ALBION – A course in Home Economics was introduced into the Albion High School curriculum in 1934. It was first taught by Miss Evelyn S. Fischer, a graduate of Cornell University.
The late Fred Holt took this picture 80 years ago of high school girls in the kitchen area of the Home Economics classroom. This was located on the third floor of the old high school, which is now the Carl I. Bergeson Middle School.
Teen-agers looked a lot older, somehow back then, than they do now.
ALBION – Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest manufacturer of building products, has been awarded the Energy Star Partner of the Year Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the sixth consecutive year and fourth consecutive year at the Sustained Excellence level.
The award recognizes Saint-Gobain’s outstanding leadership in energy management and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.
Saint-Gobain employs nearly 1,200 people in New York state, including 182 people at its Saint-Gobain ADFORS plant in Albion. The Albion plant’s contributions to energy-efficiency are part of the reason Saint-Gobain has been awarded the Energy Star award. Through energy efficiency technologies and techniques the plant achieved a 9.8 percent reduction in energy on a per-unit basis.
Saint-Gobain is the first and only manufacturer of glass containers or fiberglass insulation ever to receive the Energy Star award. The company will be recognized at an EPA awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on April 29.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Cobblestone Country buys site from Medina hospital
Photos by Tom Rivers – This site at 299 West Ave. is being renovated and will become the new home for the Cobblestone Country Federal Credit Union.
ALBION – A credit union that started nearly a half century ago is planning a move to a more modern building on Route 31.
The Cobblestone Country Federal Credit Union currently operates out of 239 South Main St., a building next to COVA and the Arnold Gregory Memorial Complex.
The Credit Union has purchased 299 West Ave. from Medina Memorial Hospital (Orleans Community Health). The site is being renovated and a drive-through window will be installed at the site at the corner of West Avenue and Hamilton Street.
The Orleans County Planning Board is reviewing the site plan for the project at its 7 p.m. meeting on Thursday at the County Administration Building.
The Credit Union expects to move into the renovated site in late June, said Nancy Zielonko, manager of the Credit Union.
“We are expanding on the Avenue,” she said. “It will give us more visibility and everything will be on one floor.”
The Credit Union currently operates out of this building owned by Lissow Development at 239 South Main St.
The Credit Union started in 1965 as the Liptons Federal Credit Union. It was most recently the Central Orleans Credit Union until its name was changed about a decade ago to the Cobblestone Country Federal Credit Union.
The not-for-profit organization at that time expanded its service area from the central Orleans County towns to all of Orleans – “anyone who lives, works or worships in Orleans County,” Zielonko said.
The financial institution is federally regulated and loans money, and has checking and savings accounts, and other banking services. Because it’s not-for-profit, it doesn’t charge its customers with higher fees, Zielonko said.
Besides Zielonko, the Credit Union has four other employees. It currently leases a building from Lissow Development.
For more information, check Cobblestone Country’s web site by clicking here.
Press release, NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association
ALBION – A correctional officer at the Orleans Correctional Facility saved a 48-year-old inmate who cut himself several times with a sharp metal can lid in an apparent suicide attempt.
The incident occurred on April 16 at approximately 8:15 p.m. The inmate, whose name is being withheld, approached the officer while he was sitting at his desk. He told the officer he needed to speak with someone from the Office of Mental Health and that he was going to kill himself.
The officer told the inmate not to move and that he would get help. The officer went to notify the sergeant on duty about what was unfolding when the inmate ran out into the dayroom. The officer quickly followed and observed the inmate holding the metal can lid. The officer immediately called for a response on his radio and activated his radio emergency pin.
He ordered the inmate to drop the lid to the ground. The inmate refused, and with the can lid in his right hand he began to swing it wildly as a weapon, striking himself in the right arm, face and head several times.
The officer ordered him again to drop the weapon but the inmate refused. While bleeding, he raised the lid in a threatening manner towards the officer. The officer grabbed the inmate by his arm to try and get him under control. He was able to pull his arm into his body and break free from the officer.
The inmate then ran into the bathroom and into a stall where he tried to flush the lid down the toilet. As he came out of the stall the officer ordered him to get on the ground, which he did. The inmate was handcuffed and taken to the facilities medical unit to be treated for several small lacerations.
The officer sustained some minor abrasions and exposure to blood. He was treated at the facility.
The inmate is serving a 20 year to life sentence for Robbery 1st and Robbery 2nd after being convicted in 1997 in New York County.
“The quick actions by the officer last week at Orleans Correctional Facility should be commended,” said Mike Dildine, Western Region Vice President for NYSCOPBA. “He certainly saved the inmate from inflicting serious physical harm onto himself during an apparent suicide attempt. Situations like this, with inmates who have mental health problems, are unpredictable. Our members are trained to react quickly and appropriately while protecting themselves and the inmate as well.”
MORTON – These photos were taken in 1961 in front of Tom Spring’s Store in Morton.
The top photo shows Tom Spring and his brother Van Alan Spring, in uniform. The flag indicates that the store was also the Morton Post Office.
In the next photo we see a Texaco gas pump, which was in front. The girl with the box was a clerk at the time. Thanks to Kathy Scroger for loaning these pictures.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A Medina man who let in a friend’s loose dog and then stole a kayak was sentenced to 3 to 6 years in state prison today by Orleans County Court Judge James Punch.Brandon Taylor, 33, of Fletcher Chapel Road pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary. He could have been sentenced to 3 ½ to 7 years in state prison.
He is second felony offender. Taylor said he was in drug and alcohol withdrawal on Nov. 6, when he saw his friend’s dog running loose. He returned the dog to a house on Portage Road and discovered an enclosed porch was unlocked. He admitted in court to taking a kayak from the porch.
Taylor apologized to the victim in court during sentencing today.
In other cases in court court:
Richard Klaver, 53, of Catherine Street in Medina pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and violation of Probation.
Klaver could be sentenced to up to four years in state prison on June 2.
Jackie L. Sponaugle Jr., 22, of Ashwood Road in Waterport pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He could be sentenced to up to seven years in state prison on July 14.
Sponaugle admitted he broke into a Carlton home on Gaines Road and stole items on Aug. 19, 2013. He also said he had morphine and intended to sell it on Oct. 3.
Lori Martinez, 46, of Park Avenue in Medina was to be sentenced today after she pleaded guilty on Feb. 24 to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. She is accused of selling hydrocodone and another prescription narcotic on May 18. The prescriptions were prescribed to her.
The district attorney’s office also is pursuing welfare fraud charges and wants Martinez to repay $11,600 in welfare benefits she collected over a year’s time.
Judge Punch will have a restitution hearing next month, when Martinez is expected to be sentenced. Punch said the presentence investigation report says the CPCS charge is based on an isolated incident, not a series of sales.
He wants evidence that Martinez was profiting from drug sales on more than one occasion before ordering her to pay restitution.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2014 at 12:00 am
The First Baptist Church in Albion led an ecumenical Easter sunrise service on the Main Street canal bridge. The Rev. Edward Devine, pastor of the Baptist Church, shared a message entitled, “God Doesn’t Show Partiality.”
Three Haitian natives, who are studying hydronic tomatoes locally, sang “What A Friend We Have in Jesus” in Haitian Creole. Two of the singers include Tabitha Macene, left, and Arlande Fenelon.
About 20 people attended the service that began at 6:30 a.m. Gary Simboli played the keyboard during several hymns.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Merchants also planning for ‘Sip and Stroll Through History’ wine-tasting event for August
File photos by Tom Rivers – A crowd views the stained glass window at the First United Methodist Church during a tour of windows in the seven historic Albion churches in December. The Good Shepherd window was a gift to the congregation by the church’s pastor in 1914, the Rev. Henry Clay Woods.
ALBION – On a very cold December day about 30 people, including several from outside Orleans County, came to Albion for a first-time tour of the stained glass windows at the seven churches in the historic Courthouse Square.
County Historian Bill Lattin led the tour, and he shared details about the designers of the windows, the symbolism and Biblical stories in the designs, and some background on the people memorialized with some of the windows.
“We had such good feedback about the event that we wanted to do it again,” said Debbie Grimm, one of the organizers for this Saturday’s stained glass tour.
It runs from noon to 1:30. Besides tours of the churches, the event will conclude with refreshments at Hoag Library. The library also includes a stained glass window of a swan. For more than a century Albion’s public library was called the Swan Library until a new site opened in July 2012.
Tony Mancuso of Elba takes a photo on the stained glass window tour in December. He is shown inside the sanctuary at Christ (Episcopal) Church.
The tour on Saturday starts at the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church at the corner of East Park and Main streets. The Pullman church has more than 40 windows created by Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company, perhaps the most esteemed stained glass artist.
Tiffany revolutionized the stained glass world. Stained glass windows, prior to Tiffany, tended to have clear glass with a stencil pattern painted on the glass. Lattin discusses breakthroughs and changing techniques in stained glass.
The Albion churches have examples of windows from the 1860s to 1960s. Lattin wrote a book about Orleans County’s stained glass windows: “Luminaries in the Firmament.”
The Albion Merchants Association is organizing the stained glass tour and a sidewalk sale. Many businesses will participate in the sidewalk sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern will also be having an open house and collecting household and personal care items.
The Merchants Association also is planning a wine-tasting event with about 20 stops on Aug. 9. The “Sip & Stroll Through History” will show off the historic downtown and Courthouse Square.
“We want to put on community events and bring people to Albion,” said Carolyn Ricker, president of the Merchants Association. “We want to promote our history and draw people here.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Ray Serafin plays the accordion and sings during the Dyngus Day celebration at Sacred Heart Club in Medina. Ray Serafin’s Brass Magic, a polka band from Rochester, played many songs during the event.
Jim Pinckney is crowned the Dyngus Day king during the Polish party at the Sacred Heart Club. John Weaver, last year’s king, puts on the crown while Dee Lucas puts on the red cape.
Pinckney is a retired corrections officer. He joined Sacred Heart Club about 21 years ago and helps mow the lawn, shovel snow, clean the fryers, and with other painting and carpentry tasks. “It’s good to help out because it’s an all-volunteer organization,” he said. “It’s just to help the community.”
Tessa Hartway is crowned queen. Last year’s queen Baillie Oberther passes on the crown. Hartway, 32, helped start an annual disco event at the club about three years ago and works on the fish fries and desserts for the club.
The king and queen are both active volunteers at the club. Hartway works as the marketing manager at Baxter Healthcare. She grew up attending events at the Sacred Heart Club.
About 150 people attended the party. They danced to the polka and quickly consumed Polish food staples, such as sweet and sour cabbage, scallop potatoes, smoked Polish sausage, pierogis and “pigs in the blanket” – rolled cabbage with pork.
Lyndsay Oliver-Farewell, 28, of Medina has been coming to Dyngus Day since she was a little girl. Her grandmother, Dee Lucas, helps organize the party. Oliver-Farewell has a 4-month-old daughter, Kendall, who made her Dyngus Day debut tonight.
“It’s fun and it’s a tradition,” Oliver-Farewell said. “As long as they have Dyngus Day, we will be there.”
Pussy Willows were part of the ambiance at the Sacred Heart Club.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
WATERPORT – The owner of the power plant at the Waterport Dam has added chain link fences, warning lights, sirens, flotation rings and signage.
I stopped by the dam on Saturday evening after hearing about the changes. People can still fish by the dam. There is one spot where people can wade in the water but they must wear personal flotation devices and must stay within a designated, cabled-off area.
Brookfield Power Company has posted some of its property with restricted access.
