BARRE – Four men escaped serious injury this morning after they became trapped in a hopper containing a mixture of sand and gravel at a commercial business in the Town of Barre.
The incident occurred at about 10:45 a.m. at Frontier Sand & Gravel in the 4700 block of Eagle Harbor Road. A large hopper was being loaded with material when it became over-loaded & blocked. Jacob E. Vick, 20, of Albion entered the hopper along with his brother Lawrence Vick, 22, of Albion; Devin Taylor, 19, of Medina; and Richard Miller, 61, of Albion. Their intent was to shovel the excess material and free-up the blockage.
At some point Miller sank to an opening in the bottom of the hopper that leads to a conveyor belt, and consequently he became totally covered in material. During the efforts of the other three men to rescue him, Jacob Vick sank to the lower level as well and became partially covered in material.
All four men were finally able to extricate themselves, assisted by Barre firefighters. All four sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene by fire department EMS and Central Orleans Vol. Ambulance personnel. None of the victims were transported.
The incident was investigated by Lieutenant Chris Bourke. There will be a follow-up investigation by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial:
Marcia Tuohey
I saw two empty chairs next to Marcia Tuohey. It was July 28 and a good-sized crowd had turned out to watch a joint session of the Medina Village Board and the Ridgeway and Shelby town boards. The elected officials were there to discuss shared services and perhaps other ways to bring down the costs of local government.
Tuohey, a former Medina mayor and County Legislature chairwoman, had claimed a seat in the front row. She has attended many sessions over the past 18 months as the Village Board weighed the future of the community. She has shared her views at meetings, suggesting the Village Board trim more from its budget and also be “hard-nosed” with the two towns in negotiations, particularly seeking money for the ambulance service.
At that meeting two weeks ago, I started to sit down next to Tuohey but she told me not to. “Don’t sit next to me.” She flashed a little smile. I sat two seats away instead. That seemed good enough for her.
I’ve spent more time as an adult with Tuohey than with my own mother. I’ve always liked Marcia, even when she was telling me off. She didn’t hold back. She also could be nice. Sometimes during a break in the action at a Legislature meeting, she would come over and shoot the breeze with me. I’ve been to her house. Her late husband Carl joked he spent his retirement as his wife’s personal secretary. They kept up one of Medina’s grandest houses before downsizing a few years ago.
She liked the banter on boards and enjoyed behind-the-scenes politicking. I was impressed with her commanding presence as chairwoman. She knew the issues.
Tuohey died on Thursday at age 84. Some people might have known her as “The Hat Lady.” She was much more than a stylish dresser. When she represented the county with state officials and at regional events, the hats and her classy outfits stood out. But through her strength and determination, she made sure the county wasn’t forgotten. She wasn’t afraid of anybody.
She attended a three-hour Village Planning Board meeting two days before her death. Tuohey served on the board in an unpaid position. She’s the only former legislator I know of who returned to a village or town government role after serving in a county position. The Planning Board is about as thankless as it gets. She was happy to be a role player. She didn’t always need to be in charge.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Marcia Tuohey attended a July 17 retirement party for Paul Wagner. She appointed him as emergency management director 14 years ago.
Tuohey also represented the county on the board of directors for Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. She joined that board in 2006.
Richard Siebert remembers when Tuohey started on the WROTB board. Siebert represents Genesee County on the board. When Tuohey was Legislature chairwoman, she was outspoken against WROTB and the directors’ decision to buy the Batavia Downs race track in 1998. “Have they lost their minds?” Siebert recalled Tuohey being quoted in the newspapers.
The track has proved a big money-maker for OTB. The race track has about 800 video lottery terminals that resemble slot machines. The VLTs are carrying the corporation, more than making up for a downturn at the OTB parlors and losses with live racing.
At her first meeting on the board, Tuohey admitted she was wrong about the track in 1998.
“She told us we were right and it has been a great deal for everybody,” Siebert said.
Tuohey quickly earned the respect of the 17-member board, which included representatives from 15 counties and the cities of Rochester and Buffalo. Despite being from one of the smallest counties, she was elected by her peers on the board to be vice chairman of the board.
There was infighting on the board at times, and Tuohey didn’t back down.
“She would get in someone’s face if she didn’t agree with you,” Siebert said. “Everyone respected her. When she got done, you knew where she was coming from.”
Tuohey ran several business ventures before running for Medina Village Board in 1979. She was the co-owner and operator of a nursing home, motel and restaurant, mobile home park, and rental properties.
She ran for village trustee because she didn’t want Medina to spend $10 million for a new sewer plant. She was elected and Medina did a $3 million upgrade instead.
She was the first woman to serve as Medina mayor (from 1982 to 1990) and was the first woman elected to the County Legislature in 1990. She was chairwoman for 10 years, the longest tenure of any county leader.
She battled colorectal cancer about a decade ago but still pushed through big projects at the county, including renovations and an expansion of the county nursing home.
She set an example for all of us, a full life with family, business and public service. She didn’t let any obstacle – sickness, age, gender bias or the status quo – get in her way.
GAINES – Cousins Arthur Poelma, left, and Ralph Poelma posed together for this picture in 1920. They are standing on a Minneapolis Moline tractor that had an electric starter, electric head lights and a front-wheel drive.
The photo was taken on one of the Poelma Farms at East Gaines.
Editor’s note: Ralph Poelma died on July 7 at age 98. He was a full-time farmer until he was 87. He gave 28 gallons of blood as a donor, a period spanning about 75 years. His cousin Arthur lived to be 88. He died on Oct. 4, 2004. Both are buried at Mount Albion Cemetery.
Photos by Sue Cook – Jena Hemphill gives out cheesecake samples at Celebrity Day Spa.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
MEDINA – The Medina Business Association began Sweets in Summer to offer a family-friendly option during summer to attract people to downtown Medina.
Many of the businesses served up sweets on Saturday and other organizations planned activities, including concerts, a history walk and other events.
“We’d been looking at some sort of summer event and making it family-friendly so people could bring their kids,” said Cindy Robinson, president of the MBA.
“People won’t even have to leave Medina today.”
The Medina Sandstone Society planned a tour in the afternoon focused on the interpretive panels throughout downtown Medina.
ellen j goods served up mini cupcakes.
Interesting and unexpected desserts were also offered at some locations. Apple Blossom Florist chose to offer cream puffs with edible flowers.
The Bread Basket co-owners Lori Brien and Lissa Stewart chose to serve handmade banana chocolate chip ice cream bread and birthday cake ice cream bread (pictured above).
In the evening, the canal basin hosted The Dave Viterna Group and the Creek Bend Band while The Park Grille served up hot dogs and sausages among other non-sweet items to give people a break from the sugar they’d eaten all day.
“We wanted to make it like a whole day event. You could spend the whole day here and shop, too,” said Robinson.
“We wanted to do something different other than Wine About Winter and Ale in Autumn, but it’s the same concept,” said Mary Lewis, owner of Creekside Floral.
“Instead of alcohol, we wanted to something more kid friendly. We sat down and just came up with a lot of ideas of what we could do.”
Lewis was one of the event organizers and also led the prize drawing for a basket of a dozen gift cards and items at local shops.
Event tickets could be shared. The ticket allowed for 24 tastings, but could be split between multiple people.
Multiple tastings of the same food could also be done at the same location allowing people to pick and choose which desserts they wanted to skip and which ones they wanted more of.
Businesses provided dessert tastings during the event, but also hoped to draw shoppers as well. They were allowed to choose what desserts they gave out which included cookies, ice cream, cakes and more.
Eighteen businesses participated including RG Lama Studios, The English Rose Tea Shoppe, The Bread Basket, Nice Farms, Meggie Moo’s, Ashlee’s Place, East Center Street Stop ‘n Shop, Case-Nic Cookies, ellen j goods, Creekside Floral, Celebrity Day Spa, Shirt Factory Cafe, My Cowboy Transportation, Della’s Chocolates, Rosenkrans, Apple Blossom Florist, ATB Staffing and Double Dips.
“It was a suggestion from one of our friends. She had found this recipe she wanted us to try because it seemed fun and easy,” Stewart said.
“We’re hoping with it being on a nice day and this is kind of a family activity, we’re hoping this turns out to be a good family activity. The concept is nice and inviting,” she added.
Dan Fuller punches tickets at Della’s Chocolates which offered peanut butter cups, milk chocolate minis and a new dark chocolate treat with a peanut caramel coconut center. The new treat is considered being added to the store based on positive response.
Susan Fuller, owner of Della’s Chocolates, was invited by the MBA to be one of the shops serving sweets.
Fuller had a hard time choosing which desserts to serve, so she chose to offer three options instead of just one.
“The MBA wondered what I thought of it because they’re trying to bring more activities to the town to bring more people in. I thought it sounded fun,” she said.
The Medina FFA students offered children a chance to play games in Rotary Park.
The games were designed by the students. A teacher helped to cut the shapes out of wood and then the students painted the designs on them.
The Medina FFA gave kids extra fun during the day. Michael Carson helps Faith Baker-Austin to score big in the chicken coop game.
To get the right shape, the students used a projector on the piece of wood and traced the outlines. They were first designed for use at a convention in May.
The students estimated they’d seen about 40 kids by the halfway point of the event.
Games included Black-Eyed Billy’s Crazy Eye Shootout, Milk Splat Madness, a chicken coop toss game and cornhole. Leis, sunglasses and pencils were given as prizes.
The final ticket sales for Sweets in Summer have not been calculated, but the estimate is between 100 to 200 were sold for the event.
“Our goal was 100 and we had tickets online at the MBA site, here at the English Rose Tea Shoppe and at Creekside Floral,” said Robinson.
The money went back to repaying the vendors for the cost of the desserts and any leftover money will be used toward future MBA endeavors, such as more bike racks and future events.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Holy Family Parish welcomed the community for its annual Lawn Fete this afternoon, serving up lots of grilled and deep fried food, and offering lots of prizes for many carnival-like games.
In the top photo, Gina Sidari, 7, and Myleigh Miller, 10, show off their face painting designs.
Jim Fiegel manned the booth where people could win prizes for popping balloons with darts. Fiegel was assisted by Falisha Fleisher who took time to sample an ice cream dessert.
Corey Metz, left, and his father Greg Metz grill some Italian sausage at the pavilion outside the Elk’s Club on West State Street.
Eileen Banker tries to land a ring around one of the wine bottles. Justin Sheehan ran the game for the annual Holy Family Lawn Fete.
Photos by Sue Cook – Dave Viterna leads the band as guitarist and singer.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
MEDINA – To end a busy day of events in Medina on Saturday, the canal basin hosted two bands. The Dave Viterna Group started in the late afternoon and was followed by the Creek Bend Band. About 100 people attended the concert along the canal.
The group played classic rock music from Henry Glover, The Byrds and Johnny Rivers.
Photos by Sue Cook – Robert Stilwell took photographs of pets in funny poses and costumes for the event. Dilly was made to look like a ’20s swinger with the props on hand.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
GAINES – The Olde Dogge Inn held a Pet Festival on Saturday and welcomed more than 100 visitors in the first hour. People were welcome to bring their pets for sales, demonstrations, services, portraits and psychic readings.
“People are really excited about this and having a lot of fun,” said Olde Dogge Inn owner Jennifer Stilwell. “All the animals are happy, all the people are happy. It’s just a great event and it’s getting a lot of positive response. This only reinforces our decision to bring the festival back because it definitely is drawing a lot of attention.”
Eveline Burdick attended the festival with her dog Sasha in tow.
“It’s a good way for the dogs to socialize with people and I’ve never been here and I wanted to see what they had to offer,” she said. “We always do all the pet festivals and I saw this one online.”
Festival goers could check out tents selling pet merchandise or talk to vendors about food choices. Pet rescuers were also there accepting donations and educating the public on their services.
Pet ID tags were offered at a discount price to give lost pets a better chance of getting home.
Lieutenant Christopher Bourke with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department was there to do a demonstration with Cim, a dog that works for the department. He was contacted by Stilwell to do a demonstration.
Cim was trained in Germany and imported by the department. Bourke gives Cim her commands in German. Because the dog and trainer are so close, Cim works the same hours as Bourke and returns home with him each night.
“We’re going to talk about the dog and how we use the dog and the training the dog has,” Bourke said. “We’ll demonstrate some obedience, some drug-detection work and let the dog apprehend a pretend bad guy.”
Bourke plays with Cim for a moment because she found the drugs that were hidden.
Drug detection is turned into a game for training to make it more exciting for the dog.
Bourke demonstrated how Cim follows commands by having her sit and heel on command.
He also had her break into a full run and then had her drop into a laying position instantly. He explained that having her obey commands so quickly from a distance could potentially save her life. It could prevent her from being in harm’s way in a variety of dangerous situations.
Bourke and Deputy Jeff Cole show how Cim is used to apprehend criminals.
The Orleans County Dog Heelers 4-H club also did a demonstration at the event. The group showed off their dogs’ agility and obedience. They also performed tricks and played flyball. The club is led by Jackie Gingerich and Lindsay Moore.
Club member Abby Allen brought her chocolate lab Cody to show off his abilities.
“He’s really well trained,” she said. “He’s really good at obedience. If you tell him to sit and stay, he’ll stay there forever.”
The Dog Heelers ran their dogs through the obstacle course.
P.A.W.S. Animal Shelter also brought some pets and information about adoptions. Olde Dogge Inn helps the shelter with adoptions by having kittens in the store.
“We’re just spreading the word that we’re open. We’re in a pretty slow spot. We’re on Gaines Basin Road and there’s not a lot of traffic through there. We’re also a no-kill shelter,” said volunteer Morgan Tinkous. “We’ve had birds, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs. We’ve taken small animals. We don’t take in anything we’re not comfortable with.”
These cats are among the ones up for adoption. Throughout the festival, several kids came up to play with the cats.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association put on its first wine-tasting event this afternoon and about 200 people tried wines at several spots on Main Street and in the downtown.
In the top photo, Jim Knights is dressed in a toga while sipping wine and serving as the greeter outside the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion, one of the stops on the wine tasting.
Each person on the tour received a souvenir glass with a picture of the Orleans County Courthouse. Some extras of the glass will be for sale at select Albion businesses.
Dave Licata of the Winery at Marjim Manor in Appleton serves up wine tastings to Jessica Downey, right, and her friends, Wilian and Elizabeth Penafiel, and Meghan Doherty. They are inside the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church.
Wesley Bedford drinks some wine inside Morrison Realty while attending the “Sip and Stroll Through History” event today. He is standing next to his brother-in-law Zack Burgess. Peggy Theodorakos serves as host for the event at Morrison, which is owned by her husband Jim.
Ryan Smith serves some watermelon beer at Krantz Furniture to from left: Molly Moyle, Arica Burns and Lindsey Colonna.
Fischer’s News Room served wine freeze pops made by Lake Effect Artisan Ice Cream in Lockport. These Albionites gave the wine freeze pops a good review. They include, from left: Tom O’Hearn, Dusty DeCarlo, Theresa O’Hearn and Nicole DeCarlo.
Scott Sackett of Batavia, one of the vendors at the Downtown Browsery, pours Blanc d’Orleans from Leonard Oakes Estate Winery.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Kit Lyman was back in her hometown today signing copies of her debut novel at Bindings Bookstore.
Here she greets Pat and Brad Shelp of Albion during a book-signing today at Bindings Bookstore. Lyman attended the First Presbyterian Church with the Shelps. In back, Pete Toenniessen of Albion waits to have his book signed. He was a Girl Scout volunteer when Lyman was active in Girl Scouts.
Several of Lyman’s friends and former teachers stopped by the book-signing to reconnect with Lyman, who lives in Texas.
Lyman has sold more than 1,000 copies so far of her psychological thriller, “Satan’s Garden.” She also was in Albion on Monday to lead a writing workshop at Hoag Library.
