By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Lake Ontario was rough on Sunday, but several people have hooked good-size fish at the beginning of the Orleans County Fishing Derby. This photo was taken at the shores of the Golden Hill State Park in Barker, about a mile west of the Orleans County line.
Julie Schaeffer of Sligo, Pa. leads the Orleans County Fishing Derby with a 31-pound, 11-ounce Chinook. The derby started Saturday and runs until Aug. 18.
The Albion Rotary Club sponsors the derby and will hand out $8,800 in prizes, including $4,000 to the angler who catches the biggest fish at Lake Ontario and its tributaries from the Niagara River to the Genesee River.
Other leading fish include a 12-pound, 11-ounce rainbow trout, and a 12-pound, 13-ounce brown trout. No lake trout is on the leaderboard yet.
Last year’s derby had an unusual winner: a lake trout that weighed 34 pounds, 6 ounces. A Chinook almost always claims the top prize.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Dee Adams and Dave Kimball perform last night in Boiler 54 in the back of the former R.H. Newell Shirt Factory.
Last summer Andrew Meier opened the Boiler 54, an open-air music and performance venue in the back of the R.H. Newell Shirt Factory building on West Center Street.
Musicians have come from Ithaca, Buffalo, Rochester and Orleans and Niagara counties to play at the Boiler.
Last night, Dee Adams and Dave Kimball of Buffalo performed for more than two hours in Medina. Adams declared the venue “very special.”
Music lovers can choose from the Shirt Factory Café menu and can also order alcohol.
“You used to have to go to Buffalo or Rochester to hear this caliber of music,” said Judy Clonan-Smith, who is helping to book the bands. “This is such a beautiful setting.”
She encouraged the community to attend the concerts and support live music.
Amy Sidari last month opened the Cabaret at Studio B at Gotta Dance by Miss Amy. She is using one of the studios for an entertainment venue. Albion graduate Jackie Madejski performed Broadway and Pops songs last night. Madejski just finished her first year as a theater major at the Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
Photos by Michael Karcz – Albion resident and college theater major Jackie Madejski performs last night at the Cabarat at Studio B.
Jackie two years ago gave an unforgettable performance as the lead in Peter Pan at Albion.
Sidari wants to showcase local talent and also draw performers from Rochester and Buffalo. She is hoping the cabaret can also boost traffic for other downtown businesses.
Madejski was accompanied on piano by Gary Simboli.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 August 2013 at 12:00 am
‘We were very hurt about it. We still are.’ – Grace Conlon
Photos by Tom Rivers – The state Department of Transportation forced Dave and Grace Conlon to remove this carriage step and hitching post, which survived for more than a century at the corner of North Main Street and Linwood Avenue in Albion. The community has many hitching posts and carriage steps on village side streets, but the Conlons had two of the few on a public right-of-way on a state road in Albion. This photo was taken late last year.
Dave Conlon sits on a carriage step that he had to remove from near Main Street last Wednesday. Conlon and his son used a tractor to move the historic step back by a tree in his front yard.
ALBION – For 45 years, Dave and Grace Conlon enjoyed looking out their window facing Main Street and watching children sit or stand on a carriage step by the road.
The Conlons planted flowers by it. They carefully mowed the grass around a companion hitching post.
“They were a showpiece for our property,” said Mr. Conlon, 84.
Last year the Conlons received a letter from the state Department of Transportation, telling them the carriage step and hitching post were a hazard to motorists. The historical artifacts from the horse-and-buggy era would need to be moved off the public right of way, the DOT advised.
The Conlons called the DOT. They didn’t understand why they had to move it, given that the public right of way on North Main Street is lined with trees and telephone poles – other “hazards.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” said Conlon, a Kodak retiree who still works part-time as a custodian for Five Star Bank.
The Conlons received the first letter in the spring 2012. Another letter followed, advising them that the DOT could remove the pieces for a fee.
The Conlons fretted the DOT might show up one day and remove the carriage step and hitching post, and haul them away. Two weeks ago the DOT called, again pressing the issue.
On Wednesday, Conlon and his son Randy dug up the hitching post and used a tractor to haul it back by the house. They put it near a garden. It’s not very visible from the road, but the Conlons can see it looking out of their kitchen window.
The carriage step was a bear to move. Conlon cracked sidewalk panels leading to his house from the weight of the tractor. He tore up part of his lawn, but he was able to move it by a maple tree in his front yard.
The Conlons are angry and sad about the whole situation.
Dave and Grace Conlon also had to move this hitching post, which stood by Main Street for about a century. They put it back in their garden.
A mounting block sits by the side of the road on West Center Street in Medina. Hopefully its days aren’t numbered.
“We were very hurt about it,” Mrs. Conlon said. “We still are.”
I think it’s crummy that the DOT has launched an attack on the few hitching posts, carriage steps and mounting blocks that remain in the public right of way on state roads. Medina and Le Roy residents also have been sent warning letters from the DOT, advising the historical pieces need to be moved.
There are a lot of these artifacts in old quarrying towns, where residents had access to great building materials – sandstone in Orleans County and limestone in Le Roy.
They few that have endured – a century after horse-and-buggies were replaced by the automobile – should be considered treasures, part of the historical fabric of the community.
I have counted about 40 of the hitching posts in Albion and Gaines, which may be more survivors than anywhere in the world. (Until proven wrong, I’ll make the claim that 14411 is the historic hitching post capitol of the world.)
There are a lot of hitching posts but only a few carriage steps around. Most of these artifacts are on side streets. They were stripped from along the state roads long ago.
In Albion, the Albion Main Street Alliance has been working with the village to put four hitching posts back on Main Street in the downtown. They would be set back far enough to be off the state right of way, although we are asking the DOT to let us put one back in a downtown sidewalk. We hope to have these installed in the next month.
Some of us see the hitching posts and carriage steps as an attraction. We wanted to make a map of them. Most of them are in front of the finest historic homes in the community.
I think it’s shabby that the DOT pressured the Conlons to move their artifacts. They clearly valued and cared for the pieces.
It also hurts the Albion effort to promote these as part of the historical character of the community. We want some on Main Street, where they are more prominent. We’d like they to be by the road so they are more historically accurate, rather than moved back as lawn ornaments.
Our state legislators – Steve Hawley and George Maziarz – should intervene and make the DOT call off the dogs on the old hitching posts. These historic structures have survived every possible threat – from Mother nature, development pressure to wayward motorists. Can they now survive a government bureaucrat?
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – If you’ve driven past the Orleans County Courthouse, you may have noticed a stone marker with a plaque at the corner of East State and Main streets, on the northwest corner of the Courthouse lawn.
I’ve never seen anyone stop to look at the marker. I checked it out and the marker, affixed to a slab of sandstone, commemorates the planting of a new tree in celebration of the country’s 200th birthday. The tree was actually planted in the fall of 1975, a few months beofre the bicentennial.
The former Orleans County Board of Supervisors picked a tree as a lasting celebration of the country’s 200th anniversary.
Several of our towns have recently marked their 200th birthdays, with Ridgeway the most recent. That town officially was established in 1812.
Other towns and villages have milestone birthdays on the horizon. I would encourage them to follow the county’s example and plant a tree to mark the occasion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Paula Moyer pulls the ticket for a gift basket as part of a fundpraiser today to fund a scholarship and support the sports program at Medina Central School. Her son Terry died in a car accident on Aug. 28, 2011. He was 17.
MEDINA – Paula Moyer is continuing to keep her son’s memory alive, raising money for a scholarship and the sports program at Medina Central School.
Today, Moyer held the second annual blood drive and basket raffle in honor of her son Terry Moyer, who was 17 when he died in a tragic car accident on Culvert Road on Aug. 28, 2011.
The family awarded the first scholarship in Terry Moyer’s name this past June. Matthew Montesanti won the $250 scholarship. The scholarship will go to a graduate pursuing a building trades career or playing sports in college.
Terry played football and wrestled at Medina.
“We want to raise money for the scholarship and make sure sports are not cut,” Paula Moyer said. “He loved being in the sports.”
Donors gave 19 pints of blood during the drive at the Oak Orchard Elementary School.
Brandon Robinson, 20, of Amherst gives blood today in memory of his friend Terry Moyer. Nineteen people donated during a blood drive in Moyer’s memory.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Cabaret at Studio B in Albion full of ‘great excitement’
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Reverend Mother kept a crowd in stitches last night at the Cabaret at Studio B in Albion.
ALBION – Phyl Contestable passed out buttons that said, “JESUS LOVES YOU, but I’m his favorite.” Contestable is the comedian, “Reverend Mother,” and she kept a packed house laughing last night at the Cabaret at Studio B in Albion.
Amy Sidari opened the venue last weekend with a concert by Marcy Downey. Sidari wants to bring professional entertainment to the community.
“People are excited to have this is their hometown,” said Sidari, owner of Gotta Dance by Miss Amy at 28 West Bank St. “I have great excitement for this.”
She has transformed one of the studios into a cabaret with professional-quality lighting and sound. Sidari has about 20 tables inside the studio that seats nearly 100 people.
Contestable of Hilton once joined the convent. As the Reverend Mother she is dressed as a nun. She is also friends with Downey, who urged her to come to Albion for a show.
“I love Amy’s energy and what she is trying to do out here, bringing the arts out here at this level,” Contestable said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 August 2013 at 12:00 am
More than 50 vendors at church flea market
Photos by Tom Rivers
Sharon Pollock of Albion created this image of the Mount Albion Tower. She drew the tower by burning into a piece of wood. I bought it from her today at a flea market with 51 vendors at the Gaines Carlton Community Church.
Pollock was laid off from her job on Jan. 1 as an index clerk at the County Clerk’s Building as part of a downsizing at the office. She has spent more time developing an arts business, creating images of local scenes etched in glass, mirrors or wood. She calls the business Scratch and Burn Crafts.
The flea market continues until 4 p.m. today at the Gaines Carlton Community Church at 14585 Ridge Rd., just east of Route 98.
There are 51 vendors at the flea market, including Debbie Clocksin of Rochester, in back by van. She is selling painted furniture, vintage jewelry and other collectibles. COVA, Mercy Flight, PAWS Animal Shelter and other community groups have displays at the event.
I bought this picture of an unidentified Albion man from Debbie Clocksin at the flea market. She had a stack of old portraits from Western New York. I didn’t want the photo to leave the community. If anyone has an idea who the man is, send me an email at tom@orleanshub.com.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Cast from seven churches performs Broadway show
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Rev. Dan Thurber, pastor of Oak Orchard Assembly of God Church, portrays the Pharoah, who happens to do an Elvis impersonation, in tonight’s performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Curtis Follman is Jacob, who is in anguish after being told his son Joseph was killed.
MEDINA – Cast members from seven local churches joined for a high-energy performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Oak Orchard Assembly of God.
“You can’t beat being able to do a Broadway musical,” said director Trisha Stacey. “This is a way to use our gifts and deliver a Christian message.”
The church first did a full-scale musical two years ago with Godspell. Oak Orchard’s pastor Dan Thurber is a strong supporter of a drama ministry. His wife Diane directed many award-winning musicals at Lyndonville Central School. Mrs. Thurber was one of the singing narrators in Joseph.
The Rev. Thurber excited the crowd tonight when he performed as the Pharaoh, wearing an Elvis costume.
Joseph has been performed on Broadway and many secular stages. It is based on a Biblical story of Joseph and his “coat of many colors.” Joseph is in the Book of Genesis. Oak Orchard displayed several Scriptures on screens during the show.
Thurber said Joseph’s example is a life worth celebrating on stage.
“We want to entertain people, but we also want people to see how God used Joseph,” Thurber said. “We want people to come out and enjoy some good music but also get a spiritual message.”
Joseph Mangiola, 14, plays the lead of Joseph. Diane Thurber, right, is one of the narrators.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – A committee looking at developing a plan for the dissolution of the village of Medina met for the first time on Thursday at City Hall. A group of village residents is working with the Center for Governmental Research to develop the plan. The group includes, from lower left going clockwise: Paul Bishop and Scott Sittig of CGR, Medina Mayor Andrew Meier, Village Trustee Mark Irwin, Committee Chairman Don Colquhoun, and members Charlie Slack and Thurston Dale.
MEDINA – A public referendum about dissolving the village of Medina’s government probably won’t be ready in time for the March 2014 village elections due to a tight time frame to develop an orderly plan for the village’s dissolution.
“Let’s take our time to come up with a plan that we can all consider and accept,” Mayor Andrew Meier said during the Dissolution Committee’s first meeting Thursday. “I see no reason why to go through an expedited process.”
Medina is using a $50,000 state grant to hire the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester to help prepare the plan. There is a chance CGR and the committee could have the plan fall quickly into place, and possibly be ready for a public vote in March. But Meier and committee aren’t pushing for that as a time frame.
“We need to give the public time to chew it over,” said Don Colquhoun, chairman of the Dissolution Committee.
A public referendum can’t come sooner than about three months after the Village Board formally endorses a dissolution. That gives time for the public to study the plan and make an informed vote.
In order for the dissolution to be part of the March 18 village election, the Village Board would need to endorse a dissolution plan in December to allow for three months of public review before a vote.
Meier expects the village will call for a special election on the issue later in the year.
CGR has a lot of work to do with data collection and interviews with village officials and representatives from the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway. CGR needs to take an inventory of village assets and debts. The group will present a plan for how the debts will be paid if the village dissolves, and how current village services can best be folded into the two towns.
To pay off some debts, some village assets could be sold, including highway equipment and buildings, such as the historic but mostly underutilized City Hall.
Some services, such as police and fire, may continue with the formation of special taxing districts. The committee will look at which government entity would own the village’s water and sewer plants, and how those services can best be provided if the village dissolves.
Colquhoun, the committee chairman, said the group is determined to continue with the process, to look for ways to reduce the costs of government in the community while still maintaining services. The study may show it doesn’t make sense to dissolve Medina. He is going in with an open mind, not committed to dissolution.
“We don’t want to disrupt everyone’s lives,” he said. “But let’s see the data. I think people need to know the alternatives. Everyone complains about their taxes and says there’s nothing you can do about it. This is something we can do about it.”
If the issue goes to a public vote, only village residents will go to the polls. Residents in Shelby and Ridgeway, outside the village, don’t get a vote, but they can participate in the planning process.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Apples grow in this orchard in Gaines earlier this week.
Press release, NY Apple Association
FISHERS – New York state apple growers are back, and they mean business – lots more business this year because of a bigger, better crop with more of the varieties consumers love.
That’s the trade report from a conference call of leading apple growers from across the state that was held July 25. The call was hosted by New York Apple Association, which issued a statement today about the impending big crop.
Growers said this year’s crop would be 100 percent or more than their typical crop due to near-perfect growing conditions, and recent new plantings now coming into production.
This year’s harvest is expected to begin on time and proceed on schedule, with the first shipments of apples arriving at market mid-August. Fruit size and sugars should be excellent as growers have enjoyed close to perfect growing conditions this year – strong bloom, good pollination and plenty of sunlight, heat and moisture.
New York state apple shippers will have more supplies of popular varieties including HoneyCrisp, Gala, McIntosh and Empire because of new plantings over the past 5 to 6 years that are now figuratively – and literally – bearing fruit.
“We want retailers to know that we have more than rebounded from last year, thanks to much more benevolent weather and smart growers who’ve been planting more of what consumers want,” said NYAA President Jim Allen, who hosted the grower conference call. “Call your shippers today to start planning your New York state apple promotions.”
Allen noted that harvest bins, packing capacity and storage space are sufficient to allow an orderly progression to market.
NYAA’s grower leaders forecasted the 2013 New York apple crop will easily meet the state’s 5-year average production of 29 million bushels, and recent plantings now coming into production may push that to exceed 30 million bushels. This year’s good-news crop comes after early-season freezes last year decimated much of the state’s crop in the bud. The 2012 crop was estimated at 17.1 million bushels.
Growers are happy this year, and they are certain retailer and consumers will be too.
“Our retailers saw what was possible last year even with a small crop, prices were strong,” said Allen. “The New York apple industry can’t wait to see what we can do together with them this year.”
To build buyer demand for the 2013 crop, NYAA has been advertising all year long to retailers. Taglines have included “from blossom to awesome” and “live from New York!”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 August 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Orleans County officials will head to court on Tuesday for the initial court appearance in a new lawsuit filed by the CSEA employees union, which seeks to stop the county’s push to sell The Villages of Orleans, a county-owned nursing home on Route 31.
A previous lawsuit filed by citizens in the county failed to sway Acting State Supreme Court Justice James Punch. And two other lawsuits in other counties filed by the CSEA also failed to convince judges.
Orleans County officials have declined to publicly comment on the latest lawsuit, filed July 10. (Click here to read an earlier article from Orleans Hub on that lawsuit.)
However, I talked with county officials, and they are confident the county’s decision to create a local development corporation, charged with finding a suitable buyer for the nursing home, will be upheld. They point to two cases in other counties.
In Onondaga County, a judge in May rejected the CSEA’s lawsuit trying to block the transfer and eventual sale of Onondaga County’s Van Duyn nursing home. (Click here to see an article from the Syracuse Post Standard about the lawsuit.)
State Supreme Court Judge Donald Greenwood ruled against the union. CSEA argued the county acted illegally when it transferred the nursing home to a county-created development corporation as an interim step toward selling the home.
Onondaga County officials said the nursing home faced multi-million-dollar annual deficits. That’s the argument presented in Orleans County, where county leaders say the nursing home could approach $2 to $4 million annual deficits.
CSEA has filed a notice of appeal in the Onondaga case.
In Saratoga County, a State Supreme Court judge last month dismissed a lawsuit by CSEA trying to prevent the county from selling the publicly owned Maplewood Manor. The union contested the county illegally transferred a county asset to the LDC while the nursing home remained a public use.
Supreme Court Justice Robert Chauvin ruled that CSEA had no grounds to sue over the county’s privatization plan.
“The factual allegations within the petition do not set forth any alleged illegal actions,” Chauvin wrote. “The allegations within the petition fail to establish any basis of standing and fail to present a justiciable controversy or otherwise set forth a basis for relief.
(Click here to see a report from The Ballston Journal.)
Courtesy of Farm Credit – Farm Credit East’s 2013 interns include front row, from left: Samantha Graf, Christian Carrion and Kaitlyn Miller of Albion. Back row: Alyssa Guilianelli, Darren Fuller, Gregory Murray, Casey Wells and Ashley Simmons.
Press release, Farm Credit East
BATAVIA – Farm Credit East continues its successful college intern program for college students in 2013 with eight interns focused on careers in agriculture.
The group includes Kaitlyn Miller of Albion, who is working out of Farm Credit’s Batavia office. She formatted all the policies and executive orders for Farm Credit’s EastNet – the organization’s Internet site. She also updated the Young, Beginner and Small Farmer Report that is submitted annually to Farm Credit Administration.
Miller will be returning to St. John Fisher this fall for her senior year. She is the daughter of Richard and Sharon Miller.
The 12-week internship opportunity is offered to college juniors each summer. Interns are placed throughout Farm Credit East branch offices. During the experience, students earn an inside look into Farm Credit East and the various careers available by shadowing employees of all different roles. Each intern also completes a major project, many of which fulfill business plan initiatives. These projects contribute valuable information to be used in reports and future planning.
“Our internship program serves as an excellent recruiting tool to maintain Farm Credit East’s commitment to the Northeast agriculture industry,” said Bill Lipinski, CEO of Farm Credit East. “Our internship advisors work hard to put together a well-rounded experience so that each intern is exposed to agriculture native to that area.”
Besides Miller, this year’s Farm Credit East team of eight interns included: Christian Carrion, Cornell University; Darren Fuller, Hamilton College; Samantha Graf, University of Connecticut; Alyssa Guilianelli, Delaware Valley College; Gregory Murray, Cornell University; Ashley Simmons, SUNY Cobleskill; and Casey Wells, Western New England University.
Farm Credit East is the largest lender to Northeast agriculture. It implements the internship program for individuals working towards degrees in agribusiness, accounting, finance or similar fields.
For more information on the Farm Credit East internship program, please contact Briana Beebe at Briana.Beebe@FarmCreditEast.com.
