By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The former Starlite Dry Cleaners has been vacant on Main Street in Medina since a fire damaged the building a decade ago.
MEDINA – The village is spending $3,500 to determine the environmental cleanup needed for two vacant side-by-side sites on Main Street.
The former Starlite Dry Cleaners at 331 North Main St. has been empty since a fire in the building a decade ago. Its neighbor at 333 North Main also is vacant.
The Village Board would like to see the sites be redeveloped. But first the extent of the environmental contamination needs to be determined. The village also is trying to line up funding to help with the cleanup. The state Department of Environmental Conservation pledged $50,000 to $60,000 to the cleanup in 2008, Mayor Andrew Meier said.
He believes the DEC will still honor that commitment if local dollars are committed to help with the project.
Starlite is currently in limbo. A previous owner stopped paying taxes on the site. Normally the property would then be owned by Orleans County, but the county hasn’t accepted the property due to the potential environmental liabilities.
Meier and the Village Board on Monday voted to pay $3,500 to Great Lakes Environmental. The firm will look at alternatives for the two sites, including the costs of environmental remediation, building repairs and demolition.
A previous study showed some dry-cleaning solvents were in the soil at Starlite.
Meier said he doesn’t want the two buildings to sit idle much longer. The study from the environmental consultant should help determine the future for the two buildings.
“It’s an important project in the community,” Meier said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
The rainy spring is keeping farmers out of their fields. The big downpour today added to their woes. Many fields are flooded including the one pictured on top on Presbyterian Road in the town of Ridgeway.
This pipe runs under the road and directs water to the north side.
This is a picture of the same flooded field along Presbyterian Road. This picture was taken at about 8:15 p.m. today.
Earlier in the day, during the peak of the downpour, I stopped along Ridge Road and got this picture. This is on the western end of Albion, looking south from the Ridge.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Effort raises money for Women & Children’s Hospital
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – About 30 employees at CRFS in Albion are out this morning selling special “Kids Day” editions of The Buffalo News. In the top photo Jill Newman of CRFS sells the newspaper at the intersection of State and Main streets, in front of the Presbyterian Church.
CRFS is trying to sell 1,000 of the papers this morning. The effort raises money for Women & Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. The Buffalo News has printed a special Kids Day edition for 32 years.
Besides selling at busy intersections, CRFS has a stash of the newspapers at its East Avenue location. This is the first year CRFS has volunteered for the effort. Previously, employees at JP Morgan Chase in Albion sold the papers.
Ryan Lasal of CRFS sells the “Kids Day” edition at the corner of routes 31 and 98.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Vernon Fonda, a conservation officer with the state Department of Conservation, stands near the edge of Johnson Creek just before the Lyndonville Dam. Fonda wants to improve the stability of the bank and accessibility of the site for fishermen. He envisions a floating dock near where he is standing, closer to the bridge over Route 63.
LYNDONVILLE – It’s one of the area’s most picturesque spots, and it also is a popular fishing hole.
The section in front of the Lyndonville Dam along Johnson Creek also is dangerous, with loose soil and a rocky embankment.
Vernon Fonda moved to Lyndonville about six months ago. He works as a conservation officer for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Fonda loves the Lyndonville community. He is president of the PTA, is joining the Lions Club and enjoys the area’s natural resources.
The spot by the dam needs to be stabilized to prevent further erosion, and he wants to make it easier for fishermen to use the site.
“Johnson Creek is world renowned,” Fonda said. “If we make the site safer it will increase tourism.”
He is trying to line up support in the community for the project. He said boulders, a floating dock, ramp with a railing, fencing, a kiosk to list fish that can be caught at the site, and other improvements are all under consideration.
Vernon Fonda also is a Lyndonville resident. He would like to beautify the area near the Lyndonville Dam. He shows where the bank is suffering from erosion.
Mayor Steve McAvoy welcomes Fonda’s input and energy in making the site more stable and safer. McAvoy said the village will need to work with the Army Corps of Engineers, DEC, Soil and Water Conservation District and other agencies that will all need to sign off on any work at the site.
“He’s really taken the bull by the horns,” McAvoy said about Fonda.
The village of Lyndonville owns the lands by the property. Erosion has been a concern, especially as the pace has quickened in the past six months or so, McAvoy said.
The dam is at an angle where the creek hits the embankment hard, especially after big rains or snow melts.
“It’s tremendous the force in there,” said Terry Woodworth, the village DPW superintendent.
Photo courtesy of Village of Lyndonville – During high waters, after a big rain or snow melt, Johnson Creek rises and eats away at the embankment.
The village looked at a stabilization project a few years ago and it was about $350,000 then and there were questions whether it would work, Woodworth said.
“It won’t be an easy fix,” he said.
The village would like to see the upper pond dredged, and the flood gates and piping repaired by the dam.
Woodworth is grateful Fonda sees the potential at the site, and has got the community interested in it. Fonda has connected with government officials, service organizations and local individuals and businesses about the project.
“Vern has got people looking at it,’” Woodworth said.
Fonda also has been trying to improve public fishing access along the creek downstream.
“This started as a stabilization project and now it includes making the area more accessible to fishermen,” Fonda said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Contractors work on installing a new playground by the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School in Albion. The new playground could be ready next week.
ALBION – The former wooden playground at the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School has been removed after about 20 years of use and a new playground with slides, climbing points and several standalone sections will be added.
The new system could be ready as soon as next week if the weather is cooperative.
Contractors have added drainage to improve soil and surfacing dry times, District Superintendent Michael Bonnewell said.
Pieces are in the parking lot, soon to be installed in the playground.
The former playground with its wood structure provided a good home for bees and years of water exposure had caused its own damage, Bonnewell said. The manufacturer was no longer making spare parts and that resulted in the custom milling of some replacement parts.
The new playground is a Game Time brand unit. Titan from Gasport is doing the installation.
Elementary school students had a vote in the color schemes and design elements for the playground. State Sen. George Maziarz directed $67,800 in discretionary “bullet aid” to Albion, which the district used towards the new playground.
Photo by Sue Cook – This photo from a few weeks ago shows the Kanyoo Trail at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.
Press release
Ducks Unlimited
SHELBY – Ducks Unlimited has been awarded a $62,407 grant for coastal wetlands restoration work in Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. DU and their partners will enhance 1,000 acres of forested wetland through restored hydrology and reforestation.
“Iroquois has always been important to Ducks Unlimited,” said Sarah Fleming, Ducks Unlimited regional biologist. “The area is an important stop for migratory waterfowl. Reforesting provides valuable habitat, and putting in new culverts and removing portions of a dike will help this portion of the refuge function at a much higher level, providing more food and better opportunities for waterfowl on their way to the breeding grounds.”
The grant comes through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Other partners in the grant proposal include Cargill, Friends of Iroquois NWR and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Work will take place in an area known as the Seneca Pool, and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2014. Almost every wildlife species uses wetlands at some point of its lifecycle, and a diverse range of wildlife species stand to benefit from the enhanced habitat, including American black duck, American woodcock and cerulean warblers.
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org.
Photos by Sue Cook – Michael Fahey stands with his Gary Fisher bicycle. He has had four total bikes since he took up riding. He has also owned a French racer, a Trek 730 Hybrid and a Giant. Fahey estimates he carries about 70 pounds of gear with him on his bike when he going for a long ride.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
HOLLEY – Holley resident Michael Fahey began his journey during hard times. When his wife of 27 years, Ruth, was diagnosed with breast cancer, Fahey took up cycling as a hobby. He also served as her caregiver.
In 1995, Ruth passed away at age 48. Fahey has used cycling since then to raise money for cancer research. He said he has raised “thousands” for the cause.
Fahey started cycling in the early ’90s. He said he was a little overweight at the time.
“My wife was a nurse practitioner. She said ‘You need a physical. You haven’t had one since you left the service.’ So I had one and they thought I had a problem with my heart,” Fahey said. “So the cardiologist said ‘You need to lose weight and exercise. So I started walking, and I got up to 10 miles, but it just took too long. So I bought this cheap road bike from Toys ’R Us and rode that for a while. Then my brother came to visit from Chicago and left his bike, a French racer, and I rode that and that’s how it all got started.”
Ruth supported Fahey’s efforts to exercise through bicycling. “In the last six months before she passed away, that’s where I did my riding.”
Fahey’s rides, in America and foreign countries, were for raising breast cancer research money.
“The fundraising was done in the United States through talks, advertisements, word of mouth,” he said. “When I finished the United States, 3,000 miles in 38 days, I said what the heck, let’s do the rest of the world.” That was in 1996.
“I would just get a map of the countries I wanted to go to and plot out my trip, and I always tried to find a community that I was stopping in that had a youth hostel in it.”
In his worldwide journey, he has met with some misfortunes, including lost bikes and luggage. His Trek bicycle that he took to Ireland and England, didn’t fare so well when it was brought home.
“That lasted for one year and the Canadian airlines crushed it on the way back from England,” Fahey said. “I’ve been very fortunate. All my problems with bicycles and transportation has been on the return. I’ve had my bicycle lost for awhile going over, but not damaged.”
Hi daughter Shari cycled across the United States with him. She got out of bicycling, but then she got back into doing triathlons. His other two daughters, Kathy and Shannon, are not into the sport, but support Fahey.
Fahey has ridden on six out of the seven continents. In 2013, he followed a route known as The Way of St. James, which stretches from Paris, France to Santiago, Spain. It was a well-traveled Christian pilgrimage from medieval times that follows the route of St. James bones to their burial in Spain.
Fahey calls this his ‘bragging jacket.’ There are patches all over it from the countries he has been to and embroidered with the dates of when he was there.
Fahey’s favorite country to travel through was China. The people were more than willing to help a stranger.
“I was in China three times to get across and the Chinese people in the countryside were so good to me. If I broke down, the village would come out to try and help.”
The Chinese gave Fahey fresh water as he rode out along his trip through the country.
“If I ran out of water, all I needed to do was stop some place and say ‘water’ to people,” Fahey said. “I ran out of water on my first day. The first time, I was passing a construction utility truck. They were parked there taking a break. I said ‘water’ and they filled up everything I had with water. The next time, I ran out of water again and a motorcycle club came by and I said something about being short of water. They all go and get their water and they filled my water up.”
Fahey continues to ride and focuses his talks and fundraising locally for now, though he is planning to move out of the area soon.
On Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Geneseo United Methodist Church in Geneseo, he will be giving a free talk put on by Geneseo Young at Heart. It is open to the public and Fahey plans to focus mostly on talking about cycling and his journey. However, he says he will also talk about his wife because she was the inspiration for him to make these trips and perform fundraising efforts.
Fahey has also written a book. The first chapter focuses on his wife. The rest of the book is about his bicycling. The book is titled “Biking to Save My Soul: America, Ireland, and England.” It is $15 and $1 of each purchase will go to the American Cancer Society. To order a book from Amazon, click here. To buy directly from Fahey, e-mail PROSRV95@gmail.com.
Police worked 3 decades to ID remains of Shari Lynne Ball
Press release, New York State Police
SHELBY – The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, conducting a Cold Case investigation, has announced that an unidentified female body found in the Town of Shelby October 1983 has been identified as a Florida woman.
The body, which was found by a hunter several feet off the shoulder of State Route 63, was in a severely decomposed state and believed to have been there for several months.
The victim has been identified as Shari Lynne Ball. She was reported missing by her family in June 1983 to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in Florida. Shari told her family that she was going to New York State to begin a modeling career. She made contact with a friend a day or two after she left Florida from a truck stop in Ashland, Va., but was never heard from again after that.
At the time of discovery, there was no identification near the body and no identifying characteristics on the body. The New York State Police has worked tirelessly for the last 30 years in trying to positively identify this person following every lead that came in. The cause of death is listed as “Undetermined.” However, police believe foul play may be involved.
In October 2013, there was a break in the ongoing Cold Case. The State Police BCI in conjunction with the Orleans County District Attorney’s Office and with the assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, requested a court order for the exhumation of the body from the cemetery in Albion, in order to obtain DNA for further analysis and entry into the National DNA Database.
Ultimately the DNA was processed and entered for comparison by the Chief Medical Examiners Office in New York City. A Database match was made to a family member who had entered their DNA several years ago in hopes of some day finding their loved one.
At the time of her disappearance Shari Lynne Ball was reported as being 20 years old, white female, 5’ 04”, 100 pounds, hazel eyes and blonde hair. She was also known to use the name of Timmerman.
The New York State Police is working with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and is asking that anyone who knew Shari Ball, or anyone who may be able to provide any information about her, to contact them at 585-344-6210.
By Nola Goodrich-Kresse, Public Health Educator for the Orleans County Health Department
You want to do what is best for your children. You know about the importance of car seats, baby gates and other ways to keep them safe. But, did you know that one of the best ways to protect your children is to make sure they have all of their vaccinations?
Immunizations can save your child’s life. Because of advances in medical science, your child can be protected against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely and others are close to being a thing of the past – primarily due to safe and effective vaccines.
One example of the great impact that vaccines can have is the elimination of polio in the United States. Polio was once America’s most-feared disease, causing death and paralysis across the country, but today, thanks to vaccination, there are no reports of polio in the United States.
Vaccination is very safe and effective. Vaccines are only given to children after a long and careful review by scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals.
Vaccines will involve some discomfort and may cause pain, redness, or tenderness at the site of injection but this is minimal compared to the pain, discomfort, and trauma of the diseases these vaccines prevent.
Serious side effects following vaccination, such as severe allergic reaction, are very rare. The disease-prevention benefits of getting vaccines are much greater than the possible side effects for almost all children.
Immunization protects others you care about. Children in the U.S. still get vaccine-preventable diseases. In fact, we have seen a return of measles and whooping cough (pertussis) over the past few years.
From January through July 2013, more than 11,000 cases of whooping cough were reported, with cases in every state. Last year was a record year, with over 41,000 cases reported, the most since 1955.
There were also 18 deaths reported in 2012, most of which were among babies younger than 3 months old. Unfortunately, some babies are too young to be completely vaccinated and some people may not be able to receive certain vaccinations due to severe allergies, weakened immune systems from conditions like leukemia, or other reasons.
To help keep them safe, it is important that you and your children who are able to get vaccinated are fully immunized. This not only protects your family, but also helps prevent the spread of these diseases to your friends and loved ones.
Immunizations can save your family time and money. A child with a vaccine-preventable disease can be denied attendance at schools or daycare facilities. Some vaccine-preventable diseases can result in prolonged disabilities and can take a financial toll because of lost time at work, medical bills or long-term disability care.
In contrast, getting vaccinated against these diseases is a good investment and usually covered by insurance. The Vaccines for Children program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children from low-income families.
To find out more about the VFC program, click here and ask your child’s health care professional or call your local health department.
Immunization protects future generations. Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few generations ago. For example, smallpox vaccination wiped out that disease worldwide.
Your children don’t have to get smallpox shots anymore because the disease no longer exists. By vaccinating children against rubella (German measles), the risk that pregnant women will pass this virus on to their fetus (developing baby) or newborn has been dramatically decreased, and birth defects associated with that virus no longer are seen in the United States.
If we continue vaccinating now, and vaccinating completely, parents in the future may be able to trust that some diseases of today will no longer be around to harm their children in the future.
WEST BARRE – A child watches as August Rhodey of West Barre nails a horseshoe to a horse’s hoof.
This picture from around 100 years ago shows his blacksmith shop in the background. Horse shoeing and repairing were the most common things a blacksmith did at the time this picture was taken.
