ALBION – Pictured here in the summer of 1943 are employees of the Birdseye Lab, which was located on South Main Street in Albion. The back of the lab building appears in the background. The McNall Funeral Home is to the far left.
Front row, from left: Charlie Byrne, Sy Pomper (s), Ruth Adamy (s), Fern Chase (s) and Jessie Nenni. Back row: Hunter Cohen (s), Helen Collins, Bill Lee, Helen DiJuilio, W. Enzie and John Swenholt. The (s) signifies the person was a summer worker. Dr. Dykstra, supervisor, was absent from the photo.
Note the glass bottles of Coca-Cola in this picture, which was taken when the employees were on break.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Waterfalls, canal park are missed by many
Photos by Tom Rivers – Holley’s Canal Park has become a popular spot for boaters, campers and others out for a stroll.
HOLLEY – David Dill, Holley’s deputy mayor, knows many people, including residents of Holley and Orleans County, drive through the village on Route 31 and don’t realize the village is home to a waterfalls, a canal park and trail linking the sites.
“You don’t know how many people live here and tell me they don’t know it’s here,” Dill said.
The attractions are widely praised once they are discovered.
The village is working to put up “wayfinding” signs on Route 31 so people are directed to the sites that are only a few blocks off Holley’s main road.
The canal park is on East Avenue, right next to Holley lift bridge on the Erie Canal.
The waterfalls are on Frisbee Terrace. Drive past Save-A-Lot, the village sewer plant and head to the end of the street to discover the waterfalls.
The Holley Waterfalls is an asset for the Holley community. The village has recently added a pavilion, grills and other amenities near the waterfalls.
The signage will be paid for through $67,500 Brownfield Opportunity Area Program grant from the state. Most of that money helped Holley complete Phase 1 of a plan to identify brownfields in the community and begin developing action steps for reusing the property.
The old Holley High School and the former Diaz Chemical sites are the most prominent locations that need attention. Dill said the plan looks at other underutilized sites in Holley or properties that may be contaminated. Holley is seeking additional funding for Phase 2 of the plan.
The first phase paid for a parking study of the business district. That report showed there are 203 parking spaces within two blocks of the Public Square, which is plenty of parking for businesses, Dill said. Those spaces include a lot next to the old school.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2013 at 12:00 am
State funding includes $15K for streetscape
Photo by Tom Rivers – The fountain at Holley’s Public Square, originally erected in 1914, could be upgraded with some of $15,000 targeted for streetscape improvements in Holley.
HOLLEY Contractors will soon be at work at several Public Square sites in Holley, making improvements on buildings from more than a century ago.
The village last December was awarded a $250,000 Main Street grant from the state, which provides matching money for building projects in the downtown.
Dan and Monica Seeler are doing the most extensive project, turning the former Tagg’s Tavern into a steak and seafood restaurant.
Other building owners are tackling projects. Jonathan’s Pastry Shop and Café will have a new façade. Lisa’s Dance Boutique is replacing second-floor windows and repointing some of the roof. VP Supply is working on a vestibule for its Geddes Street building. Nancy Penna may also renovate apartments on Thomas Street.
The projects will give the downtown area a big facelift, and may encourage other building owners to invest and improve their sites, said David Dill, Holley’s deputy mayor.
“It’s going to make that end of the Square look really nice,” he said.
Holley also has $15,000 from the grant for streetscape improvements. Village officials are considering using that money to refurbish the fountain, built in 1914, and add new benches. Dill said the village is open to ideas for spending that money.
Holley also also has been awarded a $30,000 state grant for records retention. The grant will fund scanning many of Holley’s paper documents into digital files. That includes board minutes, payroll records, and birth and death records. The paperwork goes back many decades.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Most of our Vintage Orleans features are from a century ago. This one isn’t even quite a year old. It shows Albion’s Main Street while it was lit up with incandescent light bulbs.
The village has replaced about 30 of the those lights with new LED technology that use far less power and give a softer glow. The lights also have new globes that help direct the light downward.
A Hub reader, Wayne Burlison of Albion, took this photo last December. I didn’t have a pre-LED photo to compare the new lights with. Thanks, Wayne.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – There is good news for Albion and Orleans County: Roger Hungerford has reportedly acquired the JPMorgan Chase building in Albion, a site on Route 31 that was once home to 1,000 employees.
Chase closed down the site earlier this month, eliminating about 400 jobs from the community.
Hungerford owns the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina. He has spent millions of dollars at that site, turning an old factory into a remarkably clean building where Baxter International makes medical infusion pumps. There are also doctors with offices at the site and Claims Recovery Financial Services recently moved into a part of the Olde Pickle Factory on Park Avenue.
Hungerford told The Journal-Register he has a tenant lined up for the Chase building in Albion, but the details need to be finalized before there will be an announcement.
I’ve noticed several contractors have been working at the site in recent days. I’m relieved to know Hungerford will own the building, and it won’t sit idle with an absentee owner.
Photo courtesy of Holley Central School – From left, Katrina with her father William standing behind her, school librarian Lisa Osur, Joshua with his mother Marie McAllister to the right and school Principal Sue Cory in back row.
Press release, Holley Central School District
HOLLEY – Two Holley seniors, Katrina Grathouse and Jacob McAllister, were honored recently by the Holley Board of Education with the Soaring to New Heights Award. The students volunteered their time to help school librarian Lisa Osur prepare for the new school year by unpacking, scanning and shelving thousands of books.
CLARENDON – Two Orleans County women are hospitalized this morning following a two-car head-on crash in the Town of Clarendon. The incident occurred shortly before 8 a.m., on East Lee Rd. (State Route 31-A) at intersection with South Manning Rd. Randi Lee Johnson, 28, of Albion, the sole occupant, was operating a 2012 Jeep SUV westbound on East Lee Rd., when her vehicle crossed the center line and collided with an eastbound 2001 Ford Taurus operated by Sherell L. Lindsey, 29, of Medina. Lindsay was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
Johnson was able to escape her vehicle before it burst into flames and was totally consumed by fire. She was transported by Monroe Ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
Lindsey was trapped in her vehicle for approximately 45 minutes, before being extricated by Clarendon, Holley and Barre firefighters. She was flown to Strong by MercyFlight helicopter.
The incident remains under investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were assisted at the scene by State Troopers from the Albion barracks.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – The community is invited to a memorial service for Medina firefighters on Saturday, when a memorial stone will also be unveiled in front of City Hall, 600 Main St.
Firefighters intend to make the memorial service an annual event. The fire department’s benevolent association paid for the memorial.
“We want to honor the past firefighters,” said Jonathan Higgins, a current firefighter.
Staff Reports Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Cheryl Wertman
GASPORT – During Tuesday’s boys soccer game with Medina against Roy-Hart, Orleans Hub photographer Cheryl Wertman captured this ultralight in flight over the field in Gasport.
The lightweight aircraft and its pilot “seemed to be up enjoying the great weather,” Wertman said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The former Chase site in Albion closed earlier this month after laying off about 400 people. County officials are optimistic the site will soon be utilized by another company.
New data from the state Department of Labor shows Orleans County has one of the highest unemployment rates in upstate, and the report is based on August numbers, before JPMorgan Chase shut down its Albion call center that employed about 400 people.
Orleans County’s 8.4 percent unemployment rate is only topped in upstate by St. Lawrence County, 9.1 percent; Oswego, 8.8; and Montgomery, 8.5. New York City has an 8.7 percent unemployment rate with Bronx County, at 12.0 percent, the highest in the state.
The job picture in Orleans is worse than similar-size nearby rural counties. Genesee has a 5.8 percent unemployment rate, while Wyoming is at 6.6 and Livingston, 6.7.
Orleans is in much better shape than a year ago when it had an 11.0 percent unemployment rate in August 2012. It’s also slightly better than July 2013 when the rate was 8.5 percent.
Orleans County officials are optimistic the Chase site will soon be reused. I noticed several contractors are working at the site this week. The county’s economic development officials said they can not offer any specifics about the site’s future due to confidentiality agreements.
The site is in good shape and accommodated 1,000 workers only a few years ago. There is also readily accessible parking for several hundreds cars.
State-wide the latest unemployment report shows the private sector job count increased by 126,800 from August 2012 to August 2013. The state’s unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in August 2013 and the economy added 22,700 private sector jobs, bringing the job count to a record high, according to the Department of Labor.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2013 at 12:00 am
WASHINGTON, D.C. – If the government shuts down after next Tuesday, due to a showdown in Congress over funding a new health care law, Congressman Chris Collins said members of Congress should not accept their paychecks.
Collins, R-Clarence, has introduced the Government Shutdown Fairness Act (H.R. 3160). This legislation would stop members of Congress from receiving a salary in the event of a government shutdown.
“As members of Congress, it is our job to keep the government running, and if the government shuts down, I don’t believe we should collect a salary during that time,” Collins said in a press release. “It is wrong that members of Congress should continue to get paid while programs for veterans, seniors and many others are adversely impacted.”
This type of legislation has proven effective in the past, Collins said. Earlier this year, the House passed the “No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013,” which said members of Congress would not be paid unless they passed a budget. Following the passage of No Budget, No Pay, the Senate adopted a budget resolution for the first time in four years, Collins said.
“Salary and job performance should be tied together, and if members of Congress aren’t doing their job, that should be reflected in their salary,” Collins said. “The American people deserve more from their Congress and it is time, as members of Congress, that we put ourselves at the back of the line and put our constituents first in a government shutdown.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – I’ve heard the jokes for years, that downtown Albion resembled an air strip at night when the tall lights were shining bright.
The village has swapped out most of the Main Street lights with newer LED lights that village officials say use about a tenth of the energy for the same shine. The village also replaced the globes on about 30 lights.
I wanted to see what the new lights looked like at night. I went out tonight and I think they’re an improvement. The light seems mostly focused downward, with some sidelight. That’s quite a contrast from the previous lights that sent light in every direction.
I couldn’t unearth a before-picture from my Albion archives, but I remember how the sides of the buildings, often on the second floor, had so much light on them with the old lights.
Those lights also directed light upwards, giving the air strip impression. I don’t think that’s the case anymore.
The village soon should have some potted trees, bike racks, and other street-scape improvements as part of a Main Street grant, which will make downtown even more appealing.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2013 at 12:00 am
After debuting last year, county now has 3 teams
Photos by Tom Rivers – Members of the First Lego League work on their Lego robot Monday. The 4-H youths include, from left: Maxim Rambach of Medina, Deegan Bragg of Medina, Zach Moore of Albion, Daniel Squire of Medina and Jayden Neal of Albion. Three Lego teams practice at Liberty Fresh Farms in Albion, the home of the former Remley Printing Company.
ALBION – Monday was a glorious day for a group of 4-H’ers. A new Lego robot kit arrived for a team of Lego builders.
Tiny plastic pieces were then carefully set in rows and piles. The 4-H’ers then began the task of turning the parts into a robot that could be programmed to move pieces and conquer obstacles.
The 4-H program last year launched a First Lego League team. There were 13 kids on the team last year. The Lego League has grown in popularity with 26 members, ages 8 to 14 this year. They are split into three teams.
Zach Moore, 12, of Albion is a returning member. He spent part of Monday’s Lego meeting putting tank treads on the Lego robot “so it can climb over things,” Zach said.
Zach is active in 4-H and shows animals at the 4-H Fair. He prefers working with the Legos.
“I’ve always liked building things,” he said.
One of the Lego teams opened a new robot kit on Monday, which caused great excitement. That team is led by coaches Jason Foote, left, and Michael Beach, who both have sons in the program.
The 4-H Lego Club draws members from throughout the county. Zach said he made many new friends last year in the Lego Club’s debut season. This year incudes 12 returning players, and 14 newcomers, which is fine with Zach.
“Hopefully I’ll make more friends this year,” he said.
The Lego Club was going to practice and have meetings at the fairgrounds in Knowlesville. But the growing program outgrew the space.
The Panek family, owners of an onion packing facility on Route 98 in Albion, offered the upstairs of the former Remley Printing Company building for the teams.
The Paneks’ offer is the latest example of generous support for the Lego teams, and also a robotics club that is in its third year, said Erik Seielstad, one of the program’s coaches and mentors.
Xerox in Rochester and Baxter International in Medina are the main sponsors for the teams in Orleans County, but several other businesses are supporting the program. Each Lego team requires about $1,000 for field kits, robots and entry fees. The robotic team, which features 17 high schoolers, needs about $15,000 a year to compete in events.
Albion friends and Lego team members James Michael Beach, left, and Jacob Foote, both 9, look over the pieces of a new Lego kit.
Seielstad provides hands-on supervision of the teams, while his wife Marlene has become an effective fund-raiser for the program.
“She has a vast network for funding,” her husband said.
Mr. Seielstad, a systems engineer in Rochester, is pleased to see the 4-H members so focused during their meetings.
“It’s a good program,” he said. “It gives kids an opportunity to do stuff. The kids drive it and they make it happen.”
The Lego teams meet three times a week in the fall, and then it drops down to once a month in the winter and spring after their main competition later in the fall. The robotics team starts in January.
The Lego teams through FLL are all working with a common theme – Nature’s Fury – this year. They need to research natural disasters and program their robots to respond to the aftermath. That could mean removing a dangling branch after a hurricane ripped through a neighborhood.
Teams are researching sandstorms, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and other disasters, and they need to have a response plan in place, with the robot moving quickly to complete tasks. The robot may be outfitted with arms or claws to perform some of its missions.
Jason Foote and Mike Beach are co-mentors of one of the teams. Their sons, Jacob Foote and James Michael Beach, are both 9 and they are returning players.
“They’re using Legos to solve real-world problems,” said Mr. Foote, who works as a civil engineer.
James Michael enjoys Legos, and looks forward to the meetings through 4-H.
“It’s still Legos, but they’re taking it to the next step with technology,” said Mr. Beach, a team leader for quality control at CRFS. “You’re trying to get a robot to accomplish something.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Project includes new transmission towers, 1,100 radios and rebuilt communication system
ALBION A project that has been years in the making and will give emergency responders a new communications system is now projected to cost $7.1 million.
The county increased the maximum cost from $5.3 million to $7.1 million during the Legislature’s meeting this morning. The $5.3 million figure was from about a year ago when the county voted to pursue a maximum of $4.5 million in financing for the project.
The county doesn’t intend to borrow more for the project. County officials expect Orleans may need to use about $4.2 million of the bond to cover its share of the project.
Since approving the $4.5 million bond for the project in April 2012, the county was awarded a $2 million state grant towards the project from the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. That lessens the local burden for paying for the project.
The original scope of the communications upgrade has changed from when the county voted to seek the $4.5 million bond. County officials were eyeing two new radio transmission towers, one on each end of the county that would be leased.
The county instead will pay to build three towers that are 180 feet high. One will be on land owned by the town of Clarendon near its highway garage off Route 31A, the other will be next to the county’s Civil Defense Center on Courthouse Road in Albion and the other will be next to the Medina water tank on Route 31A. Medina and Clarendon both agreed to lease the land to the county at no cost.
“Originally this was a lease versus buy situation, and we’re going to buy,” said Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer.
If the towers were leased, the county’s ongoing annual costs would be higher, Nesbitt said. By owning the infrastructure, the county can also collect co-leasing fees if other companies want to put communications equipment on the towers.
The county also was considering piggybacking on Monroe County’s communication system, but that was going to cost more than having its won dedicated system, Nesbitt said.
Orleans County approved a $5 million deal last year with the Harris Corporation to rebuild the county’s emergency communications systems. Harris will reprogram 1,100 portable radios and make upgrades to the dispatch center.
The county’s radio system was last overhauled in 1992. The county has one transmission tower on Countyhouse Road. That’s about 10 miles from the eastern and western ends of the county. Firefighters, police officers, and other first responders for years have complained that the county’s current radio system is often unreliable, particularly on the edges of the county.
Harris is manufacturing the infrastructure for the Orleans project at its facility in Henrietta. The new system will meet the P25 industry standard for digital radio communications.
The new towers should be up in the spring and the new system should be operational next summer, Nesbitt said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2013 at 12:00 am
KENDALL – A project that will significantly add to the town of Kendall and Orleans County tax base will be celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
Construction has started on the Cottages at Troutburg, a new three-season waterfront community along the Lake Ontario shoreline in Kendall. There could be 400 houses built on a 126-acre site in the next eight to 10 years.
The Wegman Group is developing the project at a former Salvation Army camp that includes a half-mile of lake front property at the eastern end of Kendall.
The Wegman Group estimates the project will have a $40 million dollar impact for the town of Kendall and the county. The Cottages at Troutburg will add 40 to 50 new jobs over the next couple of years. The cottages range in size from 450 to 1,300 square feet.
“We chose this site because it is spectacularly beautiful and will offer residents endless opportunities for lakefront recreational activities,” said Dan Wegman, president at The Wegman Group. “This location also makes it convenient and accessible to families and seniors from Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse and even Toronto.”
The Cottages at Troutburg provide owners a maintenance free, secure living experience through a range of cottage and cabin styles for sale and land lease. Residents will have access to swimming, fishing and boating; open recreation areas, including a playground, two tennis courts and a basketball court; walking trails; a heated swimming pool; community center; and gated community with a keypad.
The ribbon-cutting on Wednesday will be at 19 Monroe-Orleans County Line Rd. The following officials are scheduled to attend: State Sen. George Maziarz, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard, Kendall Town Supervisor Dan Gaesser, Kendall Planning Board Chairman Paul Gray, Kendall Town Clerk Amy Richardson, and members of the Orleans Economic Development Agency, including CEO Jim Whipple, and Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development.
