By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 April 2014 at 12:00 am
HOLLEY – Congressman Chris Collins is asking the federal Environmental Protection Agency to sell eight houses that have been off the tax rolls and vacant for about a decade.
The houses were feared to be contaminated by a chemical leak in January 2002 by the former Diaz Chemical, which has gone bankrupt.
The EPA acquired the sites. It’s testing has shown no harmful on-site contaminants remain at the eight properties, Collins noted in a letter on Tuesday to Gina McCarthy, EPA administrator.
Village officials want them back on the market. The houses are on Jackson, Geddes, Van Buren and North Main streets. The houses could boost the local tax rolls by $700,000 and eliminate vacant properties in the community, Collins said in the letter.
Collins’ staff toured the properties last week with village officials, who were told the sites would be put on the market more than 2 ½ years ago.
“With 2014 upon us, I would like to request the EPA take swift action in addressing the concerns of the Village of Holley and place the suitable properties up for sale,” Collins wrote to McCarthy. “This action is in the best interest of the Village of Holley, the EPA, and the taxpayers.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Company had planned to close on May 1
MEDINA – In December, officials at Worthington Industries in Medina said the plant would shut down on May 1 and put 152 people out of work.
That shutdown date has been pushed back to June 20 due to increased production, company leaders told the Medina Village Board in a letter.
It’s bittersweet news for the employees, who stay on the job for seven more weeks but face the inevitable loss of their jobs.
Worthington operates the former Bernz-O-Matic and is shifting production from Medina to a site in Wisconsin. Many of the employees have worked at the plant for decades.
Worthington bought Bernz-O-Matic in 2011. Bernz-O-Matic had operated in Medina since 1969, making torches.
Worthington makes cylinders for the torches in Wisconsin. By shifting the torch production to Wisconsin, the company says it can do everything at one site, saving in transportation costs.
Worthington planned to ramp up production in Medina, to have extra product while the company shifts production to the site in Wisconsin.
BATAVIA – A local state senator and community college graduate will deliver the commencement address on May 18 at Genesee Community College.
George Maziarz graduated from Niagara County Community College before earning a degree from Niagara University. Maziarz has served in the State Senate since 1995. His district includes all of Orleans, a portion of western Monroe and most of Niagara County.
“We are honored to have Sen. Maziarz speak and be part of this year’s celebration,” said GCC President Dr. James Sunser. “I think having a speaker from our own area who is familiar with the college and with the demographics of our students provides a meaningful address for everyone attending the ceremony.”
GCC is expecting 1,017 students to graduate next month, with another 44 graduates pending completion of their studies this summer.
While Commencement is open to the public, seats in the gymnasium are reserved for family and friends of graduates. The ceremony will be streamed live on campus through a video cast to the Stuart Steiner Theatre, Room T102 and on all the monitors throughout the campus – including the Student Union and cafeteria for those who would like to tune in. Tickets are not necessary to watch the ceremony in these areas.
Graduates, families and friends are encouraged to record memories, well wishes and pictures from commencement using #sunygcc14 on Twitter and Instagram to be shared throughout the day. Those attending the reception following the commencement ceremony are also invited to have their picture taken on the Forum stage, which will be posted to the college’s Facebook account.
Immediately following commencement, a reception with light refreshments will be hosted in the Forum for all guests and graduates.
Agency thanks supporters, announces education emphasis for 2014
Provided photos – Ann McElwee accepts the volunteer award from Volunteer Coordinator Christine Fancher, right.
Press release
Hospice of Orleans
MEDINA – Hospice of Orleans held its annual organizational meeting and honored its volunteers in a dual-purpose luncheon on April 24 at the Medina United Methodist Church (the former Apple Grove Restaurant).
In 2013, more than 150 volunteers contributed nearly 7,000 hours to the Hospice mission of providing comfort, compassion and expertise to Orleans County residents facing serious illness, Hospice Executive Director Mary Anne Fischer reported. She attributed a cost savings of over $110,000 last year to volunteer involvement.
“It goes without saying that we could not do this without you,” Fischer told the crowd of about 120. “We consider ourselves truly blessed by the giving nature of this community.”
Ann McElwee received Hospice’s Volunteer of the Year Award. Volunteer Coordinator Christine Fancher called McElwee “an incredible lady who gives tirelessly of her time, compassion and care to hospice patients.” McElwee regularly visits two clients in the community and takes time to get to know patients’ likes and dislikes, Fancher said.
“She spoils them!” Fancher also noted that McElwee has “broken all of the records with regards to hours of service dedicated to hospice.”
McElwee is a retired special education teacher at the Orleans-Niagara BOCES. The Medina resident volunteers about 10 hours a week with Hospice.
“After you meet the residents and patients, you get a lot more than you give,” McElwee said.
Carol Culhane, left, is presented the Mary Janet Sahukar Award from Mary Anne Fischer, Hospice executive director.
Carol Culhane received the Mary Janet Sahukar Award, named for Hospice of Orleans’ founding director. The award recognizes a community member who understands, embraces and supports the organization’s mission in sacrificial ways.
As an artist, Culhane has contributed hundreds of hours to the creation of murals in the Martin-Linsin Hospice Residence, as well as custom-designed ornaments for the organization’s Light-A-Life memorial Christmas tree.
Culhane worked eight years as a nurse’s aide at the Orleans County Nursing Home and that experience made her want to support Hospice.
“I saw then the tremendous need for compassionate care at the end of life,” Culhane said.
Baxter Healthcare of Medina received the Hospice Business/Civic Award, recognizing that company’s annual sponsorship of Hospice’s Ducks Ahoy Race, held each Independence Day in Lyndonville. Baxter provides cash prizes for the race, an important fundraiser and publicity event for Hospice, according to Development Director Marsha Rivers.
Baxter employees have also shown exceptional enthusiasm for the Hospice mission, Rivers said – supporting the spring bouquet sale by the dozens of dozens, and volunteering at Hospice headquarters on the United Way Day of Caring. Baxter Vice President Nelson Patterson received the award on behalf of his company.
Baxter Healthcare was awarded the Hospice Business/Civic Award for its efforts assisting Hospice. Nelson Patterson, Baxter vice president, accepts the award from Marsha Rivers, Hospice director of development.
Douglas Miller, of Albion, was elected as a new Hospice Board member. Henry Lehning, of Holley, and Jon Costello, of Waterport, were honored for completion of their board terms, Lehning for 15 years and Costello for 9 years. Costello was elected as a director emeritus, which allows him to continue attending board meetings as an adviser.
Mary Anne Fischer noted that Hospice of Orleans achieved several organizational goals in 2013, including: Development of a palliative care program to assist community members still undergoing treatment for serious illness; tailoring policies and procedures to become a 24/7 agency; streamlining medication ordering to increase efficiency and decrease costs; upgrading clinical software to enable direct care staff to record visits remotely; documentation of all agency processes; updating financial policies pertaining to investments and billing; starting an e-newsletter to provide caregivers with high quality, pertinent information.
In the coming year, during which Fischer noted the agency will celebrate its 20th year as a state-certified hospice provider, Hospice of Orleans will emphasize education about its services and important end of life care decisions that everyone should consider in advance. The organization will also strive to increase use of electronic media for efficiency and cost savings, and encourage planned giving among its supporters.
(Editor’s note: Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers interviewed Culhane and McElwee for this article.)
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 April 2014 at 12:00 am
About 250 attend hearing at Town Hall
Photos by Tom Rivers – Shelby resident Russell Cree speaks against a proposed quarry, saying it would be disruptive to a peaceful neighborhood.
Town Hall was packed with residents tonight during a public hearing about a proposed quarry on Fletcher Chapel Road.
SHELBY – Town Hall was at capacity – and then some – for a public hearing tonight about a proposed quarry on Fletcher Chapel Road.
Residents voiced concerns about the proposed quarry’s impact on nearby residential wells, the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge, and a proposed high-tech manufacturing park only a few miles away in the town of Alabama. That site is projected to have 10,000 jobs at full build-out. The state has committed $33 million in this year’s budget to advance that project.
The quarry would have a 75-year mining life. The 215-acre site would add 15 jobs to the community, according to Frontier Stone LLC.
The company has been working eight years on studies to get its draft environmental impact statement accepted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The DEC held a public hearing about that 1,000-page plus report, and 250 residents turned out for the 2 ½ hour hearing.
Residents said the quarry would bring dust, noise, vibrations, heavy trucks, and foul water to a quiet and pristine area.
Brian McCarty lives on Dunlap Road. He enjoys the wildlife in the community, and said the refuge needs to remain a sanctuary for birds and animals.
“There is a higher calling as stewards of the earth that we all have to address,” he said at the hearing. “Where will the eagles go?”
Photos by Sue Cook – Cal Tuohey addresses the group of students and teachers. He explains the importance of being honest.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
LYNDONVILLE – Students in Lyndonville’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy heard directly from local CEOs and business owners in the area about the keys to success.
The panel of four included a diverse group: Cal Tuohey, author, actor and comedian; Jim Simon, Dean of Genesee Community College (Albion and Medina); Barb Champlin, co-owner of Hojack Ice Cream Shack, EZ Shop and Champs; and Peter Woodward, Senior Human Resource Manager of Baxter, Inc.
“The genesis of the idea for this evening started probably over a year ago when we started discovering that there was a disconnect between our school and the business community in the region,” said Aaron Slack, Middle/High School Principal.
Technology and business teacher Todd Wolford came up with the idea as a way to inspire students. With input from others at the school, Wolford chose a list of people who were both local and well established that he felt would inspire the students.
“Don’t lie,” said Tuohey, explaining how an attempt to fool a prospective customer backfired on him. “You can connect better with people if you are yourself.”
That message was repeated throughout the night. The panel agreed honesty was a huge way for an applicant to be considered by a company when job hunting. They also suggested volunteering and being a well-rounded person through hobbies and free-time activities that benefit the community in some way.
“You don’t have to be the best student, but you have to apply yourself and find what you love,” said Woodward.
He wasn’t in the top of his class, but once he found passion for something he was able to focus and begin to guide his life into the path he wanted.
Peter Woodward said having a belief in your company and what you make or do is an extremely powerful motivator. Baxter makes medical products and he constantly thinks about how the devices help to save or sustain lives.
Barb Champlin echoed that finding something you love is the route to success. “It’s a lot of long hours, a lot of sacrifices, but well worth it. I don’t wake up in the morning saying I have to go to work. I wake every morning going to do what I love to do. It’s not work when you do that.”
The group also discussed their regrets of what they wish they had done when they were younger. They offered advice of how to overcome things that might hold someone back that could cause them regret later on.
Jim Simon said that he did learn some hard lessons in his youth, but was able to change himself through them. “It’s really about what happens if you hit bottom and you pick yourself up by the bootstraps. What do you do now? It’s about standing back up if you get knocked down. Don’t feel like your life is set in stone.”
Tuohey wishes he had started by telling his parents what he wanted in life, but didn’t think they would approve of him wanting to pursue comedy. “I didn’t have the courage to tell my parents what I wanted to do. I didn’t want them to hear the wrong answer from me.”
Barb Champlin says she loves running her own businesses because it makes her the ruler of her own destiny. “I like the freedom that it gives me,” she said.
The students all thanked the group for coming to speak to them and some even asked for personal advice afterward about their own futures and choices. They were gracious of the time that was set aside just for them.
“I’ve really learned a lot,” stressed senior Abigail Feldman. She said she did gain some insight and even learned more about their what the panel’s jobs are in the community. She commented that she had no idea that positions like Human Resources did so much.
The Young Entrepreneurs Academy has already started students on the path to finding a career they would like to pursue. The YEA runs the school store, which makes a profit. The students then partner up with each other and make real business proposals and present their ideas to a group of investors. The investors vote on the proposals with a yea, nay or can adjust the amount of money the students are asking for. The investors divide the store profits among the students to provide them with the equipment and resources asked for on their proposal.
Two groups within the YEA have already applied for DBAs for their businesses. Feldman and her partner are sharing a Nikon camera that was approved by the investors for their business Fabulous Fotos.
The other approved group is Cashmere Cupcakes and consists of three students. The students rent space in a certified kitchen and are planning to cater cupcakes at local events such as birthday parties. The students for both businesses will be attending college, but will continue to operate as they have time.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 April 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – Community members are welcome to attend a forum about underage drinking tonight at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina.
The Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition will lead the meeting, which begins at 6:45 p.m. The coalition is part of the Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.
Medina Police Chief Jose Avila will speak during the forum, which will include participation from the coalition members.
A survey of high schoolers at four of the five school districts in Orleans County showed that 25 percent report they binge drink, said Patricia Crowley, project director for GCASA.
“We all know it’s going on more than the statistics say,” Crowley said. “These are kids who are drinking to get drunk.”
She welcomed students and their parents to attend tonight’s forum at the library, 620 West Ave.
“We want to hear from the kids about what they hear and see,” Crowley said.
The coalition also wants to talk to parents. Many are permissive in allowing children to drink alcohol and host drinking parties. The survey in 2013 of 6th through 12th showed that 46 percent of students in those ages drink alcohol at home with their parents’ permission.
Crowley said the coalition’s goal is to educate community members about underage drinking consequences and empower communities to use evidence-based approaches to stop underage drinking.
Tonight’s meeting will also include an appearance by “Kye,” Medina’s K-9 that is used in tracking, drug detection, building searches and criminal apprehension.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 April 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – A newspaper with roots in the Medina community since 1903 has announced it will close next month.The Journal-Register will publish its final edition on Friday, May 30, Publisher Diane Crowe announced today on the JR’s website.
The newspaper is printed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The paper used to have a Main Street presence until the operation was moved to Lockport at the Union-Sun & Journal about two years ago.
The move to Lockport was part of a cost-saving measure. The JR could not sustain itself economically despite the efforts to consolidate business and production operations at nearby sister publications, Crowe said on the JR website.
The Journal-Register’s circulation was about 1,500. The paper used to be printed five days a week, then four days before the three-days-a-week schedule. The Journal has four employees and they were notified today of the closing, Crowe said.
The Daily Journal started in Medina in 1903, followed by a rival, the Medina Register. The two merged in 1970 to form The Journal-Register.
The Journal is owned by Community First Holdings, Inc., which runs the Greater Niagara Newspapers group that includes The Journal-Register, Union-Sun & Journal, Tonawanda News and the Niagara Gazette. Community First also owned the Albion Advertiser, a weekly publication. That newspaper closed about a year ago.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Contractors work on installing a new playground by the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School in Albion. The new playground could be ready next week.
ALBION – The former wooden playground at the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School has been removed after about 20 years of use and a new playground with slides, climbing points and several standalone sections will be added.
The new system could be ready as soon as next week if the weather is cooperative.
Contractors have added drainage to improve soil and surfacing dry times, District Superintendent Michael Bonnewell said.
Pieces are in the parking lot, soon to be installed in the playground.
The former playground with its wood structure provided a good home for bees and years of water exposure had caused its own damage, Bonnewell said. The manufacturer was no longer making spare parts and that resulted in the custom milling of some replacement parts.
The new playground is a Game Time brand unit. Titan from Gasport is doing the installation.
Elementary school students had a vote in the color schemes and design elements for the playground. State Sen. George Maziarz directed $67,800 in discretionary “bullet aid” to Albion, which the district used towards the new playground.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Vernon Fonda, a conservation officer with the state Department of Conservation, stands near the edge of Johnson Creek just before the Lyndonville Dam. Fonda wants to improve the stability of the bank and accessibility of the site for fishermen. He envisions a floating dock near where he is standing, closer to the bridge over Route 63.
LYNDONVILLE – It’s one of the area’s most picturesque spots, and it also is a popular fishing hole.
The section in front of the Lyndonville Dam along Johnson Creek also is dangerous, with loose soil and a rocky embankment.
Vernon Fonda moved to Lyndonville about six months ago. He works as a conservation officer for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Fonda loves the Lyndonville community. He is president of the PTA, is joining the Lions Club and enjoys the area’s natural resources.
The spot by the dam needs to be stabilized to prevent further erosion, and he wants to make it easier for fishermen to use the site.
“Johnson Creek is world renowned,” Fonda said. “If we make the site safer it will increase tourism.”
He is trying to line up support in the community for the project. He said boulders, a floating dock, ramp with a railing, fencing, a kiosk to list fish that can be caught at the site, and other improvements are all under consideration.
Vernon Fonda also is a Lyndonville resident. He would like to beautify the area near the Lyndonville Dam. He shows where the bank is suffering from erosion.
Mayor Steve McAvoy welcomes Fonda’s input and energy in making the site more stable and safer. McAvoy said the village will need to work with the Army Corps of Engineers, DEC, Soil and Water Conservation District and other agencies that will all need to sign off on any work at the site.
“He’s really taken the bull by the horns,” McAvoy said about Fonda.
The village of Lyndonville owns the lands by the property. Erosion has been a concern, especially as the pace has quickened in the past six months or so, McAvoy said.
The dam is at an angle where the creek hits the embankment hard, especially after big rains or snow melts.
“It’s tremendous the force in there,” said Terry Woodworth, the village DPW superintendent.
Photo courtesy of Village of Lyndonville – During high waters, after a big rain or snow melt, Johnson Creek rises and eats away at the embankment.
The village looked at a stabilization project a few years ago and it was about $350,000 then and there were questions whether it would work, Woodworth said.
“It won’t be an easy fix,” he said.
The village would like to see the upper pond dredged, and the flood gates and piping repaired by the dam.
Woodworth is grateful Fonda sees the potential at the site, and has got the community interested in it. Fonda has connected with government officials, service organizations and local individuals and businesses about the project.
“Vern has got people looking at it,’” Woodworth said.
Fonda also has been trying to improve public fishing access along the creek downstream.
“This started as a stabilization project and now it includes making the area more accessible to fishermen,” Fonda said.
Photo by Sue Cook – This photo from a few weeks ago shows the Kanyoo Trail at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.
Press release
Ducks Unlimited
SHELBY – Ducks Unlimited has been awarded a $62,407 grant for coastal wetlands restoration work in Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. DU and their partners will enhance 1,000 acres of forested wetland through restored hydrology and reforestation.
“Iroquois has always been important to Ducks Unlimited,” said Sarah Fleming, Ducks Unlimited regional biologist. “The area is an important stop for migratory waterfowl. Reforesting provides valuable habitat, and putting in new culverts and removing portions of a dike will help this portion of the refuge function at a much higher level, providing more food and better opportunities for waterfowl on their way to the breeding grounds.”
The grant comes through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Other partners in the grant proposal include Cargill, Friends of Iroquois NWR and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Work will take place in an area known as the Seneca Pool, and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2014. Almost every wildlife species uses wetlands at some point of its lifecycle, and a diverse range of wildlife species stand to benefit from the enhanced habitat, including American black duck, American woodcock and cerulean warblers.
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – Property owners won’t face a higher village tax rate this year after the Village Board approved a 2014-15 budget on Monday night that keeps the rate at $16.44 per $1,000 of assessed property.
“I would consider that good news,” Mayor Andrew Meier told residents during a budget hearing tonight.
The village’s general fund – the budget for police, streets, fire department and other services outside the water and sewer departments – totaled $4,958,514, a 5.7 percent or $269,539 increase from $4,688,975 in 2013-14.
The village is offsetting most of that increase with stronger revenues for its ambulance service through the fire department, and $70,000 more in carryover cash funds. The ambulance service returned $150,000 more in revenue than was budgeted in 2013-14.
The amount to be collected in taxes will increase by $16,160 or 0.6 percent to $2,738,602. The tax rate won’t change because the tax base grew by 0.6 percent or $996,974 to $166.5 million.
The tax base is bigger because Orchard Manor was added to the tax rolls. The nursing home on Bates Road was tax exempt when it was owned by Medina Memorial Hospital. The site was sold last year for $4.1 million.
The village’s water fund is up 2.5 percent from $1,418,202 to $1,452,970. The sewer fund increased 4.5 percent from $969,679 to $1,013,758.
Village Board members unanimously approved the budget and offered praise to the Medina department heads for their help in preventing an increase in the tax rate.
The budget takes effect June 1, the start of the village fiscal year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The former Starlite Dry Cleaners has been vacant on Main Street in Medina since a fire damaged the building a decade ago.
MEDINA – The village is spending $3,500 to determine the environmental cleanup needed for two vacant side-by-side sites on Main Street.
The former Starlite Dry Cleaners at 331 North Main St. has been empty since a fire in the building a decade ago. Its neighbor at 333 North Main also is vacant.
The Village Board would like to see the sites be redeveloped. But first the extent of the environmental contamination needs to be determined. The village also is trying to line up funding to help with the cleanup. The state Department of Environmental Conservation pledged $50,000 to $60,000 to the cleanup in 2008, Mayor Andrew Meier said.
He believes the DEC will still honor that commitment if local dollars are committed to help with the project.
Starlite is currently in limbo. A previous owner stopped paying taxes on the site. Normally the property would then be owned by Orleans County, but the county hasn’t accepted the property due to the potential environmental liabilities.
Meier and the Village Board on Monday voted to pay $3,500 to Great Lakes Environmental. The firm will look at alternatives for the two sites, including the costs of environmental remediation, building repairs and demolition.
A previous study showed some dry-cleaning solvents were in the soil at Starlite.
Meier said he doesn’t want the two buildings to sit idle much longer. The study from the environmental consultant should help determine the future for the two buildings.
“It’s an important project in the community,” Meier said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
The rainy spring is keeping farmers out of their fields. The big downpour today added to their woes. Many fields are flooded including the one pictured on top on Presbyterian Road in the town of Ridgeway.
This pipe runs under the road and directs water to the north side.
This is a picture of the same flooded field along Presbyterian Road. This picture was taken at about 8:15 p.m. today.
Earlier in the day, during the peak of the downpour, I stopped along Ridge Road and got this picture. This is on the western end of Albion, looking south from the Ridge.
