ALBION – In his first day on the job as an interim director of Hoag Library, Terry Wilbert has decided to close the building due to the treacherous weather.
Wilbert was out just before 9 this morning, and he said the visibility is already poor.
On Monday night he was named the interim director for the library.
Photo by Dave Ingerson
Dave Ingerson took this picture earlier today while traveling down South Main Street in Medina.
The National Weather Service downgraded the blizzard warning to a winter weather advisory a little after 9 p.m.
Orleans and northern Erie, Niagara and Genesee counties are under the winter weather advisory until 8 a.m. on Thursday. The area could get another 1 to 3 inches of snow overnight with temperatures dropping to 8 degrees.
The Buffalo Niagara International Airport recorded 13.0 inches of snow in about a 12-hour time frame today. That shattered the previous March 12 snowfall record of 7.3 inches, set in 1959, according to The Buffalo News.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Albion DPW Superintendent and Lions Club member Dale Brooks, left, reviews plans for Bullard Park in Albion with Kevin Howard, a Lions Club member, and John Grillo,the recreation director. Annette Finch, in back, is on the Recreation Committee.
ALBION – If the Albion Recreation Committee had its choice for a priority project at Bullard Park, the group said it would favor a spray park.
“We would be a leader in Orleans County is we did this,” said John Grillo, the Albion recreation director. “It would draw people here.”
The committee helped form a master plan for Bullard Park about three years ago that called for reseeded fields, a concession stand, lodge, walking trails, relocated bathrooms, the spray park and a walking trail.
The village sought state funding to help with the project, but was denied in 2012 and 2013. Village officials don’t want to give up on Bullard improvements, but the work will likely have to go in stages and the money may need to come from the local community.
The Lions Club wants to help with upgrades. The Village Board has agreed to create an account in the village – “Rebuild Bullard” – and village staff will process any donations.
The Lions initially thought replacing the main playground equipment might be the first project as part of rebuilding Bullard. But Grillo and Recreation Committee members said they think the spray park would draw more people to Bullard and have the most benefit for the community.
“It would draw a lot of kids and families,” Grillo said after a meeting at Hoag Library to discuss Bullard. “It would be a blast.”
Grillo remembers the popularity of wading pools at two village parks until they were removed about 25 years ago. He sees how spray parks are an attraction in other communities, including Batavia.
The spray parks do not pose a threat of drowning. They have big sprinklers.
The spray park would ideally be located in the center of Bullard, just west of the Pee Wee Park, according to a conceptual plan. If the village can raise the money, bathrooms with a changing area should be next to the spray park. The bathrooms and changing area could be part of a concessions area for the park.
Grillo said the lodge would his choice for a second priority. He sees that at other parks and then are used by the community throughout the year.
Annette Finch, Recreation Committee member, said the lodge could function as a senior citizen center for seniors to play cards and have meetings. Holley and Medina both have sites for seniors, but Albion doesn’t have a site.
The village will seek a rendering for the improvements that can be showed to the public, as well as cost estimates for the projects.
The Lions Club and village leaders also said they will try to get a sense of community support – in terms of dollars – that can be raised for the project. The village may reach out to neighboring townships and the county for financial contributions to make the projects happen.
The Lions scheduled a meeting for 7 p.m. on April 15 at Hoag for the next session at the park.
ALBION – Orleans County offices will be closed on Wednesday and all nonessential personnel are directed to stay home, Legislature Chairman David Callard decided tonight.
Employees are to report at the jail, nursing home, highway department and for public safety jobs with the Sheriff’s Department and dispatch.
The county has closed the County Administration Building, Mental Health Building, Legislative Office and Clerk’s Building for Wednesday. This is the first time the offices have closed since the storm in October 2006, said Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer.
Orleans is under a blizzard warning for Wednesday.
Update: Albion Central is closed on Wednesday.
Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina school districts have cancelled classes and activities on Wednesday due to the impending severe weather.
The National Weather Service has upgraded the Winter Storm Warning for Orleans and surrounding counties to a Blizzard Warning, in effect from 2 a.m. on Wednesday until 2 a.m. on Thursday.
The storm may result in accumulations of 9 to 17 inches with wind gusts up to 45 mph creating periods of whiteout conditions.
The National Weather Service warns, “Conditions will rapidly deteriorate Wednesday morning with relatively light snow becoming heavy by late morning. The combination of heavy snow and blowing snow will make travel extremely difficult to nearly impossible Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday evening. Visibility will be reduced to near-zero at times with deep snow cover on roadways during the peak of the storm along with significant blowing and drifting of snow.”
File photo by Tom Rivers – The Hoag Library opened in July 2012, more than doubling the space from the previous library.
ALBION – After 15 years of leading Albion’s public library, Susan Rudnicky is no longer director of the center on Main Street.
The Swan Library Association board of trustees voted tonight to end Rudnicky’s tenure. The board named a trustee, Terry Wilbert, to serve as temporary library administrator during the search process for a new leader. Wilbert will take a leave of absence from the board.
Rudnicky led the organization during its relocation from a 6,000-square-foot converted home on North Main Street to a 14,600-square-foot new building that opened in July 2012. She is also president of the Cobblestone Society Museum’s board of directors.
Susan Rudnicky
“This transition is not about good or bad, or about the past, but clearly reflects the Trustees’ determination to match skill sets with program needs,” Board President Kevin Doherty said in an email announcing the change in leadership. “We have a breath-taking new facility, constructed with the support of an over $1 million capital campaign from this community, and as Trustees, we have a responsibility to maximize the community value of the Hoag Library.”
Wilbert, a retired guidance counselor and school administrator, worked in the Albion, Pal-Mac and Livingston Manor School Districts, and also at the Ulster County BOCES and the Rochester Urban League. He has been a soccer coach for the Oakfield-Alabama Central School and a number of community clubs. Wilbert is a candidate for the Village Board in the March 18 election.
Doherty said a search for a new director will begin immediately and will involve community members. He said he expects there will be a good pool candidates and a new director will be picked “in a reasonable time.”
“There may be additional re-alignments of duties plus improved offerings and services in the coming year,” he said.
ALBION – With blizzard-like conditions in the forecast for Wednesday, the County Legislature meeting has been cancelled. It had been scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and will be rescheduled, Legislature Clerk Nadine Hanlon advised tonight.
County officials have also closed the county office building, Clerk’s Building, and Mental Health Building. The jail, nursing home, highway department and public safety services will be open.
Albion Town Justice Kevin Howard also has closed court for Wednesday due to the weather conditions.
MEDINA – A committee that was scheduled to meet on Wednesday morning is pushing back the session until Friday to avoid a snowstorm that is forecast to hit tomorrow.
The Medina Dissolution Committee was to meet at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. It will now meet on Friday at 8 a.m. The committee expects to have projected tax impacts for the village and the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway in a number of scenarios for the dissolution of the village and how the current services could be provided.
The meeting will be at City Hall. The committee is close to accepting a final report on the dissolution. It has been working with a consultant, the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester. The committee on Friday may schedule a public hearing for the residents to comment on the proposal.
The Village Board also is expected to have its own public meetings and hearings on a dissolution plan, which ultimately will be decided in a public referendum by village residents.
Abigail Feldman
LYNDONVILLE – A Lyndonville student has been named to a list of the top 100 high school seniors in the eight-county Western New York region.
Business First of Buffalo announced Abigail Feldman will receive Special Mention honors for the 2014 All-Western New York Academic Team. An eight-member selection committee put Feldman on the list.
Business First’s Academic Team puts the spotlight students who pursue excellence both in and out of the classroom.
Feldman in January won the Distinguished Woman of New York during a competition at SUNY Albany. She advances to the national competition in June in Mobile, Ala.
Two school districts announced this evening they were closing on Wednesday with the threat of a major snowstorm.
Orleans County is expected to get about a foot of snow on Wednesday. Both Holley and Kendall schools will be closed.
In addition, Albion town court has been cancelled for Wednesday.
Orleans Hub will update the list of closings if we get more from school officials.
File photo by Tom Rivers – A boat passes through the Oak orchard Harbor last summer. Sediment buildup in the channel has made it difficult for larger boats to use the harbor.
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced today that Oak Orchard Harbor will receive a large maintenance dredge this year, valued at $420,000 and funded through the Sandy Supplemental Appropriations bill.
Schumer met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Buffalo District Director LTC Beaudoin who confirmed the USACE’s plans and estimated the dredge is scheduled to be completed by around June 15. Schumer has long fought for Oak Orchard Harbor to be dredged, especially since Superstorm Sandy caused sediment damage to the harbor, and has specifically pushed for Sandy Supplemental funds to be used for dredging.
Schumer said this new dredge will allow recreational traffic to move more efficiently and support the charter fishing industry in the area, which generates approximately $269,000 in annual income.
“When it comes to dredging our ports, there is no time to waste, which is why I’ve kept the pressure on the Army Corps to accomplish this Oak Orchard dredging, especially since Superstorm Sandy,” Schumer said. “The timeline to finish dredging by mid-June is great news and it means we will soon get Oak Orchard Harbor moving full steam ahead – which will be an enormous boost this summer to the regional economy, family boaters and fishing charters.”
Oak Orchard Harbor is located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario at the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek. It supports 33 fishing charters and is in need of dredging.
Since Superstorm Sandy left sediment damage, the need for a maintenance dredge has increased. Schumer explained that using money from the Sandy Supplemental Fund will help alleviate the problems posed by the current shallowness of the harbor and return Oak Orchard Harbor to a better-functioning depth.
The area will be hit with a major dumping of snow on Wednesday, with 10 to 17 inches in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service.
It has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Orleans and several counties, a warning that is in effect from 2 a.m. Wednesday to 2 a.m. Thursday.
The storm will bring a mix of heavy snow and blowing snow. Northeast winds at 25 to 35 miles per hour, with gusts up to 45 MPH, will create near whiteout conditions at times, the Weather Service advised.
“The combination of heavy snow and blowing snow will result in severe winter travel conditions,” the Weather Service said. “Driving will become extremely difficult or even nearly impossible at times.”
Photo by Tom Rivers – The “Common Core” band of Lyndonville teachers and a principal gets together Monday. Pictured from left include Brian Lang on guitar, Jason Wilhelm as lead singer and guitar, Kristina Best on drums and Aaron Slack on guitar. John Bailey is also part of the group.
LYNDONVILLE – The annual talent show at Lyndonville Central School is a much-anticipated event, with several hundred people packing into the school’s Stroyan Auditorium.
The event, in the past, has included teachers, but that participation had tapered off in recent years. However, the teachers will be back on stage for Thursday’s talent show, and they’ll be back in a big way.
Four teachers plus Middle/High School Principal Dr. Aaron Slack will perform in a rock band, “Common Core.” The band will make its debut and play about 10 songs during intermission, and the audience will hear a variety of music from hard-rocking AC/DC to contemporary Christian.
The band is led by lead singer and rhythm guitarist Jason Wilhelm, who is also the district’s information technology director. He is part of a U2 cover band.
“I think when the kids see us up on the stage it will excite them to get more involved in the school,” Wilhelm said.
The Lyndonville band will also perform songs by Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Imagine Dragons, and Darius Rucker.
Courtesy of Lyndonville Central School – This doctored poster hangs in the Lyndonville community promoting a performance by Common Core, which includes from left: PE and health teacher Brian Lang, high school band teacher Kristina Best, school district IT director Jason Wilhelm, elementary music teacher John Bailey and middle/high school principal Dr. Aaron Slack.
Wilhelm and Slack are joined in “Common Core” by elementary physical education and health teacher Brian Lang, high school band teacher Kristina Best, and elementary music teacher John Bailey. The teachers are busy leading extracurricular programs at Lyndonville, including coaching sports and playing in the high school musical. Slack also has been busy working on the district’s budget.
The busy schedules have made it a challenge for the band to practice for Thursday’s show. But they have found time. After a final rehearsal on Wednesday, Slack said the group will be ready.
“We want to show students that they can pursue musicianship when they are older,” said Slack, who is a freelance guitar player for different bands.
Lang, the PE teacher, also hopes the band’s willingness to perform for a big crowd will encourage students to try more activities in school, even ones that are outside their comfort zones.
“We hope the kids will see us in a different way outside of normal roles at school,” Lang said. “I think we might be able to motivate the kids to be more involved.”
“Common Core” was picked as a name for the band. That is also the name for the state’s new standardized testing program.
The talent show begins at 7 p.m. and includes 15 student acts that include dancing, singing, tumbling and cheerleading, and various musical ensembles. Tickets are available at the door. Proceeds will go towards the junior/senior prom.
ALBION – The woman who admitted to driving the getaway car during a bank robbery in Albion last July 2 was sentenced to five years in state prison today.
Elyse A. Hoffer, 22, of Rochester apologized in court to the Bank of America employees, her family and the community.
Hoffer was the girlfriend of Jeremy J. Rothmund, who robbed the Bank of America on July 2. Rothmund went into the bank with a false bomb. He robbed the bank of $18,000. He was sentenced to 15 years in state prison last week.
Hoffer in December pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery. She had the getaway car behind Freeze-Dry Foods near the railroad tracks. The couple was spotted by an Albion resident who gave the vehicle ID to police. The two were stopped and arrested in Holley.
Hoffer in December pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery.
In other cases in county court today:
Alejandro Mendoza, 28, was sentenced by Judge James Punch to five more years in state prison for assault. Mendoza was an inmate at Orleans Correctional Facility when he allegedly used a razor to slash the neck, stomach and finger of another inmate.
That inmate needed 12 stitches for his neck and five stitches for his cut finger, the District Attorney’s Office stated.
Mendoza is currently in Southport Correctional Facility in Pine City. He is a Mexican citizen without legal documents to be in the United States, the DA’s Office said.
Jairo Chavez was sentenced to two years in state prison for two counts of third-degree rape. Chavez was living in Orleans County as a farmworker when he allegedly twice had sex with a 15-year-old girl who became pregnant. Chavez was 26 at the time. He also is a prior felon.
After prison, Chavez will be subject to 15 years of post-release supervision.
By Bill Lattin
Orleans County Historian
ALBION – This image is an ambrotype, which is a positive picture made of a photographic negative on glass backed by a black surface.
It shows the graduating class of girls in 1858 from Phipps Union Female Seminary in Albion. Caroline Phipps Achilles operated this private school for girls from 1833 to 1874. It was located on the Courthouse Square and removed in 1882 when the county purchased it and built the County Clerks Office on the site.
Adelaide Murdock Pells from Ridgeway is in the top row, fourth from left. Thanks to Nelda Callard for the donation of this picture to the Orleans County Department of History.
