By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
GAINES – A field of hay bales are coated with snow on Route 279, just a little north of Route 104 late this afternoon.
Orleans Hub readers may recall a photo from about three months ago of the same field of hay bales.
I took this picture on Oct. 6, and it’s featured in the 2014 Orleans Hub calendar that’s available at the Lake Country Pennysaver, 170 North Main St. in Albion, as well as two other locations: Bindings Bookstore at 28 West Bank St., Albion and Della’s Chocolates at 512 North Main St., Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Joe Sacco has done it every Christmas morning for at least 20 years: He sings Christmas carols from the choir loft at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, now the Holy Family Parish.
He is shown singing “Birthday of the King.” He also sang “Ave Maria,” “Hark the Herald Angel Sings,” and “Oh Come Let Us Aodre Him.”
Sacco also was the featured soloist during a Christmas Mass at the church, singing several Christmas songs, including “O Holy Night.” He was joined by Harriette Greaser, who played the organ for the carols and at Mass.
St. Joseph’s is a stunning church made of local Medina sandstone. The church has numerous stained-glass windows and a big pipe organ.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – McDonalds is open today in Albion from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. A few other businesses are open as well.
A rare sight at the Walmart Supercenter today: no cars in the parking lot. The store in Albion is usually open 24-7, but took today off.
ALBION – I thought just about all businesses shut down on Christmas. But there are a few stores open in Albion today: the gas stations, Rite Aid and McDonalds.
McDonalds has been advertising on its sign for about a month that it would be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.
Rite Aid didn’t make a big splash about its Christmas hours, but the store is open from 9 to 5 today.
If you’re a last-second shopping procrastinator or if you want a quick bite to eat on the road, I guess you have some options.
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Santa’s house in Medina’s Rotary Park is now vacant as Santa has gone home to the North Pole after delivering all the gifts.
These antique farm tractors sit in the snow along Route 18 in Barker.
The 483′ Canadian freighter Sarah Desgagnes steams eastbound in Lake Ontario and is one of several that are on the lake on Christmas.
Slush ice is clearly visible along the shoreline of Lake Ontario looking east towards Shadigee from Golden Hill State Park.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 25 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Cheryl Wertman
The gyms around the area are fittingly quiet on this very special day. We therefore are pleased to be able to take this opportunity to wish everyone who enjoys getting their daily news and sports information on the Orleans Hub a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We also wish to thank all of those who have voiced their support and encouragement for the Hub’s coverage and look forward to continuing that coverage in 2014. Over the next few days we will be reviewing what has been a very rewarding year for many of our area athletes and teams with a series of articles community by community beginning on Thursday. Again Happy Holidays and thank-you, Mike and Cheryl Wertman.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 December 2013 at 7:32 pm
Electricity fully restored in Orleans County
Photo by Tom Rivers – Orleans County is now free from the grip of the ice storm that took out power to half of the county at one point. This photo on Sunday shows the First Presbyterian Church of Albion in the background.
National Grid has restored power to every customer – 18,000-plus – in Orleans County, about two days after an ice storm snapped branches, taking down electrical wires all over the county.
The company is reporting that there are no customers without power in Orleans. At 2 p.m. on Sunday about half of the county lacked power, or 8,590 of National Grid’s 18,174 customers in Orleans.
The power company had 96 crews at its peak in Orleans, working to reattach wires and make other power restorations.
The ice storm knocked power out for about 70,000 customers in western, central and northern New York. As of 7:16 p.m., there were 1,354 customers without power and they are nearly all in the North Country with 840 in Lewis County and 480 in St. Lawrence County. National Grid expects everyone to be back on line by 11:30 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 December 2013 at 12:03 pm
National Grid has fewer than 100 customers without power, about two days after an ice storm snapped big branches and felled numerous trees around Orleans County.
On Sunday afternoon there were 8,590 National Grid customers without power in Orleans. That represented 47.3 percent of National Grid’s customer base in the county.
As of 11:41 p.m. today, there were 92 customers without electricity. The company is working to have them restored today. Of those 92, 76 are in Shelby, with five or six customers without power in Yates, Albion and Clarendon.
Two counties in northern New York still have a lot of people without power. In Jefferson County, 3,846 customers don’t have electricity. National Grid reports it expects them to be back on line by 11:30 p.m. today. St. Lawrence County has 1,185 customers without power.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Hardware store owner set to start as county legislator
Fred Miller is shown speaking during a Democratic Party picnic in July.
ALBION – Fred Miller has resigned as trustee on the Albion Village Board so he can become an Orleans County legislator next week.
Miller, a Democrat, defeated Henry Smith for the position during last month’s election. Miller will be the lone Democrat on the seven-member County Legislature.
He also will be the first village resident from either Albion, Medina, Holley or Lyndonville on the Legislature in many years. The village of Albion hasn’t had a resident on the Legislature, despite being the county seat, since Dick Eddy about 30 years ago.
Miller said he wants to bring “a village voice” to the Legislature, as well as an independent view.
Miller considered staying on as a village trustee and also serving as a legislator. The village doesn’t forbid an elected board member from serving in another elected position, but the county doesn’t allow that.
Before the Legislature started in 1980, the county government was run by the Board of Supervisors, with the town supervisor from each of the 10 towns. The new Legislature purposely didn’t want the legislators to be serving in town or village governments. They wanted the Legislature to be more independent and less committed to any one specific community.
So Miller needed to resign from the Village Board.
Miller, the owner of Family Hardware in Albion since 1986, said he would have resigned as trustee anyway, even if he legally could do both positions.
“It would have been a lot,” he said. “It would have been too much.”
Monday was the last Legislature meeting for Smith. Two other legislators, Ken Rush of Carlton and George Bower of Holley, are retiring from the positions.
Legislature Chairman David Callard thanked the trio for their service.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Provided photo – Diesel, a pit bull at the Orleans County Animal Shelter, gets in the holiday spirit.
BARRE – In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Joette McHugh encourages local residents to not forget about homeless pets in animal shelters.
She will be spending part of Christmas at the Orleans County Animal Shelter, where she is the lead volunteer. She welcomes the community to stop in between 10 a.m. and noon to play with the dogs and cats that are waiting to be adopted.
Three years ago the shelter opened on Christmas for the community to stop by. McHugh said about 30 people visited last Dec. 25, bringing treats and spending time with the animals.
“That’s the magic of Christmas when people show up and give a pet a hug,” she said.
There are six dogs and 11 cats at the shelter. In the last three weeks, 12 dogs and seven cats have been adopted out.
In the past five years, volunteers and the animal control officer have adopted out 1,200 animals from the shelter, the former Starrview Kennels at the corner of routes 98 and 31A.
The volunteers will have Christmas cookies for anyone who wants to stop by and see the animals on Christmas.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Rudolph and a Christmas tree help decorate the Courthouse lawn in Albion while snow falls.
Mother Nature is casting a fresh coat of snow on Orleans County, just in time for Christmas.
The snow will cover up all the mud and some of the branch fragments from the recent storm.
Many residents are out for last-minute holiday preparations. Marcy Williams, a Postal Service carrier, makes a stop in Albion, delivering four packages.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2013 at 10:58 pm
National Grid made significant progress restoring power in Orleans County today. As of 10:42 p.m., all but 356 customers were back on line.
The power company started the day with 3,275 customers without power. On Sunday there were more than 8,000 with no electricity, or about half of the county.
National Grid had 96 crews in the county today. The company is working to have power fully restored in Orleans by noon tomorrow, the day before Christmas.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2013 at 6:04 pm
Company reports 1,453 still without power in Orleans
Photos by Tom Rivers – A tree crushed this 1995 Cadillac Seville, owned by Shaun Cobb of Albion. The tree damaged two other cars when it fell on Brown Street near the Caroline Street intersection. Cobb has been working to remove the tree by himself.
It shouldn’t be too much longer. That was the message from Paul Wagner, Orleans County emergency management director.
He knows residents want their electricity back on. National Grid has reduced the number of customers without power from 3,275 this morning to 1,453 as of 5:38 p.m. Wagner expects many more will be back on-line before 10 p.m. when National Grid crews will call it a day.
The crews will be back to work in the morning and expect to have power restored to residents by noon.
“We’re nearing the end of the power outage routine in Orleans County,” Wagner told the County Legislature this afternoon.
National Grid has 96 crews working to restore power and reattach lines to houses, Wagner said.
He also noted the six fire companies from Wyoming County that volunteered to help with basement pumping and be on standby for other fire calls. They arrived at about 4 p.m. on Sunday and stayed past noon today, easing some of the burden for local firefighters.
The Wyoming departments include North Java, Harris Corners, Perry, North Java, Warsaw and Arcade. A crew from Chili in Monroe County also was on scene in eastern Orleans.
Wagner said he was grateful the storm did not cause any injuries or fatalities.
Orleans County was alive with the sound of chain saws today while workers and residents cut up some of the fallen branches and trees. Bob Dexter works on a limb behind his stepdaughters’ house on East Park Street.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2013 at 7:17 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Here is another photo from the ice storm on Sunday, showing the Orleans County Courthouse in the background.
More than 3,000 National Grid customers remain without electricity this morning, and the power company advised the lights may not be back on until noon on Christmas Eve.
The ice storm that broke branches and felled trees, resulting in downed power lines. National Grid has made progress since yesterday when 8,590 of 18,174 customers in Orleans County were without electricity.
There are still 3,152 without power, as of 6:43 a.m. today. That represents 17.3 percent of the company’s customer base in Orleans.
It could be worse. In St. Lawrence County in northern New York, 28.0 percent of National Grid customers, 15,442 out of 55,065, are without electricity.
The company made big strides in Genesee County yesterday. As of this morning, only 82 customers were without electricity just south of Orleans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Here is a photo of the dogs. Gracie is the black dog. If you spot or find them, call Kathy Smith (Orleans County Animal Control) at (585) 589-5528 or Sandy at (585) 331-8215.
HOLLEY – A family lost its house to a fire late Saturday night just as the ice storm was hitting.
David and Gloria Gustke weren’t home at 2605 Monroe-Orleans Countyline Rd., when the fire broke out. Firefighters from 10 companies battled the blaze.
Mr. Gustke, on his Facebook page, thanked the community for its support after the fire.
“We are overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness, prayers, and generosity,” he wrote. “This reminds me of how much I love my family and my community. Thank you so much!”
He asked people to help locate the family’s three dogs: Gracie, Bert and Ernie. The house was located about a mile north of Route 104.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
Village of Albion Department of Public Works employees – Todd Sargent at left and Jay Pahura at right – remove fallen limbs from East Park Street this morning.
Local DPW and highway crews are out cleaning up after the ice storm on Sunday littered the landscape with fallen tree limbs.
