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21 birds raised by 4-H’ers are sold at first turkey auction

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Lynn Hill served as auctioneer Saturday during the first ever turkey auction, featuring birds raised by 4-H’ers. The 21 turkeys sold for a combined $1,585. Skip Lear, left, helped Hill with the auction.

Claudia Dreschel of Holley created a display at the auction, showing pictures of herself with her turkeys.

KNOWLESVILLE – The debut turkey auction by the Orleans County 4-H program resulted in $1,585 in sales for 21 turkeys, and many happy buyers who will have locally raised meat for Thanksgiving.

Twelve 4-H’ers raised the turkeys over four months. The birds at the auction ranged from 17 to 34 pounds. They all sold for at least $60 with three at $100 or more.

The 4-H Market Auction Committee pushed to start the auction this year. The committee hoped the turkeys would sell for an average of $75. The average price on Saturday: $75.48.

The 4-H program would like to make the turkey auction an annual tradition, and would like to see more bidders buy turkeys from local 4-H’ers.

Alan and Guin Panek of Albion bought three turkeys at the auction. They will have 60 people over for Thanksgiving.

“We wanted to support the 4-H program,” said Mrs. Panek, a former 4-H educator. “We know these turkeys are locally raised, they’re healthy and fresh.”

The Paneks bid the highest amount at the auction, $150 for a 34-pound turkey raised by Nicole Mrzywka of Holley.

Dona Scharping, in front of Lynn Hill, holds up a yellow card to show she is bidding on a turkey. She bought one for $65 that was raised by Zachary Moore of Albion.

The Orleans County Fair Committee bought one of the turkeys to be donated to a local food pantry. Barb Kurzowski also bought a turkey and donated it a food pantry.

Many of the 4-H’ers have been raising animals for years, but typically they are larger livestock.

“They’re really nice when they are babies,” Janie Schutz, 17, of Waterport said about the turkeys.

But birds became more aggressive as they get older. She and her sister Rylie Lear, 13, prefer working with beef cattle.

“You bond more with your cows than your turkeys,” Schutz said.

The 4-H’ers fed the turkeys at least 2 pounds of a grain-based feed a day. They needed lots of water and clean conditions.

Claudia Dreschel, 14, of Holley and her brother Andrew raised eight turkeys, with four sold at the auction. They estimated it cost $50 in feed for each turkey over four months.

“It’s definitely been a learning experience,” Claudia said. “They eat a lot and they can make a mess very fast.”

Guin and Alan Panek of Albion bid on a turkey during the auction on Saturday. They bought three birds, including the highest bid of the night, $150 for a turkey raised by Nicole Mrzywka of Holley.

Canal lanterns, a hitching post and lots of old gas pumps

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Rollie Sanford’s property on Gaines Basin Road, about a mile north of the canal, is well known in the Albion area because of the collection of vintage gas pumps that have been restored by Rollie and his son Scott. Rollie has picked up other relics, including this hitching post and a toy horse.

GAINES – When he and his wife Elma retired from teaching in the early 1980s, Roland Sanford and his wife decided they wanted to have some adventures together.

The couple didn’t need to book a cruise. They went on treasure hunts locally. They are known in the Albion area for an impressive collection of old gas pumps. Orleans Hub featured the collection in a June 13 article. (Click here to see it.)

Mrs. Sanford passed away on Christmas Eve in 2005. Her son Scott has become a gas pump enthusiast. He has restored many of the pumps on the property. There are about a dozen of them, dating from 1915 to 1960.

Since that June article on the Hub, Scott has put two more pumps out by a barn on Gaines Basin Road, including one painted in honor of the Albion Fire Department. That old-fashioned fire extinguisher on wheels used to hold chemicals and was used by a fire department generations ago.

I was at the Sanfords’ last weekend for a story about the gas pumps for the “585” magazine that covers the Rochester region. I pitch the magazine some articles about Orleans County topics and sometimes they say yes. They wanted the one about the gas pumps. I can’t give away too much of that article.

I did see some other very interesting artifacts at the Sanfords, items I’ve never seen before.

Rollie has a nice old cast iron hitching post in his front yard with a toy horse laying on it. Rollie, 93, says he “picked it up somewhere.”

The retired history teacher likes artifacts from a different era. He has several old lanterns that used to line the canal at night. The lanterns were needed so boats wouldn’t ram into the canal walls. These old lanterns weigh about 25 pounds each. Sanford said the canal used to have employees who lighted the lanterns and also checked the historic waterway for leaks.

Rollie Sanford has collected canal lanterns that were used as markers along the canal when it was dark.

This lantern was used on the canal long ago.

“The lights were used as guides,” he said.

Rollie in some of his hunts for local relics also returned home with an old railroad cart that now sits in his son’s front yard.

Rollie also came across a millstone and brokered a deal to have it moved to the Sanford property, which has been in the family for six generations.

Scott and Julie Sanford have a century old railroad cart in their front lawn. In the back is a millstone that Scott’s father Rollie saved from being discarded years ago.

Barre native named Military Citizen of the Year

Posted 23 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Provided photo – Tech. Sgt. Elizabeth Marat of the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, poses with Hampton, Va., civic leaders at a Military Recognition Luncheon. Marat was the Air Force 2013 Military Citizen of the Year for her volunteer efforts. From left to right: Hampton Mayor George Wallace, Marat, Newport News Mayor McKinley Price and Mike Kuhns, Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce president.

Article courtesy of 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, VA. – For the past four years, while assigned to the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, Tech. Sgt. Elizabeth Marat has faithfully served her country, but also dedicated her time in the local area as a volunteer. Marat worked countless hours performing special services and charitable deeds in the community.

As a result of her commitment to community service and volunteerism, she was awarded the Military Citizen of the Year Award by the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce during a ceremony Nov. 12 at the Crowne Plaza Hampton-Marina Hotel in Hampton.

“I am honored to be chosen as the Military Citizen of the Year,” said Marat. “This came as a surprise to me as this year’s Air Force selectee. I did not know I was chosen until someone sent a congratulations note in an e-mail. I just feel that I am doing my part in the community.”

Each year, the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce names one outstanding and deserving representative from each branch of the military. Marat is the daughter of Larry and Susan Gaylard of Barre.

“This award for Liz is well deserved,” said Senior Master Sgt. Angelo Washington, Superintendent of Materiel Management for the wing and Marat’s supervisor. “She continuously supports the local community and always carries a smile wherever she goes and in whatever she does.”

“She is a role model and truly a positive example on base and in the local community,” he added. “No one is more deserving than she is, and I’m happy for her and the Air Force.”

The military community has a long and proud tradition of volunteer service. Since 1955, the Samuel T. Northern Military Citizen of the Year Awardis given annually to recognize the military citizen who has made the most significant contribution in the area of community service.

Marat has volunteered for a myriad of activities and special events both on and off base.

“I believe that volunteering your time is very important,” she said. “But, I also think you should volunteer for something you enjoy doing.”

Marat said she hopes her effortswill set an examplethroughout the wing.

“If it’s just an hour of your time over your lunch break, to go over to a school and read to children, assist with Meals-on-Wheels or other community-related activities, your volunteering can positively affect an individual’s life,” she said.

According to Marat, it’s all about changing lives and inspiring people in need, but most importantly, leading by example and encouraging others to volunteer.

“Whether it’s at a school tutoring in math and reading or donating your hair to Locks of Love, anybody can volunteer.”

Marat’s division chief expressed amazement at her ability to balance it all.

“Along with her daily primary and additional duties supporting our global organization, coupled with the huge demand of a large family, she still volunteers numerous hours to the community,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Reiz, Chief of ISR Systems. “She is truly an Air Force Ambassador and deserving of this award!”

In Clarendon, the waterfalls is an enduring landmark

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 November 2013 at 12:00 am

CLARENDON – Orleans County is home to several waterfalls, but I think the one in Clarendon is the most visible.

This waterfalls is along Route 237, just a little south of the Route 31A intersection. I stopped by this morning at about 7:20 a.m. When I parked in a spot by a small park, I could hear the roar and splash of the 25-foot-high waterfalls.

This one isn’t as big or as majestic as the nearby waterfalls in Holley, but this is no weak trickle. Clarendon has long been proud of this site, which was next to a mill long ago. Some of the foundation from the mill remains in a hill by the waterfalls.

The waterfalls is fed from Sandy Creek. It is more powerful after a heavy rain.

Lego teams come home with awards

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Three teams from Orleans program make Lego robots to conquer obstacles

Photos by Tom Rivers – Two of the teams through the 4-H program in Orleans County compete in the robot challenge today at Churchville-Chili Middle School. The KOWZ (Kids Only Work Zone) team in back (with the cow hats and shirts) won a Core Values Award for their enthusiasm and sportsmanship. The team with the tie-dyed shirts (Prehistoric Robots) was one of four teams of the 13 to advance to the championships Dec. 8 at the University of Rochester.

CHURCHVILLE – Three First Lego League teams from Orleans County all left a regional competition in Churchville today with awards. One of the teams advanced to the championships for Finger Lakes area teams on Dec. 8 at the University of Rochester.

The Orleans County 4-H program joined the Lego League last year with one team. The program has proved popular with local 8- to 14-year-olds and expanded to three teams and 26 kids this year.

The teams all designed and built a robot out of Legos. The teams used a computer to program the robot to perform tasks.

Jack Finley from Albion and a member of the Stormtroopers team positions a robot his team programmed and built to complete missions on the course. The Stormtroopers won the Judge’s Award, which is given to a team that performed well in all aspects of the competition but didn’t advance to the championships on Dec. 8.

This year all of the FLL teams are competing in a “Nature’s Fury” theme that explores natural disasters. One of the missions requires the robot to remove a tree branch without taking down power lines.

There are 13 missions on the obstacle course. One of the Orleans County teams, the Stormtroopers, tallied the second most points of the 13 teams in today’s robot challenge.

The competition includes two other elements, including a project and a public presentation where teams had to research a disaster and discuss a part of the world that is vulnerable to a “Nature’s Fury.” Some of the teams designed safety kits, a water sifting device and a sparker that created fire without electricity or matches.

Michael Reese of Medina, right, and the Prehistoric Robots team compete in Churchville today.

The Prehistoric Robots team from Orleans received an award as one of four teams to advance to the championship at the U of R. The Stormtroopers received the lone Judge’s Award for a team that excelled at all the challenges but didn’t advance to the championships.

The KOWZ team (Kids Only Work Zone) received the Core Values Award for their enthusiasm and sportsmanship.

Jac Dorris, a member of the Prehistoric Robots team, also received a “Hero Award” after he found some money and turned it in.

(Editor’s note: My son Reuben is on the Stormtroopers team and a did a good job positioning the robot on the obstacle course.)

The Prehistoric Robots team advanced to the First Lego League championships on Dec. 8 at the University of Rochester.

Antique and Primitive Country sale in Hilton from today until Sunday

Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Oxen were once commonplace on the local streets

Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

By Bill Lattin, Orleans County Historian

This image is from a tintype photograph, probably taken in the mid-1850s.

Here we see a man with a team of oxen hitched together with a neck yoke. It is possible the building in the background is a tavern.

At the time of this picture oxen were as common as horses. Notice the man’s attire, including hit hat and especially his boots.

These kind of boots when muddy demanded a boot scraper, which were frequently found by the entrance doors to dwellings in the mid-19^th Century before roads were paved.

There are very few boot scrapers left. The photo below shows one behind the DAR (Daughters of American Revolution) House on North Main Street in Albion. The boot scraper is located next to the back door.

Spychalski leaving Orleans Arc to lead agency in Niagara County

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Kellie Spychalski

ALBION – The leader of an agency that serves 1,100 people with disabilities in Orleans County is leaving to take a job with Opportunities Unlimited in Niagara County.

“It’s been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Kellie Spychalski said about leaving the Arc of Orleans.

She had led the agency in Orleans for the past two years. She has worked for the Arc for 21 years, starting as a direct care aide at the Stork Street residence in Medina. Spychalski has served in many roles for the agency, including community relations director and assistant executive director before being promoted to the top job.

“I’ve had so many wonderful opportunities here,” she said. “It’s been a really beautiful opportunity to work here.”

Spychalski will work with the Arc until Dec. 29 before joining the Arc’s sister agency in Niagara County. Opportunities Unlimited has a $27 million annual budget, compared to $12 million for the Arc of Orleans.

Many of the ARC agencies in New York are struggling with shrinking state reimbursements and other funding challenges. Spychalski said she has a skill set that can help the Niagara agency with those challenges.

She will continue to live in Holley and serve on the Board of Education. She will have a longer commute, working out of offices in Lockport and Niagara Falls.

“While we regretfully accept her resignation, we want to congratulate Kellie on her new assignment as Executive Director for Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara and wish her well as she begins the next phase of her Human Services Career,” Ken Barchet, president of the Arc Board of Directors, wrote in a letter to families and supporters of the Arc.

The Board of Directors has already begun the search for Spychalski’s successor, Barchet said.

The agency has 340 employees, who Spychalski said are all dedicated to their jobs and the people they serve.

“We have a fantastic management team and staff who always put the people we support at the forefront of all decisions,” Spychalski said. “I am fully confident in their abilities and know the agency will be in excellent hands. It is a privilege to work with such a fantastically talented and dedicated group of people.”

Spychalski, back when she was a college student, took the job as an aide at the Stork Street residence. She said she never dreamed she would one day be the executive director of the agency.

“I feel so privileged and honored to do this work,” she said. “You learn so much about people and not looking at what a person can’t do but at what they can do.”

4-H Lego League has first competition Saturday

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – One of three First Lego League teams goes through a final run-through with its robot on Thursday. The teams head to a regional qualifier on Saturday at Churchville.

The 4-H program in Orleans County started FLL a year ago with one team. The program has grown to 26 children and three teams. Participants are ages 8 to 14.

Some of the members of the KOWZ (Kids Only Work Zone) get ready for a demonstration with their robot on Thursday. The robot is programmed to conquer different obstacles on the table.

The pictured team members include, from left: Jayden Neal, Ben Williams, Deegan Bragg, Zachary Neal and Zach Moore.

Marlene and Erik Seielstad are the mentors for the program. Panek Farms lets the teams use space in an onion packing facility on Route 98. That site, the former Remley Printing Company, is one of several donations that help the teams.

Besides making a robot from Legos, the teams researched a natural disaster and made a product that could be used in an emergency crisis. The children all need to speak to the judges during Saturday’s competition.

Gillibrand will be in Holley on Monday to serve at community center

Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Press release, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office

HOLLEY – As Thanksgiving approaches, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will volunteer at the Eastern Orleans Community Center on Monday at 1 p.m. She will serve lunch and help sort, pack and assemble holiday gift baskets.

Each day, more than 60 lunches are prepared and served to Holley residents, well over 9,400 this year.During the holiday season, the Eastern Orleans Community Center also distributes hundreds of holiday gift baskets to families in need.

The Eastern Orleans Community Center is part of the larger Community Action of Orleans and Genesee. Community Action is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide services, with dignity and respect that help people become self-sufficient. For more than 40 years, the agency has served low-income and disadvantaged families across Orleans and Genesee counties with programs designed to empower as well as provide opportunity in a variety of areas like education, housing and nutrition.

The community center is located at 75 Public Square.

After spending time in Holley, Gillibrand is scheduled to be in Wellsville later in the afternoon at a Head Start site. She will work with a Teen Advisory Board to package Book, Blanket and Buddy care packages for children in need.

Gray skies and some farm work left undone

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

It’s been a tranquil day of weather in Orleans County with temperatures at about 50 degrees. I didn’t bother with the winter coat.

The sky has been gray all day and there has been a little rain. I drove to Carlton and Kent earlier today and took the back roads on the drive home to Albion.

I stopped for a picture of the one-lane canal bridge on Keitel Road in Albion (top photo).

Just before that I passed by an orchard on Zig-Zag Road. It had been nearly picked clean of all its apples, but I noticed a few were still hanging on the trees. There is also some corn left to be harvested in the county.

The temperature is forecast to drop to the 30s on Saturday with Sunday at a high of only 25. I’ll have to get out the winter coat.

Turkeys out for a morning walk

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers

GAINES – Two turkeys were roaming along West Bacon Road in Gaines this morning. Thanksgiving is now less than a week away.

Post Office will reduce hours in Kent

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – The U.S. Postal Service is reducing the hours at the Post Office in Kent, effective Jan. 11. The building is located at 1788 Kent Rd.

KENT – The U.S. Postal Service, in an effort to rein in its costs, is reducing the office hours at the site in Kent at 1788 Kent Rd.

The Post Office will be open 30 minutes less on weekdays andwill keep the same retail hours on Saturdays. The new hours are effective Jan. 11.

The Post Office lobby is currently open from Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and then from 1:15 p.m. to 5 p.m.. The lobby is open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.

With the new hours the site will be open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and then from 2 to 5 p.m.

“Current Saturday window service hours will not be reduced and access to delivery receptacles will not change as a result of the realignment of weekday window service hours,” said Karen Mazurkiewicz, WNY District Communications Coordinator for the U.S. Postal Service.

Customers will have access to their mail receptacles from 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. from Monday through Friday and from 7:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Saturday. The Post Office Box mail will be available daily for pick-up by 10:00 a.m. on weekdays and on Saturday, she said.

The Postal Service in 2011 announced it was going to close under-utilized Post Offices, about 3,500 nationwide, Mazurkiewicz said.

“The Postal Service began conducting community meetings and the Number One response was customers would rather see a reduction in hours than to have their Post Office closed,” she said. “Taking that feedback, USPS decided to modify its original plan and instead proposed an option where communities could keep their Post Office, but with reduced hours.”

Lyndonville senior class performs play tonight

Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Provided photos – Some of the cast members of “The Ransom of Miss Elverna Dower” are pictured at a dress rehearsal for the play. The group includes, from left: Abigail Feldman, Heather Mufford, Cheyenne Button and Alyssa Mahnke.

Press release, Lyndonville Central School

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville senior class will show off their acting chops tonight at 7 p.m. in the Stroyan Auditorium.

Students are putting on a play, “The Ransom of Miss Elverna Dower.” This is a comedy about the kidnapping of a feared English teacher.

Hannah Albone and Brennen O’Connor are part of the cast.

Salvatore, former Albion mayor, may run again for position

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2013 at 12:00 am

ALBION – Ed Salvatore says his phone has been ringing often in recent days. Several people have asked him to run for mayor in March.

Dean Theodorakos, the current mayor, announced this week that he won’t be running for re-election.

Salvatore served in the position from 1998 to 2006. He lost a very close election to Mike Hadick for mayor in March 2006. Hadick pulled off the upset, 440 to 438. A paperwork filing snafu kept Salvatore from running as a Republican in that election. He was forced to use an independent line, which showed up at the bottom of the ballot.

Salvatore didn’t want to leave village office. He said he had three unfinished initiatives: downtown revitalization, improvements to Bullard Park and the continuation of a sidewalk replacement plan.

The village has worked on those issues, but Salvatore said he would like to see a faster pace of progress. He thinks it could be done with a full-time mayor.

The Kodak retiree and past Albion fire chief put in full-time hours when he was mayor, despite a salary of about $9,000.

“Albion needs a full-time mayor because there are so many problems and things that need to be done,” he said. “It’s not something that can be done a couple hours on the evenings and the weekends.”

Kevin Sheehan, a village trustee for nearly eight years, said he intends to run for mayor.

Sheehan works full-time as a maintenance mechanic at the VA Hospital in Batavia. He said the position offers a flexible schedule.

Salvatore is 83, and he said some people may think he’s too old to be mayor.

“People may say I’m an old man, but I have the energy,” he said. “I’m in good shape. I take care of myself.”

Salvatore is a registered Republican. He said he intends to decide next week if he will run for a four-year term as a mayor. The election is in March and the term starts April 1.

“I got to make some phone calls and talk to people,” he said. “If I do it I will commit to it full-time.”

Three teams from Orleans program make Lego robots to conquer obstacles

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