By Bill Lattin, Orleans County Historian
ALBION – This photo post card, published in the second decade of the 20th century, shows the original administration building at the Western House of Refuge in Albion.
It was built in 1892 and demolished in the 1930s with the expansion of the New York State Training School, now the Albion Correctional Facility, which is the state’s largest prison for women inmates.
Press release, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
BASOM – Beginning October 1, trapping permits will be issued for the Oak Orchard, Tonawanda, and John White Wildlife Management Areas for the 2013-2014 license year.
Permit applications can be obtained weekdays from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, by appearing in person at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge Office on Casey Road between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., or by writing to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Bureau of Wildlife, 1101 Casey Road, Box B, Basom, NY 14013.
Trappers who obtain a permit will be required to report their harvest and trapping efforts on each area. The Western New York trapping season for fox, raccoon, coyote and other upland furbearing animals opens Oct. 25, 2013, and closes Feb. 15, 2014, with the exception of the John White WMA, which will run from Nov. 1, 2013 to Feb. 15, 2014.
This year, the beaver season in this area of New York (including on Tonawanda, Oak Orchard and John White WMAs) will run from Nov. 25, 2013 until Feb. 15, 2014.
The Western New York trapping season for mink and muskrat opens on Nov. 25, 2013 and closes on Feb. 15, 2014. However, the 2013-2014 muskrat and mink seasons at the three WMAs start later than the Western New York trapping season and will run from Dec. 7, 2013 to Feb. 15, 2014.
In addition, a 25-trap limit will be in place for muskrat and mink on the three WMAs (traps set for upland trapping and beaver will not require numbered tags and will not be considered in the trap limit). The trap limit provides a more equitable distribution of the harvest and prevents trappers from monopolizing the better trapping areas.
The maximum number of traps a single trapper can set for muskrat and mink on the three areas is 25. To accomplish this, the DEC issues 25 numbered tags to each trapper who obtains a permit. A tag must be attached to each trap used on the areas. Any trap that does not have one of these tags attached is considered an illegal trap. Also, an individual trapper can only operate traps that contain tags with their assigned numbers.
Management of the muskrat population promotes prime emergent marsh habitats used by waterfowl and uncommon marsh birds such as the black tern and least bittern. The trap limit allows Bureau of Wildlife personnel to better regulate the muskrat harvest according to water availability, habitat needs and population.
Hunters and trappers are reminded that no gas or electric motor boats are allowed on Oak Orchard or Tonawanda WMAs.
Press release, Medina High School
MEDINA – For many years, students across Orleans County and New York State have completed community service as part of their Participation in Government class. Each school approaches community service differently, based on local needs.
The Medina High School Participation in Government teachers, Mike Pickreign and Todd Bensley, are making plans for the first annual Community Service Fair.
“The Community Service Fair is a way for the students to learn about the opportunities available to them,” Bensley said. “It also gives the organizations a chance to showcase all that they do for the community.”
The idea came out of discussions the two teachers had about making the experience more meaningful for the students and more beneficial for the organizations.
In the past, students needed to complete 20 hours of community service and they could spread it out over several organizations. What the teachers found was that many students would simply do whatever they needed to do to complete the requirement. This often meant taking anything that came along, whether or not the student was really interested in what the organization did.
The students of Medina High School will now be required to complete 10 hours of community service with one organization and do a presentation on their experience.
According to Bensley, the new requirements are meant to accomplish two goals: “First, the students will need to become more vested in the experience because they will need to do a presentation on the organization they work with and their experiences as a volunteer. Second, by giving presentations to their fellow students, they may pique the other students’ interest in offering their services to an organization other than the one they already served.”
The fair will be held at Medina High School on Thursday from 2 to 2:50 p.m. Any non-profit organizations wishing to take part in this opportunity should contact Bensley by the end of today. He can be reached by e-mail at tbensley@medinacsd.org, or by calling 798-2700.
Judy Christopher is pictured with her husband Gene and their sons David, left, and Darrick.
ALBION – In 1984, the Christopher family bought a marina at Point Breeze. With her husband often away for a job as an executive for TAD Staffing, Judy Christopher did most of the work at the business, connecting with customers and trouble-shooting when there were problems that needed to be solved.
“There was nothing she wouldn’t do,” said her husband of 47 years, Gene. “She pretty much ran the marina without me.”
Five years after buying Four C’s Marina, the family opened Phoenix Fitness in downtown Albion. Mrs. Christopher started the health club after a cardiac rehab site closed down in Albion. When the center needed a certified trainer, Christopher earned those credentials while she was in her 50s.
When members of the gym needed a fitness goal, she started 5k and 8k races at the Strawberry Festival, wanting to promote wellness in the community.
Christopher organized the races for two decades. One year, the DOT closed the canal bridge on Butts Road, which was part of the race route. Christopher wanted the bridge open for runners. She was told no by the DOT. But she wouldn’t accept that. The bridge was open during the race.
“She was tenacious, but she was gentle about it. She did it with a smile,” Mr. Christopher said about his wife, who died from cancer at age 70 on Aug. 3.
The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce honored Mrs. Christopher with a Lifetime Achievement Award during a banquet on Sept. 14. Wendy Hinkley, branch manager for Five Star in Albion, told the crowd that Christopher was a community cheerleader with lots of “spunk and passion.”
Judy Christopher
Gene met Judy while they were college students at Canton Ag and Technical College in northern New York. Gene was studying machine and tool design. Judy earned a degree in business. Gene was a country boy from Albion. Judy grew up in Kenmore.
“She lived in the city,” Gene said. “She didn’t know a maple tree from a willow tree or a herd of cattle from a flock of cattle.”
They fell in love, married and raised two sons, Darrick and David. When the husband and wife looked for a home, Gene pushed for Albion. Judy was game for the adventure and soon planted a big garden.
When the couple went out to dinner in the early years of their marriage, Gene noticed that his wife knew more Albionites than he did, despite his roots in the community.
“She loved the village of Albion,” Gene said. “She liked Small Town USA.”
Judy was the first woman elected to serve on the Albion Town Board. She was a long-time member of the Albion Rotary Club and served on the Swan Library Board of Trustees.
The Rotary Club runs a fishing derby for about two weeks every August. Christopher was one of the key leaders of the derby, and sold many of the ads in the derby program. Even when she was very sick from cancer this spring and summer, Judy called local businesses, selling ads for the derby.
“She did all of her derby work while she was as a sick as a dog,” Gene said.
When Gene was away on business trips for TAD, he often returned home to an 1835 farmhouse that was undergoing a remodeling effort begun by his wife. Judy had her own tool box and reglazed windows, tackled woodwork, painted walls and took on other projects. She made the drapes in the house. She hung all of the wallpaper. Gene just marveled at her.
“She always found time to get things done,” he said. “I don’t know how she did it.”
Judy often told her husband and family to not feel overwhelmed with daunting challenges, including her bouts with cancer.
“She had a saying, ‘You eat an elephant one bite at a time,’” Gene said. “That is how she got through things.”
The Christopher family will be participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on Oct. 20 at Watt Farms in Albion. The event has raised $225,000 the past seven years to fund research and provide services for people with cancer.
Press release, Medina Marching Band
MEDINA – The Medina Mustang Band opened its fall season on Sept. 7 with a first place showing in East Irondequoit. The Mustangs scored 75.95, followed by East Irondequoit at 74.40 and Le Roy in third at 69.65.
This past Saturday, Medina traveled to Jamestown High School and the Mustangs scored an 81.20, winning their class. They were the only band in that division.
This Saturday Medina is home, hosting the Fall Festival of Bands. Twelve bands will compete and UB will perform in exhibition. The gates open at 4:30 and the show starts at 5:30 with the National Anthem and introductions. Medina performs at 8:15.
This is a great evening of family entertainment including homemade concessions. It’s also an opportunity for our community to see Medina’s show, “The Pursuit of Gold” as they celebrate America’s most famous Olympic moments.
LOCKPORT – A 20-year-old Medina resident, who police suspect in 15 Albion burglaries and five in Medina, has been arrested in Niagara County after a burglary on High Street in the city of Lockport.
Jonathan K. Banks of 4886 South Townline Rd., Ridgeway, has been charged with second-degree burglary after breaking into a house at 5:20 a.m. He was arrested on Thursday.
Police in Albion and Medina have yet to charge him but Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said Banks is suspected in the rash of burglaries in the two villages.
“He is a person of interest in Orleans County as well as other locations,” Nenni said in an email. “No arrest has been made on the burglaries in Orleans County to date.”
Albion and Medina police teamed with Lockport police in the investigation. They tracked Banks to Tonawanda, where he was arrested by Buffalo police officers and the Lockport Police Department, according to the Lockport Union-Sun and Journal.
The Albion and Medina burglaries all occurred at night, when residents were sleeping. Burglars would enter through unlocked doors or cut out screens to get inside.
Banks was involved in a high-profile crime in May when he took a 12-year-old girl from Albion overnight to Buffalo. The girl was subject to a missing persons report. Banks was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
He currently is in Niagara County Jail on $15,000 cash bail or $30,000 property bail.
Photo by Tom Rivers – The town of Yates and village of Lyndonville split the costs for a shed that will be used as an electronic waste recycling site. Town Supervisor John Belson, left, is pictured with Deputy Mayor Jim Tuk at the shed that opened today behind the Lyndonville fire hall, 148 North Main St.
LYNDONVILLE – Terry Woodworth feared they would start to show up on the side of the road or in his brush pile behind the DPW garage. He didn’t want to have to fish out discarded television sets and other unwanted electronics.
Residents can’t get rid of them with their trash. There isn’t a drop site in the community to dispose of recyclable E-Waste or electronics – until today.
The town of Yates and village of Lyndonville split the costs for having a shed built for $2,800. The small building is behind the Lyndnville fire hall. A big TV and other electronics were dropped at the site today, the first day it was open.
Woodworth and the DPW will have it open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The TVs, microwave ovens, toner cartridges, radio and CD players, video equipment and rechargeable batteries will all be picked up for free by the Albion Redemption Center. The business will drive to Lyndonville weekly to pick up the recyclable electronics.
Terry Woodworth, Lyndonville DPW superintendent, is pictured inside the shed with some of the electronic items that will be picked up by the Albion Redemption Center.
“It wasn’t a lot of money and it was something we could do for the town,” said Yates Town Supervisor John Belson.
Residents used to be able to drop off the E-Waste at the Pennysaver Market, but that store closed in April, leaving the community without a site to drop the waste.
“We have been looking for a place,” Belson said. “We were struggling as a town with what to do.”
He praised Lyndonville village officials for helping to make the project a reality.
The town of Shelby also accepts electronic equipment and other E-waste. Belson doesn’t think any other municipalities in Orleans have sites for residents to dispose of unwanted electronics.
Photo by Tom Rivers – A $2,000 grant will help pay for pre-construction engineering documents and drawings for the Pratt Opera House, located in the upper floor of the Main Street building at right.
Press release
Landmark Society of WNY
ALBION – A grant from The Landmark Society of Western New York will help to advance the revitalization of the Pratt Building, historic home to the former Pratt Opera House on Main Street in Albion. The $2,000 grant will assist in funding pre-construction engineering documents/drawings on the building.
“This planning grant will enable us to further the restoration of the 1882 Pratt Opera Theater, once the largest stage between Rochester and Buffalo,” said Judy Koehler who owns the building with her husband Michael Bonafede. “It is an important part of our community’s unique architectural and cultural heritage and an important part of improving the quality of life in our community. Partnerships with organizations such as the Landmark Society make it possible to preserve our past to benefit our community’s future. We are very grateful.”
Preservation Grant Fund awards are earmarked for preliminary design and planning studies to help make positive improvements to at-risk buildings.
“Grants are for projects that epitomize the mission of The Landmark Society to sustain and enhance the cultural and economic vitality of Western New York by bringing new life to historic buildings and resources and ensuring they are present and contributing for generations to come,” said Wayne Goodman, executive director of The Landmark Society.
Initial funding for the Preservation Grant Fund was made possible by a generous bequest from Elizabeth “Libby” Stewart. She was a longtime Landmark Society staff member who was dedicated to the revitalization of neighborhoods and historic structures. Generous donations to The Landmark Society’s 75th Anniversary fund-raising campaign provide ongoing funding.
Other grants awarded by The Landmark Society of Western New York include:
A $1,000 grantto Providence Housing Development Corporation to assist in funding conceptual architectural drawings for the rehabilitation of the Pulaski Library at 1151 Hudson Avenue in Rochester.
A $2,000 grant to assist in funding a Condition Report on the Church of God and Saints of Christ at 19 Harrison St. in Rochester.
A $2,000 grant to assist in funding a Condition Report on the roof and tower at the Genesee Baptist Church, 149 Brooks Avenue in Rochester.
MEDINA – Land that the Orleans Economic Development Agency has been working on for years to make attractive to developers will soon have a name, likely connected to Orleans County roots with Medina sandstone.
The Orleans EDA is close to securing certified “shovel-ready” status for land near Route 31A and Bates Road, including a cow pasture owned by the Keppeler family. (The EDA has an option to buy the site.)
The EDA board of directors next month is expected to vote on calling the 280 acres the “Sandstone Business Park,” or something that includes “Sandstone.”
The county was once home to more than 100 Medina sandstone quarries, and that stone was shipped along the canal and used to build roads, houses and other structures all over the state and beyond New York’s borders.
The land eyed for the business park sits in Medina and also in the town of Shelby. The site is viewed as some of Orleans County’s most attractive land for wooing manufacturing and other large businesses.
The 280 acres has access to all the needed utilities and infrastructure, including low-cost hydropower. Once it has shovel-ready certification, it is expected to draw a lot of interest in the business community.
“I’m very excited about it,” said Jim Whipple, the CEO for the Orleans EDA. “It may be the largest shovel-ready site with infrastructure in Western New York.”
Whipple said the EDA may use the Sandstone name for other business parks in the future, perhaps a “Sandstone East” site because the sandstone quarries were such a dominant industry in the canal towns across Orleans.
Photos courtesy of Theresa Price
MEDINA – About 50 members of the Orleans County ABATE went on the group’s annual toy run today, raising money and toys for Community Action of Orleans and Genesee. The bikers started the ride at the former Ames plaza in Medina and headed to Albion the hour-long ride concluded in Medina at the VFW.
Annette Finch, Community Action’s director of community services, is pictured with Santa. An employee at Community Action is pictured with some of the toys and money raised during today’s ride.
The toys will be shared with families served by the agency during the upcoming holiday season. For more information about Community Action’s toy effort, contact Annette Finch at her Albion office, 589-5605.
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – This Jimmy truck was T-boned by a car a little after 11 this morning on Platt Street in front of the Orleans County Jail. Three people were transported by the Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance to the hospital with what were called minor injuries. Albion firefighters responded to the incident.
Press release, Orleans County Undersheriff Steve Smith
CARLTON – A Medina woman is dead and four other people are hospitalized tonight following a two-car crash in the Town of Carlton.
Ashley D. Morehouse, 28, was pronounced dead after the car accident at about 7:10 p.m. at the intersection of Oak Orchard River Road and Waterport Road (State Route 279).
Morehouse was operating a 2000 Pontiac 4-door sedan and travelling west on Oak Orchard River Rd., when she failed to stop for the stop sign at Waterport Road. Morehouse’s car entered the intersection and was struck by a northbound 2003 Pontiac Suburban operated by Lorrie D. Kuhns, 53, of Batavia. Upon impact, both vehicles ended up off the roadway on the northwest corner of the intersection.
Morehouse was pronounced dead at the scene by Orleans County Coroner Scott Schmidt. A front-seat passenger in her car is identified as Gary L. Weese, 40, of Batavia. He was flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight helicopter. Morehouse’s 4-year-old son, identified as Dominic Amrhein of Medina, was transported by Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance to Strong. The child was a rear seat passenger in an approved child safety seat.
Lorrie Kuhns and her husband (front-seat passenger) Thomas S. Kuhns, 61, of Batavia were both transported by Medina FD ambulance to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo.
Carlton and Albion firefighters responded to this incident. While it remains under investigation, it appears that sun glare may have been a contributing factor.
The on-scene investigation was conducted by Deputy M.J. Emens, assisted by Deputy J.J. Cole, Deputy K.J. Colonna, Lieutenant R.E. Perry, Investigator C.L. Black, and Chief Deputy T.L. Drennan.
By Bill Lattin
Orleans County Historian
HOLLEY – In this photo from 1914, we are looking north to the canal bridge just outside of Holley. This is now Route 237 with a more modern bridge which replaced the one in our photo a number of years ago.
In this picture, we note the dirt road with wooden guard rails on each side of the ramp. An early truck with hard rubber tires is headed down the ramp towards Holley.
To the right we see the guard gates on the canal. If you look carefully you can also see a horse and buggy on the towpath under one of the guard gates in the back, just left of the bridge.
Jodi Gaines
ALBION – A company that has grown into Orleans County’s largest private employer did not exist until 11 years ago when Jodi Gaines started the business from her kitchen table.
Gaines would start Claims Recovery Financial Services, a company that has become the leader in its industry, helping banks and investors recoup money when a home is foreclosed. Gaines and her 650 employees are committed to knowing the industry regulations in all 50 states and meeting all deadlines for clients.
Her employees work with attorneys, county clerks, utility companies and investors from all over the country. CRFS works to recover past-due interest, unpaid principal, unpaid taxes and unpaid insurance on houses.
The company’s commitment to clients has CRFS in expansion mode, growing from 150 workers in the fall of 2011 to 320 a year ago. In the past year, the company has opened a location in Medina, where it has 230 workers. There are 300 CRFS employees in Albion, and another 80 work in San Antonio.
Gaines and the company have had a critical impact on Orleans County’s economy, and for hundreds of families. Her drive to build a vibrant company, and her years of community service, have earned her a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m extremely grateful and humbled for my family and employees,” Gaines said during a phone interview while she attended a conference in Dallas earlier this week.
She is often traveling, meeting with clients and speaking at conferences, where she is recognized as an industry expert and leader.
Gaines credits the CRFS management team and her dedicated employees for the company’s success. During different growth opportunities, she has been wooed to move the company out of state. But she said the employees in Orleans County, with their high standards, are irreplaceable.
Gaines witnessed that commitment to the job while she worked at the former Anchor Savings Bank and Dime Bank in Albion. When she started the new company, some of her former co-workers were quick to join her and help the company take off.
“I knew this would work in Albion,” she said about the company’s early days. “It was all about the people. I saw their work ethic and the pride of the people in Orleans County. The people around me are absolutely wonderful. They work incredibly hard. We don’t go home until the job is done.”
Claims Recovery was the Chamber’s Business of the Year in 2012, when the company more than doubled its workforce. Gaines and CRFS pulled that off again this year, again doubling the employees.
Gaines still manages to be involved in community service. She is a member of the board of directors for the Orleans County United Way. She also was involved in the Albion youth soccer program for many years.
With the United Way, Gaines said the organization teams with agencies to provide a lift for residents who may be down on their luck.
Gaines said she is thrilled to be part of the United Way and CRFS, organizations that are providing opportunities for people “to grow and be successful.”
“I have a great management team and an incredibly supportive family,” she said. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”
Photo by Tom Rivers – Some of Baxter International’s management team members in Medina include, from left: Russell Fuller, director of operations: John Sprague, controller; and Nelson Patterson, vice president.
MEDINA – In April 2012, Baxter International became the owner of Sigma International, a company started by local resident Roger Hungerford.
Many community members wondered how Baxter, a company based in Deerfield, Ill., would connect with small-town Medina. Baxter, a company with a world-wide presence, has proven itself in the past 18 months, committing to numerous community causes, employing nearly 500 people and working to grow the operations in Medina, likely leading to more job opportunities for local residents.
The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce named Baxter its “Business of the Year.” Several Chamber members nominated Baxter for the award, which will be presented Saturday during a banquet at the White Birch Golf Course in Lyndonville.
Baxter manufactures Sigma Spectrum pumps, which utilize smart infusion technology in the medical field. The Medina site inside the Olde Pickle Factory on Park Avenue has produced 250,000 Sigma Spectrum pumps at hospitals and medical sites throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Baxter is working to take the technology worldwide and may make a push into Latin and Central America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Nelson Patterson, Baxter’s vice president in Medina, holds one of the Sigma Spectrum pumps manufactured in Medina. Baxter has 490 employees at the Olde Pickle Factory, plus another 60 workers on contract. The Medina site produces about 45,000 to 60,000 Sigma Spectrum pumps annually.
“They are all options,” said Nelson Patterson, the company’s vice president at Medina.
Sigma and Baxter in recent years have been producing about 45,000 to 60,000 pumps in Medina. Patterson said that number could jump if the company expands into other countries.
Baxter has about 50 employees with graduate degrees and PhDs. The manufacturing floor depends on employees determined to put tiny pieces in the exact locations in building the smart-infusion pumps, devices that reduce medication errors by delivering the specific amounts of IV medications and fluids to patients.
“We need people who are good at doing precise labor,” Patterson said. “We’ve been successful here because of the dedication of the employees. I’m immensely proud of the employees.”
The pumps are programmed with drug libraries that eliminate the need for clinicians to manually enter commonly used drugs and dosage rates.
The pumps weigh about 2.5 pounds, and measure a tenth the size of many other large volume pumps. The Sigma Spectrum features a wireless connectivity option.
Photo by Tom Rivers – A group of Baxter employees sepnt Wednesday working on projects at Hospice of Orleans in Albion. The group includes, from left: Pat Bennett, Amanda Ledger, Mary Jo Allen, Sue Verheyn and Sherry White.
Baxter employees do rigorous quality control and testing on each device, and a team of technicians is available to assist customers in the field.
Baxter first teamed as a part owner of Sigma in April 2009. At that time there were 235 employees at the site in Medina. Baxter has helped the company grow since then to a current workforce of 490 employees, plus another 60 workers on contract. The company makes hiring military veterans a priority and has 85 on staff in Medina.
Baxter has 110 high-skilled employees in engineering, marketing and with technical skills. The company sponsors some employees to pursue advanced degrees, and also offers up to $5,000 a year for other employees to complete continuing education classes at Genesee Community College.
“Baxter is very focused on developing people and helping them develop their skills,” said Patterson, who has been with the company since 2007.
Patterson has an office on the main floor in one of the many cubicles. His workspace isn’t any different from the others. When he walks the floor, he greets many workers by name. He has lunch with the employees and attends some of their softball games and other community events.
He serves on the board for the Orleans County United Way. The company matches employee contributions to the United Way. Last year the total contribution from Baxter and the company workers totaled $54,000.
On Wednesday 60 Baxter employees were given a paid day off from the company to do service projects in the community as part of United Way’s “Day of Caring.”
“This isn’t just a facility that manufacturers infusion pumps,” Patterson said. “This is a facility where people sustain families and build futures.”
