Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Stephen Rutledge of Albion scrapes off old paint this afternoon on one of the doors facing Main Street at the First Presbyterian Church in Albion. Rutledge will also scrape off the paint on the alcove over the door. He will prime and repaint the doors and alcove on the historic church built with Medina sandstone.
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Here is another photo from last night’s sunset photographic excursion by the Erie Canal in Albion.
Orleans Hub posted several photos of the canal last night. This one shows the staircase for the lift bridge. I’ve been told the bridge used to be an upright position back when it was built a century ago. The bridge was lowered for the occasional horse and buggy.
A hundred years ago there were a lot of boats passing through Albion. Now there are a lot of cars, but only an occasional boater so the bridge stays down most of the time.
ALBION – A former employee at Curvin’s News and Smoke Shop in Medina, who allegedly stole $91,500 in Lotto tickets from the business, avoided a jail sentence in Orleans County Court today.
Cynthia Benz, 61, of Medina was ordered to five years probation, 300 hours of community service and full restitution. She has paid $75,000 back so far and that factored in Judge James Punch’s decision to not send her to jail. District Attorney Joe Cardone also requested no jail time for Benz, saying she has been cooperative in working to pay the full restitution.
Benz apologized in court for taking scratch-off Lotto tickets.
“I’m very sorry this has happened,” she told Judge Punch. “I can’t believe the people I’ve embarrassed.”
Benz was charged with grand larceny. Several community members submitted letters of support on her behalf to the judge.
Punch had stern words for Benz, saying he wasn’t impressed by the letters. He said she stole from a small town merchant “hundreds of times” while “masquerading as a nice lady from Medina.”
He ordered that she have a psychological evaluation.
“You’re a crook,” he said during sentencing. “You have to overcome that somehow.”
Another former Curvin’s employee also faces a third-degree grand larceny charge for allegedly stealing $20,000 worth of Lotto tickets. Kim Capstick’s case is going through the county court system.
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – It was another colorful and calming sunset tonight in Orleans County, especially along the Erie Canal. I stopped by the canal and grabbed a few photos of the Main Street lift bridge.
There are only 16 lift bridges on the canal with seven in Orleans County, including two in Albion. All of those lift bridges are between Lockport and Fairport. They are unique to the western end of the Erie Canal. I think they are an underutilized novelty that would draw people here.
(Perhaps the Canal Corporation could activate the lift bridges at the top of the hour on certain days so tourists would be guaranteed a chance to see the bridges “in action.”)
I wandered just west of the lift bridge this evening and took a photo of a boat – “No Regrets, Albion NY” – tied up on the south side of the canal. The barn on the north side of the canal includes a mural painted by Arthur Barnes.
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Eileen Banker and her husband Dale spent about an hour Sunday morning watering flowers in downtown Albion, as well as planters at Bullard Park and the canal bank. The Department of Public Works waters the flowers on weekdays, but a team of volunteers handles the job on weekends.
ALBION – The trial is off for a Holley resident charged with criminal possession of stolen property and insurance fraud.
In County Court last month, Jeffrey Paul, 40, of Holley said that a series of medications prevented him from thinking clearly, and unable to help with his defense during the trial. Judge James Punch ordered psychological and psychiatric competency evaluations, and both specialists reported they didn’t think Paul could help with his own defense at a trial.
Paul’s attorney Larry Koss in court today also told Judge Punch he didn’t think Paul could assist in his defense.
Punch reviewed the reports from the psychologist and psychiatrist and had Paul committed to a psychiatric facility in Syracuse for up to a year. The judge cited Paul’s “profound problems.” If Paul’s condition improves, he could stand trial, Punch said.
Punch set a Nov. 4 court date for an update on Paul’s fitness for trial.
Paul and his father David allegedly stole two backhoes, a box truck and a car and buried some of it on David Paul’s property on the Monroe-Orleans Countyline Road. David Paul, 68, was sentenced to a year in the county jail in January.
Photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – The historic First Baptist Church in Medina is getting a new roof. Matt C.M. Contracting of Medina is taking off the slate roof and putting on an asphalt one. The roof has been leaking and some of the cracked pieces were a danger.
The roofing company has tried to save as many of the intact slate pieces as possible. Many of them are being given to members of the congregation as souvenirs. Jeff MacDonald, an employee for the roofing company, holds one of the pieces.
Photo by Tom Rivers – A group of Albion students pose for a photo after a golf tournament Sunday to help them raise money to go on a trip to Italy this spring. About 25 students in the Latin program at Albion are planning to attend the trip. Some of the group includes, from left: Katie Rustay, Bella Prest, Jacob Squicciarini, Drake Arnold, Savanah Wirth, Shelby Restivo and Skyler Smith.
ALBION – When Albion Latin teacher Irene Henion announced last school year she was working on a trip for Latin students to go see Italy, many students and their parents saw the trip as a rare chance for the students to see another side of the world.
Henion tries to take students to Italy once every four years. The trips, including spending money, total about $4,000 per student.
A team of Albion parents and their children have formed a fund-raising group, which has planned several events in recent months. On Sunday, they organized a golf tournament at Hickory Ridge Country Club in Holley.
“It’s the chance of a lifetime for our kids,” said Steve Smith, father of Skyler.
The group has had a yard sale and a booth at the Strawberry Festival. Students also have been serving as hosts at the Cabaret at Studio B at Gotta Dance by Miss Amy. More fund-raisers are in the works.
Currently 27 students are planning on attending the trip, which will feature Florence, Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento, Venice and other spots in Italy and ancient Rome.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Stephanie Rustay, whose daughter Katie is Italy-bound. “Every opportunity she can have I want her to take it.”
ALBION – Charles Sheets was sent to state prison today for five years after he assaulted a deputy in December.
Sheets, 49, has a prior felony for attempted assault of a police officer in Monroe County in 2004. He was charged with second-degree assault for the more recent case.
Orleans County Sheriff’s Deputy J.J. Cole responded to a domestic incident at Angevine Road on Dec. 28. When Cole attempted to bring Sheets into custody, Sheets fought with the deputy, causing him an injury. Sheets also was charged with harassment and menacing for the domestic incident.
“You’re a self-centered, undisciplined, violent and a very dangerous man,” Orleans County Court Judge James Punch said during sentencing today.
Sheets was sentenced to five years in state prison, five years of probation after prison and his wife was issued an order of protection.
ALBION – Sales tax revenue for the first half of 2013 grew 5.7 percent state-wide, but the number is down in Orleans County, according to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
Sales tax gives a sense of the strength of the economy within a community, and the tax also is used to help pay for government services.
In Orleans, sales tax collections totaled $7,354,995 for the first six months of 2013, compared to $7,446,284 for the first half of 2012, a decrease of 1.2 percent, the comptroller reported.
New York is seeing strong growth in New York City, which grew by 7.5 percent. Long Island’s revenue is up 8.5 percent. The comptroller attributed some of the increases to cleanup and rebuilding efforts following Superstorm Sandy.
Upstate sales tax growth, meanwhile, was considerably slower. The Mid-Hudson Valley (4.4 percent) and Western New York (3 percent) outpaced the growth in Central New York (2.3 percent), the Capital District (1.2 percent) and the North Country (1.1 percent).
New York’s Southern Tier saw its sales tax revenue drop 3.3 percent. The counties of Chemung (-6.4 percent), Tioga (-5.4 percent) and Broome (-5.1 percent) saw the most significant declines.
“The growth in sales tax revenue is a promising sign for many communities,” DiNapoli said in a news release. “Unfortunately, the economic improvement has been uneven and the trends are headed in the wrong direction for some of our most vulnerable municipalities. Sales tax collections are a vital source of revenue for local governments. Without positive growth during the second half of the year, many local budgets will be under increased pressure.”
Orleans is coming off a year when sales tax grew 1.3 percent in 2012, increasing about $200,000 to $14.9 million for the full year.
Photo by Tom Rivers
BERGEN – This Genesee County community is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. To help mark the occasion, the village installed an artifact from the horse-and-buggy era at Mount Rest Cemetery along Route 19.
I noticed the hitching post on Saturday, when I was in Bergen, where I lived for a couple years in the late 1990s.
Bergen is marking its bicentennial this year and has a year-long “200 and Still Growing” celebration planned for the community. The village also added a historic marker and flower bed at the front of the cemetery as part of a bicentennial party in April.
As some of our Orleans County towns and villages approach their 200th anniversaries, I would encourage them to bring back a historic artifact as part of the bicentennial. Bergen provides a good example.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Lansing Bailey received a veteran flag marker by his grave in Mount Albion Cemetery on Saturday. Bailey fought in the War of 1812. Bailey and six other members of his family all had white carnations placed on their graves on Saturday.
A group pauses for a prayer during a brief ceremony on Saturday at the grave of Lansing Bailey, an early Orleans County resident who fought in the War of 1812.
ALBION – The pioneer residents of Orleans County had it rough, needing to clear trees and build everything from scratch with little help along the way. Many succumbed to illness or witnessed the early deaths of loved ones.
Lansing Bailey was among the first to settle in Albion, arriving in 1811 with his younger brother Joel. In November 1811, Lansing and his brother walked here in five days from Whitestown in Oneida County to locate land on which to build a cabin, make a clearing and begin life in the new frontier, said Al Capurso, who researched Bailey’s life. The brothers purchased 250 acres from the Holland Land Company on Nov. 11, 1811.
Joel died of a fever on August 10, 1813. While plans were underway for his burial, Lansing’s wife Loda became ill from the same fever and died on Aug. 15, leaving three children, including 3 month-old twins born in the Bailey cabin in May 1813.
During those difficult years, Bailey also heeded the call to defend the United States, serving in the War of 1812. His service records indicate he was in Crosby’s Regiment. As a private he marched on to Buffalo/Lewiston and saw combat against the British Army, Capurso said. Bailey also aided Bathshua Brown in repel a squad of British soldiers who came up the Oak Orchard River in Carlton, Capurso said.
The Orleans County Honor Guard was part of the ceremony honoring Lansing Bailey.
Bailey lived until 1865. He is buried in Mount Albion Cemetery on the west side near the road leading up to the tower.
On Saturday, Capurso and Orleans County Historian Bill Lattin led a service where Bailey received a veteran’s marker at his grave. The bronze marker notes that Bailey was a War of 1812 vet. Capurso polished the marker to give it a shine.
“Anyone who serves their country should be honored with a marker so people can appreciate their sacrifice and pay their respects,” Capurso said. “He was definitely an honorable man.”
The Honor Guard from the American Legion attended the service and fired a 21-gun salute.
“He was a veteran from 1812, who helped make our country what it is today,” said Jim Cox, a member of Legion. “This being the 200th anniversary of the war, it’s an honor to come and do this.”
Bailey is the second Albion veteran honored with a grave marker recently for service in the War of 1812. Last year Moses Bacon had a marker placed by his grave at the Union Cemetery on Route 98 by Watt Farms Country Market. The Niagara Frontier Chapter of the Daughters of the War of 1812 put the marker on the grave for Bacon.
“These people sacrificed a great deal being the original settlers,” Lattin said. “They came here into a dense forest and then on top of that we had a war.”
Al Capurso, left, researched the life of Lansing Bailey and secured a bronze War of 1812 veteran marker for his grave. County Historian Bill Lattin spoke a service at Bailey’s grave on Saturday.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Tracy Van Skiver checks out the produce for sale in a new downtown farmers’ market that started today on East Bank Street in Albion. Van Skiver’s daughter Kaitlyn is helping as the cashier for Vendetti Farms. Ron Vendetti, the village code enforcement officer, is serving as a volunteer market coordinator.
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Sundays in downtown Albion just got a little busier. A new farmers’ market opened today on East Bank Street near Main Street.
The goal: draw traffic to downtown Albion on what is often a slow day for merchants, while boosting access to locally grown produce.
So far there is only one farm participating but market coordinator Ron Vendetti said more farms are welcome to participate on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A farm owned by his brother Robert Vendetti in Murray is the lone farm in the market so far. But as farms approach the peak of the vegetable and fruit harvests, Ron Vendetti said there will be a variety of produce from farms, and he hopes they will come to Albion on Sunday mornings to sell it.
“We want to attract more people to downtown Albion on an underserved day,” said Vendetti, the village’s code enforcement officer.
If the market draws a crowd, Vendetti said several downtown merchants said they would open to customers.
The market will be open Sundays until late October. Other interested farms should call Vendetti at the village office at 589-7229.
He had hoped to open the market last month but he said the rainy weather delayed some of the crops. Vendetti Farms has corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and other vegetables for sale today.
Vendetti Farms is selling corn, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Mary Ann Tillman, vice chairwoman of the Ladies of Charity, holds Polish bread, part of the display of baked goods for sale at today’s Lawn Fete in Albion.
Linda Chrzan practices the wine toss, one of the games at today’s Lawn Fete. Chrzan will be serving beef on weck from noon to 5 p.m.
ALBION – The Polish bread is baked, an array of 50 themed baskets packaged, and an assortment of children’s games await.
It’s the annual Holy Family Parish Lawn Fete. The event begins at noon today and runs until 5 p.m. at the Elks Club grounds at 428 West State St.
“It’s a way to get your parish and the community together for fun,” said Sue Starkweather-Miller, the themed basket coordinator.
She thought an autographed team jersey signed by all of the players on the Western New York Flash soccer team may prove to be the most popular item. That jersey includes the signature of Rochester star Abby Wambach.
The Ladies of Charity and other parish members have been busy preparing ethnic foods for today’s event, including beef on weck, Italian sausage, hots, goulash, pasta fagioli and fried dough.
Ulises Mendoza, 17, of Albion is pictured with a themed basket from the Western New York Flash, a professional women’s soccer team.
BARKER – The Orleans Hub wrote about the 30-Mile Point Lighthouse last week, making the bold claim the lighthouse in Barker may be the best one on the south shore of Lake Ontario.
A reader, Gary Breuilly of Greene, NY, sent this historic photograph of the lighthouse. A Sunday School class from an Adventist Church in Jeddo had a picnic at the lighthouse in 1907.
The photograph was taken by a well-known local photographer at the time, W.C. Eaton of Jeddo. Breuilly has a collection of Eaton photos, which include many Orleans County scenes. One of the people pictured at the lighthouse is Eaton’s son, Chester.
