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Medina helipad may be ready by the end of the week

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Pictured today at a ground-breaking for Medina Memorial Hospital’s new helipad include, from left: Randy Neiswonger, MMH chief operating officer and chief nursing officer; Dolores Horvath, MMH interim CEO; Ruth Bane, a member of the Orleans Community Health Foundation board; Jill Bakeman, Foundation executive director; Medina firefighter Jonathan Higgins; and Jennifer Hill and Art Hill of Art Hill Excavation.

MEDINA – It was about two months ago when Jonathan Higgins went to introduce himself to Dolores Horvath, the newly hired interim CEO for Medina Memorial Hospital.

Higgins, a Medina firefighter, wanted to meet the new CEO and also pitch a plan about a new paved helipad.

Higgins and Medina firefighters often help transport critically injured patients from an ambulance to a Mercy Flight helicopter that lands in a field next to the intersection of Ohio and North Academy streets. The grass field often has been muddy, or firefighters might have to lift the stretcher over a snow bank.

Higgins and the Fire Department told Horvath they could line up donations to reduce the cost of a paved pad for helicopters. Horvath gave the $25,000 project her blessing. None of costs will come out of the hospital’s budget.

Higgins and the fire department lined up about $15,000 worth of donations or discounted services and materials. The Orleans Community Health Foundation contributed the other $10,000.

“This will just be wonderful for the patients of Orleans County,” Horvath said today following a ground-breaking ceremony for the helipad.

The new helipad includes a driveway so ambulances can pull off the street to move patients.

Art Hill Excavation of Medina is building the 40-by-40-foot helipad, which includes a curb cut and 80-foot-long driveway. The company donated an interwoven geo-technical fabric that went above the soil. Then about 8 inches of a stone base has been applied. Art Hill Excavation expects to add the binder and the black top this week to complete the project.

Shelby Stone and Keeler Construction also contributed materials for the project.

Art Hill Excavation was eager to help with the project, said company owner Jennifer Hill.

“These are the most critical patients,” she said about the patients that use Mercy Flight. “You want to help them out.”

Higgins said a helicopter transports patients about 50 times a year from the spot. Not only is the field sometimes muddy or covered in snow, but firefighters had to stop their ambulance on Ohio Street to then move patients to the helicopter. Now the ambulance can pull off the street and on the driveway leading to the helipad.

“It’s been fairly unsafe,” Higgins said. “This is a busy street and people would get distracted looking at the helicopter.”

Repair work starts on Bent’s building in Medina

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Contractors arrived in Medina this morning to begin the task of replacing rotted structural support beams on the Bent’s Opera House.

The 150-year-old timbers will be removed and replaced with 7-foot-long steel beams in the next two to three weeks if the project goes to plan, contractors said this morning.

Matthews House Movers in Rochester has been hired to replace the beams. Matthews workers were rigging or installing “cribbing” that will serve as a temporary support so the rotted beams can be removed and the new supports installed.

The Orleans Renaissance Group, owner of the Bent’s Opera House, secured a $100,000 emergency loan from the Preservation League of New York State. The funds will be used immediately to address the main structural support timber on the building’s southeast corner.

The removal of the faux stone and facia last year revealed a critical concern: the condition of the main support timber on what was the former Armstrong’s Drug Store has rotted to the point where the structural integrity of the building could be compromised, said Chris Busch, ORG vice chairman.

The rotted timbers caused “dramatic settling” in the corner of the building with some cracks visible in the wall.

“It’s a miracle the masonry wall on that corner had not suffered a much greater and more calamitous compromise,” Busch said.

The horizontal wooden beams in the lower corner of the Bent’s building will be removed and replaced with steel supports.

Our Sandstone Heritage: Sandstone church in Jamestown built as ‘The Gate of Heaven’

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – The tower at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church includes the only chime bells in the city of Jamestown.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church was built from 1892-1894 at 410 North Main St., Jamestown.

JAMESTOWN – In 1892, the daughter-in-law of the city’s founder, James Prendergast, wanted to build a memorial for her daughter, Catherine.

Mary Prendergast chose to construct a new church for the St. Luke’s Episcopal congregation in Jamestown. A sprawling and towering church edifice was constructed from 1892 to 1894. The site includes a tower with a clock on four faces, as well as the city’s only chime bells.

I saw this church for the first time on Sunday. I approached it in the morning darkness. The church had a light glow, a feeling of mystery. Even with its dark outlines in the morning, I knew this is one of the most impressive church buildings I’d seen in a small city.

The site at 410 North Main St. also includes a Medina sandstone chapel and an office building made of our local stone.

The Episcopal Church in Jamestown lavishly used Medina sandstone to build not only the church, but this chapel and an office building next door.

James Prendergast founded the city in the early 1800s. His family also built a public library for Jamestown and picked Medina sandstone for that building. (I’ll feature the library in an upcoming Sandstone Heritage article.)

Mary Prendergast was married to Alexander, the son of the city founder. Family members were long-time leaders of the Episcopal church.

A plaque inside the church recognizes the family for their gift of building the church.

“This is none other but the house of God and this is the gate of Heaven,” the inscription states.

It feels calm and reverential inside the church sanctuary.

The church includes numerous stained-glass windows that are all works of art.

The Episcopal Church first built at this site in 1856. But that wooden building burned six years later. The second building was removed in 1892 so the massive Medina sandstone complex could be built.

I grew up not far from Jamestown. In this corner of the world, Western New York winters are their fiercest. When we have 2 inches of snow in Orleans County, the Jamestown area is often hit with a foot of the white stuff. The wind blows hard over there and it feels a lot colder.

This church has stood strong throughout it all, but it is showing signs of wear. A chunk from up high had recently fallen from the tower and the church had a section below on the sidewalk area blocked off, with bright tape that said “Danger.”

A chunk of the tower has fallen at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

This church isn’t listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but it clearly should be. I also noticed active ministries at the site, including a coffee shop, and clothing exchange.

I’ve noticed that Episcopal congregations in Western New York were devoted customers for the Medina sandstone quarries. Besides this great church in Jamestown, I’ve found Episcopal churches made of Medina sandstone in Buffalo (St. Paul’s Cathedral may be the most awesome of them all), Rochester at Christ Church, and churches in Olean, Medina, Holley and Brockport.

I’m looking for more.

One last view of St. Luke’s in Jamestown.

Lots of discoveries at The Oak

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – The water isn’t too deep on the western tributary of the Oak Orchard River near the Waterport Dam.

WATERPORT – I’ve been hoping to write about Friday’s journey into the woods along the Oak Orchard River in search of the remnants of the trestle and two bridges that have long been gone.

Brandon Blount led me through the woods and we found support walls, steel girders and lots of stone from the bridges. The trestle’s stone bases are hard to miss.

I have a lot of photos from the journey and I’ve decided to break up the stories. I hope to have the trestle and the bridges on the Hub sometime tomorrow.

For now, you can meet two shaggy ink cap mushrooms that were growing a few feet from the base of the trestle in the woods near Clark Mills Road.

Blount, 35, grew up nearby and often ventured into the woods with his grandfather, the late Don “Cookie” Cook of Medina. (I worked with Cookie briefly when I started my newspaper career back in 1996 with the former Albion Advertiser. Cookie worked in the darkroom for The Journal-Register in Medina. I had to stop by once or twice a week so Cookie could develop some of my photos. This was in the pre-digital photography days.)

Blount has a growing collection of photos of mushrooms, flora and fauna. He has about 70 different types of fungi captured on camera. He likes to get their different growing stages as well.

Blount knows the Oak Orchard River and the woods. I didn’t realize the river splits in two near the Waterport Dam before connecting near the Archer’s Club. Most of the fishermen prefer the east end, where the water is a little deeper, and the river moves faster. That makes it more attractive for the big salmon that come up in the fall to lay their eggs.

But the west river draws some fish. We didn’t see any fishermen on the west river near the dam. There were about a dozen dead fish in the water. They spawned and then died. That’s what they do in their life cycle. If they had come up on the east side, they probably would have been caught by the many anglers.

The waterfall by the dam is bigger than it looks from a distance. Get up close and I bet it’s 75 feet in height, maybe bigger.

I should have more tomorrow on the trestle and the old bridges.

Jamestown taps fun, art to come back from the brink

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Favorite daughter Lucille Ball has been part of resurgence

A manhole cover in Jamestown has been turned into a work of art. It’s part of a bigger theme that ties in with the city’s embrace of native Lucille Ball.

Photos by Tom Rivers

JAMESTOWN – It’s been a few years since I was in Jamestown, a small industrial city down the Thruway, a good hour past Buffalo. It wasn’t a place I liked to go visit.

When I heard politicans and other people talk about Upstate New York in crisis, Jamestown always came to mind. Once a manufacturing powerhouse, the city fell on hard times, its cavernous factories largely idled and left in ruin.

I grew up about a half hour drive from Jamestown. The city and community seemed to hit a low point in 1997, when it was in the national news after a city resident, Nushawn Williams, was accused and convicted of knowingly passing on HIV to 13 women, including teen-agers.

The cameras and media flocked to a city that seemed crushed after a prolonged, deep economic downturn.

I was back in Jamestown today to run a half marathon, the inaugural Lucy Town Marathon, with my wife and sister-in-law. Every finisher received a medal with Lucille Ball’s smiling face. Ball, the famous comedian and television star, grew up in Jamestown.

The city has proclaimed its love for Lucy with giant murals, banners along the streets and a The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center for Comedy, a museum that opened in 1996. It continues to grow and hosts a comedy festival and numerous events with funny themes.

Jamestown hosted today’s half marathon and many runners wore Lucy polka dot dresses.

One of today’s runners in a Lucy costume

The city, which looked grimy and gritty in the Nushawn Williams saga, has reinvented itself as an upbeat place to go. Many buildings have large framed artwork on the exterior sides.

I didn’t see too many empty storefronts. There were lots of independent small-town merchants giving the city a try.

Downtown buildings display art on their exterior walls.

One major improvement opened about a decade ago, a new ice arena that seats 1,900. It is home to numeorus hockey tournaments and also serves as a concert venue for stars such as Kenny Rogers and Clint Black.

The city has an “Urban Literary Trail” with 42 selections of poetry and prose displayed on walls and windows throughout Jamestown. There are numerous historical markers that talk about the city’s proud past and industrial heritage.

The Urban Literary Trail highlights the written word.

Jamestown has even turned manhole covers of its sewer system into works of art. Many of them are painted red with white hearts in honor of their favorite daughter, Lucille Ball.

Many of Jamestown’s improvements didn’t cost much, except a coat of paint. If upstate becomes known for a renaissance, Jamestown may be the city that serves as the model.

Unpaved road leads to fishing paradise

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 October 2013 at 12:00 am

CARLTON – There aren’t too many left these days: unpaved public roads. But there are some in Orleans County.

Clark Mills Road in Carlton has shunned asphalt. The winding road is on the west side of the Oak Orchard River, which happens to be one the Orleans County’s top tourist attractions.

Many places in their tourism epicenter would likely dress up such a road, insisting on fresh pavement and all kinds of amenities. But I hope Clark Mills stays unpaved. It adds to the rural charm.

I’d like to find more unpaved public roads in the county. If you know of any, please send me a note at tom@orleanshub.com.

Motorists escape injury in Murray accident

Posted 12 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, Orleans County Undersheriff Steve Smith

MURRAY – Two motorists escaped injury this afternoon when their vehicles collided and then one of them struck a house.

The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m., in the 17000 block of Ridge Road (State Route 104) in the town of Murray.

Ashlee Rae Putnam, 20, of Brockport was operating a 2000 Chrysler sedan west on Ridge Road, when her vehicle drifted into the eastbound lane and collided with a 1998 Buick sedan operated by Joanne T. Meyers, 75, of Holley.

After the two cars collided, Meyers’ vehicle ran off the south side of the roadway, travelled across a residential lawn and struck the attached garage of a house at 17054 Ridge Rd.

Both drivers, who were each alone in their vehicles, refused medical treatment at the scene.

Putnam indicated that a problem with the steering mechanism caused her to lose control. The incident was investigated by Deputy T.N. Tooley.

Public invited to reception for Palette art project on Sunday

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

Artist Stacey Kirby created this palette, which was on display in Bindings Bookstore in Albion.

HOLLEY – A public art project that has promoted businesses and local artists will wrap up on Sunday during a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at Hickory Ridge Country Club.

The public is welcome to meet many of the artists who created paintings of local scenes and other subjects. Final bids will also be accepted for the artwork.

Some of the proceeds from the project will be used for art scholarships at the five school districts in Orleans County.

Artist James Cooper painted this palette for the a lily and a sparrow store in Medina.

Artists created 73 palettes that have been on display in businesses throughout the county. The project is organized by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber put a poster in each business window to indicate a palette on display. Shoppers have submitted bids to buy the artwork and they have voted on their favorite artwork. The project kicked off in May.

Carol Culhane painted this palette of the Charles Howard Santa Claus School in Albion. The palette was displayed at Five Star Bank in Albion.

Passenger injured at mud bog

Posted 12 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, Orleans County Undersheriff Steve Smith

CARLTON – An Albion man was injured with a partially severed ear while he was a passenger during a mud bog event today.

The incident occurred at approximately 4:40 p.m. at Lake Alice Motor Sports, located at 1766 Waterport Rd.

Eric C. List, 49, of Bergen was operating a 1995 Jeep in the Lake Alice Mud Bogging Event. (Mud Bogging is a form of off-road motorsport in which the goal is to operate a four-wheel drive vehicle through a mud pit, which may be flat or hilly.)

Joel Barczak-Garcia, 23, of Albion was a rear-seat passenger in the Jeep. At some point, the vehicle travelled over a mud jump and down an embankment. Barczak-Garcia was not wearing a seat belt. His head struck a metal protrusion inside the vehicle resulting in the injury. He was transported to Medina Memorial Hospital by Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance.

Two other passengers in the Jeep, Michelle Gallo, 39, and Jennifer Haines, 26, were not injured, nor was List.

The incident was investigated by Deputy J.J. Cole.

Medina man hospitalized after crash in Ridgeway

Posted 11 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, Sheriff Scott D. Hess

A Medina man is hospitalized following an early morning rollover vehicle crash in the town of Ridgeway. The incident occurred shortly after 5 a.m., in the 10500 block of Mill Rd.

Tyler J. Heminway, 24, was operating a 2000 Chevrolet Blazer west on Mill Rd., west of Murdock Rd., when he apparently lost control of the SUV. It ran off the north side of the roadway, then came back onto and across the roadway and ran off the south side. The vehicle then overturned several times, ejecting Heminway, before coming to rest on it’s left side in a soybean field.

Heminway, the sole occupant, was flown to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo by MercyFlight helicopter.

While the incident investigation is continuing, both alcohol and excessive speed appear to have been contributing factors. Charge(s) against Heminway are pending his recovery.

Sgt. D.E. Draper Jr., has the lead in the investigation, assisted by Deputies D.E. Foeller Jr., A.J. Houghton, D.S. Klips, & Investigator K.M. Strickland Jr.

Albion awarded $500 for FFA blue jackets

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Albion FFA was awarded $500 from Growmark in Knowlesville, and one FFA student, ninth-grader Vivian Rivers, received a new blue FFA jacket after being selected for the “Blue Jacket” award by Club President Sara Millspaugh and FFA advisors Adam Krenning and Cathy Schmitt. Millspaugh, left, and Rivers are pictured with Growmark salesman Kirk Zinkievich.

ALBION – FFA students in Albion received some help in looking their best after a $500 donation from Growmark in Knowlesville. The money will help students pay for the iconic blue corduroy jackets, as well as ties for competitions and events.

In addition to the $500, Growmark bought a jacket for an underclassman in the FFA program. Vivian Rivers served as president of the junior high FFA last year. She was in the middle school program for three years before joining the high school FFA this year.

“She’s done a lot for our program,” Adam Krenning, FFA advisor, said about Vivian.

Albion hosted the state convention last May, and Vivian put in many hours helping to prepare for the event. She has also assisted with other fund-raisers and events, including the annual citrus sale.

Krenning, junior high FFA advisor Kathy Schmitt and Sara Millspaugh, the FFA president, picked Rivers to receive the jacket.

Vivian is taking an agriculture class this year. She said she enjoys learning about food production. The FFA has been a way to make new friends.

“State Convention was fun,” she said. “You meet a lot of interesting people.”

(Editor’s note: Tom Rivers is Vivian’s proud father.)

Sandstone Society presents 21 nominees for inaugural Hall of Fame

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 October 2013 at 12:00 am

List includes 9 sites in Orleans County, a staircase in Albany, and other upstate buildings

Photos by Tom Rivers – David Miller, a Medina Sandstone Society member, discusses one of the nominees for the new Hall of Fame: the Belhurst Castle in Geneva.

MEDINA – A list of nominees for a new Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame includes prominent sites in Orleans County and upstate New York, well-known landmarks that have endured harsh winters and, in some cases, neglect.

The buildings made of Medina sandstone have proved formidable, and many are striking architectural marvels, created by the master stone cutters from more than a century ago.

The Medina Sandstone Society is working to create a Hall of Fame that showcases some of the great buildings and structures made from the local stone. The list of 21 nominees was presented on Thursday, and that list will be pared down to five to seven inaugural members of the Hall of Fame. The first class will be announced in December.

“We want to keep Medina sandstone alive,” Jim Hancock, a member of the Hall of Fame committee, told about 75 people on Thursday during a nominee unveiling at the Medina Theatre, a sandstone building on Main Street. “There is Medina sandstone all over the state, the country and even the world.”

Jim Hancock, a member of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame committee, discusses the Million-Dollar Staircase in Albany, which was partially built with Medina sandstone. It’s one of 21 nominees for the new Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame Committee – Hancock, David Miller and John Slack – visited many of the nominees, taking photographs and learning about the history of the sites. They shared their findings during the nominee unveiling on Thursday.

The nominees include nine from Orleans County including St. John’s Episcopal Church in Medina (1832 – 1836), the Old Stone Store in Clarendon from 1836, the Civil War Memorial at Mount Albion Cemetery in 1876, the chapel at Hillside Cemetery in Holley from 1894, the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion from 1894, the Medina Armory (now Orleans County YMCA) in Medina from 1901, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Medina from 1902-1904, the railway station in Medina from 1908, and City Hall in Medina from 1908.

Other nominees in the Buffalo area include St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo from 1849 to 1851, the H.H. Richardson Complex in Buffalo from 1870, the St. Louis Roman Catholic Church in Buffalo from 1889, the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Olean, the Connecticut Street Armory in Buffalo from 1899, and the Genesee County jail in Batavia from 1903.

In the Rochester area, Sandstone Society members nominated the Charlotte Lighthouse in Rochester which was built in 1822, the Bellhurst Castle in Geneva from 1888, St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester from 1891 to 1893, the Civil War monument in Brockport from 1894, and a series of 30 structures at Hamlin Beach State Park from 1938.

Photo by Chris Busch

The St. Louis Roman Catholic Church in Buffalo, built in 1889, includes a 245-foot-high steeple that is topped by a 72-foot-high pierced spire, the tallest open-work spire ever built completely of stone without reinforcement.

The Million-Dollar Staircase in Albany, which used Medina sandstone for the steps, also made the list.

Nearly all of the nominees are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and some have been declared National Historic Landmarks.

Hancock and Miller both said they have gained more appreciation for Medina sandstone and its role as a superior building block in some of the finest structures in the region and state.

They will submit a list of inductees to the Medina Sandstone Society board to vote on during the group’s November meeting. A public announcement will be made in December. At that point, Hancock said a location for the Hall of Fame should be determined.

Orleans Hub congratulates the Sandstone Society for working on this project. The Hall of Fame should draw visitors to our community, help us to form new connections with owners of Medina sandstone buildings outside the county, and promote community pride.

Kendall Scarecrow Fest features lots of characters

Contributed Story Posted 11 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Michael Karcz – Little Jack Horner was featured by the Kendall Elementary School.

KENDALL – Kendall celebrated its annual Scarecrow Festival on Saturday, when about 30 scarecrows, many of them decorated as popular children’s characters, were on display.

The festival included a 5-kilometer race, live music in the gazebo, a pumpkin seed spitting contest, scavenger hunt, magician, balloon artist and police K-9 demo.

This scarecrow was created by the Kendall PTSA.

Anglers come for ultimate fishing experience

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

WATERPORT – Late on Friday afternoon and the parking lot was nearly full at the Waterport Dam, one of the county’s most popular fishing spots.

I saw more license plates from Pennsylvania than New York. There were vehicles from Ohio, Rhode Island and Virginia as well as New York in the lot.

Fishing is Orleans County’s top tourism draw, and it tends to be a year-round business. Point Breeze was named “The Ultimate Fishing Town” in 2013 by the World Fishing Network.

The fall salmon fishing runs, when the big fish move from the lake to the tributaries, draws a crowd of anglers. Many wade into the waters and they say the fish will bump into their legs.

The spell of warm weather this past week has fewer fish than usual in the Oak Orchard at this time of the year. That’s what some of the anglers told me today. One guy from Pennsylvania said he would come back in a week.

But there were lots of big fish being caught. I saw many strung up in the water, and others stacked in a wagon.

I was back at the dam to go hiking for remnants of the old Waterport Trestle and two bridges that are long gone from the Oak Orchard. I should have a story later on the discoveries. The bottom two photos show the stone pillars and supports that were used at the bottom of the trestle.

‘Friendly Phones’ reaches out to local senior citizens

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – Megan Makarchuk, left, is a volunteer with the new Friendly Phones Program headed by Jim Morasco, right, of Catholic Charities.

ALBION – Twice a week at 8 p.m., Megan Makarchuk calls a senior citizen in Albion. Makarchuk asks the woman how her day went, how her family is doing, and looks for other highlights in her day.

The senior citizen then wants updates in Makarchuk’s life. The two have become friends.

“I look forward to calling her,” said Makarchuk, who works as a counselor at the Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. “She’s wonderful.”

Makarchuk is one of 12 volunteers in the “Friendly Phones Program” run by Catholic Charities. Volunteers agree to give seniors a phone call once or twice a week.

Twenty-five seniors have signed up, seeking a phone call from volunteers. The program needs more people willing to spend a few minutes on the phone.

Jim Morasco is manager of the program for Catholic Charities. Friendly Phones is targeted for Orleans County residents, 60 and older who live alone and want to keep an independent lifestyle. A phone call can help those residents stay connected to the community and decrease feelings of loneliness.

Many local seniors are widowed and their children may live outside the area, Morasco said.

“The number one thing is people say they are lonely,” he said.

Catholic Charities screens the volunteers, and also tries to match their interests with the seniors. Some of the callers have started home visits with the seniors.

Makarchuk is the youngest of the volunteers. Morasco said volunteers are welcome ages 18 and older.

Volunteers interested in the program should call Catholic Charities in Albion at (585) 589-7477.