some uninvited guests.

For about half the game a stray dog kept wandering on the field at St. Mary’s. The dog was finally corralled by two Albion police officers and the village animal control officer.

At times during the game it looked like it was snowing from all the cottonwood floating on the field. In this picture, Isaac Neidert for St. Mary’s doesn’t let the cottonwood distract him. St. Mary’s won the close game, 6-5.

Most students were able to take Regents in Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2014 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – Here is how downtown Albion looked at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday after a storm barreled through, knocking out power.

ALBION – With live power wires down, electricity knocked out and trees toppled, Albion school officials cancelled school on Wednesday.

It’s a rare to have a weather event shut down school in June. But Michael Bonnewell, district superintendent, didn’t want to take any chances with live wires down and students forced to dodge so much debris, especially in Carlton.

Parents were notified before 6 a.m. that school would be closed and there wouldn’t be any Regents tests that day. That created a hardship for some students, who wouldn’t get another chance at the tests until August for the course in Global History and Geography and until January for Algebra 2/Trigonmetry.

At about 6 a.m. on Wednesday, the lights came back on for most of the village. National Grid soon had much of the power restored throughout the school district, except for Carlton.

Bonnewell and school officials decided to offer the Regents after all. They got on the phone with as many students and parents as they could. Each test had about 24 students.

“We gave parents the option and if they could safely get to the school,” Bonnewell said.

About 75 percent of the students came in for the test, with Global History at 9:30 a.m. and Algebra 2/Trigonmetry at 2 p.m.

“It wasn’t perfect,” Bonnewell said. “We weren’t able to get a hold of everyone. Some of them had phones where the batteries died. But most of the kids were able to take the test.”

Gaines loses millions of gallons of water annually

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2014 at 12:00 am

Town will try to better track water, find leaks

Photo by Tom Rivers – Gaines Town Supervisor Carol Culhane said the town needs to better account for its water, particularly with its record keeping.

GAINES – The town of Gaines had 60 million gallons of unaccounted water go through its water lines in the past 4 ½ years, about $170,000 worth of water that it paid the village of Albion.

Town officials want to reduce that number, which represents about 19 percent of the total public water usage in Gaines.

“We’re going to take a more proactive approach and see if we can get to the bottom of it,” Town Supervisor Carol Culhane said after a meeting Tuesday when an audit of the water system was presented. “For a little town like this that is a lot of money.”

The town contracted with Wendel Energy for a review of the water system. Gerald Summe and Brian Sibiga from Wendel presented the study on Tuesday.

They said the town needs more master water meters in each of its 10 water districts, better record keeping and a plan for regularly replacing residential water meters. The town also needs to make sure no one is getting water without being properly billed, Sibiga said.

The town should also purchase leak detection equipment and establish a program for better tracking and repairing leaks.

The audit showed a loss in water from 8.3 million gallons annually (at $35,600 in revenue) to 15.4 million gallons ($65,400). The American Water Works Association suggests a 10 percent loss as a benchmark. Gaines is nearly double that rate.

“You need to put forward that effort and be good stewards so you know where the water is going,” Sibiga told town officials.

Wendel determined the water loss percentages by taking the number of gallons Gaines is billed for by the village and subtracting what the town then bills its users. Gaines buys water from the village for $2.94 per 1,000 gallons. Town residents are billed $4.25 per 1,000.

Gaines has 27 miles of water lines in 10 water districts with 754 customers. The infrastructure is relatively new and in good shape overall, Summe said. That’s good news because Gaines doesn’t need major capital investments to fix leaking old pipes.

It also leads Wendel officials to suspect that the record keeping needs to be tightened to better account for all of the water.

The company suggested the town look at consolidating all 10 water districts into one town-wide district. That would make billing and management easier. Gaines may also want to consider tiered water rates with larger volume users getting a discount.

The firm said Gaines should consider more master meters on roads and water districts so it can better pinpoint any leaks and problem areas, and should work to replace more residential and large-volume user meters. Those meters lose their effectiveness with each passing year, accounting for some the discrepancy in what Gaines buys from the Albion and what the town then bills its customers.

Without more meters and leak detection equipment, Sibiga said the town will struggle to find that lost water.

“You’re looking for a needle in the haystack when you’re looking for a water leak,” he said. “A lot of this is a ‘Where’s Waldo’ with where the water is going.”

Gaines has built most of its new water districts within the past 20 years. But even relatively new infrastructure can have holes, letting out water.

“You’re not going to stop the system from getting leaks,” Sibiga said. “Every system has leaks. The question is how quickly can you find them and repair them.”

New meters would provide more accurate data for billing records, and Sibiga said the town should meter some problem areas monthly rather than quarterly to better track water consumption and potential losses.

The town should also be diligent in making sure every water consumer is being billed. Culhane wants to see the town go after its record keeping first and see if that narrows the gap in lost water.

Crews build trolley in Medina a century ago

Posted 19 June 2014 at 12:00 am

By Bill Lattin
Orleans County Historian

MEDINA – In this 1908 view of Main Street on Medina we see tracks being laid for the B.L. & R. trolley system. Two sets of tracks were put down here so trolleys could bypass each other.

The trolley tracks did not go straight through Medina as they did in Albion. It seems people who lived in the fine residences on West Center Street did not want the trolley cars rumbling past their homes.

Therefore the trolley line made a right angle off East Center Street onto Main Street and followed Commercial Street out to Salt Works Road.

The noteworthy landmark in our photo is White’s Hotel in the distance with the seven-story tower.

Albion schools reopen today

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2014 at 12:00 am

Some Carlton students should meet at Rec Hall for bus

ALBION – With the community mostly back in order after Tuesday’s fierce thunderstorm, Albion schools are reopening today.

The district will have a pickup point in Carlton, which is still affected from the storm that knocked out power and took down power poles.

Students who live on Waterport-Carlton Road, Park Avenue, and Route 98 between Waterport-Carlton Road and Route 18 should meet at the Carlton Recreation Hall on Route 98 at 7:15 for middle and high school bus pickup. Elementary students should meet there at 8:40 a.m.

STAMP now has own website

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 June 2014 at 12:00 am

ALABAMA – The 1,250-acre Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park or STAMP has been called a mega-site for nanotechnology, a business park that could result in 10,000 direct jobs and perhaps 50,000 more in support industries in the region.

STAMP now has something else: its own website at wnystamp.com. Genesee County Economic Development Center has launched the site that details the possibilities for the site 1 mile south of Orleans County and the town of Shelby.

The project has generated strong support from economic development leaders from Buffalo, Rochester, Genesee and Orleans counties, as well as state officials. The 2014-15 state budget includes $33 million to move the project forward and develop infrastructure.

STAMP is south of Lewiston Road at Route 77. The 1,250-acre site will accommodate nanotechnology companies including semiconductor 450mm chip fab, flat panel display, solar manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing.

Day after storm, rainbow shines on Orleans

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 June 2014 at 10:04 pm

Photo by Annalise Steier

CARLTON – A day after a severe thunderstorm took down trees, knocked out power and strewn debris over Orleans County, a radiant rainbow appeared this evening at sunset.

Annalise Steier, 11, of Carlton took the top picture from her front porch on Route 98 after 8:30 p.m.

Her dad, John Steier, shared it on Facebook with this message: “Proof God is not going to destroy Carlton.”

Power has been nearly restored to the county, but National Grid reports that 79 people remain without power in Waterport/Kent with it expected to be back on by 11:30 p.m. tonight.

Another 289 people are without electricity from the storm north of Route 104 near the Carlton/Yates town line.

They are expected to be restored by 11:59 tonight.

 

More than 3,000 still without power

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 June 2014 at 7:25 am

Provided photo

CARLTON – Much of Carlton remains without electricity this morning after a storm Tuesday night knocked down trees and power lines.

The top photo shows Park Avenue Extension in Carlton, where trees remain down and the road impassable this morning.

National Grid reports that more than 3,000 customers in Orleans County remain without power this morning. That includes 1,479 just north of the village of Albion, from between Sawyer Road and Eagle Harbor. The power company reports it is assessing the condition.

Those numbers don’t include 836 customers without power in Carlton. National Grid is estimating they will have power restored at 6 p.m.

There are also 720 customers wit no electricity from Knowlesville to East Shelby and West Barre. National Grid is assessing the condition in that area.

Provided photo – The storm snapped poles in Waterport near the dam and power plant.