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Designs sought for public art project in downtown Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Christine Versteeg submitted this design of a tugboat for a bench-painting art project in Albion.

ALBION – The street furniture in Albion will soon offer more than a place to sit down.

Twelve new benches will tell stories about Albion’s past, and highlight some of the community’s assets. The Albion Main Street Alliance is organizing a public art project where the benches will be painted with heritage themes.

This may include paintings about the community’s ties to the canal, sandstone quarries and agriculture.

Prominent Albionites, such as Santa Claus School founder Charles Howard, also may be depicted on a bench.

I’m helping to round up submissions from artists. There was a public meeting about this project back in May, and I’ve been connecting with artists since then.

There is still time for artists to submit proposals for this project. The deadline to submit a design is 4 p.m. July 16. Those designs could be dropped off at The Lake Country Pennysaver, 170 North Main St., Albion. Or they could be emailed to me at tom@orleanshub.com.

The rendering must be in color because local and state historic preservation officials want to see the colors.

The 6-foot-long benches will have wooden slats that are very close together. The paintings will be like mini-murals promoting the community. The benches will be outside on the sidewalks from April until late fall. Then will then spend the winter inside local businesses.

Some possible subjects for the benches include: the top of the Briggs building, Mount Albion arch and tower, apples, cobblestones, Chinook salmon, Courthouse Square, tugboats and other canal icons.

Besides Charles Howard, benches could feature Grace Bedell (the Albion girl who wrote to Lincoln, advising him to grow a beard), George Pullman (a furniture maker in Albion before his sleeping railroad car fortune) and a “Governor’s Bench,” featuring Albionite Rufus Bullock who became governor of Georgia, Medina native George Anthony who went on to be Kansas governor, and Sanford Church of Albion, who served as NY’s lieutenant governor.

Artists are welcome to submit their own ideas for a themed bench.

Artists will be paid $400 for their work. This project is part of $50,000 in street-scape improvements that are being paid for with a NY Main Street grant.

For more information, contact me at tom@orleanshub.com.

Coming soon to downtown Albion: $50K in street-scape improvements

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 July 2013 at 12:00 am

These bike racks, which will be painted blue, highlight Albion’s canal heritage. Design by DERO Bike Rack Company.

ALBION – This fall a series of street-scape improvements will be added to downtown Albion, with new tugboat-themed bike racks, potted trees and planters, benches painted as murals, a historical marker and interpretive panel about the downtown historic district.

The street signs in the historic district will be swapped out with signs that are blue and white and say “Historic Albion” on the top. The Main Street clock will have a sandstone base and one sandstone bench will be added to a downtown sidewalk. That bench is planned to stay out year-round.

The Albion Town Board on Monday backed the list of projects and agreed to front the money for the $50,000 in improvements. The state is paying for the projects as part of a $477,000 Main Street grant awarded to the community in December 2011.

The bulk of the grant is matching funds for building projects. The state also approved the $50,000 for Albion’s street-scape, money that doesn’t require a local match. However, the town will pay for the projects and then be reimbursed by the state.

Katelin Olson, the Albion Main Street Alliance interim executive director, wrote the grant and has been administering the funding. The list of projects, with their final designs, needs to be submitted to state officials by the end of next week. It will likely take four to six weeks for state review. Then the community can begin installing some of the improvements, likely between September and November.

I’ve been the chairman of the street-scape subcommittee, which formed about 18 months ago. We’ve been trying to build on our canal and sandstone heritage with these new additions, while also adding trees and flowers to the downtown landscape.

OONA kicks off concert series

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Bands will play on Tuesdays during the summer

Photos by Tom Rivers

POINT BREEZE – The band Blind Leading the Blind performs at the Orleans County Marine Park tonight during the start of the “Summer Concert Series in the Park.”

Bands will perform from 6 to 8:30 p.m. every Tuesday until Aug. 20. The Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association planned the concerts in partnership with Orleans County Tourism and the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council. Admission is $2 per person or $5 for a family.

The Clarendon Lions Club will be at the park for each concert serving hamburgers and sausage. Club members working the grill tonight include Kevin Johnson, left, and Don Knapp.

The park is located on Route 98, near the Lake Ontario State Parkway.

To see a schedule of concerts, click here.

Wave of cyclists reach Albion and head east to Pittsford

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

The group includes Nancy Rezabek of Columbia, Missouri, who is travelling with Elmo. Rezabek is riding the canal for the first time after doing group treks in Iowa and Missouri.

ALBION – Today is Day 2 of an eight-day journey across the Erie Canal for 525 cyclists from 34 states and five countries.

The group left Medina this early this morning and many of the cyclists were in Albion by 8. “Cycling the Erie Canal” is in its 15th year and includes a record-high 525 cyclists for the 400-mile trip this year. The event is organized by NY Parks and Trails.

The group will ride to Pittsford today with Holley an official rest stop on the journey.

Volunteers from Albion Main Street Alliance, including Judith Koehler, right, offered snacks and beverages for the cyclists this morning.

Photo by Tom Rivers

Nun is sentenced to 90 days in jail, ordered to pay back $128k

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 July 2013 at 12:00 am

ALBION – A Catholic nun was sentenced to 90 days in Orleans County Jail today and ordered to pay restitution for $128,000 she allegedly stole to feed a gambling habit.

Sister Mary Anne Rapp pled guilty in April to stealing the money from Catholic churches in Holley and Kendall over about five years from March 2006 to April 2011.

Orleans County Court Judge James Punch sentenced Rapp to jail, five years probation, 100 hours of community service and full restitution.

The Order of Franciscan Nuns agreed to pay $10,000 annually over five years towards Rapp’s restitution.

The nun faced up to six months in jail as part of a plea to grand larceny.

District Attorney Joe Cardone supported jail time for Rapp, calling her thefts from the churches “an extensive crime.”

“It wasn’t one single act,” Cardone said. “It was week after week that she stole from the church plate and lied to people.”

Rapp was arrested in November after an investigation by the Sheriff’s Department. Parish leaders asked the Sheriff’s Department to investigate after an internal audit found discrepancies.

Rapp was placed on leave from her order in 2011 and received treatment for her gambling addiction.

She originally was charged with second-degree grand larceny, a class C felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Wambach picked as apple ambassador

Posted 8 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Abby Wambach

Press release, NY Apple Association

FISHERS – Proof that the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree: U.S. soccer star and Rochester native Abby Wambach has signed on as celebrity ambassador for New York state apples.

Wambach has deep New York roots. She grew up in Rochester, where her family owns a farm market and garden center, Wambach Farms.

Wambach will appear in television, radio, print and online advertisements promoting New York state apples and apple products for the New York Apple Association. She will also be featured on point-of-sale signs for grocery, farm and green markets, on NYAA’s website and in social media.

“Growing up around a family-owned farm and garden store, Wambach Farms, fresh produce was a huge part of my childhood. Whether it was selling homegrown New York apples, or eating them, I learned how important it is to sustain a healthy diet – and as they say, ‘an apple a day, keeps the doctor away’,” said Wambach. “Being a New York native, I am excited to join the New York Apple Association to create more awareness that the best apples in the world come from New York orchards.”

Apples are a $30 million annual business in New York. Orleans County is the state’s second-leading apple producer, following Wayne County.

Known for her trademark header goals, Wambach may well be the most decorated U.S. woman soccer player in history. She earned her latest accolade on June 21 when she scored her 160th goal to become the world’s all-time top women’s scorer, surpassing former teammate Mia Hamm’s previous record.

“New York soccer moms and players love Abby, and with her local roots and healthy, active lifestyle she is a fantastic apple ambassador for us,” said NYAA President Jim Allen. “New York state apples, Abby and soccer, that’s just using our heads.”

Wambach is certainly well known in her home state. While attending Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester, she captained the elite regional Rochester Spirit club team. In college, the three-time all American helped her University of Florida Gators earn an NCAA national championship and four conference championships.

To date, her pro career highlights include Rookie of the year in 2002, two Olympic gold medals (she scored the header goal that clinched U.S. gold in 2004), five-time U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, three FIFA Women’s World Cup competitions and FIFA World Player of the Year in 2012. She has played on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team since 2003.

She played for the Washington (D.C.) Freedom/Boca Raton magicJack from 2002-2011. She recently returned home to New York state to play forward for the Western New York Flash.

“Abby for Apples” will unveil this fall, to promote the 2013 New York apple crop.

Medina picks consultant, names committee for dissolution plan

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 July 2013 at 12:00 am

‘We have an obligation to proceed. This is what we were elected to do.’ Medina Mayor Andrew Meier

MEDINA The Village Board hired a consultant and formed a committee to develop a plan for the orderly dissolution of the village, an end result that ultimately will need voter approval to become a reality.

The village was awarded a $50,000 state grant in February to develop a plan to dissolve the village and fold those government services and assets into the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway.

The board tonight voted to hire the Center for Governmental Research based in Rochester to help develop the plan. CGR will be paid $55,555. The organization assisted Medina and towns of Ridgeway and Shelby with a consolidation study about two years ago. That project showed the costs of providing services could be reduced by $200,000 to $400,000 with consolidation of services, plus the state would likely give the communities $600,000 annually as incentive aid for reducing layers of government.

“We’re beyond the study phase,” said Andrew Meier, the village mayor. “I’m hopeful we can come up with a plan that will reduce the taxes and preserve the services. That will be the question.”

The board hired CGR and also formed a citizen committee to help with the plan. Don Colquhoun, the retired executive director of The Arc of Orleans County, will lead the committee. Colquhoun participated in the consolidation study.

“He has extremely good organizational skills and he is respected by the two towns,” Meier said. “He is a godsend.”

Other committee members include Cindy Robinson, a Main Street business owner and president of the Medina Business Association and the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce; Charlie Slack of Slack Insurance; Thurston Dale, a retired veterinarian; Meier; and Village Trustee Mark Irwin.

The committee and CGR could have a plan in place in six to nine months. The Village Board could then accept the plan and schedule a referendum for village residents. Town residents outside the village don’t have a say at the polls on the village’s fate.

Meier believes reducing the village’s layer of government will cut taxes for village residents. Medina has the highest combined tax rate – village, town, school and county – in the Finger Lakes region. That rate is about $54 per $1,000 of assessed property, with the village accounting for about $16 of that tax rate. Residents outside the village don’t pay a village tax.

“We have a problem in the village and the county with very high tax rates,” Meier said.

He wants to reduce the taxes for village residents to make the community more attractive for residents and businesses for years to come.

“We’re going to get at solutions, not just Band-Aids,” he said about the tax problem. “We have an obligation to proceed. This is what we were elected to do.”

The committee and CGR could look at establishing districts for police and fire protection. Those districts could extend beyond the current village boundaries so there is a bigger tax base to support those services. Meier noted many of the properties on Maple Ridge Road enjoy village services and access to the village population base of about 6,000 people without currently paying village taxes.

“It makes intuitive sense,” Meier said about lower taxes with less government layers. “Let’s flesh out the data and see where it takes us.”

First historic marker went up 100 years ago for girl’s school

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Orleans County is sprinkled with numerous cast-iron and bronze markers, giving a glimpse into local historical events, notable residents and buildings.

Yesterday, the county dedicated its newest marker in memory of William McAllister and his wife, who were Albion’s first settlers in 1811. They built a log cabin on the site where the County Clerk’s Building now stands next to the courthouse.

The Clerk’s Building is also home to first the historical marker that was put up in Orleans County. The marker was dedicated 100 years ago, in May 1913. The alumni of the Phipps Union Seminary, a school for girls, had the marker put on a sandstone wall next to the front steps of the building.

Phipps Union Seminary was established in 1833 and operated until about 1870. The school was torn down to make way for the Clerk’s Building, which was constructed in 1882-1883.

It’s official: Hillside Cemetery lands on National Register

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Cemetery in Clarendon is third in Orleans to make list

Photos by Tom Rivers – The cemetery includes a sandstone chapel that is considered an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture.

HOLLEY – The National Park Service has put Hillside Cemetery on the National Register of Historic Places, calling the burial grounds a distinctive example of cemetery design in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The cemetery, now owned and managed by the town of Clarendon, was established in 1866 and contains 3,500 graves. The older section on the eastern side is characterized by its park-like appearance and terraced landscaping that was carved in the side of a hill.

The NPS officially added Hillside to the national list on June 25. In its report, the NPS says the cemetery monuments display symbolism common to the mid- and late-nineteenth century that emphasized the emotional and sentimental Victorian attitude toward death and commemoration.

This section of the cemetery includes a monument in memory of two Holley men who died on The Titanic in April 1912. William Doughton and Peter MCKain were quarrymen from Britain who settled in Holley. They spent the previous winter visiting relatives back home before the doomed voyage on The Titanic.

Hillside Cemetery includes a marker in memory of William Doughton and Peter McKain, two Holley quarrymen from Britain. They went home during the winter of 1912 and perished on The Titanic in April 1912.

The western portion of the cemetery, on the opposite side of South Holley Road, embodies the characteristics of the later lawn-park cemetery style, which was more open and park-like than the picturesque rural cemetery, reflecting a movement toward a more efficient use of space and improved management, according to NPS.

A centerpiece of the cemetery is a chapel in the Gothic Revival architecture style. The chapel, built in 1894, includes locally quarried Medina sandstone.

“From the chapel, both sections of the cemetery are visible, providing a sense of how attitudes toward death and burial were influenced by national trends for the people in Holley and Clarendon,” according to the statement of significance in the application to NPS.

The cemetery was named to state list of historic sites in March. The state and federal listings not only carry prestige, but could help the town secure grants to help pay for roof and window repairs at the chapel.

Two other cemeteries in Orleans County are on the National Register: Mount Albion Cemetery in Albion and Millville Cemetery in Shelby.

Albion basks in fireworks

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – A couple snuggles on a slide at Bullard Park while the fireworks go off.

Tonawanda Indian Baptist Church served up free popcorn, cotton candy, tacos and beverages before the fireworks.

Mike Dean, in white shirt, was part of the praise band that performed at Bullard Park tonight. Dean leads the praise band at Tonawanda Indian Baptist Church in Basom, which is working to plant a church in Albion.

ALBION – The community got a second helping of fireworks tonight in Albion, two days after July 4.

The Tonawanda Indian Baptist Church in Basom treated the Albion community to a half-hour fireworks show, which was preceded by food, games and live music.

Tonawanda Indian is working to start a church in Albion. The Basom congregation hasn’t found a site for the church in Albion. It will be back in Albion this summer for backyard barbecues and Vacation Bible Schools.

A girl climbed to top of the playground in the Pee Wee Park section of Bullard Park to watch the fireworks.

Matt Dean is lead singer for the praise band at High Point Community Church in Corfu. He joined the band tonight at Bullard Park. Dave Jonathan of Elba is playing the guitar.

Preserving an Orleans County connection to the Civil War

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Courtesy of Tom Taber/Library of Congress

LEADERS OF THE BATTERY: Tom Taber restored and colorized this photograph from May 3, 1863 of the leaders of the 17th New York Light Artillery. The photograph was taken at Camp Barry, Washington, D.C. The group includes, from left: an unidentified Camp Barry officer who wasn’t in the 17th NY; 1st Lieut. Irving Meade Thompson of Albion; 2nd Lieut. Edwin Joel Barber of Lyndonville; Capt. George Tobey Anthony of Medina; 1st Lieut. Hiram Edwards Sickels of Albion; and 2nd Lieut. Hiram D. Smith of Medina.

ALBION – As nation reflects on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and continues to celebrate the July Fourth holiday, I thought it was a good time to highlight the efforts of Tom Taber, an Albion man who worked dutifully for 15 years to track down stories about Orleans County men who fought in the war.

Taber’s book, The “Orleans Battery” – A History of the 17th New York Light Artillery in the War of Rebellion, details the service of 240 men from Orleans County who served in the war. The book came out last year and is available in local bookstores.

The Orleans Battery includes biographical sketches on nearly every soldier in the 17th. Taber also found 60 photographs of the soldiers that he included in the 320-page book.

He found a black-and-white image of the officers in the 17th through the Library of Congress. Taber restored the image, filling in cracks in the old negative. He used Photoshop to meticulously restore the image.

“There are problems all over with these old negatives,” Taber said. “There is stuff stuck on them and cracks.”

He uses the Photoshop computer program to fill in the cracks and recreate a scene. It takes numerous hours of research and painstaking detail.

Although the book came out a year ago, Taber has kept working to highlight the service of the local group of soldiers. After initially restoring the image of the officers in black-and-white, Taber has added color to the historic photograph taken at Camp Barry, Washington, D.C.

“My goal is to make it look like you’re sitting next to the photographer when he took the picture 150 years ago,” Taber said.

He added skin tones, dark blue coats and hats, lighter-colored pants and numerous other details.

“I want people to look like they did,” he said.

Taber, who retired in 2005 as a training coordinator at the county’s Job Development Agency, feels like he has adopted the soldiers from the 17th. Many returned from the war and led distinguished lives.

The leader of the local group of soldiers, Capt. George Anthony of Medina, would later move to Kansas and become governor of that state.

While hunting down images of soldiers from the 17th, Taber came across a scene from Appomattox Court House. A group of people includes soldiers and civilians by the famed red building where the Confederate Army surrendered.

Taber has been working on the restoration and “colorization” of the photograph. He studies the contrast from the sun and works to shade in intensity of color in trees and on the ground.

The Library for Congress image that doesn’t give the precise date of when it was taken. Taber said it could be the day of the surrender on April 9, 1865 or it may be a few days before or after.

The surrender at Appomattox ended a war with 620,000 deaths, including about 500 soldiers from Orleans County.

Tom Taber has restored and added color to this photo in April 1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

Albion grad wins $6,000 scholarship

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Provided photo – Ashleigh Cheverie is pictured with her parents Jan and Al after the Penn State-bound student was awarded a $6,000 scholarship from the Batavia Rotary Club last month.

ALBION – The Batavia Rotary Club recently awarded a $6,000 scholarship to an Albion girl who is headed to Penn State University to major in mechanical engineering.

Ashleigh Cheverie graduated from Notre Dame High School in Batavia last month. She was salutatorian of the Class of 2013.

The Rotary scholarship will provide $1,500 for each year she is at Penn State.

Albion pioneers get due with marker

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard unveils a marker in honor of Albion’s pioneer residents.

ALBION – Long before there was a lush lawn and some of Orleans County’s most treasured buildings, the Courthouse Square was wilderness.

In 1811, William McAllister and his wife arrived in Albion and began the daunting task of settling the area. Mr. McAllister chopped down trees and cleared a spot for a log cabin where the County Clerks’ Building stands today.

His wife likely made his clothes, prepared the meals, and even concocted medicine for her husband. That was the role of the pioneer wives from two centuries ago, said Dee Robinson, town of Gaines historian.

“It was her job to keep him healthy to carry on the settlement,” Robinson said this afternoon during a dedication ceremony for a marker in honor of Mr. and Mrs. McAllister.

Many markers in other communities honor pioneer residents, listing the names of men, where they came from and what their job was locally. But Robinson said the new marker in Albion is unusual in recognizing McAllister ­- and his wife, whose first name is not known.

“When we look as pioneers, remember there was always a woman behind the man,” she said.

Orleans County Historian Bill Lattin talks about Donna Rodden and the former Albion mayor’s efforts to preserve local history. Rodden’s daughter, Chris Capurso, is second from back right.

Mr. McAllister purchased 368 acres from the Holland Land Company in 1810. That was land on the east side of the village. The couple arrived in 1811, all alone.

Mrs. McAllister would die in 1812, and her husband would then move out of the area. She was buried near where the County Clerk’s Building stands today. That building was constructed in 1882-1883.

Her skeletal remains were discovered in 1957, when the county was doing a project at that building.

When the marker was unveiled today on the lawn of the Clerk’s Building, County Legislature Chairman David Callard lifted the cover to show the new marker. It features a log cabin logo.

Callard marveled at how quickly the area changed after the first settlers arrived. The Erie Canal opened a couple blocks away in 1825. Albion became a boomtown from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, with quarrying and farming major industries.

Most of the buildings that went up in that era – the Courthouse, churches and downtown business district – remain.

“You can see what’s happened in 200 years with people working together for the common good,” Callard said during the dedication ceremony attended by about 50 people.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley presented a proclamation in honor of the McAllisters and their grit in the community’s beginning.

Al Capurso and his son Dan performed three songs as a tribute to the pioneering spirit of Mr. and Mrs. McAllister, the community’s first settlers in 1811.

The Capurso family in Albion paid for the marker and organized the dedication ceremony to honor those early settlers. Al Capurso and his son Dan performed three songs in their honor: “Whole world round,” “See the sky about to rain,” and “After the storm.”

Al’s wife Chris is daughter of the late Donna Rodden, a former Albion mayor who was influential in getting the Courthouse Square listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

“She recognized the importance of our local history and heritage and passed it on to the next generation,” said County Historian Bill Lattin.

He has worked to have many of the local historical markers placed in Albion and around the county.

“These few lines are just the tip of the ice berg,” Lattin said about the markers. “Volumes could be written about each one.”

Many of the markers note the contributions of prominent residents or provide a short vignette about a church or other significant public building. Lattin is pleased to see a marker for the first folks who chose Albion to live.

“It highlights the earliest aspect of our local history,” he said.

The Capurso family poses in front of the historical marker not long after it was unveiled this afternoon.

A colorful and booming celebration

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 July 2013 at 12:02 am

Big crowd watches fireworks show in Lyndonville

Photos by Tom Rivers – Young Explosives put on a show for a big crowd at Lyndonville.

The baseball field was full of people watching the fireworks. Lyndonville was packed with cars on Main Street and many of the side streets.

The Lyndonville Lions Club organizes the Fourth of July celebration each year in the community.

Maria Ball, 6, of Medina has fun with sparklers before the fireworks show in Lyndonville.

Tom Schicker of Albion helps send off a Chinese Lantern before the fireworks.

The Happy Ending band played for three hours before the fireworks. Tom Zangerle, left, is lead guitar and vocals for the band. Larry Loke of Lyndonville, right, plays bass and provides vocals.

Man hurt in Murray fireworks mishap

Posted 5 July 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department

MURRAY – A Rochester man has been hospitalized following a mishap involving fireworks in the town of Murray, the Sheriff’s Department reported.

The incident occurred at approximately 5:45 p.m. on July 4 at a campsite on private property off the 16000 block of Ridge Road.

Brent A. Mead, 19, was holding a mortar in his hands while lighting fireworks. One particular round failed to launch but instead exploded within the mortar. Mead sustained injuries to his hands and chest. He was flown by Mercy Flight helicopter to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Charges against Mead may be forthcoming. The remaining fireworks were confiscated by the Sheriff’s Department.

The incident was investigated by Deputy T.N. Tooley.