By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Steven Olick will spend a month studying in Italy
Photos by Tom Rivers – Steven Olick sings “Lilacs” by Rachmaninoff during the Albion Rotary Club’s meeting Thursday at The Village Inn. Olick, a 2010 Albion graduate, is training to become an opera singer.
ALBION – An Albion graduate who is working to become an opera singer has strong support from his hometown in pursuing that goal.
Steven Olick IV performed a concert Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church, an event organized by the Albion Alumni Foundation. The concert was a fund-raiser so Olick could spend a month this summer studying opera in Vado, Italy.
Last night Olick was presented with a check for $3,300 to help pay for the study abroad. The funding comes from the concert, the Alumni Foundation and the Albion Rotary Club.
Charlie Nesbitt, a Foundation board member and Rotarian, pushed to raise the money for Olick, calling the experience for the student a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
During the intensive month-long program, Olick will receive 45 hours of language training by teachers from the Italian Scuola, two voice lessons a week, two private coaching sessions, two acting lessons a week and two master classes. The program will culminate with Olick performing four concerts. He will study with college professors from around the U.S. as well as baritone from the Met, David Malis.
Charlie Nesbitt, left, stands next to Steven Olick IV with Albion Alumni Foundation members Gary Simboli and Ed Fancher, right. They presented Olick with a check for $3,300 to study opera in Italy. Olick is going into his senior year at Fredonia State College.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – The latest addition of the downtown Albion public art project, where benches are painted to celebrate local history and themes, debuted late this morning. Artist Peter Loran of Kent painted the bench with images of Abraham Lincoln and Grace Bedell, an Albion native who wrote Lincoln a letter, urging him to grow a beard. He took her advice. The bench is on East Bank Street, near the Main Street intersection.
ALBION – A bench near the Main Street and East Bank Street intersection in Albion now celebrates a story from Albion’s heritage, including a connection to Abraham Lincoln and a letter that “changed the face of the presidency.”
Grace Bedell spent most of her childhood in Albion. But when she was 11, she lived in Westfield in Chautauqua County. Abraham Lincoln was running for president at the time.
Bedell’s father Norman attended a country fair in the fall of 1860 and brought home a campaign poster featuring Abraham Lincoln and his vice presidential running mate Hannibal Hamlin.
Grace, 11, didn’t see how Lincoln could win, not with that face. He was too homely looking. But Bedell, who lived in a pro-abolitionist home, had an idea that would make Lincoln more appealing to the masses: Grow a beard.
The community of Westfield in Chautauqua County erected these statues of Grace Bedell and Abraham Lincoln in 1999, commemorating Lincoln’s meeting with Bedell when a train stopped in the village in early 1861 on his way to Washington to serve as U.S. president. The statues are the centerpieces of a park at corner of Main and Portage streets. Bedell briefly lived in Westfield, and mailed her letter to Lincoln from that community.
This historical marker, which is badly in need of painting, stands next to 350 West State St., the neighborhood were Bedell lived in Albion.
On Oct. 15, 1860, she mailed a letter to Lincoln.
“I have got 4 brothers and part of them will vote for you any way and if you let your whiskers grow I will try and get the rest of them to vote for you. You would look a great deal better for your face is so thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President,” Grace wrote.
Lincoln took Bedell’s advice and was elected. He also wrote back to Grace on Oct. 19, 1860.
“I regret the necessity of saying I have no daughters – I have three sons – one seventeen, one nine, and one seven years of age – They, with their mother, constitute my whole family –
“As to the whiskers, having never worn any, do you not think people would call it a piece of silly affection if I were to begin it now?” Lincoln wrote to Grace.
The Bedell family had lived in Albion for 40 years before they moved to Westfield in 1859. They stayed two years before returning to Albion. After she married in 1870, Bedell left Albion to live in Kansas.
Grace has become a beloved American story. She is typically associated with Westfield because that’s where she mailed her letter and where Lincoln met her on Feb. 16, 1861. Lincoln was on a train ride from Springfield, Ill. to the nation’s capitol when the train stopped in Westfield. Lincoln chatted with Grace and showed off his new beard.
In 1999, the Westfield community dedicated two statues at the intersection of Main and Portage streets. The statues recreate the scene when Lincoln met Bedell on the train stop. It has turned what had been a drab piece of property into an attraction, a big visual improvement and source of community pride.
Peter Loran painted the Lincoln bench. The bench was paid for as part of a Main Street grant awarded to Albion for street-scape improvements. The Albion Rotary Club paid Loran for his art work on the bench.
Grace is more an Albion girl than a Westfield one. Her father Norman was a partner in a stove-making company next to the canal in Albion.
Norman Bedell was a staunch abolitionist. Historians say the family attended the Albion Methodist Episcopal Church, which split into two churches in 1859 because of the turmoil over slavery. (The Albion Free Methodist Church emerged from this split. It is the first Free Methodist Church in the world.)
Bedell wanted out of the disharmony and moved to Westfield, working in a stove-making business. Railroads were spreading in the mid-1850s and started to compete with the canal for shipping goods. Westfield had a new railroad.
Mr. Bedell worked there for two years and then moved back to Albion. Grace finished school in Albion, married George Billings and then settled in Kansas. Grace lived to be 87. The couple had one son.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Intergrow Greenhouses has the Orleans County Planning Board’s approval for an expansion on the western side of its property, a 7.3-acre addition to its greenhouses.
ALBION – A company planning a major expansion to its greenhouses has the Orleans County Planning Board’s support for the project.
Intergrow Greenhouses is planning a 7.3-acre expansion that would be 632 feet by 504 feet. The new building would be on the western side of its property that already includes 48 acres of greenhouses.
County planners on Thursday recommended the Town of Gaines approve a special use permit and the site plan for the project in a residential/agriculture district. The property is located at 2428 Oak Orchard Rd.
Dirk Biemans, co-owner of Intergrow, presented the project to the County Planning Board on Thursday. Biemans said Intergrow, which first built a greenhouse in Gaines in 2003, is seeing increased demand for its hydroponic tomatoes.
He would like to break ground on the addition this summer and have the new greenhouse ready for its first planting in November.
The greenhouse addition will be 318,214 square feet. The project also includes an 11,546 square foot addition for storage and a 3,947 square foot addition for a generator room.
Intergrow employs 100 people in Gaines and expects to hire 10 to 15 more with the expansion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – An Albion woman was sentenced to eight months in Orleans County Jail after she failed to complete Drug Court.
Krystle L. Hughson, 30, of Albion in February pleaded guilty to petit larceny after she allegedly entered a motor home on Beachwood Boulevard in Albion on Dec. 20. Once inside, she is accused of stealing prescription pills.
If Hughson successfully completed Drug Court, the petit larceny charge would have been dismissed. However, she violated Drug Court terms and was sentenced to jail on Monday.
Orleans County Court Judge James Punch also sentenced a Rochester man to two years in state prison.
Juan Gonzalez, 36, of North Union Street was stopped with cocaine and a switch-blade knife in Clarendon in August. He pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth, which carries a maximum sentence of 2 ½ years. He also pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, which carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison.
Punch gave Gonzalez 2 years in state prison. Gonzalez was diagnosed with cancer before he committed the crime and was struggling with “many medical problems,” his attorney Michael O’Keefe told the court.
Gonzalez had the weapon for his family in case he became incapacitated, O’Keefe said.
Gonzalez apologized and asked to be sentenced to Drug Court so he could tend to his health.
“I can’t just let you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and walk away,” Punch said.
In other cases:
A Niagara County woman was arraigned for driving while intoxicated (felony due to previous conviction) and aggravated driving while intoxicated.
Julie R. Wisniewski, 37, of Lewiston was stopped on Point Breeze Road in Carlton on April 12 and registered a .21 Blood Alcohol Content, District Attorney Joe Cardone said. Punch set bail at $2,500 for Wisniewski.
A 73-year-old Medina man pleaded guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree and could face up to 2 ½ years in state prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 29.
Angel Gonzalez of Ricky Place was charged last July with one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree, a felony; two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree; and one count of criminal diversion of a prescription medication and prescription in the fourth degree.
Gonzalez said he sold hydrocodone, his prescribed medication for pain relief, to make money.
A Medina man pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sale of marijuana, which carries a maximum of 1 ½ years in prison.
Michael Nellist, 35, East Center Street in Medina faced four counts of criminal sale of marijuana. The sales allegedly took place in Ridgeway on May 20, July 3, October 23 and October 30. He will be sentenced on Sept. 29.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Albion graduates told to follow ‘moral compass’
Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion graduate Sierra Morgan is congratulated and handed her diploma by Margy Brown, president of the Board of Education.
Chris Rivers holds up his diploma in the high school gym, where 2,000 people attended the district’s 136th annual commencement.
The Caledonia Pipe Band continued an Albion Commencement tradition, leading the graduates into the gymnasium.
ALBION – Students celebrated the culmination of their high school careers on Friday, with class speakers thankful for a nurturing environment at Albion Central School.
The 166 graduates in Albion’s Class of 2014 have left a record of accomplishment in the classroom, on the athletic fields and in the performing arts, the group was told during Commencement on Friday night.
The graduates were urged to keep pushing for excellence, with a focus on serving others and working towards the greater good.
“Just as we need others, others need us,” said Valedictorian Martha Smith.
Martha Smith addresses her classmates.
She said social media and texting feed a “hyper-awareness of oneself in today’s image-based society.” She urged her classmates to turn off their phones and televisions and spend some of that time volunteering or talking with a neighbor.
“If there is one challenge which I would like to present this evening, it is this: To pause the selfies long enough to appreciate the beauty in others before oneself,” Smith said from the commencement stage. “To halt the personal status update and instead inquire after the welfare of a friend.”
Smith will study English at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester. Class Salutatorian Jonathan Trembley will be an engineering major at the University of Buffalo.
Trembley urged his classmates to be “mentally self-inspective consumers” because what the world tells them is often wrong. It was once widely accepted that sailors could fall off the edge of the earth if they went too far, he noted.
Jonathan Trembley urges the class to delve for the truth.
“The world isn’t going to tell the truth all the time,” Trembley said. “To battle this you should read, read, and maybe after that you should read some more. Cross-reference, delve deeply, and find the truth.”
Class President Lydia Erakare urged the class to “Live with Purpose.” That was the class motto.
“Do something wonderful, make a difference, and carry that phrase ‘live with purpose’ proudly for the rest of your life,” said Erakare, who will be an early childhood education major at SUNY New Paltz. “Keep it in your heart and let it motivate you each and every day.”
Lydia Erakare served as class president.
She shared the lyrics from the High School Musical song, “We’re all in this Together,” and told the group the graduates will always be a part of the Class of 2014.
“Even though we will no longer be in the same building or even the same town, we are still all in this together,” Erakare said. “Remember your friendships and memories and know that if you ever need someone you can count on your classmates at anytime.”
Erakare remembered three classmates who sadly died but still have a lasting impact on the class: Nicholas Kovaleski, Amanda Katsanis and Demitri Alexanderis.
Graduate Christian Trevino is happy to accept his diploma.
Board of Education President Margy Brown praised the class for working so hard. She reminded them of their school beginnings at the elementary school where eight giant crayons line the entrance. The crayons are labeled with the following words: perseverance, optimism, honesty, respect, compassion, integrity, responsibility and loyalty.
“You’ve been given the tools to go out into the world and make a difference,” Brown said.
District Superintendent Michael Bonnewell also addressed the class, and told them commencement marks a beginning for their lives as the start college, enter the military or join the workforce.
The students will need a compass as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. A compass is used to find direction or to stay on a planned path, Bonnewell said.
Seniors who are in the high school chorus sing “For Good.”
“Like a boat pushed about by a strong wind, unforeseen events and people will, at times in your life, push you off your course – redirect you from your planned course,” Bonnewell said. “Sometimes you will lose your direction briefly, other times you may find yourself lost, far off your planned course.”
Driesel
These are the times graduates will need their compass to get their bearings, he said. Sometimes a change in course is needed when new opportunities arise and the compass needs to be reset.
But one compass should stay constant – the moral compass, what people do when no one is watching and no one else is there to offer encouragement.
“You have a moral compass, you know right from wrong,” Bonnewell said. “Hold tight to that compass – and let it direct you and your behaviors and decisions.”
The small-school atmosphere with opportunities inside and outside the classroom was cited by students interviewed by Orleans Hub.
Dumont
Brad Driesel plans to enroll at Monroe Community College to study fire protection. He wants to be a professional firefighter. He volunteers with the Barre Fire Company and did an internship with the Medina Fire Department. That internship, coordinated by the school, affirmed he wanted to pursue firefighting as a career.
“When I was standing at a crossroads, it provided a road map,” Driesel said.
He is eager to start college, and he said he will stay connected with many of his classmates.
“I made quite a few friends who will stick with me the rest of my life,” Driesel said.
Samantha Dumont enjoyed the school’s musical programs, and the close friendships in the school. She will go to GCC to study human services.
Grimble
“You know everyone and everyone is so close,” she said about Albion. “But I’m happy it’s over and excited for the new chapter of my life.”
Jordan Grimble was active in the school musicals, working on the stage crew. She designed and made the 10-foot-high chairs in The Wiz for The Wizard and The Witch. She praised musical director Gary Simboli for pushing students to excel in the musicals. She is majoring in technical theater arts at Niagara University.
“I now get to go to college and do what I really want to do,” Grimble said. “I’m thankful for Albion because we have such a diverse program from the arts to the sports. We’re a diverse community and you can find anything here.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Cameron Morgan earns a full ride to UR
Photos by Tom Rivers – Cameron Morgan was born without a left arm. He didn’t let that prevent him from playing percussion in the marching band and serving as the group’s drum major this year.
MEDINA – About a year ago the announcement was made at the Medina Marching Band’s annual banquet: Cameron Morgan would serve as drum major in 2013-14.
Morgan was a percussionist in the band, playing the marimba. He pulled that off despite only having one arm. And now he would be drum major, setting the pace for the band in parades and competitions.
Morgan, 17, didn’t miss a beat in the role. He was named best drum major of all the schools at the Gorham Pageant of Bands.
Jeff Evoy, the Medina Central School superintendent, recalled Morgan’s speech to the band about a year ago, after he was named drum major. Evoy said it was one of the best addresses he has ever heard, a call to take pride in the marching band, the school and the community.
“It was all about having high expectations for success,” Evoy recalled.
The Medina Marching Band had won the previous four state championships. But Morgan said the group of 130 musicians could do better. The band extended its streak to five straight state championships this school year.
“The band program is truly an incredible thing,” Morgan said during an interview this week. “Every band member is invaluable. There is no bench in the band program. There is no one waiting to replace you. You are a crucial part of something much bigger.”
Cameron Morgan leads the band last September during a rainstorm at Vets Park.
Morgan will graduate tonight ranked fifth in his class. He has a full ride at the University of Rochester where he will be a renaissance and global scholar. He wants to try out for the Eastman School of Music to play marimba. He developed a technique where he can hold three mallets at once in his right hand.
“The U of R provides a wealth of opportunities outside the classroom as well as inside,” he said.
Morgan plans to be involved in the Model United Nations, the Debate Team and student government. He said he may pursue a career as a lawyer, in public policy or another role in the government.
He was born on the Fourth of July in 1996, missing his left arm. Morgan doesn’t bemoan that fate.
“It’s forced me to work harder,” he said. “I don’t consider it a disability. It’s all I have ever known.”
“I’ve learned that people are different and there’s nothing strange or awkward about that.” – Cameron Morgan
He gets some stares at the band competitions, and he knows some people are curious. He tried youth sports, but never liked it much and not because he was missing an arm.
“I’m a little too laid back,” he said. “When I played soccer, I wasn’t too aggressive.”
He felt at home with the marching band, joining as a seventh grader. It can be overwhelming that first year, meeting the demands of the program, learning the music and marching formations.
Photo by Sue Cook – Cameron Morgan, right, plays the Baker in a combined Lyndonville-Medina musical production of “Into the Woods.” He was joined on stage in March by the Witch (Heather Mufford) and the Baker’s wife (Rebekah Hoffee).
“The band program sets a high bar for excellence,” Morgan said. “The band program shows kids that their potential is limitless if they set their minds to it. It’s very demanding but it’s invaluable and absolutely worth the effort and stress. Through my experiences with band and music, it made me realize I have as much potential as anyone else.”
Morgan’s birth defect likely made him more sensitive to others, he said. If he sees someone in a wheelchair, he looks them in the eyes and doesn’t fixate on the chair.
“I’ve learned that people are different and there’s nothing strange or awkward about that,” he said.
Evoy said Morgan has been a role model in the school.
“Cameron is a true leader,” the school superintendent said. “He’s a caring young man. I’m extremely proud of him and we expect great things from him.”
Morgan said he would like to reach out to children and others with disabilities to show them they can still achieve – with lots of hard work.
“Much more than the circumstances is your perception of the circumstances,” Morgan said. “I feel I’ve been very fortunate.”
Click above to see a video of Cameron Morgan playing the marimba.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2014 at 12:00 am
BROCKPORT – U.S. Rep. Chris Collins and State Sen. George Maziarz don’t want to see a former Walmart on Route 19 in Brockport used to house migrant children who entered the country illegally.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources is considering the former Walmart as temporary housing for the children. Collins said Health and Human Resources also is considering a former convent in Clifton Park for some of the children.
“It is unacceptable the federal government is trying to force the hardworking taxpayers of New York to foot the bill to house undocumented immigrants,” Collins said on his Facebook page. “The President’s actions have fueled the current crises along the southern border, and now New York residents are being directly impacted by his irresponsible actions.”
Collins said President Obama should enforce existing immigration laws to prevent the flood of illegal immigrants across the broder.
“Instead, the President has decided to pick and choose which laws he wants to enforce creating an environment where wrongdoing goes unpunished,” Collins said.
State Sen. George Maziarz says the vast majority of the children entering the country illegally are from Central America, more than 2,000 miles away from Brockport. The children should be housed, temporarily, much closer to the southern border, not in upstate New York, Maziarz said.
“We do need to find a place to house these illegal immigrant children where they can live temporarily before they are sent back to their home countries and their families,” Maziarz said. “They are in our custody now, but without housing and without supervision, they may very well be homeless and end up trying to stay in the United States permanently. That’s not acceptable – our goal should be to return them to their country of origin.”
The U.S. border has been overwhelmed with minors coming from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico, children fleeing gang violence and poverty.
“The federal government must do a better job of addressing this immigration crisis,” Maziarz said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Rotary Club honored two people last night as Paul Harris Fellows, the highest award given out by Rotary.
Cindy Perry and Gary Simboli were both recognized and the club will give $1,000 in each of their names to the Rotary Foundation to fight polio and do other humanitarian projects in the world.
Perry is the director of health education, wellness and outreach for Orleans Community Health. She served as the Rotary Club president the past year. Last night was her final meeting as president. Bill Diehl will take the reins from July 1 to June 30, 2015.
Simboli was recognized for his success as a teacher in Albion and his efforts to bring the music program out into the community. Simboli directs the high school musicals and plays, and is a vocal instructor.
He started as a special education teacher and developed the music program at Camp Rainbow for The Arc of Orleans County.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Dale Banker, front, marches with the Albion Fire Department in the June 14 Albion Strawberry Festival Parade. Matt Francis is in the line behind Banker.
ALBION – Orleans County will have a new emergency management coordinator next month, and the new leader is a familiar face to local firefighters.
Dale Banker, a past Albion fire chief, has been an active volunteer firefighter for more than three decades. He also served on the Albion Village Board and currently works with the state Department of Transportation.
“He has outstanding credentials and almost a lifetime of experience,” said David Callard, chairman of the Orleans County Legislature.
He made the appointment today. Banker will succeed Paul Wagner, who is retiring July 18 after 14 years as director of the Emergency Management Office.
Wagner has been busy trying to see through an overhaul of the county’s emergency radio system. That system was activated last month.
“The radios have dominated but now it’s time to push the fire service ahead,” Callard said. “Dale really was quite visionary in his thoughts, which is what we need going forward.”
Rocky Sidari, the current Albion fire chief, and Dave Knapp, a past Holley fire chief and current county fire investigator, both pursued the EMO position.
Callard likes Banker’s long-term experience working with the public and political leaders.
“The other candidates were also experienced and very likable,” Callard said. “But Dale has the most outstanding credentials.”
The job was Callard’s to fill. He made the appointment, and noted Banker had the support of the Fire Advisory Board.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 June 2014 at 12:00 am
BROCKPORT – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley calls it “deeply troubling” that a former Walmart in Brockport may be used to house undocumented children who entered the country illegally.
Media outlets reported on Wednesday the former store on Route 19 could be used to house children. The U.S. border has been overwhelmed with minors coming from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico, children fleeing gang violence and poverty. (Click here for more information.)
The Health and Human Services Department is considering the former Walmart store for housing. The Health and Human Services Department operates hundreds of these housing facilities throughout the country. The children stay until picked up by a sponsor or family member.
“The recent news that the federal government is looking at the old Walmart building in Brockport to house illegal immigrants is deeply concerning to me,” Hawley said in a statement. “Our community is ill-equipped to handle such an undertaking and the undue stress it would place upon our local economy cannot be understated. It is imperative that we help these undocumented immigrant children temporarily, but upstate New York taxpayers can’t afford to be paying for their housing, healthcare and education long term.”
Hawley’s 139th Assembly District includes Brockport.
“Placing this facility in Brockport would inherently change the landscape of our town and I hope the federal government recognizes that when weighing their options,” he said.
