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Seneca Falls town supervisor will share how community dissolved village

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 January 2015 at 12:00 am

Village, about same size as Medina, dissolved after 2011

MEDINA – On March 16, 2010, the Village of Seneca Falls made history. In a narrow vote, village residents approved the largest village dissolution in New York.

Seneca Falls had 6,681 village residents in 2010, according to the Census. That is just a little bigger than the Village of Medina, which has 6,065 residents.

Dissolution barely passed in Seneca Falls with a 1,198-1,112 vote. Dissolution took effect on Dec. 31, 2011.

Don Earle, Seneca Falls town supervisor, will be in Medina on Jan. 16 to share his community’s experience with dissolution, discussing impacts on taxes and services, and the community’s reaction to the changes.

He will be at Medina Theatre on Jan. 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. He will be joined by Don Colquhoun, chairman of the Medina Dissolution Committee; and Dean Bellack, one of the leaders of One Medina, which favors the village dissolution.

“It’s very important to hear from someone who has done a successful dissolution,” Bellack said. “We want to show people the end result.”

Earle’s presentation will be from 5:30 to 6:30 with a reception to follow for residents to meet Earle and the other presenters.

Medina village residents will vote on the issue on Jan. 20 from noon to 9 p.m. at the Senior Center.

The town leaders in Shelby and Ridgeway have bitterly opposed dissolution since a plan was approved last April by the Dissolution Committee. That plan, which keeps existing village services, doesn’t need to be followed by the towns if dissolution is approved.

Village DPW, police and firefighters all have stepped up efforts in recent weeks to oppose dissolution.

“A lot of people are focused on fear,” Bellack said. “The town supervisor from Seneca Falls understands the issue and the transition. He can help people understand how it can look in the future.”

One Medina wants to dissolve the village, and then work towards a consolidation of the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway. The town leaders say they aren’t interested in a consolidation between Ridgeway and Shelby, but Bellack said a merger would make sense in the future.

“I believe in my heart people will embrace dissolution,” Bellack said. “Ultimately one government rather than three is a better business model for forever. Dissolution is the first step and it’s the hardest.”

The Shelby and Ridgeway town officials also are having a joint public forum on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. That meeting will be at the Medina High School Auditorium, and town officials will urge village residents to oppose dissolution.

5 arrested for larcenies and burglaries in Albion

Posted 8 January 2015 at 12:00 am

Press Release, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni III

ALBION – The Albion Police Department has arrested five people who were allegedly either responsible for committing crimes and/or involved in the possession of stolen property taken during crimes that occurred in November and December.

The Albion Police Department has recovered numerous items that are stolen or believed to have been stolen. The items were seized during search warrants and as a results of the arrests.

The following were arrested:

Farrell

Jeffrey J. Farrell Jr., 27, of 431 West State St., Albion. He was charged on Dec. 20 with six counts of petty larceny, three counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, one count of unlawful dealing with a child in the first degree, and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.

He was jailed on $5,000 bail. He is to return to Albion Town Court at 9 a.m. on Jan. 14.

Vitale

Christopher N. Vitale, 29, of 260 East Park St., Albion. He was charged on Dec. 27 with two counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, one count of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree, one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, and NYS parole warrant.

He was jailed on $10,000 bail and is to return to Albion Town Court at 9 a.m. on Jan. 13.

Vitale

Dawn M. Vitale, 40, of 260 East Park St., Albion. She was charged on Dec. 27 with two counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, one count of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree, and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana.

Vitale was released on her own recognizance. She is to appear at Albion Town Court at 9 a.m. on Jan. 13.

Thomas

Christine L. Thomas, 26, of 431 West State St., Lot 9, Albion. She was charged on Dec. 29 with one count of criminal possession of stolen property, one count unlawful dealing with a child in the first degree, and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.

Thomas was released on her own recognizance. She is to appear at Albion Town Court at 9 a.m. on Jan. 13.

Vasquez

Thomas R. Vasquez Jr., 28, 309 Catherine St., Medina. He was charged on Jan. 6 with two counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree.

Vasquez was released on his own recognizance. He is to appear at Albion Town Court at 9 a.m. on Jan. 20.

Three search warrants were conducted as part of the investigation, with two in the Village of Albion at 431 West State St. Lot 9 and 260 East Park St. A search warrant was also executed in the City of Batavia at 136 Summit St.

As a result of the search warrant in Batavia, Philip R. Ayala, 29, of 136 Summit St., was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, and unlawful possession of marijuana. He is being held without bail.

The owners of many of the items now in possession of the Albion Police Department are yet to be identified. Albion Police is asking residents in the village and surrounding areas to check for items that may have been stolen or may be missing without their knowledge.

The items recovered range from small hand tools, power tools, air compressors and snow blowers.

Residents should contact the Albion Police at (585) 589-5627 if they think they are missing items that may have been recovered by the Police Department.

These crimes had a great impact on the victims and continued until aggressive investigative police action was taken, Police Chief Roland Nenni III said.

The investigation was very time consuming and the officers who worked on the cases spent much of their time away from their families during the holidays. The successful investigation was made possible because of the combined efforts of the Albion Police Department, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Air and Marine, Batavia Police and Emergency Response Team, and the Genesee County Drug Task Force.

Kendall furniture store was stocked with merchandise a century ago

Posted 8 January 2015 at 12:00 am

By Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County Historian

KENDALL – In this picture from the early 1900s, we get a view of the Nelson Stevens Furniture Store in Kendall.

Some of the visible merchandise includes: mattresses, rocking chairs, a Morris chair, a roll-top desk, coil springs for beds, framed pictures, chinaware, and even rubber boots. The store was illuminated with acetylene gas lights from the ceiling.

With deep freeze, time to harvest grapes for ice wine

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

Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – It was perfect weather for Leonard Oakes Estate Winery this morning. Temperatures were in the single digits. The wind was sweeping across the orchard.

Nate Hodgins (top) was one of the 14 people out in the cold for about four hours this morning to harvest the frozen Vidal grapes.

Jerod Thurber, events coordinator for Leonard Oakes, was out harvesting grapes this morning.

Ice wine is a popular dessert wine. The frozen fruit will be pressed several times and a drop from those grapes has a high concentration of acid, giving it double the sweetness of regular wine.

“It’s hyper-sweetened in a beautiful drop of juice,” Thurber said.

The winery puts nets around the vines to protect the fruit from birds and animals. The nets also help on harvest day. The crew knocks the grapes loose, and they opens the bottom of the nets, filling lugs with about 25 pounds of the fruit.

Not too many regions work for producing ice wine. It can’t get too cold where the vines won’t survive, and it needs to get to at least 18 degrees for four hours.

Leonard Oakes has already won state and national awards for its ice wine.

Nick Venditti, a New York City native, helped Leonard Oakes with the harvest this morning. Venditti used to be a wine salesman in the Big Apple, and he sold Leonard Oakes wine in the city.

He now works for Leonard Oakes. Venditti, 27, helped with the last frozen grape harvest two years ago. He has learned to buddle up with thick gloves and a sky mask.

Jonathan Oakes, the winemaker at Leonard Oakes, is interviewed in the vineyard by Channel 2 in Buffalo.

Chris Oakes, the orchard manager, drives a tractor with a load of frozen Vidal grapes.

‘Wolf Moon’ kicks off new year

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

Photos by Pamela Moore
BARRE – The first full moon of the year was out on Monday night. Pamela Moore of Barre took these pictures of what is known as the “Wolf Moon.”

According to the Old Farmers’ Almanac, the first full moon of the year is known as a Wolf Moon because wolf packs would howl hungrily outside Indian villages, often amidst the cold and deep snows of winter.

Friends flock to help Amish farmer rebuild after fire

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

Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – Tuesday morning Marcus Miller stood and watched his milking parlor go up in smoke and flames. Miller, 34, milked 45 cows in the parlor.

He had built the milking parlor only two years ago on Fruit Avenue.

“It was discouraging for him to watch the barn burn, a helpless feeling,” Miller’s brother-in-law Mark Miller said this morning at the farm.

Many of Miller’s neighbors, including Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard, have been shocked to see the quick turnaround at the site.

The burned up milking parlor building has been cleared from the site and the framework for a new building, the same size at 42 by 70 feet, is already taking shape.

About 20 Amish men in the Yates and Ridgeway community have been at the site soon after the fire was under control on Tuesday morning. A group of Mennonites are expected to help on Thursday, and Marcus Miller said about a dozen men are expected Friday and Saturday from Holmes County, Ohio. Miller lived there before moving to Ridgeway three years ago. He is married with two young children.

“I didn’t know how many friends I had,” Miller said this morning, while a group of local Amish worked on the building. Two men had already arrived from Holmes County. “God bless everyone who has been here to help.”

On Tuesday, firefighters were putting out a blaze and venting smoke from a milking parlor at Marcus Miller’s dairy farm. About 24 hours later, in a photo looking at the same spot, the debris had been removed and a new building was already taking shape.

Miller thanked the many volunteer firefighters who contained the fire to the milking parlor, sparing neighboring structures. The firefighters responded to the scene with temperatures at 14 degrees.

It’s colder today with temperatures at the farm at 9 degrees this morning. The wind chill made it feel much colder.

“Everybody has been great around here,” Miller said. “I appreciate the Fire Department and the neighbors. I’m truly blessed to be living in a community like this.”

Miller said the new building could be enclosed by Saturday. Then he will work to have a new milking system in place. He hopes to be milking cows again at the site in about three weeks. Right now, a neighbor is milking Miller’s cows.

His brother-in-law is among the group that responded to the building project. Mark Miller said word quickly spread through the Amish community that there had been a fire at a building that wasn’t insured.

“There’s no sense waiting around,” Mark Miller said. “It’s our Christian duty to do it. It’s one way to show we care. It’s the least we can do for each other.”

Dog, 2 calves died in Ridgeway fire

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

Photos by Tom Rivers

RIDGEWAY – The fire at a milking parlor on Tuesday morning killed a pregnant dog and two calves, fire investigator Walter Batt said today.

The dog was inside the milking parlor and was due to soon give birth. Farm owner Marcus Miller used a heat lamp to try to keep the dog warm.

The dog was contained inside by 4-by-8-foot sheets of OSB (Oriented Strand Boards). Batt said the lamp caught the OSB boards on fire.

The milking parlor was a total loss and was removed on Tuesday afternoon. Miller and the Amish community already have started to frame a new milking parlor that Miller said he hopes to have up and running in about three weeks. His herd of 45 cows all survived the fire and will be milked at a neighbor’s farm until the new parlor is ready.

Firefighters take care of chimney fire in Albion

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

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Barre firefighters John Egloff, left, and Pat Lamka run a chain through a chimney at 13496 West Countyhouse Rd. They also put dry chemical powder in the chimney to help put out a fire and break up the creosote.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 2:10 p.m. Albion, Medina and Barre firefighters worked to clear the chimney in the house owned by Jerry Belcher.

Dale Banker (right) is the county emergency management coordinator. He joined firefighters at the scene. It was only 7 degrees out.

Ridgeway milking parlor badly damaged in morning fire

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 January 2015 at 10:10 am

Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – A fire this morning badly damaged the milking parlor at a dairy farm owned by Marcus Miller on Fruit Avenue. Miller is pictured in the top photo, with back to camera. Firefighters are working to ventilate the parlor.

Miller milks 45 cows at the site. He said none of the cows were hurt in the fire. He said he will milk the cows at a neighbor’s parlor in the immediate future.

Fire investigators haven’t determined a cause for the fire, but they suspect a heat lamp, the only source of heat in the milking parlor, is a likely cause.

Miller moved to Ridgeway in 2012. Cornell Cooperative Extension has featured Miller’s farm as an example for pastured grazing.

Firefighters from the western battalion – Ridgeway, Medina, Shelby and Lyndonville – were on scene this morning, with additional mutual aid from Middleport. The dispatch call went out at 7:46 a.m.

It is a bitterly cold morning with temperatures at 14 degrees.

Miller is a member of the Amish community in western Orleans and eastern Niagara counties.

New children’s entrance at Medina library is work of art

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

Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Judith Villavisanis spent a month in Medina creating a new children’s entrance at the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library. The public art project resembles a giant book, and Villavisanis created characters and wrote a poem on two pages for the book.

She finished the project just before Christmas. The library sought submissions from artists for the project. Lee-Whedon picked the proposal from Villavisanis, a former Albion resident who now lives in Florida.

Villavisanis created illustrations first for the two giant pages and will then added the words from a poem.

The back side of the book resembles a book cover. Wilbur from “Charlotte’s Web” is one of the characters on the cover.

The portals in the book cover are spots for people to place books.

Villavisanis picked a few popular characters in children’s literature for the art project.

Villavisanis is shown working on the project in mid-December.