By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Sons of American Legion placed these flags on veterans’ graves at Boxwood Cemetery in Medina in advance of Memorial Day. The Sons placed 1,000 flags on veterans’ graves at three Medina cemeteries.
The four villages in Orleans County will all have parades on Monday to mark Memorial Day.
In Albion, a parade begins at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Main and State streets. The parade will go south on Main Street before turning east on Route 31 and ending at the front lawn of the Albion Middle School, where a servicewill follow the parade.
In Holley, a ceremony begins at 9 a.m. at the American Legion with a parade then starting at 10 a.m. It will go from the Legion and continue to the VFW on Veterans Drive. After the VFW, veterans will lay wreaths at Holley cemeteries.
In Lyndonville, a parade begins at 9 a.m. on Lake Avenue at the parking lot of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and continues to Main Street where it ends by the library.
In Medina, a parade begins at 11 a.m. on Park Avenue by the Olde Pickle Factory. It continues to State Street Park where a ceremony will follow.
There will also be a service in Kendall at 7 p.m. on May 31 at the Morton Cemetery.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Sarah Handley is congratulated by Kendall Board of Education President Nadine Hanlon for being one of Kendall’s “Top 10” graduates. Julie Christensen, Kendall’s school superintendent, is at right.
Medina student Arden Zavitz and other Top 10 graduates are congratulated Thursday for their academic success.
HOLLEY – The world will soon get bigger for the top 10 graduates at four Orleans County school districts. Most of the group of 40 students will be off to college in the fall.
They will face new challenges, meet new people and be stretched by the experiences, a top 10 graduate from 2003 told the group.
Jenna Gaesser of Kendall has graduated with a medical degree from the Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and is now in a residency program in pediatrics and neurodevelopmental disabilities at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Gaesser told students they don’t have to do everything on their own, to try to control every situation. She encouraged them to ask for help. In medical school, she learned the value of teamwork and to value others’ points of view.
Jenna Gaesser, a 2003 Kendall graduate, has already graduated with a medical degree and is now in a residency program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She was keynote speaker during Thursday’s academic excellence awards dinner.
In college, she spent three years caring for a child with multiple disabilities. That child used a computer to speak.
“Everywhere we went we got strange looks,” Gaesser said.
The child had a delightful spirit, and soon won over everyone. Gaesser told the group of students to remember “the importance of not judging other people.”
Gaesser spoke to about 200 people at Hickory Ridge Country Club. Lyndonville students Amanda Sullivan and Joy Follman said they appreciated that Gaesser acknowledged the pressures that students face in picking a college and pursuing a career.
“We’re all worried about what the future will bring so it’s comforting to know you can get through it,” Follman said. “It was a hopeful speech.”
The students all received certificates, medals and citations, as well as dinner with their parents.
Three Lyndonville students stand after receiving their awards from school officials. The group includes, from left: Thomas Goetze, Dakota Froman and Joy Follman.
“It’s nice to get the recognition because we’ve all worked really hard to get to the top,” Sullivan said.
Orleans County school districts have been honoring the top 10 graduates for 27 years. Albion the past five years has had its own honors convocation because it wanted to honor more than the top 10. Albion expanded it to graduates with grade point averages above 90. The four other districts want to stay in the joint program.
“It’s a good idea for the county schools to get together,” said Jeff Evoy, Medina school superintendent. “It’s nice for the kids to see where the kids are going from the other schools.”
Kendall was the host district this year. School leaders reached out to Gaesser to address the group. She is the daughter of Ed Gaesser, a member of the Board of Education. Carol D’Agostino, Kendall’s high school principal, said Jenna “is a great role model for all of our students.”
Gaesser, Kendall’s salutatorian in 2003, was happy to accept the invitation on Thursday.
“You want to come back and support the community that supports you,” she said.
Heather Fumia accepts an award from Robert D’Angelo, Holley school superintendent, during the 27th annual Orleans County academic excellence awards dinner.
The top 10 recognized from each school include:
Holley: Marissa Callahan, Samuel DeFilipps, Steven Dill, Heather Fumia, Joshua Hatfield, Shannon Kelly, Starlyt Knight, Sonia Mendoza, Alyssa Scherer and Nicholas Winkley.
Lyndonville: Molly Breese, Elisabeth Follman, Joy Follman, Dakota Froman, Thomas Goetze, Alexandra Harling, James Luckman Jr., Kyle Sentiff, Edward Silversmith Jr. and Amanda Sullivan.
Medina: Maeve Cooper, Olivia Doberstein, Troy Fidanza, Jonas Hartway, Christopher Horgan, Margaret Laszewski, Joseph Meyer, Zachary Roeseler, Jessica Rosenbeck, Zachary Waild and Arden Zavitz.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo courtesy of Darlene Rich, Shelby town clerk
SHELBY – The Shelby Town Board presented Medina Savings and Loan President Tim Moriarty a proclamation on May 11 in honor of the bank’s 125th anniversary. Moriarty, left, is congratulated by Town Supervisor Skip Draper for the bank’s longevity.
Medina Savings and Loan was the only Orleans County bank to survive the Great Depression. The bank will celebrate its 125th anniversary during customer appreciation day on June 8 at its location by Tops on Maple Ridge Road.
The Medina Sandstone Society will present a sandstone plaque commemorating the S and L on its 125th anniversary. That unveiling is planned for 1 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion AP biology students fill planters with flowers this morning. Some of the students include, from left: Kellie O’Hearn, Monica Benjovsky, Kelsey Schmitt and Kali Benjovsky.
ALBION – Students in Albion’s High School advanced placement biology class spent this morning filling 20 planters with flowers that should be set up in the downtown this afternoon.
Lisa Stratton and Debbie Grimm headed up the project for the Albion Main Street Alliance. The organization used a $1,000 donation from the Town of Albion and $500 from downtown businesses to purchase the flowers from Bertsch’s Good Earth Market, Kirby’s Farm Market and Navarra’s Greenhouses.
The flowers will be on Main and Bank streets. Students have helped prepare the planters the past several years.
“It’s a way to put some of our knowledge of plants into practical use,” said teacher Sandy Climenhaga. “We think it gives the students a sense of pride when they see the flowers downtown.”
Stratton and Grimm also are working to have flowers at Bullard and Waterman parks and also by the village welcome signs.
Bertsch’s, Kirby’s and Navarra’s all donated five hanging baskets for the downtown.
Allen Sanford, left, and Mike Patterson mix the dirt for the downtown flowers.
ALBION – On May 23, 2013 at 1:24 p.m., the Albion Police Department was dispatched to the Crimson Heights Apartment complex on Crimson Drive for a reported suicidal person armed with a firearm.
First arriving police units learned that an adult male had left the residence following a domestic dispute and that he was armed with a firearm. Police personnel were advised that the male had made phone contact with the Albion High School prior to their arrival in an attempt to speak with this child enrolled at the School.
As a precaution the Albion Central School District was notified of the incident and police personnel were placed at school campus entrances. The school then made the decision to place the school in Lock Down. The School District was given constant updates as the situation unfolded.
Police personnel were able to speak with the individual via cell phone which resulted in him surrendering to the police. Upon the individual being taken into custody, the Albion Central School District was notified and the school resumed normal school operations.
At no time did the individual make an attempt to travel to the school and he was not near the school when he was taken into custody.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 May 2013 at 3:30 pm
ALBION – Albion Central School was in lockdown this afternoon when a parent in a domestic dispute called to report a possible threat.
The school was told the parent of a student might arrive on campus with a gun. That prompted the schools to lock all doors at about 1:35 p.m. The lockdown was lifted at about 2:15 p.m. when police had the suspect in custody off-site.
Police officers were quickly on scene after the initial call to secure the perimeter of the campus, said Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent. Village police, state troopers and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department all assisted the school.
“Our law enforcement people were here immediately,” Bonnewell said. “The response was incredible.”
The school hasn’t cancelled after-school activities.
CARLTON – Lakeside Beach State Park and other state parks have expanded their outdoor smoke-free zones.
Tom Rowland, Lakeside Beach park manager, is gearing up for the Memorial Day holiday with signage for the designated areas.
The policy includes:
Tobacco-free bathhouses, concessions and campground recreation buildings and no smoking within 50 feet of them
Tobacco-free swimming beaches
Tobacco-free enclosed picnic shelters
Open-sided picnic shelters may have smoking prohibited during scheduled events as delegated through the authority of the Regional Director
Tobacco-free playgrounds
“This healthy initiative will help to reduce litter, second-hand smoke and eventually reduce youth smoking rates,” said Kevin Keenan, program director of Smoke Free NOW, a program of the Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.
The less smoking youths see, the less likely they are to start, Kennan said.
“Many municipalities in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties have adopted similar resolutions and we are hoping the counties will do the same,” he said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the smoking restriction at state parks on May 10.
“Our state parks embody the rich, natural beauty that New York has to offer and our residents should be able to enjoy them free of pollution from second-hand smoke,” the governor said. “This expansion is an important step forward in ensuring New York’s families can enjoy our great outdoors smoke-free, in a healthy environment.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
Local firefighters, Mercy Flight of Western New York and the Lyndonville school district today simulated a drunken driving car crash outside the high school. Students wore makeup to appear bloodied. Firefighters removed pieces of the cars to remove the “injured” students, who were taken from the scene by stretcher.
LYNDONVILLE – A little after 9 this morning, the ambulances and fire trucks started arriving. When they saw the damage in the two-car crash outside Lyndonville’s school on Housel Avenue, Mercy Flight was called.
The crash was a simulation, a reminder of the deadly dangers of drunk driving with prom season and graduation parties just around the corner.
“This is one of the best ways to show them,” said Jason Smith, Lyndonville Central School superintendent. ““It makes an impact. The first time I saw it as a teacher at Albion, it made an impression on me.”
He has invited firefighters for the simulation the past two years as school superintendent. He also welcomed firefighters and Mercy Flight to stage a drunk driving crash when he was a principal at Elba.
Lyndonville students wore makeup so their faces and shirts appeared bloodied. Firefighters tore apart the vehicles to get access to the students, who were then removed by stretcher and taken away in either an ambulance or Mercy Flight.
One student, Alyssa Houseman, pretended to be dead from the crash. Firefighters put a blanket over here to signify her death. Alyssa’s mother, Bobbi, ran in front of about 150 students and shrieked in distress over her daughter.
Alyssa and several of her softball teammates were in one of the crashed vehicles. They wore their uniforms in the simulation.
“You could feel the tension and emotions,” Alyssa said. “If it will save someone, it’s worth it.”
Bobbi Houseman reacts after being told her daughter, Alyssa, “died” as part of DWI mock simulation earlier today to warn Lyndonville students about the dangers of drunk driving. Ken Strickland, a deputy with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, tries to comfort Houseman.
Bobbi Houseman was reluctant to participate in the simulation. She didn’t like the thought of pretending her daughter had been killed.
“It was creepy,” she said. “It’s the last thing you want to think of, that you’ve lost a child. It was very difficult to come up and see your child and know there is nothing you can do.”
Walter Batt, an Orleans County fire investigator, talked to students about what was happening while firefighters arrived and worked to free students from the wreck. Batt told students that even one drink of alcohol can impair their ability to drive and lead to a fatal accident.
Ken Strickland, an Orleans County deputy sheriff, also addressed the students. Strickland said he has gone to the homes of families to break the news that a child had died in car accidents.
“We’re telling you this happens all the time,” Strickland said about the consequences of drunk driving. “You’re not super human.”
Several local fire departments volunteered for the simulation. Mercy Flight sent a helicopter from Batavia. That agency is participating in about 20 simulations at schools in Western New York this spring, said Bill Schutt, the agency’s outreach coordinator.
“We serve this community and if we can do something to prevent them from needing our services, then that’s the right thing to do,” Schutt said.
Mercy Flight of Western New York and several local fire departments responded to the simulated crash at Lyndonville today.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Boy Scouts in Troop 94 and the Kendall Community Choir both honored members of the military on Wednesday during a concert at the new town park across from the elementary school.
The troop honored veterans with a flag-folding ceremony while the choir sang several patriotic songs. Orleans Hub thanks Crystal Freitag for sending these photos. A rainbow also appeared during the concert. More concerts are being planned at the gazebo this summer.
Provided photo – Press release, Medina Mustang Band
MEDINA – The Medina Mustang Band traveled to New Jersey from May 16-19 and competed in the Music in the Parks Festival, taking first place in parade with a score of 98, first in concert band with a score of 98 and also won the overall concert band award (highest scoring High School Concert Band).The Mustangs also won first in jazz with a score of 96.25 and took the overall jazz award. Student Cameron Morgan was named best soloist for the High School Jazz competition.
Band Directors Jim Steele and Cheri Pritchard stated the students represented their school and community very well with outstanding performances.Many great comments came from the judges and other competing band directors and staffs.
The band directors want to publicly thank 28 chaperones and staff that made this trip a success.Without the chaperones, the support of the Mustang Band Boosters, school administrators and staff, the directors and band would not have been able to pull off this monumental trip.
The band looks forward to showing off their street show, “Ol’ Blue Eyes” to the Medina community on Monday at the Memorial Day Parade. The next and last competition for the band will be at the Gorham Pageant of Bands held May 31 and June 1.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Bill Larkin, left, and Larry Manning work part-time on the Orleans County Marine Patrol.
POINT BREEZE – I saw two familiar faces yesterday at Point Breeze. Bill Larkin and Larry Manning are both retired deputies from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department. I remember them both from my earlier days as a newspaper reporter in Orleans County.
They’re still working the beat, but now they’re part-time as part on the Orleans County Marine Patrol. There are seven part-timers on the Marine Patrol, and they’re all retired police officers. The county also assigns a full-time officer to the group from April through October.
Manning worked full-time for the Sheriff’s Department from 1974 to 2001. Larkin worked full-time for the department from 1976 to 2005, retiring as an investigator.
The Marine Patrol has boats based out of Oak Orchard Harbor and Lake Alice. Another boat is on a trailer and can be taken to any waterway in the county.
The Marine Patrol does safety checks on boats and makes sure they have life preservers. Sometimes a boat will get stranded and need help. Other times, a boater may be intoxicated.
“Usually it’s pretty quiet down here but you have to be ever vigilant because you never know,” Larkin said.
The state reimburses the county half of the Marine Patrol costs, Larkin said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Medina school district activated this new school sign last Friday. The sign on Route 31A is made of Medina sandstone.
MEDINA – A new sign advertising Medina school events recognizes the community’s sandstone heritage, while utilizing new wireless technology.
“It’s a neat combination linking our past, present and future,” said Jeff Evoy, the district superintendent.
Medina used leftover state funds from a capital project to cover nearly all the costs of the new sign on Route 31A by Mustang Drive.
The sign replaces one that was only about 10 years old. That stopped working years ago. Residents and school officials wanted it to be repaired. The company that installed the sign went bankrupt and is no longer in business, school officials said.
Evoy is a member of the Medina Sandstone Society. He wanted some of the area’s famous stone incorporated in the new sign.
The new sign was functional last Friday, just in time to welcome the Medina Mustang Band back from a trip to New Jersey and wish Medina sports teams good luck in the playoffs. The sign was changed Wednesday to thank the community for supporting the district’s school budget.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Caledonia Fish hatchery manager Alan Mack, bottom, works with Brian Edmonds from the DEC’s Salmon River Hatchery to unload a truck full of lake trout.
The lake trout are yearlings that are about 7 inches long.
POINT BREEZE – A decade from now, many of them will hopefully be two feet long, trophy fish that will draw angling tourists and their money to Orleans County.
For now, the 80,600 lake trout that were stocked off the Oak Orchard Harbor are about seven inches long. This morning they were hauled on a barge 2.1 miles from the harbor and released into Lake Ontario.
A sample of the lake trout are measured, and checked to see if a fin is clipped. The group includes, from left: Matt Sanderson, senior aquatic biologist for the DEC in Avon; and Mike Waterhouse, the county’s sportsfishing coordinator.
The fish were taken out where the lake is 150 feet deep. That is their preferred environment, and also avoids many of the predators, bigger fish and birds, that stalk the waters close to shore.
“If we stocked them off shore they’d have to run a 2-mile gauntlet to get through,” said Alan Mack, the Caledonia Fish Hatchery manager. “If we stocked them by the shore the chance of them getting eaten are pretty good.”
The lake trout that were released today were raised at the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery in Warren, Pa. The fish each had a fin clipped to show it was a hatchery-raised fish. A tiny tag in its snout will help the state Department of Environmental Conservation track it for survivability. The tag will note the fish was released near the Oak Orchard on May 22, 2013. It will also indicate one of three strains of lake trout: Lake Cayuga, Lake Chautauqua and Lake Champlain.
The fish are taken out 2.1 miles from shore and released into water that is 150 feet deep. That reduces the predators that are closer to shore. In this photo, the vessel carrying a truck of fish returns from the lake through the Oak Orchard Harbor.
DEC officials get ready to swap out this truck with another one, and then make the 2.1-mile trip out to the lake.
“It will help us know which ones survive more and have the highest catch-ability,” Mack said on the barge this morning.
The DEC has already stocked steelhead in Orleans County this spring, as well as a batch of pen-reared Chinook salmon. Next week more Chinook and brown trout will be stocked with cohoes put in the lake in the fall.
Fishing has a $12 million annual economic impact in Orleans County, according to county officials, with about $1 billion each year in the state, Mack said.
After a year in a fish hatchery in Warren, Pa, these lake trout are released into Lake Ontario.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Voters back budget, which reduces taxes by $1 million
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Kendall Junior-Senior High School is eyed for about $14 million of the $25 million capitol project that was approved by district residents on Tuesday.
The elementary school also will be the focus of about $11 million in upgrades.
KENDALL – Residents gave strong support to a proposed $25 million capitol project, 203 to 89, which will replace roofs on two school buildings, improve safety and redesign classrooms in the junior-senior high school.
The project includes energy efficient improvements, heating and ventilation work, and improvements to parking lots and sidewalks. The state will pay 90 percent of the costs. Kendall already has its local share saved in the capitol reserve account.
The proposed $14,051,383 budget passed 233 to 61. The budget cuts taxes by nearly $1 million, from $5,601,132 to $4,606,613. The average tax rate will fall from $21.51 to $17.45 per $1,000 of assessed property.
The district is shedding about $500,000 annually with a paid-off bond and another $115,000 annually with a bus loan payment. Kendall also will see several students with disabilities, who were educated at costly facilities outside the district, move into other communities. Those factors, plus a $553,000 increase in state aid, are allowing Kendall to drastically cut taxes.
Residents approved continuing a school bus replacement capitol reserve fund, 236 to 56, and approved spending up to $250,000 from that fund for buses, 228 to 64.
Board of Education member Edward Gaesser did not run for re-election. Martin Goodenbery, the lone candidate, was elected to a five-year term with 251 votes.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 May 2013 at 12:00 am
LYNDONVILLE – Voters backed a $13,094,250 budget with a 196 to 80 vote on Tuesday. Residents also supported a proposition to reduce the size of Lyndonville’s Board of Education from nine to seven members.
“I appreciate the Lyndonville community’s support of the school budget,” said Superintendent Jason Smith. “The district strives to provide a high quality education that prepares students for college and career. This would not be possible without the community’s support. On behalf of the students, staff and administration, I express my sincere gratitude to the community.”
Residents elected four members to the BOE with Harold Suhr receiving the most votes, 180, followed by James Moody and Terry Stinson who tied with 161. Michelle Dillenbeck, 151, was elected to fill the remaining two years of an unexpired term. Voters chose not to re-elect Tara Neace.
The proposition to reduce the size of the BOE to seven members passed, 209 to 80. Other propositions also were supported, including the creation of a transportation vehicle reserve fund with up to $460,000, 190 to 77; the purchase of a $126,000 bus, 188 to 81; and $82,500 for the Yates Community Library, 187 to 83.
