MEDINA – The former Pizza Hut is on its last legs after a steady demolition this past month. Construction is expected to start almost immediately on the new 4,000-square-foot building that will be a women’s health center for United Memorial Medical Center.
Developer Chad LaCivita will own the new building that will be leased to UMMC. The site should be ready for UMMC to move into in late July, said Colleen Flynn, UMMC director of community relations.
UMMC provides obstetrics, gynecological care and other health services. The new building will be close to the eastern side of the property. Pizza Hut sat in the middle of the property.
ALBION – To celebrate Earth Day, the GCC Albion Campus Wellness Coalition planted two trees on Wednesday, donated by Steve Nesbitt Farms, and Bella and Pino Aldaco. The trees stand for the growth of awareness in support of a healthy community.
Pam Lusk, Albion Campus Wellness Coordinator and Shelly Wolanske, WNY Prevention Resource Center Senior Community Development Specialist, assisted students in the development of their mission and efforts to build capacity.
Pictured above, include, from left: Chris Mason, Christine Chennell, Kassy Sutton, Melissa Qualey and Jason Burley.
For more information about the Wellness Coalition, please visit the group’s table at the Civil War Encampment on April 26-27 at the GCC Medina Campus Center.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Driver snapped telephone pole at 5 corners
GAINES – About 300 houses are without power this morning after a driver snapped a telephone pole at the 5 corners around midnight.
National Grid is working to restore power and expects to have it back on between 8 and 9 this morning. The outage runs along Route 98 between the canal and Route 104, and also includes Route 279 and runs as far east as Transit Road, National Grid reported.
The accident occurred at about 11:40 p.m. at the 5 corners, where routes 279 and 98 intersect.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Albion man again completes course in under 3 hours
Photo courtesy of Rion Pawlak – Kevin Pawlak competes in the Boston Marathon on Monday. He was one of 36,000 runners to finish the 26.2 mile course.
Kevin Pawlak last April crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon in under three hours. His time of 2:57:11 was an impressive feat for the 20-year-old from Albion. He averaged less than 7 minutes a mile in covering the 26.2-mile course.
But the euphoric feeling of that triumph didn’t last long. About two hours after he finished, two bombs went off near the finish line, killing three people and wounding more than 260.
Pawlak returned to Boston on Monday, joining 36,000 runners. He again broke 3 hours, finishing in 2:59.
Huge throngs of spectators lined the course. Pawlak said it was unbelievable, and very uplifting.
“The atmosphere was absolutely great,” he said. “There were a lot more spectators than last year and they were loud.”
Pawlak is a senior history major at Shepherd University in West Virginia. The bitter cold winter made training for the marathon more difficult. He didn’t have the same level of preparation as he did for the race a year ago.
“The crowd really carried me,” he said about the race on Monday. “You just couldn’t stop.”
Pawlak and the runners were determined to return, to not let the terrorist attack keep them from one of the most prestigious marathons in the world.
“It was making a statement that no one will dictate our lives,” Pawlak said. “No one will make us live in fear.”
File photo by Tom Rivers – Kevin Pawlak, in this photo from April 2013, holds his medal for finishing the Boston Marathon.
The race is part of a festival atmosphere with Massachusetts celebrating Patriots Day on Monday. Many people dress in colonial garb. Tons of American flags were out.
Kevin’s father Jerome joined him in Boston. Kevin’s older brother Rion Pawlak also showed up in a surprise on Monday.
Kevin and Jerome visited the finish line on Saturday.
“It was somber and surreal,” Jerome said. “We’ve struggled over the past year realizing how lucky we were. Kevin and I were able to get some closure.”
Security was heightened with more K-9 units, police officers and helicopters.
The runners were given a heroes’ welcome from the Boston community, which thanked them for coming back after the horrors from a year ago.
“It gave you a sense of pride,” Jerome said. “It was a wonderful experience.”
Kevin qualified again for Boston and he plans to run the race again next year.
The race on Monday was won by Meb Keflezighi, the first American to win the storied race since 1983. It was part of a perfect day, Kevin said.
“To have an American win you couldn’t have asked for a better Boston Marathon,” he said. “In Boston, all of the runners are treated as celebrities, no matter how fast you are.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Babcock Construction works on the roof of a former medical center that will become the new home for the Cobblestone Country Federal Credit Union at the corner of Route 31 and Hamilton Street. A drive-through will be at the back of the building in Albion.
ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board supported the site plan and variances for the Cobblestone Country Federal Credit Union to move into former medical offices at the corner of Route 31 and Hamilton Street.
Cobblestone Country will renovate the site and add a drive-through to the back end of the building. The village ordinance requires five spaces at a drive-through for cars to be in line, but the Planning Board approved a variance to have space for up to three cars in a line. That will reduce some of the “stacking” in the line, which won’t be as high volume as a fast-food restaurant, said Ron Vendetti, Albion’s code enforcement officer.
He said the lot is a tight space, but village planning officials were able to push for 15 parking spaces, and also allow for the drive-through and traffic flow, Vendetti said during the meeting tonight.
Cobblestone Country has permission to use the same driveway entrance on 31 that is owned by Oak Orchard Health. That will be better for traffic safety than having two entrances right next to each other, county planning officials said.
The building is 2,547 square feet and village ordinance requires 25 parking spaces for a building that size. The 15 spaces for the project actually add nine from the previous use.
Cobblestone Country will move its existing sign from 239 South Main St., a building next to COVA. The sign will be in the front lawn at the site on Route 31.
“We agree it’s a tight site,” Vendetti said. “We did our best to make the best of it.”
Orleans County planners also supported the site plan for the Lake Ridge Fruit Company to build a 5,766-square-foot storage warehouse on the south side of its complex at 14234 Ridge Rd. The new building won’t be refrigerated. It will be used to store pallets, cardboard and packing supplies, said John Russell, general manager.
The building would be directly behind existing buildings owned by Lake Ridge. However, it is 25 feet from the property line. The town used to have a 25-foot setback requirement but that was changed about a decade ago to 50 feet.
Lake Ridge would need a 25-foot variance to have the new building be in line with the others. Planning Board members didn’t vote on the variance. It left it to the Town of Gaines Zoning Boards of Appeals to make the ruling.
Jim Bensley, county senior planner, said the variance should only be considered after all options have been exhausted. Lake Ridge should reach out to the neighboring property owner, Circle R Farms, to see if it could acquire a 25-foot strip of land in Circle R’s apple orchard to meet the setback request, county planners decided.
One Planning Board member, Marty Busch of Medina, said the town should give Lake Ridge the variance. The 25-foot setback wouldn’t cause an adverse impact on Circle R and its orchard, Busch said.
Lake Ridge has recently added a new building for a packing line, and a new controlled-atmosphere storage facility.
“How many businesses do you know around here that are putting up buildings?” Busch said. “Hey, God bless them if they can do that.”
Air Force Airman Colby M. Bany graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Bany is the son of Doreen A. Schafer of Albion.
He is a 2014 graduate of Charles D’Amico High School in Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 April 2014 at 12:00 am
LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Lions Club welcomed two new members last night. Both are administrators at Lyndonville Central School. Jason Smith, second from left, is the district superintendent. Dr. Aaron Slack, right, is the middle-high school principal.
They are pictured with prospective member Vernon Fonda, left, who works as a conservation officer for the DEC. Club President Andrew Cousins is third from left. The Lions are busy planning their biggest event of the year: the annual Fourth of July celebration.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Vibrations could be an issue for ‘quiet’ site
ALABAMA – One of the attractions to building a 1,250-acre mega-site manufacturing site by a swamp: It’s quiet.
A “quiet” site is essential in the nanotechnology, the construction of extremely small electronic circuits and mechanical devices.
The Alabama swamp and the rural surroundings make for a very quiet site, without vibrations in the ground that can compromise the manufacturing at such a small scale.
A proposal for a 215-acre quarry on Fletcher Chapel Road, not too far from the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and the proposed STAMP site, has officials concerned in Genesee County.
The Genesee County Economic Development Center will weigh in on the quarry proposal, asking the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the quarry developer for studies to make sure the project wouldn’t have a negative impact on STAMP.
“There are some concerns about vibrations,” said Steve Hyde, president of the GCEDC. “Let’s do a study. It may not be an issue.”
The proposed STAMP (Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park) is projected to attract $20 billion in investment, employ 10,000 on site and have a spinoff impact of another 50,000 jobs in the region. Companies could manufacture semiconductor 450mm chip fab, flat panel display, solar, and other advanced manufacturing, Hyde said.
Just north of the site in the town of Shelby, Frontier Stone LLC wants to develop and operate a dolomite/limestone quarry. If the company can satisfy the DEC’s standards with a final environmental impact statement, Frontier will then need a permit from the town of Shelby for the project.
There will be a hearing at 6 p.m. at the Shelby Town Hall on April 30 for the draft environmental impact statement.
David J. Mahar, president of Frontier, has been working on the quarry project the past eight years. He has projected 15 jobs at the site. The quarry would be operated over 75 years on land that has been owned by Chester Zelazny.
Hyde said the quarry may not have an impact on STAMP, but he would like to see tests done to assure there wouldn’t be too much ground vibrations to make the site in Alabama unattractive to developers in nanotechnology.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Mark Peterson, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Enterprise, says the STAMP project in the town of Alabama will be a tremendous economic boost to the region. Peterson and economic development officials in Buffalo, Rochester and Genesee County addressed the Orleans County Legislature about the project on Wednesday. Orleans County Legislator Fred Miller is at left.
ALBION – Economic development leaders from Buffalo, Rochester and Genesee County were in Orleans County on Wednesday, united in their push for a project in the town of Alabama.
Although STAMP (Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park) is outside Orleans County, the project will be offer huge benefits for Orleans communities and the region, county legislators were told.
“This is real,” said Mark Peterson, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Enterprise. “This will really be a transformative time in our community’s history and you’re all going to a be a part of it.”
The STAMP project is about 1 mile south of the Orleans County border. STAMP is south of Lewiston Road at Route 77. The 1,250-acre site will accommodate nanotechnology companies including semiconductor 450mm chip fab, flat panel display, solar manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing.
Supply companies and other businesses are expected to set up within an hour of the site. The Medina Business Park, for example, could see new businesses because of STAMP, said Steve Hyde, Genesee County Economic Development Center president and CEO.
The state has committed $33 million in the new state budget to the infrastructure of the park. That has the attention of prospective companies that the state is committing significant resources to the project.
“It’s very, very real,” Peterson told county officials. “This site is very much in play on a world-wide stage.”
The site is attractive for companies because of it’s large size, proximity to the Thruway (only 5 miles from Pembroke), access to talent from universities in Buffalo and Rochester, and the presence of major utilities, including low-cost hydropower, Hyde said.
Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, touts the benefits of the STAMP project for Orleans County.
The site, in full build-out, is expected to employ 10,000 people with many making $100,000 or more. Another 50,000 jobs will be created in the region to support the companies at STAMP.
Hyde said he expects at least 800 to 1,000 people to work at STAMP from Orleans County, and perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 more through construction and supply-chain jobs.
Ray Cianfrini, chairman of the Genesee County Legislature, said STAMP has been nine years in the making, but will become a reality with so much support from the region and state.
“It’s not a question of whether it will happen, it’s when it will happen,” he said. He impact will be “transformational” with Orleans County reaping many of the positives.
“You are our neighbor,” Cianfrini told the county legislators. “You, Orleans County, will certainly benefit tremendously from this.”
Orleans should see more demand in its real estate, more business for its shops, and more revenue for some of its municipal services, particularly the Medina sewer plant, Hyde said. STAMP companies are expected to use 1 million gallons of sewer from Medina initially and could use 11 million gallons at full build-out, Hyde said.
Hyde said Medina will be an important partner for the sewer services, and other local governments will be needed to support having sewer and other utility infrastructure run to the site in Alabama.
“We will need pipes and pumps to get the waste water to Medina,” Hyde said. “We need regional infrastructure to support it or else it won’t happen.”
David Callard, the Orleans County Legislature chairman, said the county supports the project and is excited about the potential.
“Your success is our success and everyone’s success,” Callard said.
MEDINA – The sun came up this morning and cast a warm glow on Medina. Chris Busch took these pictures of the lift bridge over the Erie Canal on Route 63 and St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
The forecast for today has a lot of sun with a high of 52 degrees. It will drop to 34 degrees tonight, according to the National Weather Service. Friday is forecast with a high of 65 with showers likely.
