By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Maryann Cogdill is the nurse manager of the maternity unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia.
BATAVIA – Orleans County mothers delivered 100 babies at United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia last year, the first full year since Medina closed its maternity unit in July 2011.
Lakeside Memorial Hospital in Brockport also closed its maternity wing in 2012. The closings at Medina and Brockport for baby deliveries has pushed more women to choose the Batavia hospital for giving birth.
UMMC last year delivered 653 babies, which was up about 100 births or 20 percent from 2011. The 653 was a new record for the Batavia hospital.
“It’s not just Orleans County,” said Maryann Cogdill, the maternity unit nurse manager. “We have people coming from Erie County, and all the way from Dunkirk.”
Medina, in its last full year with a maternity unit, delivered 132 babies in 2010, far too few for the unit to break even financially.
The Batavia hospital has a women’s care center next to the Medina hospital with two physicians and a midwife. Batavia hired Medina’s obstetrician and gynecologist on July 1, 2011.
Batavia was delivering about 500 babies a year, but it is breaking a trend among smaller hospitals with the increase in numbers.
The hospital last month celebrated a $2 million renovation to the maternity unit. The hospital created 10 private post partum patient rooms with private bathrooms and sleeping accommodations for the birth partner. UMMC also added a family lounge area, Nurses’ Station, visitor restrooms, storage and office areas, and improvements to the nursery.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Chris VanDusen opened Trailside Bicycles on Canal Road in Hulberton on June 3.
HULBERTON – Chris VanDusen has pedaled his bike through Germany, Quebec, France, the Adirondacks and the Finger Lakes. They all have great bike trails with interesting towns to explore.
VanDusen thinks the Erie Canal Towpath and the communities along the journey have tremendous potential to draw cyclists. The canal already pulls in many cyclists, but it could attract more touring riders with better promotion, including bike loops of nearby attractions.
VanDusen on June 3 opened Trailside Bicycles at 16271 Canal Rd., a stone’s throw from the Hulberton lift bridge. He has spent two years working on the 4,000-square-foot structure. Many of his friends wondered why he’d pick rural Hulberton for the business.
“People say you’re in the middle of nowhere, but I’m in a strategic spot,” VanDusen said today. “I’m the only cycle shop between Buffalo and Brockport.”
The building was constructed in 1890 as a boarding house for quarry workers. About half of the building has been mostly untouched from those early days. VanDusen wants to clean up the space and turn it into a hostel, preserving the historic integrity of the living quarters.
VanDusen sees cyclists stop and ride by the business every day. Some of them are on long-distance self-guided trips.
VanDusen can repair bikes and sell parts. He has snacks, beverages and ice cream for sale. He wants to expand the business, renting out kayaks, planning bike loops, and leading tours of local sites.
He wants to develop loops for the Kendall barn quilt trail, local cobblestone homes, and Medina sandstone structures, as well as other local historical attractions.
“This county is a diamond in the rough,” VanDusen said. “It has the history and it’s along a fantastic corridor with the Erie Canal.”
His address should be on some of the bike loops because of its history. VanDusen researched the abstract detailing the property’s past. The building was put up in 1890 by the Medina Sandstone Company. The building was originally a boarding house for immigrant Italian quarrymen. That portion of the house is largely unchanged. VanDusen wants to clean it up, preserve its historical character and turn it into a hostel for traveling cyclists.
“We’re going to keep it authentic,” he said.
The Medina Sandstone Company built the site at 16271 Canal Road as housing for the Italian immigrants who worked in local quarries. The small partitioned rooms haven’t changed much since then.
VanDusen has had a love for bikes since he was a kid, learning to repair them when he was 8. He worked at a Brockport bike shop beginning at age 16. He has stayed in the industry since then, leading guided bike tours in foreign countries and in New York.
The cycling business is on an upswing, he said.
“The Baby Boomers are putting away the golf clubs and picking up bike riding,” he said. “They want something that is more active. It’s good for their health.”
The county could better capitalize on the canal with maps, trails and more businesses close by with lodging, cafes, outdoor seating and art, VanDusen said. The travelers want an experience that includes the local flavor.
“The corridor is right here,” he said. “It’s just giving people a reason to stop.”
Trailside Bicycles is open seven days a week. For more information, visit VanDusen’s web site by clicking here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Holley man sentenced to state prison for repeated DWIs
ALBION – A Medina resident was arraigned in Orleans County Court today for allegedly stealing $20,000 worth of lottery tickets from Curvin’s News and Smoke Shop.
Kim Capstick, 51, of Medina was an employee at Curvin’s from February 2011 to June 2012 when the alleged thefts occurred.
She was charged with one count of third-degree grand larceny and arraigned by County Court Judge James Punch.
The judge in court today also sentenced a Holley resident to one to three years in state prison for repeated charges of driving while intoxicated.
Peter Tardge, 34, was arrested in the town of Murray for DWI in July 2012. Tardge has prior DWI convictions.
“You’ve worked your way up the ladder with all your prior DWIs,” Punch told Tardge during the sentencing. “You’ve been in probation, the local county jail and now state prison.”
Punch also revoked Tardge’s license for a year. He said the Holley resident has a drinking problem and an inability to control his anger.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 June 2013 at 12:00 am
HOLLEY – In the 1950s, Ray Shahin started the first marching band at Holley Central School. In a few short years, he turned the band into one of the best in the state, and a source of community pride that endures today.
I was inside the Murray-Holley Historical Society’s Museum on Friday. Holley celebrated Flag Day with speeches and presentations from the museum, a former train depot. Relics from the band program’s heyday are displayed inside the museum, including a band uniform and the banner noting six state championships.
The marching band even spurred the community to start a municipal band. A drum from that band is displayed on a shelf in the museum.
Holley joined forces with Kendall this year for a school marching band. The group had a good year, and again is a source of community pride.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo courtesy of Village of Albion Parks – The team of park supervisors for this summer at Albion includes: front row, from left: Alexis Hinkley, Caitlin Francis, Joyce Lalonde and Halle Jurs; Middle row: Melissa Dibley, McKayla Allen, Henry Haines and Josue Serafin; Back row: Ed and Jack Narburgh, Elliott Foos, Sabastian Piedmont, Travis Downs and Nate Lester.
ALBION – Four village parks will have supervisors and activities for children beginning Wednesday. The park season runs until Aug. 2 and is open to children, ages 5 to 16 in the Albion school district.
Park supervisors will be on duty from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the following parks: Bullard – Route 31, east of the village; Pee Wee – Route 31 (part of Bullard); Veterans – corner of Linwood Avenue and Brown Street; and Lafayette – West Park and West State Streets.
The park program includes the following week-long camps:
TENNIS from June 25-29 for grades 5-12 at the school tennis courts from 9 to 11 a.m. and again the following week.
WRESTLING from July 9-13 for grades 6-12 at the high school gym from 9 to 11 a.m.
BASEBALL from July 23-27 from grades 4 through 8 at the varsity baseball field from 9 a.m. to noon.
VOLLEYBALL from July 30-Aug. 3 for grades 6-12 at the high school gym from 9 a.m. to noon.
The camps are free to children in the Albion school district.
Parents are urged to attend the registration during the first week of the Parks Program to meet the supervisors and to fill out important paperwork. No fees will be charged.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Blacksmith creates rings for hitching post project
Photos by Tom Rivers – George Borrelli works in his Carlton shop to make the ring that will be put in a hitching post.
The steel in the ring is heated to about 1,600 degrees.
ALBION – Here is something you may not realize about Albion: This community may have more century-old hitching posts, carriage steps and mounting blocks than anywhere else in the world.
I’ve counted about 40 hitching posts in the 14411 zip code. There may be a hundred of the carriage steps and mounting blocks. Some of these are beautiful works of art carved by the quarrymen from generations ago.
The posts and blocks were the parking spaces in the horse-and-buggy era. Most communities took these out long ago. But in Albion many have endured along East State Street, Mount Albion Cemetery, Ridge Road in Gaines and a lot of the village side streets.
George Borrelli studied the rings on local hitching posts, including this one at South Clinton Street in Albion, to make new ones.
This hitching post is in front of a historic cobblestone house on Densmore Street.
They sit in front of some of the finest old homes in the community, sometimes only a few feet from the road.
Four more will soon join the local landscape in prominent spots along Main Street.
The Albion Main Street Alliance is coordinating the project that is targeting the courthouse lawn for two hitching posts, a spot in front of the former Swan Library and a Main Street sidewalk by Krantz Furniture. (The state Department of Transportation needs to sign off on the sidewalk.)
This project has a lot of people excited. Several of us donated money to buy four hitching posts from local contractor Fred Pilon. The sandstone posts didn’t have holes for the rings to tie up horses. These posts were likely property markers from long ago. But they look just like hitching posts, except for the missing rings.
We wanted rings and turned to a local blacksmith George Borrelli for help. Borrelli is a talented metal artist. I first learned about him when I admired the ornate coat rack at the former Elsewhere coffee house in Albion. (Yes, I marveled at a coat rack.) Borrelli turned a mundane piece of furniture into a piece of artwork.
Borrelli knows how to shape steel. Yesterday I picked up the four rings he made for the hitching posts. They are thick and about three inches in diameter. He also made a 4-inch long pintle that will go into a hole in the hitching post. (Tony Russo of Medina is helping us drill the holes. We also need to fill the holes with lead to hold the pintle.)
Borrelli, a machine builder and former tool-and-die maker, studied the rings on some of the old hitching posts to make a design for the new ones. He has a forge in his Carlton shop. He believes he made them using the same skills and techniques from the blacksmiths 100 years ago.
One difference in the new rings: They are made of steel instead of iron. Borrelli said iron is hard to come by these days.
He used a forge to heat the steel to 1,600 degrees and shape it into a circle. He used a hammer to flatten out the pintle.
“I’ve always loved the old machines and the old ways,” he said at his shop in Carlton on Saturday. “I enjoy trying to recreate something.”
Borrelli has a niche in making custom cabinet handles. He said there has been a renaissance in blacksmithing in the past decade. (Emil Smith of Medina is another skilled local blacksmith. His sculptures are on display on Route 63, just south of the village.)
I’m hoping the hitching posts are well received by the public and we can try to add some to downtown Medina and Holley, as well as a few more to Albion. I also think we should create a map with these horse-and-buggy artifacts. I’ve been taking pictures and jotting down addresses, but I’m sure I’m missing some. If you have one, send me your address so I can stop by and put you on the map.
Borrelli created a jig to wrap the steel around, creating a ring with a 3-inch diameter.
Borrelli bends and shapes the metal.
George Borrelli holds one of the new rings and pintles he created. He coated them in turpentine and linseed oil.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Albion girl celebrates Quinceanera at Holy Family Parish
Photos by Tom Rivers – Wynter Dumont is pictured with her damas, her close friends or “pretty maids,” who joined in her Quinceanera today at Holy Family Parish.
Malvy Rivera places a necklace on her daughter Wynter Dumont during Mass this evening.
Wynter Dumont prepares to make a profession of faith during Mass at Holy Family.
ALBION – It felt like a wedding during Mass at Holy Family Parish in Albion this evening. Boys and men wore tuxedos. Young ladies wore formal dresses, and Wynter Dumont looked like a princess with a tiara. She was led down the aisle of the church by her escort, Ryan Pytlewski.
Wynter’s close friends and family joined with the Holy Family Parish in celebrating her Quinceanera, a popular tradition in the Hispanic culture when a girl turns 15. It signifies a girl’s transition to young womanhood.
Wynter Dumont hugs her cousin Israel Florentino of Albion before Mass at Holy Family.
The parties are popular in the Hispanic culture and often begin with a church service and conclude with a festive reception. Wynter’s party will move to the Elk’s Club this evening.
Wynter stood up during Mass before about 300 people, professing her faith and thanking her mother Malvy Rivera and the church community.
Wynter Dumont’s damas sat up front during Mass this evening.
The Rev. Richard Csizmar, the parish priest, said about one Quinceanera is celebrated at Holy Family each year. Wynter’s sister Samantha had hers two years ago. The events have a big impact on the parish. They see a young person profess her beliefs.
“It’s a great testimony of faith,” Csizmar said after Mass. “It’s a wonderful custom. The people just love it.”
Wynter smiles with the Rev. Richard Csizmar after Mass this evening at Holy Family Parish.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Charles Nesmith of Rochester is one of 30 vendors at a flea market in Carton today behind the Rec Hall on Route 98. Nesmith is selling inflatables, poppers and Silly Spray.
CARLTON – There are 30 vendors selling crafts, jewelry, inflatable super heroes and many other items behind the Carlton Rec Hall today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The event is a fund-raiser for the Carlton Republican Committee. Sylvia Shoemaker, a member of the committee, is coordinating today’s flea market and crafts show. She also is a vendor.
Sylvia Shoemaker is pictured holding up a horse figurine.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 June 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Village officials support bringing music to downtown Albion, but it won’t be a simple addition.
Town Councilman Jake Olles last month approached the village about adding the speakers. The town offered to pay for the speakers, using funds from its park budget. Olles said it would cost about $700 for 10 outdoor speakers.
Those speakers would have wire and would be attached on the light poles on East Bank Street. However, the poles already are at capacity with wires.
“They’re already full of wire,” Dale Brooks, the Department of Public Works superintendent, told the Village Board this week. “We can’t pull the wires through without hurting the other wires.”
Brooks and village electrician Rick Albright are looking at wireless speakers. They are expected to cost more.
The village may also need to pay to play copyrighted music. Albion could play songs in the public domain, but Mayor Dean Theodorakos said that might be similar to just playing “elevator music” in the downtown.
“We need to find out the costs for the speakers and then you get into what kind of music,” Theodorakos said. “There’s a lot to it.”
Trustee Pete Sidari said songs performed by the Albion jazz band and other local musical groups could be recorded and played.
Medina has the outdoor music system, and Trustee Kevin Sheehan believes it creates a nice atmosphere in the downtown.
“I liked it when I heard it in Medina,” he said.
In another initiative, the village is considering allowing alcohol on village property for special events only. Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti noted the success of a wine-tasting event in Holley on June 1 at the community’s Canal Park.
Albion could try similar events, but would need to change its policy to allow for wine-tastings, as long as a permit is secured for a special event. Village attorney John Gavenda said he would check with Albion’s insurance provider to see if there is an impact in coverage and costs.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 June 2013 at 12:00 am
CARLTON – The town is looking for a new assessor, opting against reappointing Karen Adams to another six-year term in the position.
The Town Board made the decision on Tuesday. The board wants to fill the position by Oct. 1, when Adams will be out of the job. The board decided to make the decision this week to give Adams time to transition to another job and also give the town time to find a replacement, said Gayle Ashbery, the town supervisor.
There has been an uproar among residents in 2010 and 2013, both years when Adams led town-wide reassessments. Residents have filed numerous formal grievances that their assessments were set too high.
The board on April 15, in another packed town meeting, voted to freeze the property assessments at 2012 levels. The board said it would seek outside help to have 2,400 properties appraised.
Carlton is seeking proposals from firms for that task, which could be done in phases, Ashbery said.
Carlton officials will meet with Hamlin town leaders on Wednesday to hear how that municipality worked with an outside appraisal firm to set values for properties in the town.
The fees for data collection and appraising the town properties could top $100,000, said Councilman Jim Shoemaker.
An oversight committee will discuss the appraisal project on Thursday, and may make a recommendation to the full Town Board. Ashbery and Councilman Robin Lake are on that committee. It also includes Dawn Allen, the Orleans County director of Real Property Tax Services, and a representative from the state Office of Real Property Services.
Regarding Adams, Shoemaker noted the controversies in town for the past two reassessments.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo courtesy of Jeff Winters – An underground oil tank is removed from the former Medina Armory.
MEDINA – Construction crews have started work on a capital project at the former Medina Armory on Pearl Street.
Crews in about a month will start building a handicapped accessible ramp on the side of the building, which will increase access to the Orleans County YMCA.
Before the ramp is constructed, crews needed to remove a 3,000-gallon oil tank that was underneath the building. The ramp will go on top of where the tank was located.
Y officials said there was approximately 1,800 gallons of oil remaining in the tank. Jeff Winters, the Y executive director, said there was minimal soil contamination and construction will move forward on the ramp.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2013 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – The State Senate has approved extending the Niagara Wine Trail through Orleans County all the way to Rochester, which brings the prospect of new tourists and economic development for businesses in Orleans.
The legislation would designate two state roads as wine trails. All of Route 104, between the Ferry Avenue/Route 62 intersection in Niagara Falls and Route 390 in Monroe County, would be known as “Niagara Wine Trail Ridge.” All of Route 18, between Route 104 in Lewiston and Route 390 in Monroe County, would be known as “Niagara Wine Trail Lake.”
The longer trail could be a huge asset for Orleans County businesses, said Wendy Wilson, president of the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina and treasurer for the Niagara Wine Trail.
“It connects everything between Niagara Falls and Rochester, and we’re right in the middle of it,” she said. “This will be a whole new dynamic for promoting the area.”
Orleans County could piggyback on the wine trail, creating trails for cobblestones, sandstone, antiques, quilts and perhaps the Amish and Mennonites, Wilson said. The wineries could then promote those other attractions, and those businesses could promote the wineries.
“There are a lot of things going through here,” she said. “There are a lot of things that we could build off this. This will allow us to have the needed signage.”
The Niagara Wine Trail already has state funding lined up for the wine trail signs. That was approved two years ago.
Orleans businesses will gain more exposure with the trail, and will benefit from the marketing and tourism dollars in Rochester and Monroe County, Wilson said.
Leonard Oakes is currently at the end of the Niagara Wine Trail. If the Assembly and governor approve the extension, Schwenk Wine Cellars in Kent could join. Wilson said other wineries in the county and in Monroe are in development.
The Senate approved the trail extension last year, but the Assembly never voted on it. Wilson believes any reservations in the Assembly have been addressed.
“I call upon the Assembly to approve this measure as soon as possible and stop ignoring one of the brightest areas of economic development in Western New York,” State Sen. George Maziarz said. “There is simply no reason why the Assembly has not passed this, and hopefully they will move forward in a timely fashion. We have been waiting long enough.”
There are currently 17 wineries on the Niagara Wine Trail, which started about a decade ago. Maziarz praised the growth on the trail.
“The wine industry in the greater Niagara Region is growing so fast that our laws designating the various wine trails must keep up with the pace of growth,” he said. “Signage, literature, and other tourism promotion materials need to be updated to reflect the wineries in existence now and the wineries soon to come.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION An annual memorial service that was scheduled for Saturday has been pushed back to July 6 because of the soggy grounds by the memorial pond at Mount Albion Cemetery.
The Albion Fire Department will have the service at 10 a.m. on July 6 with a brunch following at the fire hall on Platt Street.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Community celebrates the occasion – in a big way
Photos by Tom Rivers
About 600 Holley Elementary School students marched down North Main Street, through the Public Square and to the Murray-Holley Historical Society for a program honoring the flag and students with good citizenship.
HOLLEY – They wore big smiles and red-white-and-blue outfits, and they were passionate wavers of Old Glory during a Flag Day celebration in Holley today.
About 600 Holley Elementary School students marched from the school down North Main Street, working their way through the Public Square to the Murray-Holley Historical Society for a Flag Day program.
Holley, for the 56th year, put on a festive, patriotic celebration of Flag Day. The parade route was lined with many parents, grandparents and community members, there to support the students. Bleachers were brought in at the Save-A-Lot parking lot for the crowd to watch students be honored with citizenship awards. The elementary band and chorus also performed patriotic songs, including “Fifty, Nifty United States.”
Local elected officials joined students in singing the “Star Spangled Banner.”
“It’s amazing how the entire community embraces this event,” said Robert D’Angelo, the district superintendent. “It brings the entire community together unlike any event I’ve seen.”
Local fire departments were part of the parade. Retired Holley teachers also came back for Flag Day, and they were introduced to students and community members. One retired teacher, Virginia Robb, has been to 55 of the 56 Flag Day events.
Students, after marching in a parade, joined in singing, “Fifty, Nifty United States.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – A 1939 Chevy Coupe was one of the more popular cars at the Classic Car Cruise-In at Medina’s Canal Basin on Friday night.
Medina kicked off its 17th season of Cruise-In’s last Friday. The weekly events will continue on Fridays until late August.
MEDINA – The parking lot on Medina’s Canal Basin was full of cars tonight from the previous century – Model T Fords, 1957 Chevys, Buick Convertibles, and many others.
The Cruise-In didn’t start until 6 p.m., but when I stopped by at 5:45, there were already 60 cars parked for the show, many with their hoods up.
Organizer Dave Green expected more to arrive later in the evening, likely 80 to 100 cars for the event. Medina kicked off the cruise-in series last Friday. It will continue every Friday until the end of August. Medina has been putting on the event for 17 years. Green and Donna Bushover are the organizers.
A 1939 Chevy Coupe created the biggest stir with a crowd of folks gathered around it when I was there.
