ALBION – Another painted bench promoting Albion history has been completed. This one features Mount Albion Cemetery. The bench was painted by Albion native Stacey Kirby.
The top photo shows the arch leading into the cemetery, which was established in 1843 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kirby delivered the bench to the Albion Middle School on Thursday, but first stopped at the cemetery to get this photo.
The bench will spend the winter inside the school. It will be placed in Albion’s downtown next spring, joining 10 other benches that were painted to promote local heritage.
This scene shows the Ingersoll Fountain, which was added to the cemetery in 1914.
The bench was paid for with a state Main Street grant. The artist fee was covered with some of the proceeds from a “Ghost Walk” in September, when Albion drama students portrayed prominent residents in the cemetery. About 500 people attended that event.
Kyle Thaine portrays Rufus Bullock, who grew up in Albion and was a railroad official in George. Bullock was elected Georgia’s governor in 1868. He was instrumental in the reconstruction of Georgia after the Civil War.
MEDINA – A secret group is conducting “push polling” about Medina’s village government dissolution, trying to intimidate residents to oppose dissolution, Mayor Andrew Meier said.
He issued this statement today:
“Numerous constituents have been in contact with my office about intimidating, high-pressure telemarketing calls they have been receiving. Pollsters ask leading questions about village dissolution, and refuse to say for whom the “poll” is being conducted or who is paying for it. The Village of Medina is not responsible for these calls. Residents are urged to exercise caution with respect to any and all coercive campaign tactics.”
Meier labeled the tactic a “push poll” where an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of voters under the guise of conducting a poll.
The dissolution of the village government goes before village voters on Jan. 20.
Winners to be recognized at Civil War Encampment in Medina
Press Release, GCC
BATAVIA – Organizers of the annual Civil War Encampment at Genesee Community College’s Medina Campus Center seek to once again recognize the efforts of dedicated Orleans County citizens who work hard to preserve the county’s history.
Nominations are being accepted through Feb. 15, 2015 for the second annual Heritage Heroes Awards.
Nominees for Heritage Heroes Awards can be any age but posthumous nominations will not be accepted. History professionals and GCC employees are also not eligible for the award, nor are those who serve on the awards selection committees. All nominees must be individual Orleans County residents, and cannot be nominated as a group.
Orleans Hub file photo – The following were recognized as Heritage Heroes last April at GCC during the Civil War Encampment, from left: Bill Lattin, Matthew Ballard, Chris Busch, Robert Waters (also accepting for Craig Lacey), and Clarendon Town Historian Melissa Ierlan (accepting on behalf of Erin Anheier).
Five winners were honored last year including Medina Sandstone Society founder Robert Waters, co-director of the Cobblestone Society Museum Matthew Ballard, Medina Historical Society vice president Craig Lacy, Medina village planning board member Chris Busch, Clarendon preservationist Erin Anheier and Bill Lattin received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Because nominations are not retained for future consideration, nominees not selected to receive awards last year are encouraged to submit nominations again.
“Residents of Orleans County take great pride in their heritage,” said Jim Simon, Associate Dean of GCC’s Orleans County Campus Centers in Medina and Albion. “We want to recognize the time and investment of individuals who are tireless advocates for local history.”
To nominate someone for the Heritage Heroes Awards, write up a statement describing the person’s contributions, projects and community affiliations. Include his/her name (anonymous nominations will not be accepted), address, phone number and email address. The more in-depth the detail provided in the nomination, the stronger the submission. Submit the nomination to:
Genesee Community College
ATTENTION: Heritage Heroes Committee
11470 Maple Ridge Rd.
Medina, NY 14103-9675
Nominations may also be emailed to Jim Simon at jsimon@genesee.edu. Please write Heritage Heroes Nomination in the subject line.
A screening committee made up of community members, history professionals and GCC students will review the nominations and select finalists. From those finalists, a committee including GCC Associate Dean Jim Simon, Assistant Professor and Encampment Coordinator Derek Maxfield and Orleans Hub Editor Tom Rivers will choose the Heritage Heroes.
“We are very pleased to recognize those whose efforts often go unnoticed,” said Maxfield. “They make many personal sacrifices in order to preserve history for future generations.”
The Heritage Heroes will be recognized during a ceremony at the annual Civil War Encampment at Genesee Community College in Medina in April 2015.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – The call went out from dispatch at 12:15 p.m. about an accident on Crandall Road in the Town of Gaines.
Firefighters, a state trooper and an ambulance saw a trail of debris, including a demolished mailbox, along Ridge Road, just east of Crandall Road. But they couldn’t find the car in the accident – until they checked down Crandall Road where a car had been driven off the road into the brush.
There weren’t any injuries in the incidents. No additional information has been released.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
HOLLEY – The fountain in the Holley Public Square is up close with a full moon in the background in this photo taken this evening.
Village officials used a state grant to refurbish the fountain this year. The fountain was first installed in the Public Square 100 years ago.
Lights are already hanging in the Public Square. A Christmas tree will be lighted on Saturday at 6 p.m. The community is welcome to attend that event.
The Salisbury Fountain was originally given to the village by Mrs. Abraham Salisbury. According to a plaque, it was “Presented through the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Fortkamp was pictured as an unidentified 2-year-old at the barbershop on Tuesday in Orleans Hub.
Provided photo – Gene Fortkamp
ALBION – When he was a young boy, Gene Fortkamp and his family would travel from Ohio to visit family in Albion. On one of those trips, Gene got a haircut.
Orleans Hub on Tuesday included two photographs of a 2-year-old boy getting his hair trimmed by Albion barber Michael Christopher. It was dated June 1958. The photos were included in our Vintage Orleans feature by Bill Lattin, the county historian. The boy was unidentified. We asked readers for help in naming the kid in the barber’s chair.
Loraine Dibley sent us an email not long after the article was posted about “Getting Clipped.” She thought the boy was her cousin, Eugene Fortkamp. She called up Gene’s sister and had her take a look.
Betsy Eischen confirmed that the boy is her brother. She said the family was visiting their grandfather, Joseph Dibley, during that summer when Gene got a haircut on his 2nd birthday.
She said her brother, a truck driver, has grown up to look a lot like their grandfather. The family continues to have reunions in the Albion area.
Gene and Betsy’s mother, Marion Dibley, is from Albion. She went to the University of Dayton and became a teacher in Ohio. That’s where she met her husband, Ed Fortkamp. Marion is soon to celebrate her 94th birthday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 December 2014 at 12:00 am
John Lang
Jerry Walls
Vickie Hughes
ALBION – Three people have been arrested and jailed following a five-month investigation into the sale and distribution of prescription narcotics in the Village of Albion, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force reported today.
Police seized hundreds of prescription morphine and Hydrocodone pills, which were obtained through Medicare and Medicaid programs.
The Task Force worked with the Albion Police Department and Orleans County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation.
The following were arrested on Wednesday:
John B. Lang, Jr., 56, of 175 North Main St., Apt. 16 in Albion. He is charged with one of criminal sale and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance, both in the third degree. He also was charged with one count of CSCS in the fourth degree and two counts of CPCS in the fifth degree.
Lang was arraigned by Albion Town Justice Gary Moore and committed to the Orleans County Jail on $20,000 bail.
Lang is to appear in Town Court on Monday at 9 a.m.
Jerry L. Walls, 45, of 71 West Ave., Apt. 45 in Brockport. He was charged with two counts of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, eight counts of CPCS in the fifth degree and five counts of CSCS in the fourth degree.
Walls was arraigned by Justice Moore and remanded to Orleans County Jail on no bail, due to a previous criminal history, the Task Force reported.
Walls is due to appear in Town Court on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Vickie L. Hughes, 49, of 71 West Ave., Apt. 45 in Brockport. She was charged with two counts of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, 2 counts of CSCS in the fourth degree and four counts of CPCS in the fifth degree.
Hughes was arraigned by Justice Moore and remanded to Orleans County Jail on no bail, due to a previous criminal history.
She is due to appear in Town Court on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Walls and Hughes face additional charges regarding Medicaid and Medicare fraud, the Task Force reported.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A reindeer and Christmas tree were added to the Courthouse lawn today thanks to the efforts of the Orleans County Highway Department and Village of Albion Department of Public Works.
Provided photo – Saint-Gobain Adfors presented an $1,100 check to Hospice of Orleans on Tuesday. Pictured, from left, include: Donna Atkinson, Saint-Gobain director of human resources; Nyla Gaylord, Hospice director of development; and David Fink, plant manager at Saint-Gobain in Albion.
ALBION Saint-Gobain Adfors officials surprised Hospice of Orleans with an $1,100 donation on Tuesday.
Saint-Gobain is the world’s largest building materials company. Each Saint-Gobain site in the United States is eligible to direct money from the Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation’s Community Gifts program. Funds can be used to target local needs and priorities. Saint-Gobain picked Hospice of Orleans.
“We know about the important work done by Hospice and are very happy to support Hospice of Orleans with this gift,” David Fink, Saint-Gobain plant manager, said as he presented the check to Nyla Gaylord, director of development for Hospice of Orleans.
“These funds will go to support the Transitions program, an in-home care program that serves seriously ill people,” said Mary Anne Fischer, executive director of Hospice of Orleans. “This largely volunteer driven, cost-effective program serves the families of Orleans County and was developed to meet the special needs of those neither ready, nor eligible, for Hospice care.”
Fischer said most of the people in the Transitions program have a life-limiting illness, and need assistance in accessing community and medical resources to manage their disease and the challenges it presents.
“We are truly grateful to Saint-Gobain Adfors for this unexpected gift which helps us meet a growing need in our community,” Fischer said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 December 2014 at 12:00 am
First ‘Legacy Awards’ presented to duo who make chicken barbecue a success
Photos by Tom Rivers – Barb Lehning of Holley has volunteered with the chicken barbecue at the 4-H Fair for 30 years, helping serve 1,250 meals at the events. She was presented with a Legacy Award on Tuesday. Kim Hazel, left, was credited by Lehning for helping to organize the big meal.
KNOWLESVILLE – Joan Roberts and Barb Lehning say preparing and serving 1,250 chicken dinners at the fair is a lot of fun.
But it’s also a lot of work, Cornell Cooperative Extension officials said, and they wanted to recognize the two ladies for their years of commitment to making the chicken barbecue dinner such a success.
Both Roberts and Lehning on Tuesday were presented with the first “Legacy Awards” by the Extension. The awards recognize people for many years of service and commitment to the Extension.
Joan Roberts of Medina has helped prepare the meals for 60 years. She received a Legacy Award for her efforts to support the Extension. She is pictured next to Extension board chairman Ed Neal.
Roberts of Medina volunteered for 60 years in preparing the chicken barbecues. Her husband Orren has been right there with her at the fair. Their four kids were in 4-H, and one son built the racks used to cook the chickens for an Eagle Scout project.
“It’s been a part of our life,” Roberts said.
Lehning was asked about 30 years ago to help organize the serving team. She remembers when the event peaked at 1,600 dinners. The 1,250 meals at more recent fairs keeps the serving line busy.
“It’s a fun day,” she said. “I like working with all of the people.”
Roberts and Lehning both said much of the event’s success goes to Kim Hazel, an administrative assistant at the Extension who helps organize the big dinner.
“We could not imagine a fair without the chicken barbecue or the chicken barbecue without Joan and Barb,” said Ed Neal, the Extension board president. “They have been a wonderful team who has built a legacy of community service and fellowship for future generations.”
Provided photo – Cornell Cooperative Extension officials presented the “Friend of Extension” to Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers, center. He is pictured with Jennifer Wagester, the executive director, and Ed Neal, chairman of the board.
The Extension also recognized Tom Rivers, editor of the Orleans Hub, with the “Friend of the Extension” award. Jennifer Wagester, the Extension executive director, said the agency tends to be the best-kept secret in Orleans County.
But the Orleans Hub has changed that by telling the Extension story.
“In photos, Tom has shown our community the smiles of our 4-H youth and the excitement of the county fair,” Wagester told about 75 people during the Extension annual meeting. “In words, he has shared our success stories and our financial challenges.”
The agency also recognized Alice and Merri Mathes as 4-H club leaders of the year and presented the Friend of the Master Gardeners award to Eileen Sorochty for tending the gardens at the Cobblestone Museum and for taking the Master Gardener course.
The following were elected to the Extension board of directors: Erin Anheier of Clarendon, Vincent Flow of Kendall, Kathy Harling of Albion, Pete Toenniessen of Albion and Michael Zelazny of Medina.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Jayne Bannister, the Niagara-Orleans dairy princess, addresses the crowd at the Trolley Building at the 4-H Fairgrounds. She also served milk punch at the Extension annual meeting.
