By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 January 2015 at 12:00 am
Orleans Hub readers regularly submit photos that help capture events and life in our community. Here are some of our favorite images captured by readers during 2014.
After another big snow, the weather warmed up on March 30, which was perfect for building a snowman. Isabelle Perez, top photo, stands next to a huge snowman she made with her family on Pearl Street in Medina. Her mother Ryin Moriarty took the photo.
“Let me introduce ‘Big,’ the 7-foot monster that is in our backyard!!” Moriarty said in an email.
LYNDONVILLE – Dena Scribner took these pictures on Jan. 13 of ice floating on Johnson Creek in Lyndonville. The ice is jammed in spots along the creek. The ice is on the move after a big thaw following very cold temperatures the previous week. This photo was taken from the Blood Road Bridge.
ALBION – Orleans Hub published many photos of Snowy Owls in Orleans County last winter with the majestic creatures spotted in Barre, Lyndonville and Kendall. In early January an owl was spotted in Albion in a corn field. Jaime Brennan shared this picture taken by her husband on Lattin Road.
ALBION – Peggy Barringer was out hunting the moon on Jan. 15 and took this striking photo of the moon looming over the Orleans County Courthouse and the County Clerks Building.
BARRE – Julie Miller of Barre on Jan. 22 took this picture of a sundog, which resembles a rainbow on a blistering cold day. She took it of a scene on Route 31A, west of Route 98 near Barre Stone Products.
CARLTON – Last winter was reportedly the coldest winter in about four decades. It felt like day after day of brutal, bitter cold. But Orleans County would still shine amidst the snow and ice. Rick Baase of Carlton took this picture on Jan. 28 of the sunrise when it was 2-below zero.
YATES – Fire caused significant damage on Jan. 28 to a house at 1429 Niagara-Orleans Countyline Rd. Ed Bouchane took this photo of the fire that broke out around 3 p.m. Several fire departments responded to the blaze in the Town of Yates.
BUFFALO – Two sisters – Jayne (right) and Emily Bannister from Point Breeze- are pictured March 3 after getting their heads shaved in the Goin’ Bald for Bucks fund-raiser for Roswell Park. They each set out to raise $1,000 for Roswell and far exceeded that, raising about $7,500 combined.
Their father Roger was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in November 2012. He started radiation and chemo in December 2012 and completed those treatments on Jan. 24, 2013. “Mainly, I just want to give back to the place that has helped my dad,” Jayne said.
HOLLEY – Megan Gotte, a registered nurse who lives in Kent, didn’t let a blizzard stop her on March 12 from providing care. Gotte rode her snowmobile to see a patient in Holley, who had to be seen that night. Gotte works as an evening nurse for HCR Home Care. She works with patients in Orleans and Genesee counties.
KENDALL – Rich Miller of Kendall took this photo on March 17 of the moon rising over Lake Ontario at Cleng Peerson’s Point. This is the spot at the north end of Kendall Road where it meets Lake Ontario. Norwegian immigrants settled in this area of Kendall.
KENDALL – The next morning after getting a picture of moon, Miller captured the sunrise on March 18 at the same spot over Lake Ontario at the north end of Kendall Road.
ALBION – Flames burst out of a car in the GCC parking lot at Albion on April 9. Helen Robare was at the scene and took this photo. Albion firefighters arrived quickly to douse the fire.
HULBERTON – A pickup truck driven by a Brockport man burst into flames after being struck by a train on May 19. Jimmie Jo Neary lives near the railroad tracks and took this photo. Lee D. Sietmann, driver of the truck, escaped serious injury when he drove the pickup truck across the tracks when the train was already on the “at-grade” crossing.
LYNDONVILLE – A double rainbow appeared at about 6:30 p.m. on May 30 after it rained in Lyndonville. Guin Panek took this photo at Oak Hill Farms owned by the Bentley family on the north side of Route 63.
MEDINA – After a storm barreled through Orleans County on June 17, 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.
GAINES – A black bear was spotted along Route 279, north of Route 104, on June 23. Cody Weese took this picture of the bear near an airfield. It then went into the hay field to the west.
POINT BREEZE – A big storm raged over Point Breeze on July 27. Steven Wilson of Albion headed to the Bridges, determined to get an image of the lightning. Wilson, an aspiring professional photographer, positioned himself near a closed down bridge by Narby’s. He aimed his camera to the big bridge on Route 18 that stretches across the Oak Orchard River. He wanted to capture the lightning over a local landmark.
BARRE – The leaves started to change colors in late September. Pamela Moore took a photo of the foliage at the waterfowl overlook on Albion Road.
CARLTON – Peg Wiley took this photo on Oct. while kayaking on the Oak Orchard River with her friend Cora Goyette. They are rounding a spot know as Fiddler’s Elbow. “So beautiful on the Oak this time of year,” Wiley said.
BARRE – Katlyn Moore was astonished on the morning of Nov. 19 when a baby Red-tailed Hawk landed on her front porch only about 3 feet away. “It only stuck around for a few seconds and left,” she said. “One of the most amazing things I have seen.”
LYNDONVILLE – After it rained on Nov. 24, a giant double rainbow soon followed in the afternoon. Jason Smith, Lyndonville Central School superintendent, took this picture that also shows the flag pole by the school district.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 January 2015 at 12:00 am
SWEDEN – A Holley man was killed on New Year’s Eve in a hit-and-run in the Town of Sweden, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Thomas Taylor, 53, was plowing driveways on Wednesday night. He parked his truck in a driveway on Brockport-Spencerport Road at about 11:30 p.m. when he got out to look for a customer’s house. While walking on the shoulder of the road, he was struck by an oncoming vehicle, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
A passenger in Taylor’s pickup heard a noise and found Taylor lying in a ditch. Taylor was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Two firefighters battle smoke at a fire on Phipps Road in Albion on Sept. 19.
They will respond within minutes when a house is on fire, cars collide, or residents need help, whether it’s a heart attack, a senior citizen who has fallen or a basement that is flooded.
The 500 active volunteer firefighters make a world of difference in Orleans County and then do it without collecting a dollar for their efforts.
Firefighters were called to a house fire in Eagle Harbor after midnight on April 20, which was also Easter morning.
Orleans Hub frequently posts photos of firefighters in action at fires. But that is only a small fraction of their effort. There are numerous other calls each day for issues ranging from abdominal pain, fire alarm, overdose/poisoning, vehicle fire, “unknown problem/man down,” fainting, sick person, cardiac arrest, breathing problems and many other issues. And that’s only in the past few days.
These calls come at all hours of the day. Firefighters will respond in the middle of night and then go to work on little to no sleep.
Albion Fire Department Captain Jared Hapemen, right, and his brother Jason pump out a basement on West Academy Street in Albion after the ice storm hit the area last December.
There are 12 fire departments in the county and they will repsond to nearly 8,000 calls this year.
They will answer calls when it’s 90 degrees out on a major holiday or they will be out in sub-freezing temperatures for hours on end.
It was 2-below zero on Jan. 3 when fire tore through a farmhouse on East Barre Road in Barre. Several fire departments were on the scene for hours.
All the local fire departments are staffed by volunteers, except Medina Fire Department which has 13 full-time paid staff, as well as two temporary paid positions.
Medina is the primary ambulance provider for the western end of the county, and increasingly handles calls in eastern Niagara and central Orleans. The paid Medina firefighters are also trained to handle the ambulance calls. Those firefighters essentially cover their own salaries with the revenue they bring in through the ambulance calls. They join volunteers on many calls.
Two Carlton firefighters face a house engulfed in flames on Nov. 7 on Kent Road.
There is a lot of talk these days about shared services and local municipalities needing to work together. The local fire departments have been a model of cooperation for decades. They join in mutual aid and work together without egos getting in the way.
They save lives and property. They save taxpayers lots of money.
They make our community stronger through their commitment to caring for neighbors.
Lyndonville firefighter Ashton Lang meets with elementary students on Oct. 7 during a fire prevention program at the school.
They teach children about fire prevention, knowledge that no doubt keeps many fires from ever starting.
Firefighters treat each other like family, looking out for one another especially during a time of need.
When Jon DeYoung, deputy fire chief at Clarendon was battling colon cancer for the second time, firefighters in the East Battalion did a boot drive on Sept. 20.
In the above photo, his son Jon DeYoung Jr. accepts money from a motorist in the boot drive at the intersection of routes 31 and 237. Firefighters collected funds for DeYoung while he was receiving treatments at the Cleveland Clinic.
DeYoung has been a long-time leader for the Clarendon Fire Company, earning respect and admiration in the community, said Fire Chief Bob Freida.
“He’s an outstanding person who wouldn’t think twice about helping someone else in the community,” Freida said at the boot drive.
John L. Miller returned as a Shelby volunteer firefighter on Dec. 11 and also returned to work as an emergency medical technician with Mercy EMS in Batavia. He thanked the firefighting family for helping during his recovery from a serious car accident on Aug. 1.
When John Miller, the EMS captain in Shelby, was seriously injured in an August car accident, Shelby firefighters helped care for his children and provided meals for his family during his recovery. Miller, 36, returned to work and active service with the fire department in mid-December.
“As far as being a fire company, we’re a family at Shelby,” Miller said. “I knew I had a long road ahead of me, but I had a great group of friends with me along the way.”
Firefighters train for all kinds of emergencies. Each year they put in about 10,000 hours of official training for fire and EMS.
The photo above, shows firefighters from Barre, Shelby and Ridgeway dousing a live fire training trailer owned by the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control. The trailer simulates a fire at an ethanol tanker.
Firefighters do a lot of other work in the community. In Medina, they collect and deliver toys to about 100 families each holiday season in a project coordinated by the Medina Area Association of Churches.
In above photo, firefighters from Ridgeway, Shelby, East Shelby and Medina all volunteered on Dec. 20 to deliver boxes of toys to families and food to senior citizens.
Firefighters also add energy and a presence to local parades, including the Nov. 29 Parade of Lights in Medina, when several local departments decorated big fire trucks in Christmas lights. East Shelby firefighters, including fire chief Mike Fuller (right), dressed as reindeer for the parade.
Photo courtesy of Rocky Sidari, Albion fire chief
The mutual aid network spreads beyond Orleans County. When Buffalo was hit with two monster snowstorms last month, 60 firefighters spent several days in the Buffalo area, helping stranded motorists and responding to other emergency calls.
Firefighters used all-terrain four-wheelers to check on stranded motorists in Lackawanna in the above photo. They took motorists to a fire hall in Lackawanna.
In all of these ways, and many more, Orleans Hub thanks firefighters for giving so much of themselves to their neighbors.
I’d also like to thank the fire police for letting me get close to some of these scenes. One of the long-time firefighters, Richard Cary of Holley, died unexpectedly on Nov. 27 at age 73. He volunteered for decades with the Holley Fire Department, most recently with the fire police. He is pictured above, center, on Route 31 just west of Holley. The road was closed on April 23 for several hours after an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rolled over.
Cary and all of the firefighters are role models for community service.
Canal towns in New York will receive nearly $1 million in grants for community development projects, according to the latest round of funding approved for Regional Economic Development Councils.
Not a cent of the $955,343 in grants will make it to Orleans County.
Each project will work towards enhancing and beautifying both the New York State Canal system and the Canalway Trail, two essential recreational and economic resources for millions of New Yorkers and visitors throughout the year, the Canal Corp. said in a press release on Tuesday.
“The historic Canal system and Canalway Trail generate billions of dollars in economic activity across upstate New York each year,” said New York State Thruway Authority Executive Director Thomas J. Madison. “I commend Governor Cuomo and the Regional Economic Development Councils for acknowledging the economic and recreational value of New York’s Canals and Canalway Trail and providing generous aid to help communities expand and improve their connection to these extraordinary resources.”
Orleans was left out of the funding mainly because the municipalities didn’t apply for any canal-related projects.
The Canal Corporation awards will support the following projects:
• $71,400 awarded to the Waterford Canal Harbor Visitor Center for dock and promenade repairs. Located at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers, the Visitor Center has been one of the most celebrated public places on the NYS Canal system. This restoration project will consist of repairing existing infrastructure, upgrading the existing shower facilities, and replacing water proof decking.
• $125,000 awarded to the city of Rome for Canal Park Navigation Center improvements. The installation of new boat docks, accompanied by renovations to complete bathroom and shower washrooms in the Navigation Center, will help the city of Rome become a premier tourist and boater destination along the Erie Canal.
• $150,000 awarded to the Town of Rotterdam for the Rotterdam Junction Bike Path Railway Tunnel. This project will work towards beginning to fill the trail gaps of the Erie Canalway Trail and the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail. Currently, trail users have to exit the trail and travel along Route 5S before reentering the path on Iroquois Street to avoid any safety hazards. The 105-foot bike path tunnel will help to address these safety concerns by extending the bike path in this location to eliminate the threat of injury or harm to any trail users. The tunnel will also act as an emergency culvert in the event that a storm similar to Hurricane Irene was to occur.
• $150,000 awarded to Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper for the Scajaquada Creek Paddlesport Launch Micro-Park in the City of Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood. The grant will be used to complete Phase 2 of the Scajaquada Creek Paddlesport Launch Micro-Park. The project is located along a key gateway to the City of Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood on Niagara Street and an inlet of Scajaquada Creek, just before the creek joins Black Rock Canal. The second phase of this project builds on previous efforts to restore the waterfront brownfield, expand waterway access points along the Niagara River Greenway and Blueway Trail, improve opportunities for recreation, help make connections to nature in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood and revitalize a key gateway to Black Rock.
• $45,000 awarded to the City of Syracuse for Canalway Trail route signage. The grant will be used to designate the currently unsigned route of the Erie Canalway Trail through the city of Syracuse, with connections to existing sections of the trail in the Town of Camillus to the west and the Town of Dewitt to the east. The selected signage will help to improve trail visibility and the overall safety of trail users. This project also includes portions of Milton Avenue, Erie Boulevard West, Franklin Street, Water Street South, Beech Street and East Genesee Street. Additionally, this project will connect with the Erie Canal Museum in downtown Syracuse.
• $30,000 awarded to the Village of Montour Falls for a trail connection project. This grant will fund the construction of a pedestrian bridge over the Catharine Creek, a boardwalk that will connect to the Catherine Valley Trail and a walking trail. When constructed, the bridge will be able to connect residents and visitors to the Catharine Valley Trail system, helping to create a multi-modal system for bicyclists and pedestrians. The bridge will also connect to the village parks in Montour Falls from the trail and provide safer access for pedestrians to cross NYS Route 14 to the state trail, helping to create a healthier and safer trail system while revitalizing towns and villages along the continuous 12-mile trail.
• $98,943 awarded to the Town of Stillwater for a Champlain Canal connector project. The historic Saratoga Battlefield Champlain Canal connector project represents the connection of a comprehensive trail network by the Town of Stillwater supported by the Stillwater Trail Feasibility Study, Saratoga National Historic Park, the Open Space Institute and Saratoga County. This 1.13 mile trail segment connects the Town of Stillwater’s trail system to the south, with the Battlefield Park trail system to the west and the Old Champlain Canal trail system to the north.
• $150,000 awarded to the historic Seneca Knitting Mill to transform into the Center for Great Women. This grant will help transform and reuse the empty and dilapidated Mill into the Center for Great Women, which is the headquarters of the National Women’s Hall of Fame. This phase of the project will include selective demolition, construction, interior build-out and site work on the first floor of the Mill. These essential renovations will allow for the National Women’s Hall of Fame to move from its original location to a newly renovated and more spacious building. Located within the Seneca Falls Heritage Area along the south shore of the Seneca-Cayuga Canal, the new building will be considered a national destination, providing a great depth of historical insight while showcasing the amazing stories of the National Women’s Hall of Fame inductees. The completion of this project will attract many visitors to the area, as well as above and beyond to other tourist destinations in the Finger Lakes region.
• $50,000 awarded to the Fairport IDA for the expansion of the Thomas Creek Wetland Walk. Located on the north side of the Erie Canal and south of an active rail line, all 13.2 acres of the site are owned by the Fairport IDA. This grant will provide funding to help expand connections to the Canalway trail, construct observation points, improve educational and interpretive signage and compliment related improvements throughout the nature site.
• $50,000 awarded to the Village of Pittsford for the construction of a Bicentennial Pavilion. This grant will help to construct a commemorative Pavilion on an existing concrete dock along the Erie Canal waterway in honor of the upcoming bicentennial of the Erie Canal. This construction marks the last major component of revitalization along the Canalway trail at Schoen Place. The Pavilion will overlook the canal and be compatible in scale and design with the extant structures in the surrounding Warehouse District. An informational sign will be included on the interior of the proposed structure that will contain historical information pertaining to Pittsford’s prestigious canal history. This renovation project will help further highlight the historical features of Schoen Place, which has been designated a historic area by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
• $75,000 awarded to Schenectady County for a Canalway Trail repaving project. Approximately 1.25 miles of the Mohawk Hudson Bike Trail, also known as the Canalway Trail, will be repaved from the exit 26 bridge to Lock 8 in the Town of Rotterdam. This project works hand in hand with a recent Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) project that was completed this summer to repair heaved and cracked section of the trail as well as to replace drainage pipes. The repaving work will assure trail users 20 to 30 years of good trail conditions. Additionally, this project complements the County’s project to reconstruct the trail crossing at NYS Route 5S.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 December 2014 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – Most of the staff at The Villages of Orleans Health & Rehabilitation Center are expected to stay as the ownership shifts from the county to Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC.
ALBION – The county-owned nursing home will soon be under the direction and ownership of a private company. The deal will be finalized on Friday with the sale retroactive to Thursday, Jan. 1, Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard said today.
He said nursing home residents and the public will see little changes in the staff. They should see investment and an improved facility over time, he said.
“I think it will be a seamless transition,” Callard said. “I expect we’ll see improvements quite readily.”
The County Legislature formed the Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation in 2013 to handle the sale of the nursing home. That corporation on Feb. 6 accepted a $7.8 million offer from Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC. That company also recently purchased three Catholic Health facilities in Buffalo. It will operate The Villages under Comprehensive at Orleans LLC.
The effort to sell the 120-bed publicly owned site was bitterly fought by many residents in 2013. The CSEA union also opposed the sale, expressing worry about residents in the nursing home and the 135 CSEA members who work there.
Cindy Troy, president of the union, said she has been encouraged by Comprehensive so far. The company is honoring the seniority of county employees in the nursing home, and not making veteran workers start at year-one pay levels.
“That’s wonderful,” Troy said. “It was unexpected.”
The employees are expected to stay in the CSEA union. Comprehensive has already presented the employees with a proposal for raises and benefits, Troy said.
The benefits aren’t as good as employees received through the county, but Troy said it’s a good offer for the workers.
“I’m pleased so far,” Troy said. “It’s going to different, and it won’t be as good as it was, but it’s not as bad as we expected.”
Some of the employees opted not to continue working at the nursing home and a few others have retired. But Troy said the majority of the employees will be back in 2015.
“People are scared and nervous, but they love their people there,” Troy said.
She expects some of the services will be restructured and the site will operate with a few less workers than under county control. She worries most about the loss of accountability by not having the site publicly owned.
“It’s change, but let’s be hopeful,” she said. “We’ll have to see how things go.”
Comprehensive reached a deal with the county in February, but then had to go through the New York State Department of Health licensure process to operate the site in Albion.
County leaders pushed to sell the nursing home after years of deficits. Legislators forecast the site could require taxpayer subsidies at $2 million or more annually.
With the nursing home out of the budget, legislators in 2015 put more money in for bridges, culverts and infrastructure work, while cutting taxes by 1.5 percent. The tax rate fell from $10.11 in 2014 to $9.89 per $1,000 of assessed property in 2015.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Medina City Hall is decorated for the holidays. This picture was taken on Dec. 27.
Orleans County will bring in the new year with some snow. The National Weather Service has issued a Lake Effect Snow Advisory until 10 a.m. Thursday.
The Weather Service says 3 to 6 inches of snow could fall, mainly in southern Orleans County and in Monroe County, southwest of Rochester.
Winds are also forecast at 15 to 20 miles per hour, which combined with snow could limit visibility to less than a half mile at times, the Weather Service said.
There may be difficult travel conditions tonight. “Conditions will vary greatly in and out of lake effect snow bands which are developing off Lake Erie,” the Weather Service said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Dissolution in Medina proves contentious topic
New chain stores and other businesses came into Orleans County in 2014, while one manufacturer made a big investment in Medina and another closed its doors.
The Point Breeze community saw a long-time golf course turned into corn fields, while two marina operators, with years of experience, sold to a new operator.
A Carlton man was convicted in a brutal murder of his girlfriend, and the community endured the tragic death of a Medina native, a paratrooper in the Army, in a training accident.
George Maziarz, Orleans County’s representative in State Senate, made a sudden announcement in July that he wouldn’t be seeking re-election. That triggered a scramble for his successor with Ron Ortt, the North Tonawanda mayor, winning the seat.
The most enduring story, the one that dominated headlines all year, was the issue of dissolution. Medina village officials and residents studied the issue for several months. Dissolution will go to a vote on Jan. 20.
Here are Orleans Hub’s picks for the top 10 stories for 2014 in Orleans County:
1. Medina dissolution stirs hope and discord
Photos by Tom Rivers – Neil Sambovski of Ridgeway, an outside-village resident, on May 7 speaks against dissolution of the village because it would drive up taxes for residents in the town.
To lower taxes in the village and raise falling assessments, Medina Mayor Andrew Meier sees dissolution of the village government as the best option. That was also the conclusion of a committee of local residents and a consultant.
“Unless we unify and fix our tax problem once and for all we will miss the boat,” Meier said on April 10 when a Dissolution Committee presented its plan for dissolving the village government. “This is our one bite at the apple, at meaningful reform perhaps in our entire generation.’
But dissolution has been bitterly fought in 2014 by town officials in Shelby and Ridgeway, many village employees and some Medina residents. The two towns put out mailers, hired consultants and established a web site to attack the dissolution plan.
They say dissolution provides too little in savings and too much in unknowns.
Medina Mayor Andrew Meier sees a dissolution of the village and the consolidation of the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway as the best chance to significantly reduce the community’s taxes, which are currently the highest in the Finger Lakes region. He was joined at the press conference on April 10 by Don Colquhoun, chairman of the Medina Dissolution Committee (center), and Nathan Pace, chairman of One Medina.
About 300 people attended a public meeting on May 7 at Wise Middle School, and impassioned groups attended Dissolution Committee meetings and Village Board sessions.
“They’re diverting the tax from people in the village to people outside the village,” Hannah Brant, a village resident with property in the two towns, said during the May 7 public forum. “It’s driving a lot of fear into the community.”
A citizens’ petition finally forced the issue, with the vote set for Jan. 20. Meier and many dissolution supporters see it as the best hope for lowering taxes in Medina, which has the highest tax rate in the Finger Lakes region at $54 per $1,000. Dissolution would chop about $6 off the rate for village residents.
The Shelby and Ridgeway residents outside the village would see their town taxes go up 10 percent in Shelby and 46 percent in Ridgeway, according to a Dissolution Plan that town officials say they aren’t obligated to follow.
Dissolution foes believe the village taxes could be reduced with shared services, more state aid from the county and state, or a change from Medina as a village to a city.
The issue is being closed watched throughout the county, especially in other villages that have combined tax rates nearly as high as Medina’s.
2. Punishing weather knocks out power, closes schools and paralyzes community
On March 12 a blizzard hit, dropping about a foot of snow on the county. This photo shows traffic creeping along Main Street in Albion by the Presbyterian Church and the county courthouse.
It was one of the harshest winters in recent memory, with prolonged stretches of temperatures in the single digits or below zero. We had an official blizzard on March 12.
The National Weather Service frequently put out warnings and advisories about dangerous wind chills, flood watches and hazardous weather. The Sheriff’s Department issued travel advisories. The governor declared a state of emergency. Local schools closed.
When the winter finally relented, the area was hit with a destructive wind storm on June 17 that knocked out power for more than 3,00 homes and forced schools to close for Regents.
Barbara Tice, left, was out on June 18 picking up branches from a fallen tree in Lyndonville. She was joined by friend Jocelyn Munn.
3. Brunner expands, and former Bernz-O-Matic shuts down
Brunner workers use a forge to heat up parts to 2,200 degrees. The company committed to a $13.5 million expansion in 2014, and will likely add 60 workers to the existing workforce of 390.
The community waited for several months to hear the official word on whether Brunner International would expand in Medina or in another state. In June the company made it official: It would grow in Medina.
Brunner committed to a $13.5 million expansion, adding 48,000 square feet to its complex at the corner of Bates Road and Route 31.
Brunner started in Medina 1992 with six employees. Brunner makes brakes and components for heavy-duty trucks and trailers. It has steadily grown in the past 22 years, reaching 390 employees when the expansion was announced in June. It expects to add 60 more workers with the addition.
The company’s presence has helped fill the gap left by Fisher-Price, which laid off 700 workers in Medina in 1995. The expansion announced this year also softened the blow when another manufacturer announced it was closing.
Worthington Industries closed its Medina plant on July 31 on Bernz-O-Matic Drive.
Worthington Industries shut down in Medina on July 31 and shifted the production to a site in Wisconsin. Worthington made torches in Medina and employed 152 people at the former Bernz-O-Matic.
Worthington bought Bernz-O-Matic in 2011. Bernz-O-Matic had operated in Medina since 1969. By shifting the torch production to Wisconsin, Worthington said it can do everything at one site, saving in transportation costs.
4. Chain stores step up efforts in Orleans
The new Dunkin’ Donuts takes shape in Albion on Main Street next to Tim Hortons in this photo in July. JFJ Holdings, based in North Andover, Mass., is the owner of the new stores in Albion and Medina.
Dunkin’ Donuts built two new stores in Orleans County in 2014, with the first opening in Albion on August 23 and the other opening in Medina on Dec. 30.
The chain presence expanded beyond coffee stores. A new 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store opened on Oct. 15 at the corner of routes 63 and 104 in the Town of Ridgeway. The store is owned by Development Unlimited of WNY LLC of Buffalo. It demolished a house and silo at the northeast corner of the intersection.
The Dollar General helps fill a void in the community with the closing of the Pennysaver Market in Lyndonville, Yates Town Supervisor John Belson said.
At least one new chain store is in the pipeline for 2015. A North Carolina company, The Durban Group, is proposing an 8,320-square-foot Family Dollar on Maple Ridge Road in Medina, almost across the street from Tim Hortons.
Critics say the stores, in a county with a shrinking population, will absorb diminishing dollars in the community, making it harder for independent merchants to start businesses or make a profit.
Taras Salamaca, left, and his brother Alex opened Salamaca Estate Winery at the corner of Hindsburg Road and Route 104 in the Town of Murray on Oct. 17. The winery and its tasting room are located in a barn from 1898.
5. Several new locally owned businesses open, including 2 wineries
Several residents see the county as fertile ground for starting a business. Two new wineries – Salamaca Estate Winery in Murray and 810 Meadworks in Medina – both opened in 2014 and are on the Niagara Wine Trail, which now spreads across Orleans to Rochester.
“We really appreciate a small town that embraces its history,” said Bryan DeGraw, Meadworks 810 co-owner. “And from a business standpoint, Medina is in the center of the Niagara Wine Trail. That is an absolutely great place to be.”
Tillman’s Village Inn also expanded, several antique and collectible stores opened in the county, and other businesses grew or opened their doors for the first time.
Bryan DeGraw, back left, talks about mead with people on the Ale in Autumn tasting event on Sept. 27 in Medina. 810 Meadworks officially opened in November, the first downtown meadery/winery in the county.
6. George Maziarz shocks GOP with sudden announcement he is retiring
George Maziarz receives a standing ovation during the Orleans County Republican Fall Rally on Oct. 24 at Hickory Ridge Country Club in Holley.
George Maziarz seemed headed for another two-year term in Albany as state senator. He lined up endorsements and was out campaigning. But in mid-July he announced he didn’t want to continue with the demanding workload, the back and forth travel to Albany and the pressures of public office.
Maziarz’s sudden announcement in July forced Republican Party leaders to find a new candidate. They picked North Tonawanda Mayor Rob Ortt, who won a Republican Primary in September over Gia Arnold of Holley. Ortt then cruised to an election win in November over Johnny Destino, who had the Democratic Party endorsement.
The area will lose a lot of clout in Albany with Maziarz’s retirement. He was one of the top-tanking Republicans in the Senate. He served in the Senate since 1995. He also was highly visible in his district, which covered Niagara, Orleans and a western portion of Monroe County.
Maziarz was credited with helping advance many projects in Orleans, including the construction of the $90 million ethanol plant in Medina by Western New York Energy. Maziarz said he tried to direct more low-cost hydropower allocations to projects in the county.
7. Community mourns tragic deaths
More than 100 motorcyclists served as escorts for Sgt. Shaina Schmigel when her motorcade passed through downtown Medina on June 9.
Local residents mourned the loss of friends and neighbors in 2014. There was a big outpouring of support and grief for Sgt. Shaina Schmigel, a paratrooper from Medina who died May 30 during a night-time training drill at Fort Bragg with the 82nd Airborne Division. She was in the Army for four years, and was promoted to sergeant in January.
“She wanted to go for all she could go for,” said Keith Gilbert, a close family friend from the town of Alabama. “She wasn’t afraid of anything.”
Schmigel was a cheerleader at Medina, a member of the Class of 2010.
The Medina community also mourned the loss of 15-year-old Jacob A. Stahl, who died in an accidental shooting on Oct. 17. Stahl, a 10th grade student at Medina High School, was with a teen-age friend in an upstairs bedroom at Stahl’s home in West Shelby when the incident occurred.
Sheriff’s investigators said Stahl’s death was a tragic accident that resulted from the careless handling of a loaded firearm.
A long-time Main Street merchant in Albion, who also was active in local politics, died in a Dec. 12 fire at his shop, Nayman’s. Francis Nayman was 76 and had battled health issues in recent years. He was still determined to go to his small engine repair business. The fire and death have been ruled accidental with no foul play suspected, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said.
8. Frederick Miller found guilty of murder
In a crime a judge called one of the most painful and torturous of his career, Frederick Miller of Carlton was sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of his girlfriend.
Frederick Miller will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after killing his girlfriend on March 4, 2013. The case was delayed several times but finally went to trial with the jury convicting Miller of second-degree murder on Sept. 17. That followed a trial when he admitted to stabbing Rachel Miller with scissors. Rachel was still alive after being stabbed nine times with scissors.
She fled their house on Oak Orchard Road in Carlton and Miller broke off a metal Posted sign. Miller struck her three times in the head. Her body was discovered the morning of March 4, 2013 by a passing school bus driver.
“She lived a life of giving,” Rachel’s son Cody Miller said at sentencing. “She never wanted anything but happiness. The world kept taking from here but she fought back by giving.”
His mother worked at The Arc of Orleans County and Rainbow Preschool as a speech therapist.
There were at least two other high-profile cases in court this year, both involving Kendall men.
Carlos Botello, 42, was sentenced to 9 years in prison on April 14 after he faced attempted murder charges of a state trooper. Botello pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder on Feb. 3. He admitted in court that he backed a car towards state trooper Dan Metz and smashed into the trooper’s patrol car on Sept. 3, 2013.
Dennis Buehler, 64, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison on Jan. 6 for second-degree attempted murder and third-degree arson.
Buehler shot his wife and set his house on fire on March 4, 2013, the same day Frederick Miller committed his crime. Buehler was called “an extremely evil person,” by Judge James Punch. Buehler’s wife survived the gunshot wound. The house burned to the ground.
9. New look and owners at Point Breeze businesses
The Harbor Pointe Country Club was transformed from a golf course into corn fields this year.
Businesses don’t change hands too often at Point Breeze. But 2014 saw some long-established businesses get sold.
The most dramatic change was the sale of the Harbor Pointe Country Club on Route 98 in Carlton to Lynn-Ette and Sons. Harbor Pointe had been a golf course for 50 years. Lynn-Ette and Sons turned the course into cornfields.
The Cardone family had owned Harbor Pointe since 1981. The golf business has struggled in the region in recent years, due to the economy and increased competition with many golf courses, Joe Cardone said.
Gatlen Ernst took over two marinas along the Oak Orchard River this year. Ernst, an employee at Lake Breeze Marina for 10 years, purchased the marina in March from Doug and Janice Bennett.
“He’s been a good employee and he had the desire,” Mr. Bennett said. “Everybody likes Gatlen and everybody knows him. It should be a smooth takeover for him.”
Ernst owns the marina business, which he renamed Ernst’s Lake Breeze Marina. He purchased the real estate in a partnership with Rod Farrow, a Lake Breeze customer. Farrow is an apple farmer who lives on the other side of the Oak Orchard River.
The two also worked together to acquire Four C’s Marina from Gene Christopher and his family. They had operated that marina for more than three decades.
Gatlen Ernst and his fiancée Danielle Daniels, right, are pictured with the Christophers, from left: Darrick, Gene and David. Ernst acquired Four C’s Marina in August.
In another change in the Carlton business community, Paula Nesbitt and her family purchased Bertsch’s Good Earth Market on Route 98 and renamed the business The Vintage Apple Garden. Dave and Sharon Bertsch and their daughter Heather Tabor and her husband Jim opened Bertsch’s 14 years ago.
10. Snowy Owls, bears create a stir
Provided photo – Vince Flow of Kendall captured this closeup of a Snowy Owl in Kendall.
It was a historic winter for Snowy Owl sightings. They typically stay in Canada for the winter, but there were many owls in Orleans County. Residents and visitors went on expeditions in the rural countryside with cameras trying to get pictures of the owls.
When the weather warmed up, residents started spotting a different creature in the county. Bears were seen throughout the county, including in Albion, about a mile from the village line.
Brittany Kennedy took this photo of a bear on Aug. 11 at her West Kendall Road home. The black bear went up on her porch and sifted through a recycling bin and grabbed a coffee can.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Two cars were in an accident this afternoon in the Village of Albion at the intersection of West Park Street and West Academy Street. Albion firefighters, including Dominick Sidari at right, were on the scene soon after the 2:20 p.m. dispatch call went out.
One person was transported by COVA Ambulance with minor injuries. Others appeared to be shaken up, but were not transported by ambulance.
Albion firefighters were joined at the scene with personnel from COVA and the Albion Police Department.
Assistant Fire Chief Jeremy Graham was among the firefighters at the location.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 December 2014 at 12:00 am
‘Outstanding Citizens’ serve community in many ways
Several residents deserve to be recognized as “Outstanding Citizens” for their efforts to make Orleans County a better place this past year. They did many good deeds for little to no pay, driven by a love for their community and neighbors.
Orleans Hub is pleased to recognize the following:
Leader of Lawn Chair Ladies adds excitement to local parades, community events
Photos by Tom Rivers – Kim Corcoran leads the Lawn Chair Ladies at a local parade.
When the Town of Kendall celebrated its 200th birthday in 2012, Kim Corcoran and some of her friends decided to add some excitement to the local parade. Corcoran and her friends formed the Lawn Chair Ladies and had a dance routine on the parade route. The women, while wearing pink boas, choreographed a number with lawn chairs.
They were an immediate sensation and now perform at many community events during the year. The group has 18 members who practice regularly.
“I didn’t have any hopes beyond that summer,” said Corcoran, the group’s leader. “It’s been really fun getting all of my old buddies together.”
Corcoran grew up in Kendall and was in the marching band. After a 35-year career in New York City in the advertising and publishing business, Corcoran moved back to her hometown in June 2011. She attended the parade at the Kendall Firemen’s Carnival and thought it was missing some excitement that June.
The Lawn Chair Ladies formed to add some pep to the local parade and haven’t skipped a beat since, performing in Kendall, Holley and Brockport, with requests for other events. Corcoran also has been appointed the town historian.
Volunteer event planner adds much to Medina’s cultural life
A giant snowman makes its way down Main Street in a lighted float by MAK Plowing and Landscape in Medina on Nov. 29. Jim Hancock coordinates the parade that includes many businesses, civic groups and other organizations.
Since he retired as director of the Job Development Agency in Orleans County, Jim Hancock has been busy working for free for the Medina community. He heads the Medina Tourism Committee and makes sure a visitor center inside Medina City Hall is staffed during the summer.
He plans an annual concert by the Canal Basin, and has been instrumental in establishing the Medina Sandstone hall of Fame inside City Hall. Hancock visits all of the nominated sites, which stretch throughout New York State and to Erie, Pa.
Jim Hancock, a member of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame committee, discusses the Million-Dollar Staircase in Albany, which was partially built with Medina Sandstone. The Staircase has been nominated for the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.
Hancock spearheads one of Medina’s most popular events: the annual Parade of Lights on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It has turned into a mega-draw for Medina, filling the downtown and some side streets with thousands of people. The number of glowing floats increases each year. It is a great display of community pride.
Resident does the research and convinces government to name creek for pioneer
Al Capurso is pictured on a pedestrian bridge over Gilbert Creek in the Town of Gaines.
For about two centuries Orleans County residents passed by a creek in Gaines and Carlton. The unnamed waterway has remained largely unspoiled and undisturbed.
Al Capurso wanted it to have a name and to honor a pioneer resident who lived next to the creek more than 200 years ago.
For more than a year he researched the 6.5-mile creek that starts near Brown Road and heads northeast to Marsh Creek in Carlton. Capurso pushed for the waterway to honor Elizabeth Gilbert, the first settler on Ridge Road in Orleans County.
Gilbert and her husband built their cabin in 1807. Mr. Gilbert died soon after they settled, and his wife was left to raise a family and make a life in the wilderness of the Niagara frontier.
It took Capurso a year of lining up local support, and gaining permission from the federal Bureau of Geographic Names. The agency on April 10 formally approved the naming request.
Capurso painted a wooden sign with the name, “Gilbert Creek.” It stands by Ridge Road, next to the Gaines Carlton Community Church.
During the May 24 dedication program, State Sen. George Maziarz praised Capurso for working through the bureaucracy to get the creek named for one of the county’s pioneers.
“There is no better title than a citizen who loves his community, who respects his community,” Maziarz said about Capurso.
Al Capurso’s son Dan unveils the sign for Gilbert Creek by Ridge Road during a dedication program on May 24.
Resident spearheads effort to feed the hungry in Medina area
Bilal Huzair stacks up some frozen pizzas on Dec. 20 during a Foodlink delivery in Medina next to the Old Mill Run Restaurant on Route 63.
About two years ago Bilal Huzair and his family opened the Old Mill Run Restaurant on Route 63, just south of Maple Ridge Road. Huzair met many local residents and had a sense that many were struggling to buy groceries.
Huzair and other members of the World Life Institute connected with Foodlink about doing a food drop-off in Medina the first and third Saturdays each month. Huzair didn’t know what to expect – just how many people would show up for fruits, vegetables and other food.
The program started in November 2013 and quickly drew big crowds with about 200 people standing in line, with many there two hours ahead of time. Another 200-plus are given food, with deliveries by friends and World Life Institute volunteers.
Many of the people in line are senior citizens on fixed incomes. They see their income consumed by medical bills, prescriptions and other bills.
“We didn’t have an expectation,” Huzair said about how many people would seek the food. “We just knew there was a need.”
An anonymous donor has been paying Foodlink for the food that is given out. Huzair manages the volunteers and keeps the program running smoothly.
“These are people who genuinely need things,” he said.
Assemblyman leads veterans on trips to DC
Provided photo – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, lower right, is pictured on Sept. 19 with a group of veterans in Washington D.C. on seventh annual Patriot Trip. About 100 people travelled to the nation’s capitol with Hawley to tour war memorials.
Many politicians say they value veterans, but Steve Hawley may be the only elected official in the country who leads about 100 people each year to Washington, D.C. Veterans from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War can tour the war memorials.
It is a meaningful trip for veterans and their families and Hawley and his staff deserve praise for all of the effort. Hawley has coordinated the Patriot Trip for seven years with about 750 people travelling to the nation’s capital.
“The Patriot Trip is a token of my appreciation for the men and women who have served our country with courage and honor,” Hawley said in September, when the group headed to DC.
Hawley isn’t an Orleans County resident. He is from Batavia. He has kept his district office in Albion, even when redistricting shifted the district south with more of Genesee County. He has shown his commitment to Orleans County residents.
Historian helps awaken Clarendon to celebrated past
Melissa Ierlan, the Clarendon town historian and president of the Historical Society, unveils a historical marker on Sept. 21 for Hillside Cemetery, which last year was named to National Register of Historic Places.
In recent years, Melissa Ierlan has helped save the Old Stone Store in Clarendon, erect historical markers, and get sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ierlan has also been good about forming partnerships and connecting with residents and preservationists. She scored a big win in 2014 by celebrating the life and legacy of Clarendon’s native son, Carl Akeley.
Last spring the Clarendon Historical Society was brainstorming programs for the upcoming year. The group considered famous people from Clarendon’s past to feature. Someone mentioned Akeley, one of the most acclaimed taxidermists in the world.
It just happened to be his 150th birthday on May 19. The Historical Society decided to throw Akeley a big party. They invited author Jay Kirk, who wrote a biographical novel about Akeley called “Kingdom Under Glass.”
Provided photo – Carl Akeley is pictured with a leopard in Africa that he killed with his bare hands after it attacked him.
Prominent taxidermists also joined 150 people at the May 21 bash for Akeley. The celebration would link Ierlan, the Historical Society president, with prominent taxidermists who have long wanted to honor Akeley. The taxidermists gave Ierlan several Akeley mementos, including a gorilla death mask, to display at the Town Hall. The taxidermists also started raising $8,000 for a monument to be set in Hillside Cemetery in Clarendon in honor of Akeley.
Akeley was also a prolific inventor and world traveller. He died of a fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1926, and is buried there.
Ierlan has travelled to New York City with other Historical Society members to see The Akeley Hall of African Mammals, which showcases large mammals of Africa that Akeley killed and stuffed. She and members of the Cobblestone Society Museum are working with a taxidermist to restore a stuffed fox done by Akeley as a teen.
The Historical Society also is working on Akeley’s 151st birthday party in 2015.
Albion couple teaches 4-H’ers about science through Legos, robotics
Erik Seielstad has volunteered as mentor in the Lego program since it started in 2012. He is pictured with Dan Squire, 13, of Medina in this photo from early November.
Four years ago Erik and Marlene Seielstad pushed to start a robotics program through 4-H in Orleans County. High schoolers program a robot to perform tasks, including picking up and shooting a basketball.
“Joe’s Average Slackers” were born, and they have competed in regional events. The Seielstads serve as mentors and their son Morgan is a senior in the program this year.
Many parents pushed the Seielstads to start a Lego team for kids in elementary and middle school, and the Seielstads three years ago agreed to coach the team. The The First Lego League proved popular and expanded to three teams last year and a fourth team this year. There are about 40 kids under the guidance of the Seielstads with some help from parents.
Marlene Seielstad, right, talks with members of the Prehistoric Robots team during a competition at Churchville-Chili on Nov. 15.
The Seielstads have been honored for their volunteer efforts by the FLL regional leaders. Most teams are led by paid staff in school districts.
Mr. Seielstad works as a systems engineer in Rochester. He said the students are all learning math and science skills, as well as teamwork.
“The kids get the opportunity to work together and accomplish things,” Seielstad said during a November practice.
His wife is a member of the Albion Board of Education. She keeps the teams organized and funded. She has numerous businesses backing the robotics and Lego teams.
The Seielstads believed the program could work in rural Orleans County. They have been the drivers of its success.
“I find it overwhelming that this has occurred,” Mrs. Seielstad said. “Our uniqueness is we have people from all over our county, as well as kids from other counties.”
Orleans Hub plans to honor the “Outstanding Citizens” during a reception in early 2015.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Provided Photo – The Greater Rochester Health Foundation approved a $17,000 grant to the Albion Running Club for three programs. The following are pictured, from left: Brian Krieger, Running Club executive director; Thom Jennings, Running Club communications director; and John Urban, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Health Foundation.
ALBION – An organization committed to improving fitness in the community has been given a boost from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation.
The Foundation announced the Albion Running Club has been awarded a $17,000 grant for three initiatives.
The Running Club, a 501c3 non-profit organization, in January will launch “The Shoe Fits” and “Fit in 50” programs. It March it will continue the “Run For God,” a 12-week training program that culminates with a 5K at the Strawberry Festival on June 13.
With The Shoe Fits, residents can receive a new pair of running shoes for $20. That includes a professional shoe fitting. The grant from the Foundation will cover the difference in the cost of the shoes for up to 100 pairs.
The first shoe fitting is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday on Jan. 18 at the Hoag Library in Albion. Shoes will be available to Orleans County residents who pay $20 and commit to one of the Albion Running Club training programs. Personnel from the Fleet Feet Sports will come to Albion to fit residents into a new pair of Brooks sneakers.
The Running Club will also launch a “Fit in 50″ weekly running program. People have better success at achieving their fitness goals when they are part of a supportive group, said Brian Krieger, Running club executive director.”Fit in 50” is a year-long program designed to support participants, whether they are a novice runner, jogger or even a fast walker.
Each week the Running Club will gather for a group run, with participants choosing the distance best suits them, whether it be 1.5 miles or longer. Each run or walk will have a theme or a unique name that ties in with the time of year, Krieger said.
A nurse from the Orleans County Health Department will check participants for blood pressure, weight and BMI (body mass index) at the beginning, middle and end of the 50 weeks, if participants want that data.
There will also be post run gatherings and opportunities for mini workshops. “Fit in 50” will go year-round with two holiday weeks off.
Participants will receive awards for reaching mileage milestones. When participants cover 26.2 miles (the length of a marathon) through the cumulative total of their runs or walks, they will receive a Philippides coin to commemorate the distance covered.
The I-90 Buffalo to Rochester Medal will be given at the 73.7 mile mark and participants covering 200 kilometers (124 miles) in the program will receive a medal and T-shirt.
Members will also be eligible for local race discounts and other area promotions. The Foundation grant covers the cost of the program, making membership free to participants.
“Fit In 50” starts on Jan. 10 at a location to be determined. For more information on the program, visit http://albionrunningclub.com/fit-in-50.html.
The Run For God program includes a spiritual element with Biblical devotions. That 12-week program starts on March 8 at the Albion Free Methodist Church. The Health Foundation grant will pay for some shirts and books for the program.
The Running Club also is planning three races in Albion in 2015: The Run For Wayne on March 28 (a 3.17-mile event in memory of Running Club co-founder Wayne Burlison); the 5K and 8K Strawberry Festival races on June 13; and The Metro 10, a 10-mile race pitting runners from Rochester and Buffalo on Aug. 22.
