By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Veterans seek big turnout on Main Street at 6:30 p.m.
Schmigel
MEDINA – The body of Medina native Shaina B. Schmigel, a paratrooper who died in a training exercise at Fort Bragg, will return home on Monday.
Schmigel, 21, died on May 30 during a night-time training drill. She served in the Army for four years and was promoted to sergeant in January.
Her family and local veterans’ groups welcome the community to line Main Street in Medina around 6:30 p.m. on Monday when she will be escorted into town by the Patriot Guard and state police.
‘The family wants people to be out,” said Jim Freas, a past commander of the VFW in Medina. “We want to line Main Street.”
Schmigel is a 2010 Medina graduate. She moved from Batavia to Medina about six years ago. She was a cheerleader at Medina.
Schmigel’s body is scheduled to arrive at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport at 5 p.m. After being escorted through Medina, she will be taken to Batavia at The Michael S. Tomaszewski Funeral & Cremation Chapel.
There will be calling hours there on Tuesday from 2 to 8 p.m. Tomaszewski’s is located at 4120 West Main Street Rd. The site also will be used for Schmigel’s funeral at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The funeral home seats about 250 people. After the funeral, Schmigel will be buried at Evergreen Hill Cemetery in Corfu.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 June 2014 at 12:00 am
In a Stanley Cup wager, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s has offered California’s governor a “Taste of NY” gift basket that includes award-winning ice wine – The 2011 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina.
Jerry Brown, California’s governor, can sip that wine if the Los Angeles Kings defeat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Kings won game 1 on Wednesday, 3-2.
If the Rangers win the series, Brown will send Cuomo: “California: A History” by Kevin Starr and lightly salted Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Cakes.
If the Kings win, Cuomo will ante up the “Taste NY” gift basket that features products from local businesses across the Empire State.
The bounty includes:
Original Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce, Erie County
Two award winning Ice Wines: The 2011 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Orleans County and the 2012 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from the Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards in Schuyler County
Lupo’s Spiedie Marinade, key ingredient for Binghamton’s famous Spiedie Sandwich, Broome County
Gianelli Hot Italian Sausage, Onondaga County
Sammy and Annie Food’s Chicken Riggie Pasta Sauce Starter, Oneida County
Parker’s Pure New York Maple Syrup, Parker Family Maple Farm, Clinton County
America’s First Kettle Chip, Saratoga Chips, Saratoga County
Apples from Fishkill Farms, Dutchess County
Red velvet cupcakes from Make My Cake, Harlem, Manhattan
Oysters harvested off of Long Island’s shore, Braun Seafood Company, Suffolk County
Cuomo also offered a commemorative hockey puck from the 2013 “Hat Trick” of three on-time budgets in a row.
“While 2014 is already a banner year for New York State hockey teams with Union College and Clarkson University as national college champions, the true icing on the cake would be a triumphant return of the Stanley Cup to the Empire State,” Cuomo said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Oak Orchard Open includes 36 teams in debut
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Oak Orchard Harbor will be busy Saturday morning at 5 a.m. when boats line up in the channel before heading out to Lake Ontario.
POINT BREEZE – A new fishing tournament – The Oak Orchard Open – will cast off before sun up on Saturday when 36 teams leave the Oak Orchard Harbor at 5 a.m.
The new tournament fills a void left after the Orleans County Pro Am was discontinued after last season. The new tourney has a different format and guarantees $20,000 in prizes, including an $8,000 grand prize.
About 150 anglers will be out early Saturday and Sunday for the 2-day tournament. Each team has four members. They earn points based on 10 fish each day – their five heaviest salmon and trout. The teams get a point for each fish and additional points for each pound of their collective catch.
“We all love fishing and the competition,” said charter boat captain Richard Hajecki.
He was one of the main organizers of the tournament with charter captains Bob Songin and Paul Czarnecki, as well as fisherman Mark Lewis.
Charter boat captain Paul Czarnecki, one of the organizers of the new Oak Orchard Open fishing tournament, goes over the rules with fishermen gathered at the Black North Inn.
The teams each paid a $400 entry fee. Sponsors also helped to push up the overall prize winnings. Hajecki said the tournament is good for the area, drawing outsiders to the Oak Orchard.
“It brings a lot of people to the community and they spend money at the businesses,” he said after a captains’ meeting this evening at the Black North Inn. “It showcases the fishery out here.”
The Oak Orchard Open differs from the Pro Am. Instead of a maximum of 12 fish per day at the Pro Am, there are 10. There also aren’t class distinctions between professionals and amateurs in the Oak Orchard Open. They are all vying for the same prizes.
The fishing stops at 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday and the fish must be weighed by 3:30 at the Black North to qualify.
“It’s a new format and a new idea,” said Mike Waterhouse, the county’s sportfishing coordinator. “It’s new and exciting.”
File photo by Tom Rivers – The Lawn Chair Ladies, shown here last July at the Kendall Firemen’s Carnival, will be part of June Fest in Holley.
Press release, Village of Holley
HOLLEY – The annual festival season will kick off on Saturday with the 6th Annual Murray-Holley June Fest. The events start in the morning and are capped off with fireworks at dusk.
A committee has worked hard to plan a festival that the young and young at heart will enjoy. The June Fest grows bigger every year and attracts people from all over Orleans and surrounding counties. The festival enriches the community of Holley and all the businesses in town.
As in the past, the day kicks off with the village-wide yard sales at 9 a.m. At 9:30, the Jim Ferris Memorial 5K Race begins. Registration forms can be found on the Village of Holley website (click here).
At 10:30 the grand parade kicks off and will feature the Kendall-Holley Marching Band, Albion High School Purple Eagles marching band, 2014 World Champion Ghost Riders Mini Corps, Mighty St. Joe’s Alumni Corps, Sabers Drum & Bugle Corps, Hamburg Kingsmen Drum & Bugle Corps, Mark Time Marchers Band, Kendall Lawn Chair Ladies, many floats, organizations, and fire departments from around the area.
The parade will start at the VFW on 8 Veterans Drive, march to Batavia Street, proceed down Public Square to White Street then to East Avenue and end at the entrance to the canal park. The judges review stand is located between West Albion Street and Perry Street on East Avenue.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Canal Park on East Avenue you will find craft vendors, food, games and entertainment for children, a wine-tasting booth, farmers market, and musical bands.
The Murray-Holley Historical Society will be holding their annual bake food sale at the museum. You can pick a fresh cup of coffee at Sam’s Diner, Jonathan’s Pastry Shoppe & Café or several of the food booths in the park.
The Community Action center at 75 Public Square will be serving “garbage plates” from noon to 3 p.m. St. Mary’s Catholic Church will feature a chicken barbecue from 11 a.m. until sold out.
Back by popular demand, the evening events begin at 5 p.m. at Woodlands Soccer field with our own version of “Holleywood” Idol. Contestants can sign up at 1st Niagara Bank, Public Square. See Nancy Manard for details.
The free Drum & Bugle Corp Show begins at 7 p.m. with an all-star line-up this year. The award winning Holley High School chorus will open the show followed by the musically talented Lawn Chair Ladies. The evening’s entertainment continues with the Kendall-Holley marching band, the Hit Men Brass Band, Ghost Riders Mini Corps, Mighty St. Joe’s, and finally the Hamburg Kingsmen.
The evening concludes with the spectacular fireworks display by Young Explosives Inc. Bring your lawn chair and let this evening start off a beautiful summer season.
Photos by Sue Cook – Parked in one of the last few remaining spots was a 1936 Chevrolet 2-door.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
MEDINA – Tonight the Medina Canal Basic was packed with approximately 100 classic and antique vehicles while music from the ’50s and ’60s was played over speakers by a DJ. The evening kicks off the summer schedule of Medina cruise-ins.
David Green, co-chairman of the event, said cruise-ins have been going on for 18 years. They regularly draw between 90 and 100 classic cars each week.
“We just get together, listen to music and show off our cars,” Green said. “We’re very fortunate here in Medina because all the businesses put in. Businesses donate to pay for the DJ for the season. We have a Super Cruise on the last night up on Main Street and have an Elvis impersonator there. All the businesses help pay for him. The support from the community is what really makes this as successful as this is.”
Fred and Lori Aquina came from Batavia to admire the beautiful cars lined up in the Canal Basin.
Mike Dagobert of Lyndonville brought his 1957 MGA that he had to replace the engine in.
“I like this cruise-in because it’s quiet, it’s relaxing, it’s a hometown,” he said. “Lots of people show up and there’s lots of cars to look at, and I needed to get the car out and make sure it was running OK. This was a good excuse.”
Lynn Southcott of Medina came with her husband, Harold, and they brought their ’64 Chevy Belair stationwagon.
“We always come to the cruise-in on Friday night down here. We’ve been coming to it since it started,” she said.
Harold added, “I’ve just always monkeyed around with old cars, so we come. It’s something to do. I’ve been doing this stuff for 50-plus years. I’ve had cars ever since I was 12 years old.”
Many participants in the cruise-in events use it as a way to network with others who share their interests, while showing off their vehicles. People from outside the area are able to come to Medina and make connections to the county through new friendships found at the cruise-in nights.
Woody Staples of Barker cleans his ’76 Trans Am. “I’ve been coming here for 10 years or more. I just sit and relax and enjoy the cars.”
Mike Lyons runs his business, Solar-Powered Ice Cream, that serves as one of the food vendors. He appreciates the way old cars look and says that’s why a lot of people come who aren’t into the car culture.
Lyons explained, “If you look at the grills of the cars, some of them are modern, and some of them you look and it’s something you don’t see anymore. It’s like a sculpture. It’s art. The car guys come and look at each others cars, but other people come here and it’s like art to them.”
Cruise-in nights feature themes such as foreign cars, rat rods, trucks and more. Cruise-ins are Friday nights from 5:30 p.m. For more information about theme nights and locations, call 585-798-0445. The Super Cruise on Main Street is Wednesday, Aug. 27.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Albion students get taste of the workplace
Photo by Tom Rivers – Janie Schutz, second from left, shows a display she made about her internship with Shari Berg, a middle school special education teacher at Albion. About 50 students participated in internships in the community. They all celebrated the program on Thursday at the high school cafeteria.
ALBION – Nearly 50 Albion High School students got a taste of the workplace this school year through internships with 30 businesses and organizations in the community, including some multi-million dollar companies.
The internship program is growing and school officials believe it gives students an advantage as they plan and pursue a career.
“The students have worked hard in a variety of locations this year,” said Sue Starkweather Miller, the district’s internship coordinator. “I think they will have a step above the other students because of it.”
The district celebrated the interns and their host partners on Thursday in the high school cafeteria. Students created display boards about their internships. They spent about 90 minutes four days each week over 20 weeks with the internships.
Josh Girvin interned at Allied Builders in Brockport, working closely with Jeff Baron of Albion, the estimator for the company. He prepares bid for major construction projects, including school additions.
Josh Girvin did an internship with Allied Builders in Brockport, working closely with Jeff Baron, the estimator for the company.
Girvin wants to be a civil engineer. He said the experience with Allied Builders has him more excited about that career. He will attend Widener University near Philadelphia to major in civil engineering and compete in track.
At Allied, he read blueprints, learned about construction materials, saw how the company works with subcontractors and has so much research as it goes through the bidding process.
“It was a lot of fun,” Girvin said. “I saw how much goes into a project.”
Alise Pangrazio split her internship between United Way of Orleans County based in Medina and GCASA, which is across the street from the school in Albion.
Pangrazio is interested in working in human services. She said the internships were eye-opening. She helped track donations at United Way and was impressed by the giving spirit of the community.
The organization is working to raise $325,000 for 22 member agencies. Pangrazio was able to learn about all of those agencies. She also saw how many businesses are in the community. She created a 60-plus page list of the businesses by combining records from the eastern and western Orleans United Way organizations. They recently merged into a single county United Way.
“I didn’t think there was so much here,” Pangrazio said about all of the companies and also the agencies in the community. “It’s great to see we have so many businesses.”
Alise Pangrazio split an internship with Lisa Ireland, left, from the United Way of Orleans County and Patricia Crowley of the GCASA.
Lisa Ireland, the executive director of the United Way, said Pangrazio’s work was helpful to the United Way, which only has two employees.
“She is absolutely a part of our team,” Ireland said.
Pangrazio also spent two days a week with the Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, working with prevention educator Patricia Crowley. They planned a town-wide meeting on underage drinking in Medina, teamed with the High School Honor Society for a food giveaway at GCASA, and placed stickers warning about underage tobacco use at retailers in Albion and Holley.
“We try to make it hands-on,” Crowley said about the internship program. “It’s all about getting them out into the community.”
Pangrazio will major in general studies at Genesee Community College. At first she was considering a major in psychology, but wants to work in human services.
“I just like to help people, anything I can do to make their life a little better,” she said.
Albion senior Ben Kirby interned with the school’s tech support department. He was tasked with developing a computer program that would scan student ID cards.
Kirby said the experience was confirmation he wants to pursue computer programming in college and as a career. He will attend Monroe Community College and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Renee Ebbs interned with the Olde Dogge Inn. She answered phones, fed animals and worked with customers. She wants to be a vet tech.
Students with internships include Connor Barleben, Vjosa Bela, Jarod Biemans, Kayla Breeze, Dylan Burkhardt, Brooke Chandler, Rachel Corke, Julissa Curcie, Mitchell DeSmit, Bradlee Driesel, Renee Ebbs, Lydia Erakare, Sabrina Finzer, Kyle Frasier, Mark Gibson, Joshua Girvin, Yasmin Gutierrez Apaez, Justyn Haines, Tierra Hastings, Emily Joslyn, Benjamin Kirby, Johnathan Krieger, Ashley Leis, Taylor Mager, Johaneliz Martinez Tinoco, Michelle Maxwell, Summer Moore, Sierra Morgan, Zachary Neilans, Alise Pangrazio, Kendall Piccirilli, Rebekkah Piedmont, Joshua Raymond, Jenna Reigle, Janie Schutz, Jasmine Scurry, Becca Sills, Arrianna Smith, Jasmyn Smith, Martha Smith, Steven Stauss, Nathanael Sugar, Christopher Taber, Garrett Van Lieshout, Johnathan Warne, Ashley Weigele and Shannan Wells.
The following businesses and organizations hosted interns:
Agape Physical Therapy in Brockport, Advanced Imaging in Batavia, Albion Central School staff, Albion Police Department, Allied Builders in Brockport, Avanti Pizza, Bentley Brothers, CRFS (IT Department), Country Lane Veterinary Services, D & K Auto Body Repair, GCASA, Dr. Karl Heuer DDS, Hoag Library, Keeler Construction Company, LaBella Associates, Little Leapers, Mark’s Pizzeria, Medina Fire Department, Medina Memorial Hospital (Imaging Department), Monroe Tractor in Batavia, Olde Dogge Inn, Orleans Community Health (Physical Therapy Department), Orleans County DSS (Welfare Fraud Department), Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, Relco Systems in Lockport, Sodexho, Saint-Gobain Adfors, Villages of Orleans (social work, dietary and laundry departments), United Way of Orleans County and YMCA Eagle’s Pride Daycare.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – Seagulls are making their presence known through sight, sound and smell down at the Oak Orchard Harbor in Point Breeze.
I was down there this afternoon with journalist Alecia Kaus of Batavia for the Coldwater Challenge. We were challenged to get wet by Howard Owens of The Batavian and did so in the 47-degree waters of Lake Ontario. (This may be posted on Facebook and YouTube later.)
I got a new zooms lens yesterday and tried it out on these seagulls.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 June 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Two people have been jailed after being arrested for selling drugs in Albion and Lockport, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force is reporting today.
The arrests came on Wednesday after an investigation into the possession, sale and distribution of crack cocaine, prescription narcotics and marijuana from the city of Lockport to the village of Albion.
The Major Felony Crime Task Force, along the Albion Police Department, arrested a Buffalo man and Lockport woman in the parking lot of the Family Dollar in Albion at 162 South Main St.
A search warrant was executed on a vehicle at the Family Dollar and two people were arrested for sale and possession. Police seized crack cocaine, marijuana and prescription narcotics from the vehicle search.
With assistance from the Lockport Police Department, a secondary search was conducted in Lockport at 165 Erie St. The Task Force said nearly an ounce of crack cocaine, a quantity of marijuana and numerous prescription pills were seized.
The following were arrested:
Cobb
Brosius
Timothy J. Cobb, 30, of 1015 Lafayette Ave., Buffalo. He was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree (a class B felony), three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree (a class B felony), two counts of CPCS in the fifth degree, one count of CSCS in the fifth degree, one count of criminal sale of marijuana in the fourth degree and one count of unlawful possession of marihuana.
Cobb was arraigned in the Town of Barre Justice Court by Judge Richard A. DeCarlo Jr. and committed to the Orleans County Jail without bail due to his previous criminal history, the Task Force reported.
Amanda K. Brosius, 33, of 165 Erie St., Lockport. She was charged with three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, five counts of CPCS in the fifth degree, four counts of CSCS in the fifth degree, two counts of criminal diversion of a prescription in the fourth degree, one count of criminal sale of marijuana in the fourth degree, and one count of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree.
Brosius was arraigned in the Town of Albion Justice Court by Judge Kevin J. Howard and was committed to the county jail on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond.
Both are to appear at Albion Town Court on June 10 at 9 a.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Adam Wakefield is one of the new owners of the Boiler 54 performance venue in the back of the former R.H. Newell Shirt Factory in Medina at 115 West Center St. The new concert series kicks off on Friday. Wakefield is teaming with Kody Wagner with Boiler 54.
Dee Adams and Dave Kimball of Buffalo perform last August in Boiler 54. The concert series runs Fridays and Saturdays until near Thanksgiving.
MEDINA – An outdoor performance venue that serves beer and food has new owners and a new season that will kick off on Friday.
Adam Wakefield, 31, and Kody Wagner, 30, are friends since their junior high days in Medina. Now they are co-owners of Boiler 54, an open-air music and performance venue in the back of the R.H. Newell Shirt Factory building on West Center Street.
Boiler 54 will have musicians performing Friday and Saturday nights until Thanksgiving. The new owners may add Thursday and Sunday performances as well. They also are working on other amenities for the site, including a farmers’ market.
“This is a great space,” Wakefield said about the venue. “The acoustics are great.”
Many local and regional bands and musicians have played at Boiler 54 since it opened in 2012. Wakefield helped line up the bands last year. He said Boiler 54 is building a reputation in Western New York among musicians and music lovers.
“There is nothing like this in Western New York,” Wakefield said. “We hit our stride last summer. This is definitely becoming a very popular place.”
Friday’s shows start at 8 p.m. with performances by Dirty Vernon, a rock and roll cover band, and Minglewood, which performs Grateful Dead tunes.
Boiler 54 this season is dropping the $5 cover charge for everyone, including people 21 and under.
Wakefield and Wagner have a pub inside the building. Wagner built the bar himself. Concerts will shift inside when it is rainy or cold outside.
“Our aim is to turn this into a beer garden,” Wakefield said.
Wakefield and Wagner are part of emerging group of young professionals and business owners in downtown Medina. Wakefield had been living in Buffalo and was part of the music scene there for the past decade.
He has seen Buffalo neighborhoods become vibrant places by embracing the arts, farmers’ markets and young adults.
“Entrepreneurship will save this town,” Wakefield said about Medina. “There’s a lot of good stuff going on right now. You just have to blaze a trail.”
Replica of Lincoln’s coffin will be on display in Albion
Photos by Sue Cook – Funeral Director Rebekah Karls stands outside the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home, formerly the residence of Sanford Church, the New York State Lieutenant Governor in 1842.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
ALBION – This year the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home celebrates its 100th year in the funeral business with special events planned for the Strawberry Festival on June 13-14.
In 1914, J.B. Merrill established his funeral business and later merged and formed J.B. Merrill & Son with Leon Grinnell’s business.
Rebekah Karls has served as Merrill-Grinnell’s manager and a funeral director since 2002. She times the funeral home’s 100th anniversary with the Albion Strawberry Festival next weekend. She welcomes the community to learn, explore and get a taste of history.
“Sometimes after a funeral, when everything’s done and everyone’s leaving, the most frequent thing I hear is ‘I hope we don’t meet like this again’ or ‘I hope we meet somewhere else,’” Karls said. “So this is kind of a nice occasion for people to come where they don’t have the lingering grief following them.”
Before its current location, located at the corner of East State and Ingersoll in Albion, the funeral home used to be in the building across State Street. It was purchased by Merrill-Grinnell during the 1930s. Merrill’s original location was in Kendall.
This ad states the date for grand opening in the current location on Sept. 17-18, 1955.
The funeral home will be open to the public during the festival. Exhibits will be set up with death and funeral related items, old advertisements, antique equipment, funeral furniture, a glass trike hearse, the rosewood ice chest coffin from the Cobblestone museum and more. Tours will also be available.
“It’s basically a community event,” Karls explained. “Come on down and meet me. I want to meet you. I want to talk to you. I want you to see what we’re about. I don’t want anybody to feel pressured about anything.”
Karls expects the big draw for the weekend to be Abraham Lincoln’s coffin provided by Batesville Casket Company.
It is authentic to Lincoln’s original custom-built coffin (except for an internal lead lining and silver plate).
The original coffin spent three weeks in 1865 making several stops on its way from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Ill. Lincoln had the largest funeral ever until the death of President Kennedy.
A replica of Abraham Lincoln’s coffin will be on display during the Strawberry Festival.
The Batesville Company’s four replica coffins have been to over 100 cities and are on a waiting list into 2016.
On June 14, the funeral home will also host several vendors who are available to answer questions. Karls wants the vendors there to make people more comfortable without feeling overwhelmed.
“I don’t want people to be afraid of this place,” she said. “Everybody’s got questions, but they don’t want to ask. I figure if I have different people there to answer the questions, they’ll feel more at ease to ask and learn.”
“A lot of the older generation is going to have a traditional service, but a lot of people are going modern now and personalizing a lot more,” Karls said. “It’s all about what that person would have wanted. When I get to know the person that’s passed through their family, through stories, then I can say ‘let’s do this to memorialize dad or mom.’”
Karls stands among the casket and vault options that the funeral home offers. She welcomes curious visitors to ask questions in a comfortable atmosphere.
“It takes a little bit of edge off the family,” she said. “It’s not such a sad, solemn thing. It’s going to be a celebration of their life and that’s what we like to do.”
She hopes the weekend of the Strawberry Festival will open people’s minds about funeral services, but also as an opportunity to meet her under enjoyable circumstances.
“I felt this was a good weekend. People were already going to be out here, so come on a couple steps farther and visit us,” said Karls.
The funeral home will be open Friday June 13 from noon until 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The vendors will be there mostly during the afternoon.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 June 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – The leaders of the 12 fire departments in Orleans County met tonight and supported a successor to Paul Wagner, the county’s emergency management director who is retiring July 18.
The Fire Chiefs Association, however, declined to say who they are backing. The appointment ultimately lies with David Callard, chairman of the Orleans County Legislature. The group said it didn’t want to make its recommendation public for at least a few days so Callard wouldn’t feel undue public pressure about the job.
Wagner, a former Clarendon fire chief, has served in the role for 14 years. Three people have been pursuing the job in recent months, including current Albion Fire Chief Rocky Sidari, past Albion Fire Chief Dale Banker and past Holley Fire Chief David Knapp, a current county fire investigator.
The Fire Advisory Council, which includes representatives from the fire departments, also is expected to make a recommendation for Wagner’s successor.
ALBION – This photo is the earliest view of downtown Albion that is known to exist.
It is labeled “Old ‘Empire Block’ burned Dec. 18th 1868.” Therefore our picture was taken before that.
This is the corner of Main Street and East Bank Street. The second block to the left is still there now housing Snell Realty and Fischer’s Newsstand. To the very far left is the old Burrows Block, part of which now houses Krantz Furniture.
Other buildings in this scene are long gone. Signage on the Old Empire Block includes: “Orleans American” (newspaper), “Dentist” and “Job Printing.”
Note the number of chimneys on all these buildings for heating stoves in a day and age before central heat.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Bill Olinger, owner of Baughn’s Shoe Store at 438 Main St. in Medina, is retiring and will close the store at the end of August.
MEDINA – A mainstay in downtown Medina since 1960, Baughn’s Shoe Store, will close in late August.
Bill Olinger is selling the building to Laura Gardner, owner of a lily and a sparrow, a women’s clothing, jewelry and fragrance store. Gardner is moving her shop to 438 Main St. After renovating the site, she expects to reopen her store there in late November.
Olinger, 61, has spent a lifetime in the shoe business. His grandfather, Jim Baughn, opened his first store in Albion in 1957. That store was at the current Peter Snell Realtors building at 107 North Main St.
Olinger’s father Ralph Olinger joined the shoe business and the family had stores in Albion, Medina, Lockport, Geneseo and Warsaw. Bill Olinger started working in the business at age 13.
“We’ve had several generations of people coming here,” Olinger said this morning at the shoe store. “I’ve had kids that I fit for shoes bring their kids in and even their grandchildren.”
Olinger has worked with his wife Pat in the business. Besides selling shoes, they did sewing and alterations work. They also rent out tuxedos. Mrs. Olinger will take that business across the street to Blissett’s Specialty Shop after Baughn’s closes.
Bill Olinger talks with a customer on the phone this morning at the shoe store, a fixture in Medina’s downtown since 1960.
Olinger has sold brand name shoes at Baughn’s. He rejected the cheapest shoes, preferring to sell quality and service.
“It’s hard to go to a store and get your feet fit these days,” he said. “If you go to Wal-Mart, they point you to the shoe department and you’re on your own.”
Olinger put up a banner in the front window, announcing the store would soon be closing and he was retiring.
“We’ve had a lot of people come in and say hello and wish us good luck,” he said.
Olinger said shoe fads would come and go and his biggest challenge was trying to guess which styles would be popular with women.
“You have to pick out what women like and that can be a tough job,” he said. “We’d have 50 styles of women’s shoes and we’d be doing good if six or seven were popular.”
Olinger said he valued his repeat customers, who were critical in the business staying open for so many years.
Baughn’s will be selling shoes at discounted prices as it pushes to sell its inventory by late August. The store is open every day except Sunday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Lift bridges, guard gates, waste weirs would get elevated historical status
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Eagle Harbor lift bridge is one of seven in Orleans County and one of 17 that remain from the canal’s widening from 1905 to 1918.
The Erie Canal gets a lot of attention from preservationists and heritage-minded New Yorkers. But the Barge Canal, which opened in 1918 as an enlarged and deeper Erie Canal, may soon get some recognition.
The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor wants the Barge Canal to be recognized on the state and national registers of historic places. The New York State Board for Historic Preservation is scheduled to vote on the Barge Canal application on June 12.
“We want to elevate its importance,” said Jean Mackay, director of communications and outreach for the Corridor. “This would be another layer of recognition.”
The guard gates on the canal are 55 feet wide. This photo shows the gates in Albion, just east of the Gaines Basin Road bridge. These gates were built in 1913.
Congress in 2000 declared the canal as a National Heritage Corridor, one of 49 such areas in the country.
When the 363-mile-long waterway opened in 1825, it transformed Upstate New York into an economic powerhouse, raising the fortunes of canal towns such as Medina, Albion and Holley.
When railroads started to threaten the canal in the mid- to late-1800s, state officials moved to widen and deepen the canal. In 1918, after 13 years of construction, the Barge Canal was born, and many of the structures from that upgrade – lift bridges, single-truss bridges, guard gates, terminals and waste weirs – remain along the system today.
“There are a tremendous number of really interesting and historical sites along the canal corridor,” Mackay said.
This waste weir was constructed in 1910. It is used to drain water from the canal. The waste weir is located off State Street behind Community Action, west of Brown Street in Albion.
The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor’s application is 267 pages long. It identifies 566 contributing structures along the canal that add to the historic significance of the barge system.
In Orleans County, the contributing structures include:
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; Allens Bridge Road Bridge built in 1909; and Presbyterian Road Bridge from 1909.
The Allens Bridge Road canal bridge was built in 1909 and is nearly 200 feet long.
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.
In this photo from Orleans County Historian Bill Lattin, crews work on the retaining walls at the Canal Basin in Medina on April 3, 1914.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Referendum to borrow $1.4M goes down, 249-114
Photo by Tom Rivers – Barre firefighters wait after 9 tonight at the Barre fire hall for the results of today’s referendum, seeking permission to borrow up to $1.4 million for a new fire hall.
BARRE – Town residents overwhelming voted down a proposition today that would have authorized the Barre Fire District to borrow up to $1.4 million towards a new fire hall.
The proposal was soundly rejected, 249 to 114.
“That number scared people,” Barry Flansburg, the Fire District treasurer, said about the $1.4 million.
Barre firefighters took the vote in stride.
“I was expecting it to be a lot closer, but we’re still going to be here,” said Nic Elliott, 21. “We’ll still get on the trucks and we’ll have guys who will risk their lives for the town.”
The Fire District wants to leave the existing hall, which was built as an addition in 1961 to a schoolhouse. The building’s truck bays and space are small, forcing some fire trucks to be specially built at a higher cost, fire officials said.
Elliott, a firefighter the past three years, said firefighters don’t have adequate space to train. One of the fire vehicles, a pickup brush truck, is parked out back in an unheated pole barn.
Flansburg said firefighters need to work harder at educating the public about the shortcomings of the existing building, and the financial implications of staying in the current site that needs a new roof and other repairs.
“This vote was to build a new building or fix an old dilapidated one,” Elliott said. “It wasn’t about building a Taj Mahal. It was about making something functional for the firefighters.”
The building is owned by the Barre Fire Company. President Karl Driesel said the board will soon meet to discuss the existing building and what needs to be done in the short-term.
The fire commissioners for the Fire District will meet Tuesday to discuss their next steps.
The Fire District already budgeted a $50,000 increase for 2014. Flansburg said misinformation may have swayed the vote about borrowing the money for a new fire hall. He heard from people who thought there was another tax increase, when that money was already set aside for 2014 and wouldn’t go up again as part of a 30-year loan.
“I think it’s great that we had this many people turn out,” Flansburg said. “We can do it again, but maybe next time we need to do a better job of letting people know the facts.”
