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Cost climbs for Clarendon Street bridge in Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 May 2014 at 12:00 am

File photo by Tom Rivers – Construction was supposed to start this fall for the Clarendon Street bridge in the village of Albion but escalating costs make that time frame uncertain.

ALBION – A project that has been a decade in the making seemed to be in the home stretch, but now the fate of Clarendon Street bridge in Albion faces uncertainty.

The costs for the project are up by about $500,000 more than what was expected. The federal and state governments were slated to pay 95 percent of the costs with the village picking up the remaining 5 percent.

However, the Genesee Transportation Council last week declined to make more state and federal money available for the project. The village would have to bear the full costs for expenses over the budget.

Mayor Dean London said he will appeal to the GTC and state officials, to increase the money for the project.

“We’ll be making some phone calls,” London said tonight after a meeting at the Village Hall with state Department of Transportation officials and Bergmann Associates, the design firm hired for the project.

Construction estimates are up by $323,000, while design and right-of-way costs are up $147,000 from the budget. Construction inspection costs are also $80,000 over the budget because two inspectors are now required rather than one.

Clarendon Street can be heavily trafficked, especially during in the morning when school starts and in the afternoon when it lets out.

The project for a new bridge is in its final design phase. That part should be complete this summer. Construction was planned to start for this fall. Steve Beauvais, the local project liaison for the DOT, said the federal government hasn’t increased infrastructure money in the past two years. The Feds pay 80 percent of the project with the state paying 15 percent.

Albion was expecting $200,000 to be its share in a worst-case scenario. But now it could be $775,000. London said the village could borrow $570,000 of the increase and pay it back over 20 years. That would add another $60,000 to $70,000 on village taxpayers annually, he said.

The new bridge will replace one that is about 40 years old. It goes over the railroad tracks. The project was pegged at about $2 million.

The current bridge has “heavily deteriorated” beams, spalling concrete and other problems, Kevin Miller, an engineer with Bergmann, said at a meeting last year.

The DOT wants to replace the bridge with a smaller precast concrete structure that will improve sight lines and offer wider travel lanes, shoulders and sidewalks. The new bridge will have longer approaches.

The bridge is unusual for being in a village inventory, Beauvais said. Typically a longer bridge like that would be owned by a county, he said. Village officials have reached out to the county for help with the project, but so far have been turned down.

Volunteers are happy to show off Cobblestone Museum

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 May 2014 at 12:00 am

Newcomers and veterans will take your questions

Photos by Tom Rivers Ilene Benfer debuted today as a docent at the Cobblestone Society Museum. She is pictured inside the blacksmith shop.

GAINES – For many years Ilene Benfer brought her fourth-grade class from Kendall to the Cobblestone Society Museum. Her students most enjoyed the one-room schoolhouse, a structure from 1849 with cobblestone masonry.

“They are amazed that every grade could fit in there,” Benfer said. “This was long before Smart Boards and computers.”

Benfer now teachers Kendall third-graders. She recommends teachers bring their students to the museum.

“The children need to see, hear and touch history,” said Benfer, a Waterport resident.

Today was opening day for the museum, and also the first day Benfer was an official volunteer for the site, which is a National Historic Landmark. Benfer was in the blacksmith shop. She likes the old tools, and marvels at ingenuity of Joseph Vagg, the blacksmith who worked there. He had to fashion parts to fit carriage wheels, farm equipment and other community needs.

A carriage and other artifacts are displayed inside the blacksmith shop on Route 98, just south of Route 104.

Benfer took volunteer training last Saturday. She is serving as a docent, giving tours of the museum, which includes eight historic structures.

“I get to live in the past for a few hours,” she said.

She would like to see more schools bring students to the museum to learn about the past.

Some of the tools of the blacksmith trade are on display as well as an old manure spreader.

While today was Benfer’s first day as an official volunteer, Paul Letiecq has been a steady presence at the museum for 20 years. He was back at his favorite spot this afternoon at the entrance of the Cobblestone Universalist Church. The building was constructed in 1834. It’s the oldest cobblestone church in North America.

“I think this is a real asset to our community that we have the historic complex that we have here,” Letiecq said about the museum. “It tells a story of our heritage.”

Paul Letiecq enjoys talking about the Cobblestone Universalist Church, which was built in 1834.

Letiecq, 80, is retired as a full-time minister. He served the Presbyterian Church in Holley for 10 years.

In his retirement, he has been a supply minister for the Universalist congregation in Middleport. That group meets in a cobblestone church built in 1841.

Letiecq enjoys talking about the history of the Cobblestone Universalist Church in Gaines, as well as some of the social movements of that era as universalism spread as New Englanders moved across New York.

The cobblestone church once required pew rentals for the people to sit in the first floor seats. If the people didn’t pay or were visitors, they had to sit upstairs.

The Cobblestone Unversalist Church still holds church services at least twice a year and also is used for weddings.

One church, the Free Methodist Church, started in Albion and has spread to more than 1,000 in the world after it opposed the pew rentals in the early 1860s. Letiecq likes to share that story.

“Charging for pews was quite controversial,” Letiecq said.

Mothers get their day in the sun

Staff Reports Posted 11 May 2014 at 12:00 am

Photo by Cheryl Wertman

ALBION – These mothers are leading and watching out for their youngsters earlier today in front of the Wal-Mart at Albion.

Cheryl Wertman took these pictures and shared this message: “Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and grandmothers who support their sons, daughters, and grandchildren in all their academic and extra-curricular activities.”

Photo by Cheryl Wertman

Workers repair collapsed canal wall in 1927

Posted 11 May 2014 at 12:00 am

By Bill Lattin
Orleans County Historian

EAGLE HARBOR – A steam pile driver is being used here to reinforce a concrete wall along the canal in August 1927.

It was just east of Eagle Harbor over Otter Creek where the canal retaining wall collapsed flooding over 500 acres to the south up Otter Creek.

The Albion Eagle Harbor Road was flooded out along with a couple of houses. Canal traffic came to a halt for over six weeks until the damage was fixed.

Diagnosed at 23, survivor shares her story for Brain Tumor Awareness Month

Posted 11 May 2014 at 12:00 am

Photo by Sue Cook – Heather Kuepper was only 23 years old in 2011 when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The photo on the left was taken just hours after her surgery. On the right is her discharge from the hospital nine days later.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

MEDINA – Three years have passed since Heather Kuepper was diagnosed with a Grade III malignant brain tumor (grade IV is the most severe). Doctors said her tumor was so big it was nearly blocking off the flow of cerebral spinal fluid and without an operation, it would continue to grow and would eventually kill her.

Before her diagnosis, Kuepper had experienced headaches, dizziness and numbness. She made an appointment with her primary-care doctor who then referred her to a neurologist in Rochester. The neurologist noticed that the movement of her left eye was jittery, while her right eye moved smoothly.

On June 17, 2011, Kuepper was scheduled for an MRI to rule out the possibility of multiple sclerosis.

“I never expected it to be anything more than that,” said Kuepper.

She was asked to have a seat while waiting for her results. She noticed many people who were also having MRIs were leaving faster than her. She assumed that perhaps other people were just there for quick follow-ups.

“They called me up and told me they were trying to get a hold of my primary-care doctor. I was waiting there for probably three or four hours. They finally got a hold of him and he pulled me into a private room. He told me, ‘I’m sorry. You have a brain tumor.’ At that point, I tuned out everything he was saying. I heard noise, but I couldn’t even focus on anything.”

Provided photo – Kuepper’s tumor, circled in red, was located in the posterior fossa. It was starting to grow on her brain stem.

Because of the size and location of the tumor, Kuepper’s first neurosurgeon referred her to Dr. Silberstein, a pediatric nuerosurgeon who had more expertise. Kuepper’s tumor was an ependymoma, which is a type of brain tumor rarely found in adults.

On July 6, Silberstein began the scheduled six-hour operation at Strong Hospital. The surgery would take 13 hours.

Kuepper woke up to find herself intubated with a breathing tube down her throat because she would be unable to breathe on her own without it during recovery. She was in a room where four nurses provided 24-hour surveillance on her.

During her hospital stay, she also had to learn to eat, talk and walk again. She was put through physical, occupational and speech therapy. She was eventually moved to a regular hospital room with less intensive care.

Nine days after admission, Kuepper was released from the hospital. She had to take 30 pills a day. Kuepper also needed 33 radiation sessions over six and a half weeks. She continued another two to three weeks of other therapy sessions to increase her functionality.

‘I’d rather look silly and stupid, than be dead.’ – Heather Kuepper

Kuepper does have some after-effects from her experience. She has anxiety problems that her doctor said can be post-traumatic stress, which is common in people who have a similar situation, because of how intense and terrifying her experience was. She also has felt survivor’s guilt, but tries to focus on how lucky and blessed she is.

“I do have issues with memory. I had just enrolled in college within weeks of finding out that I had a tumor, so I had to pause while I had the surgery and was trying to recover,” she said. “Everything I learned in that time, I don’t remember and that has caused a lot of depression issues for me, but I’m getting a lot better from that now.”

Today, Kuepper works for CRFS in Albion. She sometimes struggles with retaining new information.

“At work, I have to carry a packet of information with me for about two months before I can do it on my own,” she said.

Provided photo – Kuepper had 13 stitches to seal the nearly 5-inch incision running up the back of her neck. This photo was taken after she had begun to heal.

Kuepper explained that there are 120 different kinds of brain tumors. It is the most common form of solid tumor for children under age 15. Brain tumors are the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under age 20 (behind leukemia). They are the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in males and the fifth-leading for females between the ages of 20-39.

She advises that people should take their symptoms seriously for any illness or health problem.

“I would definitely say if you think you’re being silly getting worried about symptoms, don’t,” she said. “Go to the doctor. I had put off symptoms for a couple weeks, but when they kept happening, something in me just kind of told me to go to the doctor and see what it was. I never in a million years would have thought that I’d have brain surgery and me going through radiation. My motto now: I’d rather look silly and stupid, than be dead.”

She is also going to run a half marathon on May 25 in Buffalo. She is using the run to raise money for brain-cancer research through Race Toward a Cure during May, which is Brain Tumor Awareness Month.

For those who would like to donate to her efforts, you can see her fundraising page by clicking here.

With Memorial Day coming, Scouts put flags on veterans’ graves

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 May 2014 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Scouts from Albion and West Barre put hundreds of flags on veterans graves this morning at Mount Albion Cemetery and also at Saint Joseph’s Cemetery, both on Route 31. The Scouts and their leaders are pictured at the Ingersoll Fountain at Mount Albion before they put flags on the graves.

Brett Schreiner, 7, (left) and Isaac Hickman, 7, are both wolves in West Barre Pack 175. They were at Mount Albion this morning with Albion Scouts in Pack and Troop 164 and 60.

Seth Krenning, left, is a Tiger Cub in Pack 164. He and about 30 other Scouts placed flags on veterans’ graves this morning.

FFA convention filled with inspiration

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 May 2014 at 12:00 am

Local farmers play rock concert for students

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The FFA State Convention is a showcase for student achievement and also inspirational speakers. On Friday night the winner of the extemporaneous speaking contest, Kaylee Eaton of the Cattaraugus-Little Valley FFA, delivers her winning speech in front of a crowd of about 1,000 people in the Medina High School Auditorium.

Eaton’s speech was about the emergence and promise of urban farming. There has been a “huge revolution in agriculture” with hydroponics, aquaculture and rooftop gardening, Eaton said. Urban farmers benefit with customers who are close by, she said.

Matt Lohr of Virginia shared about his experiences in the FFA and meeting his wife Andrea through the program. Lohr said his wife was a giving person who inspired others. She died at age 36 on July 10, 2011, after a five-year battle with breast cancer.

“The ultimate gift you can do is make a difference in the lives of people around us,” Lohr said.

He also shared about Roger Bannister, an Englishman who was the first to run a mile in under 4 minutes. For 75 years, runners tried to break that threshold but it didn’t happen until May 6, 1954.

Bannister’s achievement was a breakthrough for runners, and he showed the world it was possible.

“Now 3,500 runners have done it,” Lohr said.

He urged the FFA students to set high goals.

“Are you living life with a dream? Do you have a purpose?”

One of the parking areas by Medina High School is lined with tractors.

A local band, Savage Cabbage, performed Friday night in the high school gymnasium. Here lead singer Frank Starowitz belts out a note from a hard-rocking song. Mike Moore is in the middle with Gary Tarr at left.

Frank and his brother John Starowitz perform in the band together. They are also co-owners of Star Growers.

John Starowitz plays the guitar with the band Savage Cabbage.

Thomas draws many visitors from outside the area to Medina

Posted 10 May 2014 at 12:00 am

Photos by Sue Cook – Zoe Wheeland, 2, poses with her mom Lori on their day out with Thomas. They traveled from Fairport because Zoe is a fan of the TV show. Lori encouraged Zoe to look out the window during the train ride by asking her to look for bunnies.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

MEDINA – Thomas the Tank Engine is stopping in Medina for a six-day visit this weekend and next, and the attraction already is bringing people to Medina from outside the state and some even from outside of North America.

Martin Phelps, the Medina Railroad Museum founder and director, said that the museum is excited to have Thomas back for another year.

Fisher-Price owns the rights to Thomas through HIT Entertainment. Phelps said he reached out to the company to ask that Medina be chosen again as the solo New York state stop for Thomas. The event raises between $30,000 and $40,000 for the museum’s upkeep and operation.

Near the museum’s entrance, a bubble machine fills the air. Brothers Logan and Tyler Brown play in the bubbles with their grandfather Joe Baldoni.

“Thomas is very particular where he goes to,” explained Phelps. “One of reasons he chose us is because of the Erie Canal, the old-fashioned look of the town, and we are the longest railroad freight house museum in the United States and Canada. We are one foot longer than a football field. The building was New York Central Railroad freight house built in 1905. We acquired the building in 1992 and made the museum out of it.”

Phelps said that on the first day of the event there were people who came to Medina specifically for the Thomas event from London, England; Australia; Japan; Nova Scotia; Montreal, Canada; Dominican Republic and Albany. Many visitors are coming from Rochester and Buffalo. The event is mostly seeing guests from New York state, Pennsylvania, and Canada. Other volunteers said they met people from many other states as well.

“We probably did about 12,000 tickets as an average,” Phelps said of the six-day run. “This brings in a good impact on Genesee County, Orleans County, and Niagara County. So everyone does very well. It’s a great event. Thomas the Tank Engine is a great thing for kids. This is a major fundraiser for the museum.”

Marty Phelps, the conductor, holds 1-year-old Connie Hoffman and her brother Jeffrey, 4. Their mother, Melissa, brought them from Buffalo for the event.

“Thomas is my favorite,” said 4-year-old Jeffrey Hoffman of Buffalo. “I liked riding the train.”

He is a big fan of the TV show and was very excited to come on Friday. He even said the drive from Buffalo didn’t feel very far.

Abbagail Hamilton was hired by JED Photography to take photographs of children with Thomas. She came from Orchard Park and found Medina very aesthetically pleasing.

“I let myself get a little bit lost this morning,” she said.

Lockport resident Richard Faery is the driver for Thomas. He said that the term ‘driver’ is used in England, where Thomas is from. If Thomas were from America, then Faery would be called the engineer. He became the driver in 2006. He said that to get the position, he went to Phelps and asked, “Marty, can I dress up as the driver?” Phelps had responded to him, “Do you want to be the driver?” and since then it has been Faery’s volunteer position.

Medina resident Sherry Tuohey volunteered and was asked to operate a platform. She helped people on and off the train. She was excited to see people from outside the area coming to Thomas and exploring Medina.

“Please support the local organizations,” she said, making note that in the food court was prepared by local businesses and service clubs.

Volunteering beside her was Torby Barker of Tonawanda, who sometimes stays in the area. “We make it like a historical package,” he said of the village of Medina. “If you come here two or three days, you won’t run out of the things to do.”

Timothy Zhu, 2, of Farmington, helps Roger the Balloon Guy make a hat. Besides the train and museum, children can also do crafts, dance, see magic, color, get temporary tattoos, watch videos and more. Sir Topham Hatt also has shows throughout the day.

Ticket purchases include admission to the museum and the 25-minute train ride. Tickets can be purchased at the museum or online by clicking here.

These boys rode the train together and waved out the window. When asked if they were having fun, they shouted back, “Yes!”

2 local FFA students stand out at state convention

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 May 2014 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Two local FFA students – Jayne Bannister, left, of Albion and Jack Hill of Medina – were recognized during the FFA State Convention today in Medina.

Jack, a Medina eighth-grader, won first place in the state for reciting and delivering the FFA junior creed. That qualifies him to compete in the National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky in October.

Jack was judged on his accuracy and mannerisms in delivering the creed. Judges then asked follow-up questions.

Jack said he loves FFA and the agriculture community.

“I’m in love with tractors and farming in general,” he said. “I’ve grown up loving anything with an engine in it.”

Jayne Bannister, a junior at Albion, was elected president of District 9 for the FFA. That includes chapters in Albion, Medina, the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, Letchworth, Pioneer and two new chapters at Barker and Roy-Hart.

Jayne will connect with the local chapters, sharing leadership development programs and other FFA initiatives. She also was recently picked as the Niagara-Orleans dairy princess.

Jayne said she will use the roles to help educate the public about agriculture.

“There is a misunderstanding about what agriculture is with the general public,” she said. “We need to bridge that gap.”

After high school, she plans to major in animal science with a minor in education. She said she may pursue being an agricultural teacher. She also would be happy returning to her family’s beef and fruit farm at Point Breeze.

Ag revenues soar in latest census

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 May 2014 at 12:00 am

Orleans jumped from $101M in 2007 to $150M in 2012

File photo by Tom Rivers – Ken Nice, a fruit grower in Knowlesville, walks through his orchard last May when the trees were in bloom. Orleans County’s farm revenue is dominated by fruit, vegetables and other crops.

The revenue from Orleans County farms totaled $150.3 million in 2012 for sales of fruit, vegetables, milk, livestock and other farm products, a 48.8 percent jump from the $101.0 million recorded in 2007, according to the Agricultural Census.

State-wide, the numbers increased 24.9 percent to $5.52 billion in 2012. That was up by $1.1 billion from the $4.42 billion in 2007, according to the federal Ag Census, which is done every five years.

The county breakdowns show the agricultural is a very big business locally, especially in the four GLOW counties. Wyoming County, which was ranked second overall in 2007, has claimed the top spot in the state with the new Census. Revenue at Wyoming County farms totaled $318.5 million in 2012, up from the $229.9 million in 2007.

Suffolk County, which has a thriving greenhouse and aquaculture industry on Long Island, was the top farm county in 2007 but has fallen to third in the new Census. Suffolk is behind Wyoming and Cayuga, another strong dairy county, at $293.5 million.

Some of the dairy animals are pictured at Poverty Hill Farms in Albion. Dairy and livestock make up a small portion of the Orleans County farm sector.

Genesee, Orleans County’s southern neighbor, ranks fourth overall in the state at $236.9 million, which is up from the $177.8 million in 2007. Livingston is ranked eighth overall in the state at $186.8 million.

Orleans is just out of the top 10. It ranks 13^th at $150.3 million. The county’s ag bounty is nearly all crops at $138.5 million. Dairy, poultry and livestock make up less than 10 percent at $11.9 million.

The county’s ag revenue has more than doubled in 10 years. In 2002, the total was $68.9 million. State-wide ag revenue jumped 74 percent from 2002 to 2012, from $3.18 billion to $5.54 billion.

Corn prices were on the rise between 2007 and 2012, helping to fuel the increase in farm revenues. This photo shows the grain storage facilities owned by Panek Farms on County House Road in Albion.

Here is a list of the state’s top 15 counties for ag revenue:

1) Wyoming: $318.5 million

2) Cayuga: $293.5 million

3) Suffolk: $239.8 million

4) Genesee: $237.0 million

5) Wayne: $205.6 million

6) St. Lawrence: $187.4 million

7) Steuben: $187.2 million

8) Livingston: $186.8 million

9) Jefferson: $183.6 million

10) Ontario: $180.3 million

11) Chautauqua: $161.8 million

12) Onondaga: $152.1 million

13) Orleans: $150.3 million

14) Clinton: $149.0 million

15) Washington: $139.1 million