ALBION – These three daring high school students posed for this picture on the ledge of the Albion High School in 1915.
Up at the second floor level, the person who took the photo had to be standing on the school’s marquee.
This gray sandstone building, facing East Academy Street, was built in 1906 and later became the Albion Grammar School. The students in the picture are Cary Lattin, Millie House and Alan Burritt.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – The former Erie Canal Schoolhouse Bed and Breakfast at 43 Brown St. will soon be open as an assisted living site with an adult daycare. There will be open houses from Aug. 29-31 before the site opens in early September.
ALBION – A former Catholic school that found new life as a bed and breakfast now has been changed into an assisted living home for senior citizens.
The former Erie Canal Schoolhouse Bed and Breakfast also will provide an adult daycare. The site, “Canal View,” will open in early September.
“This is not an institutional-type setting,” said Gail Kendig, marketing and community liaison for Tender Loving Family Care.
Canal View will keep rooms that celebrate local heritage, including “The Albion Room.”
Jeri and Lou Becker sold the former school to Annika D’Andrea. She has refinished some of the hardwood floors and is adding an elevator. For the most part, the building will remain as the Beckers had it with rooms decorated to highlight local history. There are bigger rooms for group activities, including the upstairs auditorium.
D’Andrea has taken down some small trees to better showcase the property next to the Erie Canal. She believes residents will benefit from the peaceful location by the canal.
“It’s so much better to have this kind of atmosphere for them,” Kendig said. “People can see the natural beauty that’s around here.”
Tender Loving also owns an assisted living site in Le Roy. The business has offices in Brockport and Rochester. Tender Loving also provides home health care services in the Rochester region. The business has about 100 employees.
Kendig said it will add five or six employees who will provide a 24-hour presence at the site in Albion.
The Erie Canal Room includes a border celebrating the song, “Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal.”
D’Andrea and Tender Loving will have opens houses at Canal View on Aug. 29 from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. and Aug. 30-31 from 2 to 4 p.m.
The site was a school before being turned into an apartment house. The Beckers bought it in 2004 and made many upgrades while preserving and celebrating the building’s heritage.
“This is a true landmark,” D’Andrea said. “From a school where children played and learned, a B&B that beautifully restored the rich history of the school, now the perfect place for our loved ones. Our seniors will live a well dignified life in a comfortable, safe and professional home environment. Our residents and adult day care visitors will enjoy maximum independence, freedom and comfort while receiving the quality assistance they need.”
Canal View isn’t a nursing home, although some medical services are provided for wound care, medication administration, glucose monitoring and other services. The adult daycare allows some seniors to spend part of the day in structured activities, including social programs, fitness and wellness, and meals.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2014 at 12:00 am
The second round of state standardized tests, which are aligned with Common Core Learning Standards, show that most local students are not meeting proficiency levels in the tests for grades 3 through 8.
State-wide only about a third of students are at proficiency levels for the math and English tests. The percentage of students who are proficient in math rose from 31.2 percent to 35.8 percent, according to test results released last week by the State Education Department.
The percentage for English Language Arts barely changed, with proficiency rates increasing from 31.3 percent to 31.4 percent, according to the state Education Department. Students who are proficient or higher score a 3 or 4 on the exams.
Here are the proficiency levels for each test in the five local districts in Orleans County:
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – A boater approaches the break wall at Oak Orchard Harbor in this photo taken last month.
CARLTON – The wait will soon be over, and boaters can expect a smoother ride through the Oak Orchard Harbor.
The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to be at the harbor later this week to begin dredging the mouth of the Oak Orchard River. That last happened in 2004.
Since then the harbor has a buildup of silt and sediment. Some boats sometimes are grounded in shallow parts of the channel.
The Army Corps will work on the Oak Orchard once it’s done with Irondequoit Bay, said Mike Waterhouse, Orleans County’s sportsfishing coordinator. He received notification from the Army Corps that the work should start in the Oak Orchard later this week.
The harbor is critical to the county’s $12 million annual fishing industry, as well as for other recreational purposes.
The Oak Orchard Harbor was last dredged in 2004 when 10,700 cubic yards of material was removed. This harbor should be dredged every three to five years, according to county officials. In order to maintain adequate channel depth, 18,000 cubic yards of dredging will be required. The total sediment backlog is estimated at approximately 35,000 cubic yards, according to information from Congressman Chris Collins’ office.
BROCKPORT – An emergency room will open Tuesday morning at the former Lakeside Memorial Hospital, the University of Rochester Medicine announced today.
The state Department of Health approved the emergency department at Strong West, the former hospital that closed in April 2013 in Brockport.
The current urgent care center will switch over to become Strong West Emergency at 8 a.m. Tuesday. The long-awaited approval means a return of higher-level, 24-hour emergency care to the Brockport area.
The change will improve emergency health care access for eastern Orleans residents, and will reduce commute for some ambulance crews that have been taking patients into Rochester.
UR Medicine’s Strong Memorial Hospital has worked closely with New York State DOH since last summer, submitting plans to develop an off-campus ED, the health care system said. This unique health care model has been adopted by several other downstate institutions.
Off-campus EDs are designed to offer acute emergency care for patients and are open around the clock, seven days a week. Unlike urgent care centers, these EDs can accept patients brought in by ambulance (urgent care sites, by law, cannot) and are staffed by a physician 24 hours a day.
Because off-campus EDs have no in-patient hospital beds – Strong West will have three short-term observation beds – patients who require more intensive care and hospitalization will be treated and transferred to UR Medicine’s Strong Memorial or Highland Hospital or a hospital the patient chooses.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – New signs were recently added to three Carlton Town Signs – one of Route 98 and two on Route 18 – that declare the community is an “Ultimate Fishing Town.” The photo above shows the sign on Route 98.
The Point Breeze community won the on-line contest in 2013 through the World Fishing Network. The prize included $25,000 to promote the fishery.
A committee has been looking for ways to spend the $25,000. The messages on the welcome signs is just one way. The committee used funds to take Vietnam veterans on a charter boat fishing trip and has other projects in the works, including restoring a giant fiberglass salmon that has been in the front lawn of the former Bait Barn and Tackle Shop on Route 279 in Gaines. That fish will be refurbished and displayed at many community events.
The sign at the corner of routes 18 and 98 that welcomes people to Point Breeze also now includes an “Ultimate Fishing Town” designation.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Judge sets Jan. 20 for trial start against Harriger
ALBION – A pastor who used to lead a church in Lyndonville rejected a plea deal in Orleans County Court today that could have resulted in a sentence of up to 25 years in state prison.
Roy Harriger, 70, has been charged with three counts of incest, three counts of coarse sexual conduct and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
District Attorney Joe Cardone said if Harriger pleaded guilty to three counts of coarse sexual conduct he would face the maximum of up to 25 years.
Harriger, standing with his attorney Larry Koss, declined the plea offer.
Orleans County Court Judge James Punch said no more plea offers will be considered. He set Jan. 20 for the start of the trial against Harriger, who could face 25 years in prison if convicted.
Harriger is the pastor of the Community Fellowship Church in the town of Hartland. He was charged in November with three counts of coarse sexual contact in the first degree and three counts of incest. The endangering the welfare of a child charges were added in June.
Punch has ordered Harriger to stay away from church and any other locations where there are children 18 or younger. Harriger remains free on $250,000 bail.
The alleged crimes by Harriger occurred against three family members between September 2000 and September 2001, when he was pastor of the Ashwood Wesleyan Church in Lyndonville.
In 1940, my parents took a road trip to Texas to visit my mother’s aunt and uncle. On the way there they took this picture where gas was selling for 9 cents a gallon.
I believe there was a “gas war” under way in that vicinity as we can see another service station in the distance.
At any rate they thought it was very cheap at the time, hence the picture was taken as proof.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Jeff Winters helped lead a turnaround at local YMCA
File photo by Tom Rivers – Jeff Winters, executive director for the Orleans County YMCA, discusses a $400,000 capital project at the Y in this photo in April 2013, when the organization kicked off the fund-raising campaign. The Y met its fund-raising goal and the project is nearly complete.
MEDINA – Four years ago the YMCA was mired in an $80,000 annual operating deficit, a building in need of significant repairs and a modest membership base.
Jeff Winters had a law degree and a good job at the time. The Medina native likes a challenge and likes people. He took on the task of leading the Orleans County YMCA.
Four years later the organization is nearly complete with $400,000 in renovations to its historic building, a former Armory on Pearl Street. The organization is profitable and has quadrupled its members to 2,200.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done here,” Winters said. “The organization is set up for the future. It’s on a good path.”
Winters, 31, is leaving the Y on Sept. 12. He will be executive director of the American Cancer Society in Albany. He has been living in the state capitol since last October, when he got married to a woman he met in law school. He commuted to Medina on Monday mornings and left for Albany on Fridays for nearly a year. Winters was committed to seeing the Y work through a capital project.
He leaves with praise and deep appreciation from the Y board of directors.
“Jeff has infused a level of energy and professionalism that has been instrumental in helping us achieve growth and renewed confidence in a key institution,” said board member Dean Bellack. “He will be missed. On behalf of the board, we wish him the success that we are sure will grow in time.”
The Y is accepting applications for the director’s positions until Aug. 29. Resumes should be sent to Scott Taylor, GLOW YMCA director, at staylor@glowymca.org. For more on the position, click here.
The Y in Orleans County now has 52 employees. Winters credited the “Y Team” for making the organization and its programs sought after in the community. Residents are drawn to Y programs that promote healthy living, social responsibility and youth development, Winters said.
The Chamber of Commerce honored Winters with a community service award last September for his efforts at improving the Y in Orleans County.
