ALBION – A Charles D’Amico High School senior has been named to Business First’s 2014 All-Western New York Academic Team.
Jonathan Trembley (Second Team) has qualified for this year’s list of the 100 most outstanding high-school seniors in the eight-county region. Winners were chosen for their records of academic excellence, school leadership and community involvement. The top 25 were named to the First Team, 25 runners-up to the Second Team, and another 50 to the Special Mention list.
“This is a highly competitive award,” said Jack Connors, president and publisher of Business First. “Think of it this way: We have about 20,000 high-school seniors in Western New York this year, and we’ve picked only 100 for the Academic Team. That puts them in the upper one-half of one percent. They’re the best and brightest students anywhere in this region.”
Schools throughout the eight-county area were asked to nominate their smartest and most accomplished students for consideration by an eight-member committee, which included six admissions directors at area colleges and two Business First editors. A total of 122 schools responded with 419 nominees. (Each school was limited to four candidates.)
The complete list of 100 honorees, along with their photos and profiles, will be published in Business First’s 2014-2015 Guide to Western New York Schools, which will hit newsstands on June 13.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 March 2014 at 12:00 am
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.
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.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Tim Lindsay, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion, is site leader for the new Jobs for Life program in Orleans County. He discussed the program during a meeting with the Albion Rotary Club last week. Lindsay welcomes mentors and businesses to be part of the program.
ALBION – A group of churches is trying to “flip the list,” and the break the cycle of poverty for local residents.
The churches have formed Hands 4 Hope Orleans and launched a “Jobs for Life” program that is designed to give residents basic job skills, and also connect them to job opportunities and a mentor who will be a source of encouragement. The Rev. Tim Lindsay, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion, is site leader of the program.
“We’re trying to do things that foster independence and help people become self-supporting,” Lindsay told the Albion Rotary Club on Thursday. “We want to put jobs at the top and get people out of the cycle of dependency.”
Hands 4 Hope Orleans started the 16-class program on Jan. 27. The class meets twice a week at Hoag Library. Local business leaders have volunteered to help lead some of the classes. The first group of five students is scheduled to graduate on March 24.
Lindsay said he has witnessed big changes in the students in about six weeks of classes. They have gained confidence and direction.
He urged the Rotary Club, which includes several local business owners, to consider hiring a Jobs for Life graduate. The first class is expected to include five graduates. Lindsay expects to have additional classes in the future.
Each graduate will receive a certificate and businesses can have faith the students have learned the importance of values, showing up on time, conflict resolution, team work, a positive attitude, taking responsibility and overcoming roadblocks.
“We want this certificate to mean something to employers,” Lindsay said.
Besides Harvest Christian Fellowship, the Oak Orchard Assembly of God, Light of Victory, Albion Free Methodist Church and Alabama Full Gospel are all helping with Jobs for Life. For more information on Hands 4 Hope Orleans, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
Most of the Medina Waterfalls are suspended in ice. But a narrow spot is still roaring and flowing with water from the Oak Orchard Creek near the Erie Canal.
MEDINA – There’s been a lot talk in the news recently about the frozen Niagara Falls. It’s a spectacle getting world-wide attention and drawing tourists to the natural wonder when we were in our deep freeze recently. (Click here to see a story about the phenomenon.)
I wondered about the most powerful waterfalls in Orleans County. How has it held up in the freeze?
A good portion has been held up in ice. But the fast-moving part is still flowing strong, plummeting over a gorge.
The Medina Waterfalls as it appeared in early November.
I had never seen the Medina Waterfalls until November. I had heard about it and wanted to see it. It has the “wow” effect.
It’s disappointing to me how difficult it is to reach the falls. I stopped by on Saturday morning. It’s somewhat of a perilous journey through a wooded area, climbing over fallen trees. There are steep embankments and one slip could send you into the Oak Orchard Creek.
To get to the waterfalls, you can walk through this path or venture into a wooded area with fallen trees.
The powers-that-be should recognize this is a great untapped resource for tourism, recreation and improving our quality of life. I’d highly recommend a safe walking trail to the waterfalls, a ladder from the towpath, perhaps a pavilion area and some guardrails to improve the safety.
A stone wall is a relic from when powerful mills did business near the waterfalls in the 1800s.
Here is one more photo of the waterfalls, which are located near the Erie Canal, close to Horan Road bridge.
Contributed photo – Medina Winterguard performs Saturday at Marcus Whitman High School. Medina took second place at the event.
Press release
Medina Marching Band
Medina’s Winterguard competed Saturday at Marcus Whitman High School, the Mustangs’ fifth competitive performance this season.
There were four guard units in the Scholastic A Class and Medina took second place with a score of 80.22. Victor was first with 81.81, while Lancaster came in third with 78.69 and Hinsdale was fourth with 71.60.
Guard Instructor Diana Baker thought the performance was very good for this time of the season. She said the schools were appropriately placed in the Scholastic A class and the students were receptive to trying new things.
The Winterguard’s next performance is March 22 in Holley. The Championships are March 29 at Brockport State College.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Stephanie Ferris walks her dog Marti this morning along the towpath by the Glenwood Avenue canal bridge. Ferris said a group of regulars are usually out walking the canal on Saturdays in Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – The Orleans County Music Educators Association put on an All County Music Festival this afternoon at Medina High School Auditorium.
Three retired music teachers from the county led the students. David Stacey, pictured in the top photo, retired from Lyndonville in 2012 after 35 years of teaching.
He directs the All County Senior High Band, which is performing “Amazing Grace.” Stacey said he was thankful to have a chance to work with music students again. The band played four numbers.
Kyler McQuillan, left, of Albion plays a trumpet solo while Thomas Follman of Lyndonville plays a solo with his tuba during the Senior High Band’s performance of several Beatles songs. There were about 80 students in the All County Senior High band from the five school districts in Orleans County.
Mary Campbell, a retired music teacher who worked in Kendall and Medina, leads the All County Junior High Chorus. The group performed five songs, including “Come In From The Firefly Darkness.” There were about 110 students in the chorus.
Mike Grammatico, a retired music teacher who worked 10 years in Lyndonville and 23 years in Albion, directs the All County Elementary Band. The band of 80 students is performing “March Of The Phantom Brigade.”
Another music teacher, Matt Schroeder, also worked with the elementary students. Schroeder teaches music at Cleveland Hill Schools in Cheektowaga.
The Orleans County Music Educators Association is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
Here’s another reminder to turn your clocks ahead by an hour tonight. Daylight saving time officially starts at 2 a.m. Firefighters also encourage you to check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
The photo above shows the very impressive clock tower at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown. This church was built from 1892 to 1894 and is one of the most impressive Medina sandstone churches I’ve seen. The four-sided clock tower is home to the only chime bells in the city of Jamestown.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Only 3 districts in country recognized with Magna
MEDINA – A program through the Orleans/Niagara BOCES that connected the community with veterans has been recognized with one of three national awards “for taking bold and innovative steps to advance public education,” according to the National School Boards Association.
The local BOCES will receive a Magna Award for its Literacy Zone/Men’s Cooking Class. The Literacy Zone provides adult education and is run by the Orleans/Niagara BOCES.
“This project encompasses lifelong learning at its best,” said Susan Diemert, literacy specialist for Orleans/Niagara BOCES. “From children to adults, the value of education and support for each other was a result of a project that developed from a simple idea. A community worked together to provide the awareness needed to help those less fortunate.”
Provided photo – Members of the Orleans/Niagara BOCES Board of Education and the Literacy Zone coordinator include bottom row, from left: Wendy Swearingen (Lew Port), Dr. Thurston Dale (Medina), Susan Diemert (Literacy Zone Coordinator), Rebecca Albright (Wilson), Maureen Kaus (Niagara Wheatfield) and Joanne Woodside (Lockport). Back row, from left: Johnny Destino (Niagara Falls), Ruth Smith (Barker), Thomas Klotzbach (Lyndonville), Janice Covell (Starpoint) and Donald Joslyn (Albion). Missing: Keith Bond (Royalton Hartland), Michael Carney (North Tonawanda), James Reinke (Newfane).
An independent panel of school board members, administrators, and other educators selected the Magna winners from nearly 250 submissions. The NSBA recognized the program for advancing student learning and encouraging community involvement in schools.
Orleans/Niagara BOCES Adult Literacy program began a new initiative in July 2013 called a Literacy Zone Welcome Center located at the Christ Community Church in Lockport. It was patterned after the Niagara Falls program that was started in 2009.
A Literacy Zone Welcome Center is located in an impoverished neighborhood in a city with high levels of unemployment, illiteracy, and underemployment. It invites individuals and families to come to a facility for high school equivalency, remediation, computers skills, and job readiness and career preparation.
The Literacy Zone staff can assist the individual to find solutions to help break barriers and move in a positive direction toward employment, training, post secondary, and a more productive life.
“This project made a difference in the lives of all that were involved,” Diemert said. “Orleans/Niagara BOCES Adult literacy program is more than just an academic program. Our goal is to help people to recognize what challenges they have and how to develop a plan to overcome the barriers to create a brighter life for themselves and their families.”
The Orleans/Niagara BOCES won the grand prize for districts with 5,000 or fewer students. Other Magana winners include the St. Charles Parish Public Schools in Luling, La., and the Kent School District in Kent, Wash. Each of the grand prize-winning school districts will receive a $5,000 contribution from Sodexo during a special presentation at NSBA Annual Conference on April 5-7 in New Orleans.
Diemert said the Lockport program has been successful due to partnerships in the community. The BOCES worked with more than 60 agencies and community organizations to run the program and strive for successful solutions for the students.
The group partnered with the Kids Breaking Free Foundation, a community enrichment organization supportive of educating at-risk youth and their families. The Men’s Cooking Class was a result of this partnership. The men learned how to slice and dice, learn recipes, and budget for healthy meals for their families. The idea to cook for the veterans sparked other community involvement and partnerships to raise awareness for the local veterans in Niagara County.
KBFF was also running a book club for fourth- to sixth-graders who were reading a book about veterans. This resulted in a canned food drive to benefit veterans and their families.
The class on July 5 last year prepared salads and manned the grills on one of the warmest days of the summer at the Elks Lodge in Lockport. Kids Breaking Free Foundation, volunteers from veterans’ organizations, and Orleans/Niagara BOCES staff helped plan and run the event on July 5.
“It was a wonderful day and uplifting to see so many people supporting our local veterans,” said Chuck Diemert, Literacy Zone Coordinator. “What started as a simple lunch developed into a partnership with many groups and individuals resulting in a community project that would raise money and awareness to address the needs of thousands of veterans in our community.”
The Orleans/Niagara BOCES serves 13 school districts in the two counties.
Dr. Clark Godshall, District Superintendent of Orleans/Niagara BOCES, said he is proud of the Board of Education and the Literacy Zone staff members.
“To receive national recognition for their outstanding achievement just highlights the thoughtful and deliberate work they do to improve the lives of our students and the community,” Godshall said.
Provided photo – Albion FFA students who competed at the district competition include, front row, from left: Alexis Bentley, Alexis Maines, Julie Porter, Sophia Smith, Alaina Fleming, Laiken Ricker, Clara Stilwell, Isabel Penafiel, Lauren Beam. Back row: Megan Rosato, Sara Millspaugh, Logan London, Elizabeth Bentley, Abigail Maines, Harrison Brown and Jayne Bannister.
Article by FFA reporter Megan Rosato
BATAVIA – Albion FFA members went to BOCES in Batavia on Thursday to compete in FFA Districts. Students competed in Career Development Events (CDEs), which help students develop the abilities to think critically, communicate clearly, and perform effectively in a competitive manner.
There are 24 CDEs, covering job skills in everything from communications to mechanics. The finalists moving on to substates include:
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Apples should be fine, fruit specialist says
Photo by Tom Rivers – An apple orchard on East Bacon Road endures the cold in this photo taken on Wednesday.
ALBION – If you love local peaches you might be out of luck this year. The punishing winter has damaged the buds on many of the trees, a local fruit expert said.
“Peach growers and consumers will be sorely disappointed,” said Debbie Breth, a fruit specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
The trees start to suffer with some thinning of the crop at about 5 degrees below 0. When it’s 10 below, the buds see a lot of damage. The temperatures have plummeted as far as 12 below this winter, Breth said.
“We’re definitely going to have a short peach crop,” she said.
The grape industry has also suffered, especially in Chautauqua County, where growers there fear 90 percent loss of some of their most valuable varieties for producing wine.
Farmers grow some grapes and peaches in Orleans County, but apples are the main fruit crop. Those trees are hearty and go dormant during the winter. They seem to have weathered the cold just fine, Breth said.
There is a chance some trees that were pruned right before the harsh cold may have injuries, she said. But she doesn’t expect there to be too much damage.
The deep freeze may have a benefit for farmers. Some of the invasive species that have survived recent warm winters may show up in smaller numbers this year, and they may show up later in the season, Breth said.
Fruit growers have worried in recent years about the Spotted Wing Drosophila, a destructive fruit fly. The cold may keep that pest out of the area until later in the season when the crops are harvested or close to harvest.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – An apple tree on East State Street is covered in snow in this photo taken last month.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is seeking federal disaster assistance for fruit growers who expect to face a decimated crop due to the extended periods of sub-freezing temperatures.
The harsh cold will likely hurt the grape, cherry and peach crops. Apples are more hearty and are expected to be fine, said Larry Meyer, the director of the Farm Service Agency in Orleans County.
The extent of the damage won’t be known for months, but Gillibrand wants to get the process started. She is asking Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to swiftly grant a disaster designation for Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Oswego, Yates and additional counties as more crop losses are determined.
Meyer doesn’t expect Orleans to be included on the list because there aren’t a lot of acres for cherries, peaches and grapes, the fruit that has been harmed the most from the deep freeze. Orleans farmers grow about 200 acres each of peaches and cherries and 20 acres of grapes. Farmers have about 6,000 acres of apples in Orleans.
“There’s definitely been a couple of very cold days that have caused damage to the minor crops,” he said.
Grapes are big business in other counties, especially in the Finger Lakes area. New York State’s vineyards generate an estimated $4.8 billion toward the state’s economy. Jobs in New York’s wine and grape industry grew by 20 percent in the last decade, she said.
Gillibrand said some vineyards have lost 90 percent of their crop.
“When New York’s farmers struggle, our entire economy struggles,” she said in a statement. “This long and bitter cold winter has been extremely harmful to grape growers and vineyards. Losing out on these crops will set them behind all season, and hurt local businesses and jobs at a time we just can’t afford anymore setbacks. We need these federal resources on the ground without delay so we can help our farms recover, and grow our economy.”
The federal assistance can help provide farmers with prompt access to the financial and technical assistance they need to recover, including assistance through the Emergency Loan Program, the Supplemental Revenue Assistance (SURE) program, the Emergency Conservation Program and the Emergency Watershed Protection Program.
Meyer said the FSA in Orleans will be assessing the impact of the freeze. The damage should be more clear in the spring, he said.
ALBION – Teachers at Albion Elementary School dressed in blue today in support of Wayne Burlison, the elementary band teacher who is fighting colon cancer.
Teachers wore blue and signed a “Go Team Wayne” banner. Mr. Burlison’s wife Lisa teaches second grade at Albion.
Today happens to be “National Dress in Blue Day.” This started in 2009 on the first Friday of March to bring national attention to colon cancer and to celebrate the courage of those affected by this disease.
MEDINA – In this photo taken from the Medina Canal Basin during the 1890s, we see the freight boat “Celina.” Stenciled on the boat it says, “The Buffalo Rochester Transit Co.”
The sign on the roof of the building at dockside states: “Buffalo and Rochester Steamboat Express Inc.” This was a fast way for local farmers and produce dealers to ship fruit at the time. Note the seven-story tower of the White’s Hotel in the background.
