Photo by Tom Rivers – Dan Shuler served as buildings and ground superintendent at Albion for more than three decades. He is pictured inside the elementary school, which was renovated and expanded during his tenure.

ALBION – When visiting teams and their fans come to Albion Central School, they often remark about the well-kept campus, the lush lawns and clean buildings.

District Superintendent Michael Bonnewell said a lot of the credit should go to Dan Shuler, the district’s buildings and grounds superintendent for more than three decades.

Shuler retired last week after 36 years with the district. He worked in buildings and grounds for Albion since he was 19, beginning as a laborer.

Shuler played a key role in the overhaul and upkeep of the district’s 480,000 square feet of buildings. Albion has tackled several multi-million-dollar renovations in recent years as well as an expansion of the elementary school. Some districts will hire a clerk of the works to coordinate construction crews. Shuler handled the job when Albion took on the big projects.

“I’ve got awesome people,” Shuler said about the 27 employees in the B and G department. “The board has been supportive and we’ve had stable superintendents.”

During Shuler’s long career, Albion has only had four superintendents – Doug Houck, Ron Sodoma, Ada Grabowski and now Mike Bonnewell.

Many of Shuler’s counterparts in Niagara and Orleans counties see a lot of turnover at the top, which can be unsettling at a district.

“The stability at Albion has been huge because we’ve been able to keep those key people,” Shuler said.

The district has become more energy efficient behind Shuler’s lead, swapping out incandescent lights and their fixtures with new high-efficient ones. Albion installed motion sensors in the gyms and other spots, so the lights are only on whether there are people in the rooms.

“The lighting is where you get your savings,” he said. “The payback has been huge. You need to look to save every penny you can.”

That includes the exterior lights – the pole lights, shoe boxes and wall packs on the building. They all have energy-efficient lights, reducing the wattage from 450 to 72.

Albion has tackled several building projects in recent years, replacing roofs, improving classroom spaces, upgrading athletic fields and adding safety measures to its buildings. Shuler said the district also keeps up an aggressive plan every year, spending about $300,000 on various projects. That has staved off some of the bigger and more costly capitol initiatives.

Shuler remembers his early days on the job, back when the district had the Waterport Elementary School and the Grammar School on East Academy Street. There wasn’t a maintenance garage for the department in those days. There base of operations was a maintenance shed in the boiler room of the Grammar School.

A much smaller maintenance crew with far fewer tools and equipment tried to keep old boilers going. The heating system at the middle school was only 45 percent energy efficient. Some of the buildings weren’t insulated.

“The middle school was horrible,” Shuler said. “We spent more heating the middle school than we do on the whole campus now.”

Albion had a cinder track that was labor intensive to maintain, requiring 400 gallons of paint a year. That was replaced with an all-weather, rubber synthetic track that is far less time-consuming to keep up.

Shuler spent a lot of time when he started his career on small lawn mowers. He used a 1940s tractor to pull a mower early in his career. Now the district has a mower with a 16-foot cut, plus two 11-footers. That helps the crew mow 80 acres of grass on the campus.

Shuler is Albion’s third Buildings and Grounds superintendent since the district created the position in 1960, following Herb Dawson and Kevin Doherty.

Shuler was the first person Doherty hired when he led the department. Doherty, who now serves on the Board of Education, said Shuler served the district well over his career.

“He has been very good at integrating the hands-on and people skills with the business office requirements,” Doherty said.

Shuler and his department keep the buildings clean and grounds safe. The staff works hard behind Shuler, Doherty said.

“He has their respect because he has done every job,” Doherty said.

Shuler said he typically juggled 150 work orders as the B and G superintendent. His staff, many long-term employees, deserve the credit for working on a variety of projects.

“It’s a lot of work and I think my guys do awesome,” he said.

Shuler’s four children graduated from Albion. He has 12 grandchildren. A past Scout leader, Shuler said he looks forward to more time for camping. He would like to hike the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail.

Two poetry readings scheduled for North Main St. site

Photos by Tom Rivers – Paintings by the late Polly King of Niagara Falls will be on display and for sale the next two months at the Marti’s on Main Art Gallery in Albion. King traveled to numerous countries and created thousands of paintings, many in vibrant colors. She painted portraits and abstracts, and did oil and watercolor paintings.

Kim Martillotta Muscarella, owner of the Marti’s on Main Art Gallery, holds a self portrait created by the late Polly King of Niagara Falls. Her work is featured at Marti’s, where there will be an opening reception Friday from 5:30 to 9 p.m.

ALBION – There were works from many artists on exhibit, but Kim Martillotta Muscarella said one artist seemed to really stand out at a recent show at the Kenan Center in Lockport.

Polly King painted in vibrant colors, and had a wide selection of work, using different styles and themes.

“You would have thought it was eight different artists,” Muscarella said.

King was a prolific artist who travelled the world. She died in 1993 at age 91, but her work continues to live on.

Many of her paintings are on display at Marti’s on Main At Gallery at 229 North Main St. Muscarella started the gallery five years ago. She features many local artists, but also wants to include some from outside the county.

She reached out to a gallery run by King’s family in Niagara Falls, which agreed to show some of King’s work at Marti’s. Muscarella has paintings that King made from flowers in her house, her adopted city of Niagara Falls, the construction of the power plant in Lewiston, and numerous landscapes and portraits of places and people from around the world.

There will be an opening reception for King’s work this Friday from 5:30 to 9 p.m. King’s paintings will be on exhibit for about two months.

“She painted thousands of paintings from all over the world,” Muscarella said at Marti’s today. “She was always painting.”

King’s paintings are part of more than 250 private collections. Robert Kennedy and Mario Cuomo both had her art hanging in their offices. Muscarella said she is proud to showcase the artist.

Marti’s also features paintings and artwork from 16 members of The Art Circle, a group of artists from Orleans County.

Muscarella will have her gallery open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on most Fridays during the summer, except Aug. 6. She also will host two poetry readings. Albion native Peter Monacelli is featured 7 p.m. on July 16 and Muscarella’s sister Nicki McFarland will share her poetry 7 p.m. on Aug. 13.

Admission to the gallery is free, but donations are accepted.

Customer helps police locate suspects from Rochester

Rothmund

Hoffer

ALBION – A masked robber took off with about $18,000 from the Bank of America shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, but was arrested not long after in Holley thanks to a drive-through bank customer, who provided vehicle identification information to police.

The customer watched the suspect get into a car. The customer then provided a description of the getaway vehicle.

Albion police then alerted surrounding agencies to the vehicle, which was stopped at a Holley apartment complex by Holley police.

Police arrested Jeremy J. Rothmund, 29, and Elyse A. Hoffer, 22, both of 66 Wood Run Commons, Rochester. Albion police said Rothmund was involved in two bank robberies in the town of Greece and another robbery in Monroe County in the past three weeks.

At about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Rothmund was allegedly masked when he entered the bank at 156 South Main St. He demanded money and threatened a clerk with what appeared to be an explosive device.

During the robbery, a bank employee signaled to a customer in the drive-thru that a robbery was in progress. The suspect left the bank with about $18,000 in cash. The customer who was alerted of the robbery exited his vehicle and approached the bank main entrance. The suspect confronted the customer outside the bank and threatened the customer with the device, Albion police reported.

Reader provided photo – Albion police descended upon the Bank of America after a robbery Tuesday afternoon.

The customer followed the suspect and witnessed Rothmund enter a vehicle driven by Hoffer, police said.

Albion police then alerted surrounding police agencies of the suspect and suspect vehicle information. After Holley police took the two suspects into custody, they were turned over to Albion police.

The money was recovered and the device was found to be false.

Both suspects were charged with first-degree robbery, third-degree grand larceny, and first-degree placing a false bomb or hazardous substance.

Both Rothmund and Hoffer were arraigned in the Town of Albion Court and sent to the Orleans County Jail with each on $250,000 bail. They are scheduled to re-appear at 10 a.m. on July 10.

The Albion Police were assisted by the Holley Police Department, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, Orleans County Major Felony Crimes Task Force, Orleans County District Attorney’s Office, New York State Police and the Greece Police.