news

Two rollover accidents – one a DWI, the other due to sleepy driver

Posted 14 June 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department

ALBION – Two rollover crashes on opposite ends of the county kept Orleans County deputies busy Thursday afternoon, the Sheriff’s Department reported.

The first incident occurred at approximately 5:20 p.m., in the 3600 block of Horan Rd., in the town of Ridgeway. A 2012 Ford Taurus, operated by Zoltan M. Koleszar, 48, of Medina, was travelling north at a high rate of speed on Horan Road, when the operator lost control of the vehicle.

The car ran across the roadway and off the west side before striking a utility pole and a tree. The car then over-turned several times before coming to rest on its side.

Koleszar, the sole occupant, refused medical treatment at the scene but later complained of back and neck pain during the arrest process and was transported to Medina Memorial Hospital. He faces driving while intoxicated and other traffic charges and will appear in Town of Ridgeway court at a later date.

The incident was investigated by Deputies K.J. Colonna and J.J. Cole. Ridgeway firefighters and the Medina FD ambulance personnel also responded to the scene.

The second incident occurred at approximately 5:45 p.m., in the 16700 block of Fourth Section Rd. (Route 31A) in the town of Clarendon.

Emily A. Benson, 20, of Medina, was travelling west on 31A in a 2005 Ford Suburban, when she failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle ran off the north side of the roadway, struck a mailbox, and went down an embankment, causing it to overturn several times before coming to rest upside down.

Benson, the sole occupant, was transported by Monroe Ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. Her injuries were non-life threatening. Benson made an admission to falling asleep at the wheel. There were no other contributing factors in the crash.

The incident was investigated by Deputy T.N. Tooley and Inv. C.L. Black. Clarendon firefighters and ambulance personnel also responded to the scene.

Y starts construction in Medina

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.

Medina native wins Fulbright

Contributed Story Posted 13 June 2013 at 12:00 am

MEDINA – Eric Mietz, a 2009 graduate of Medina High School, graduated summa cum laude from Canisius College this May as a triple-major in International Relations, German, and European Studies, and was a member of the All-College Honors Program. During his undergraduate career, Mietz was inducted into the National German Honor Society, studied the Arabic language in Fez, Morocco, and spent a semester abroad in Eichstaett, Germany.

Mietz is most notably the recipient of a J. William Fulbright fellowship grant to Austria, which will fund the first year of his graduate studies in International Relations at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. Mietz is also the recipient of a scholarship grant offered by the Chair of Polish Culture at Canisius College, which will partially fund his experience this summer as an intern performing international relations and defense policy research at the Polish Institute of International Affairs. That think-tank in Warsaw, Poland, advises the Polish government on foreign policy issues.

The Fulbright experience and work in Warsaw will be a continuation of Meitz’s Canisius honors thesis research, which focuses on maintaining transatlantic relations, as well as the development of European security and defense policy via the European Union and NATO.

Chase will host job fair for displaced workers on June 26, June 28

Posted 13 June 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, U.S. Rep. Chris Collins

ALBION – JP Morgan Chase will have a job fair at its soon-to-close Albion site on June 26 and June 28.

The company announced last week it is shutting down its mortgage servicing business in Albion, and will lay off about 400 employees in September. The company will retain 150 of those jobs at other sites in Western New York. It will give its Albion workers a shot at those positions.

The company will be joined by other employers at the job fair later this month, U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence, announced this afternoon.

“I appreciate Chase’s commitment to engaging on opportunities for its employees and keeping jobs in area,” Collins said.“This is a good outcome for both the workers in Albion and the Western New York economy.”

The job fairs will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days.

“We have more work to do to help the people of Orleans County, but this is a huge step in the right direction,” Collins said. “I will continue to work with JP Morgan Chase and our partners in the private sector and at every level of government to help find jobs for each person affected.”

Albion hires police officer, 13 join FD

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 June 2013 at 12:00 am

ALBION – The Village Board voted on Wednesday to fill a vacancy in the Police Department by hiring an officer who has been working with the Holley PD the past 1 ½ years.

Robert Wagner is expected to join the Albion PD in about two weeks. He will fill the opening created when Sgt. Mark Luft retired in January. Wagner will be on a 52-week probationary period with Albion.

The board accepted 13 new members into the Fire Department, including Jeremy Babcock, Amber Boyer, Janet Cheverie, Robert Emerson, Paula Fuller, Laurie Gleason, Cindy Hunt, James Peruzzini Jr., Renee Rowley, Spencer Misiak, Barb Szklany, Kelly Szklany and Carol Tibbits.

Some of the new members are interior firefighters, while others will provide scene support and serve in the Ladies Auxiliary.

Erie County company willing to hire 150 workers from Chase in Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 June 2013 at 12:00 am

Chase will host job fair for displaced workers on June 26, 28

ALBION – An Erie County company has agreed to hire 150 displaced workers from the JP Morgan Chase mortgage servicing center in Albion. The company, AMS Servicing, will be part of a job fair at Chase on June 26 and June 28.

Chase notified its employees last week it will shut down the mortgage servicing business in Albion, and will lay off about 400 employees in September.

AMS Servicing and other businesses will be at the job fair at the Chase center. The companies will be hiring for entry-level to managerial positions in industries from mortgage servicing and technology to insurance and telecommunications.

“We work very hard to take care of our employees when we have to make tough decisions about our business,” Kevin Watters, CEO for Chase Mortgage Banking, said in a news release. “We sought out top companies with open positions that would benefit from hiring our talented and skilled workforce.”

In addition, Chase is holding on-site hiring events today and next Friday for employees to meet company managers from Rochester and other U.S. locations to discuss 330 open positions in customer assistance and support areas. Chase is also offering career services and training sessions, including resume writing, interviewing and online skill assessments.

“I appreciate Chase’s commitment to engaging on opportunities for its employees and keeping jobs in area,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence. “This is a good outcome for both the workers in Albion and the Western New York economy.”

AMS will be part of the June 26 hiring event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The company will be back on June 28 form 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will be joined by the following businesses looking for employees: Yahoo!, Altitude, Concentrix, Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Rochester, CRFS, Premiere Credit of North America, Sutherland Global Services and Wegmans.

Scout project gives musicians a stage

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 June 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Allen Sanford has turned an old hay wagon into a mobile performing arts stage as part of his Eagle Scout service project.

ALBION – Allen Sanford and his band, Route 98, have played on lawns and makeshift stages in Albion.

Sanford, 17, is grateful for the gigs, but he wants to give musicians a better showcase for their talents. He has spent the past 18 months researching, designing and building a mobile performing arts stage.

Sanford has transformed a 16-by-8-foot hay wagon into a 28-by-8-foot mobile stage. He’s nearly done and will soon turn it over to the village of Albion, which can use it for concerts downtown, at Bullard Park and other locations in the community.

“It’s to advance music in the community,” Sanford said this evening while overseeing some finishing construction work on the stage.

Sanford chose the stage for his Eagle Scout service project. He designed the plans using a CAD program. He connected with donors for the project, met with village officials, and mobilized teams of Scouts and friends to build the stage.

Allen Sanford recruited his friends Charlene Olick, left, and Amber Smarpat to help build the stage that will be given to the village of Albion.

“I saved and recycled as much as I could without jeopardizing the integrity of the stage,” Sanford said. “Part of being a Boy Scout is being thrifty.”

He found used parts and cleaned them, for some pieces of the project. He negotiated a deal on wood from Stockham Lumber, and then sized and stained the material.

Sanford will graduate next week from Albion High School. He will study physics and engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. The project let him put his engineering and leadership skills to use.

A member of Troop 60 that meets at the First Presbyterian Church, Sanford said Scouting has been a critical program for him, teaching many life skills. He has spent three years on the National Youth Leadership Training program through Scouts, and has worked on the staff at Camp Dittmer.

“Becoming an Eagle Scout is such an honor,” he said. “I have learned so much through the Scouting program.”

Local history flows with impressive collection of old gas pumps

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 June 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – The Sanford family in Gaines proudly displays a collection of gas pumps and other gas station artifacts that were amassed by Roland and Elma Sanford on Gaines Basin Road.

GAINES – Julie and Scott Sanford will be working in their yard or out in the barn when the cars pull up by the side of the road. Folks come out with cameras, questions and sometimes a sense of awe.

“People stop all the time,” Julie Sanford told me earlier this evening, when I came over to do a story on her son Allen. He is working on his Eagle Scout project. (I’ll have an article on that a little later.)

The Sanfords have about a dozens old gas pumps sprinkled around their property. One still shows the price of a gallon of gas: 35.5 cents.

There are oil cans and other gas station artifacts from about a half century ago.

Scott’s father Roland and his late mother Elma collected the gas pumps. Once they retired from teaching, they went for drives in the country – on a mission. They found many of the old pumps in fields and ditches. They rescued them, cleaned them up and proudly displayed them on their Gaines Basin Road property.

“They’re all original,” Julie said.

She said there is a growing number of gas pump aficionados. Many want to buy the old pumps, but the Sanfords won’t sell them. Each one represents a story, and an adventure for Roland and Elma.

“They would love to talk and meet with people,” Julie said.

Brad Sanford poses with an old gas pump rescued and preserved by his grandparents, Roland and the late Elma Sanford.

Replicas of the old pumps are popular, she said. Books are written about the original gas pumps, and the different styles and companies.

Roland’s son Scott has followed suit with his father’s obsession. He is working to restore one in the barn.

Roland and Elma also saved a number of other local automobile-related artifacts, including old signs for Routes 31, 63 and 98. The family hobby has rubbed off on Allen, the Boy Scout. A musician, he named his band, “Route 98.”

Allen Sanford holds an old Route 98 sign that his grandparents saved.

Wine Trail will run through Orleans

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 June 2013 at 12:00 am

ALBANY – The State Legislature today approved an expansion of the Niagara Wine Trail, running from Niagara County through Orleans and ending in Western Monroe County. The Trail will also run south from Niagara County to Buffalo.

The vote was years in the making, and is expected to have a big impact for wineries and other tourism-related businesses in Orleans.

“It will be the longest wine trail in New York State,” said Wendy Wilson, president of the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina. “It will connect three metro areas – Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Rochester. We’re right in the middle of it. It’s going to be huge.”

The State Senate backed the expansion in recent years, but the legislation failed to pass in the Assembly – until today.

“I have fought hard over the last couple years to make sure our wine trail system keeps up with the rapid growth we are seeing in local wineries,” said State Sen. George Maziarz. “This new configuration will make it easier for tourists and visitors to find our wineries.Signage, literature, and other tourism promotion materials need to be updated to reflect the wineries in existence now and new wineries that are springing up almost every year.”

The wine trail will be renamed the Niagara Wine Trail system.The new configuration includes all of Route 104 between the Ferry Avenue/Route 62 intersection in Niagara Falls and Route 390 in Monroe County. It will be known as “Niagara Wine Trail Ridge.”

The complement to the ‘Ridge’ route will be the “Niagara Wine Trail Lake,” which would follow Route 269 north from its intersection with Route 104 at the Niagara-Orleans County Line, then west to Route 425, then south to Route 62 and along that route until its intersection with I-290 in Amherst.

Seventeen wineries are on the trail now and more are under development.Leonard Oakes is currently at the end of the Niagara Wine Trail. The extended trail will reach Schwenk Wine Cellars in Kent. Wilson said other wineries in the county and in Monroe are in development.

The money to pay for additional signage on an expanded trail system was earmarked through a 2011 Regional Economic Development Council Award.

“This configuration shows the public sector can work with the private sector to expand the economy, capitalize on our assets, and create jobs,” Maziarz said.

The bill will be sent to Gov. Cuomo, who is expected to pass it without any issues.

Wilson said other “trails” could piggyback off the wine trail, including routes branded for cobblestones and sandstone.

“It’s going to be a way to promote our businesses,” she said.

Water, water everywhere

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 June 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers

GAINES – The Proctor Brook is swollen with water after hours of heavy rain this morning. The creek is threatening to touch a row of historic buildings on Route 98 in Childs that are part of the Cobblestone Society Museum.

Lyndonville wins for best-tasting water

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 June 2013 at 12:00 am

LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville captured the title for best-tasting water in Orleans County during the Strawberry Festival this past weekend in Albion.

The Orleans County Health Department had people try Sample “A” for Lyndonville and Sample “B” for Albion. Lyndonville was picked as best-tasting by 57 percent of the participants.

Both municipal water systems use water from Lake Ontario.

“This is a fun way to share with Orleans County residents the importance of safe water and the hard work all of the municipalities do to provide healthy, clear drinking water,” said Nola Goodrich-Kresse, public health educator for the county.

Lyndonville will now go to the regional water contest in Rochester and will be eligible to participate in New York State’s Best Tasting Water Contest at the New York State Fair.

Dunkin’ Donuts, Advance Auto looking at sites in Albion

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

ALBION – Two major chains – Dunkin’ Donuts and Advance Auto Parts – are looking at sites in Albion, village officials said at tonight’s Village Board meeting.

Neither company has submitted a formal application to the village. But village officials said Advance Auto is serious about the former Rite Aid building at the northeast corner of the routes 98 and 31 intersection. The site has been vacant for several years since Rite Aid moved to the former Eckerd building across the street.

Advance has nearby sites in Brockport, Batavia and Lockport.

Dunkin’ Donuts is looking at a building next to Tim Hortons. The company is considering tearing down a warehouse owned by Charles Breuilly and building a new site for Albion. Dunkin’s closest site is in Batavia.

9 entrepreneurs complete business training program

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

Photos by Tom Rivers – Crystal and Timothy Elliott are working to open a pottery business in Medina. They discuss their business plan during Tuesday’s MAP graduation.

ALBION – They have the ideas, the passion and now the business plans to launch new businesses, stimulating the local economy and creating opportunities in Orleans County.

Nine residents completed the latest Microenterprise Assistance Program, a 12-week business training class run by the Orleans Economic Development Agency and The BEST Center at Genesee Community College.

The program is offered twice a year. There are 100 businesses operating from MAP graduates in the past five years.

The Spring 2013 class graduated on Tuesday with a celebration at the Crooked Door Tavern. The program has Dee Hansel of Albion more confident about her goal of opening a massage and skin care service business. Hansel has a business and marketing plan for Tranquil Moments Massage and Skin Care.

She plans to open next year. She is completing her certification as an esthetician, which will allow her to do facials and detoxification wraps. She is already a licensed massage therapist. She wants to run the business on Main Street in Albion.

“The class has been very helpful with the business plan and marketing ideas,” she said.

Dee Hansel plans to open a massage therapy business in Albion that offers skin care.

A Medina couple, Tim and Crystal Elliott, are working to open Brush Strokes Studio that would allow customers to create their own pottery at a site in Medina. Mrs. Elliott believes the site will be popular for parties, home-schooling groups and for other events. She and her husband need to find a spot for the business that they would like to open in late winter or early spring.

“People say we’re in the middle of nowhere,” Mrs. Elliott said. “But we’re in the middle of everything.”

Gaines Town Clerk Jean Klatt and her husband Reynold are working to open a custom wine-making shop on Main Street in Medina in the fall. Mrs. Klatt plans to keep working for the town, while teaming with her husband in what they said would be just the third custom wine-making business in the state. The others are in Gates and Syracuse.

Some of the MAP graduates already have opened their businesses. Eula Collins opened Baby Ribs in Medina about two months ago. She just added a mobile truck so she can take her barbecued food to parties and other events. Jacqueline Henhawk runs Lake Alice Motor Sports.

Eula Collins opened Baby Ribs, a barbecue business in Medina. She talks about her business plan on Tuesday with other MAP class members.

Other graduates include: Matthew Coles of Barre, who has a site secured on East Ridge Road in Greece for an embroidery business. He’ll also sell Yankee Candles; Jack Larkin is selling antiques through the Internet; Daniel Mathews plans to open a rib restaurant and bar in Albion; and Susan Orman will open a seamstress business in Holley.

One recent MAP grad, Kim Rowe, was the keynote speaker during Tuesday’s graduation. Rowe has launched “U Make Scents Products” – lotions, fragrances and shampoos.

She said the best business plans don’t account for surprises in opening and running a business.

“There are things you’re going to have to change,” she said.

She told them they need to create a superior product, work hard and count on word of mouth to build a customer base.

“Do an excellent job,” she told the MAP grads, “because your name is on the product.”

Editor’s Note: Hub editor Tom Rivers completed the MAP class last fall.

Safe Haven organization honors Medina FD, Batavia hospital

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

Groups were ‘flawless’ in accepting surrendered baby

Photos by Tom Rivers – Timothy Jaccard, president and director of the AMT Children of Hope Foundation, presents “Torch of Life Awards” to Denise Polovick, a registered nurse at United Memorial Medical Center …

… and Mark Schoell, the CEO of the hospital in Batavia.

BATAVIA – The Medina Fire Department and United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia were both honored with “Torch of Life” awards today for their work in accepting a surrendered baby last month through the state’s Safe Haven Law.

A newborn baby girl was dropped off at the Fire Department on May 25. Firefighter Dennis Pollock was working when a woman, “Kathy Hope,” showed up with the baby after being directed to the fire hall from the Safe Haven crisis hotline. She surrendered the newborn who was then taken by the Fire Department to UMMC in Batavia.

The Safe Haven Law allows mothers to surrender babies, up to 30 days old, without charges of abandonment. The law has saved nearly 3,000 babies, said Tim Jaccard, president and director of the AMT Children of Hope Foundation – Baby Safe Haven.

He drove from Long Island on Tuesday to be in Batavia and Medina today to present awards to hospital and Fire Department staff.

Pollock and Medina Fire Chief Todd Zinkievich both received “Torch of Life” awards. Jaccard praised the Fire Department for its awareness of the law and the firefighters’ sensitivity to the situation.

Firefighters transported the baby to UMMC in Batavia. The baby is healthy and currently in foster care. Jaccard presented “Torch of Life” awards to Denise Polovick, a registered nurse, and Mark Schoell, the hospital CEO.

“She was flawless,” Jaccard said about Polovick and her handling of the situation.

The hospital deserves credit for preparing its staff for a baby surrendered through the Safe Haven Law, Jaccard said.

Jaccard worked as the medical officer in the 1980s for the Nassau County Police when he responded to calls of babies not breathing. Some of those calls were for babies who had been drowned in bath tubs, left in plastic bags, and sometimes discarded in dumpsters or buried in back yards.

Before the law took effect in 2001, Jaccard said 29 babies were killed the previous year in New York by mothers who feared they couldn’t care for their baby.

Last year, three newborns in New York were killed by mothers who were in unwanted pregnancies, said Jaccard, who is the state Safe Haven coordinator.

“This gives a birth mother in a crisis situation an alternative to relinquish a baby in a safe manner,” he said.

Jaccard said there have been 2,878 “Safe Haven” babies in the U.S. since the law was passed, with the most recent one born Tuesday in Florida.

His organization also distributes Safe Haven signs and logos for hospitals, fire houses and ambulances, to let pregnant women know about the Safe Haven option.

Jaccard said many firefighters and hospitals still aren’t trained in how to respond to a surrendered baby. That’s not the case with the Medina Fire Department and UMMC.

“The way they responded, it went so smoothly,” Jaccard said. “I felt they should be honored.”

An Albion girl changed the face of the American presidency

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

Lincoln took Grace Bedell’s advice to grow a beard

Photos by Tom Rivers – 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 grew up in Albion, but briefly lived in Westfield. She mailed the letter to Lincoln, recommending he grow whiskers, when she lived in Westfield.

Grace 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.

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.

A historical marker (badly in need of painting) stands next to 350 West State St., the neighborhood were Bedell lived in Albion. After she married in 1870, she left Albion to live in Kansas.

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.

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.

Westfield recreated the scene when Lincoln met Grace Bedell on his inaugural train ride.

Albion notes its Bedell connection with a historical marker next to 350 West State St., her childhood home. (Most of the paint has flaked off the sign.)

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.

The Lincoln statue in Westfield is larger than life.