By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Communities host celebrations throughout Orleans
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Youngsters ages 7 to 9 run to get Easter eggs during an egg hunt this morning on the Courthouse lawn in Albion.
Community Action of Orleans and Genesee organized the event that included about 1,000 eggs.
Community Action will have another egg hunt in Holley today. Participants should gather at the Eastern Orleans Community Center at 1 p.m. for the event.
Nathalie Holmes, who is almost 2, picks up an egg with her father Doug Holmes. He is the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Albion, which hosted some of the egg hunt activities this morning.
There were also egg hunts in Medina, Lyndonville and Kendall today.
The Easter Bunny made an appearance inside the Presbyterian Church. Jaxson Reamer, 6 months, of Lyndonville sat on the bunny’s lap. Jaxson was at the event with his mother, Maranda Reamer, who is a volunteer with Community Action.
Tweety Bird joined the Easter Bunny in visiting with children. Autumn Rhoades, 3, of Medina was happy to meet the bird. Autumn is joined by her aunt Jenia Rhoades of Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce and about 50 vendors have been busy today setting up for this weekend’s Home and Garden Show at the fairgrounds in Knowlesville.
Some of the Chamber leaders are pictured, including from left: Kathy Blackburn, executive director; Samantha Roskowski, administrative assistant; and Jerod Thurber, a member of the board.
Home repair and garden businesses will be available at the show on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In addition to those vendors, there will be a Kid’s Zone with two bounce houses, a miniature golf course and kettle corn.
“It’s a great venue to get ideas for home repairs and gardening,” Blackburn said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Orleans County Deputy Sheriff’s Association presented a $1,000 check today to the Orleans County Joint Veterans Council to help the group buy a van to transport veterans to medical appointments.
Erin Fuller, left, is president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association. The group raises money with fundraisers and through contributions from its 23 members.
Fuller is standing with, from left: Paul Fulcomer, chairman of the Veterans Council; Lt. Chris Bourke; and Sgt. Dean Covis, treasurer of the Deputy Sheriff’s.
“We decided it was a worthy cause,” said Fuller, who served in the Marine Corps.
The Veterans Council has six vans that it uses to take veterans to medical appointments. Three of the vans have more than 100,000 miles. The group is pictured in front of a recently acquired van with about 23,000 miles. Fulcomer is hopeful more donations will come in to replace one of the older vans.
“What better way to help the veterans who have served our country,” Bourke said.
The Veterans Council acquires and owns the vans, and the VA pays for the gas and maintenance. The service is free to veterans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 April 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – David Miller sent me the top photo of the Medina Waterfalls. It was unearthed at the Medina Historical Society, where the group has scanned in old community photos from glass plate negatives.
The photo isn’t dated but Miller suspects it’s from the early 1900s.
I took this photo of the waterfalls last Sunday, when there was still a lot of snow on the ground.
This photo is displayed inside Medina City Hall as part of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame. The photo is kind of small here. It is blown up on the wall inside City Hall. The larger sandstone building in back is a mill. The falls are next to it at left.
That mill is gone, but there are a lot of stone blocks in the wooded area by the waterfalls and Oak Orchard Creek today. There are even some of the stone walls remaining. I took this photo last Sunday.
RIDGEWAY – In this photo from the 1950s we see the District No. 5 Schoolhouse of Ridgeway. Our picture was taken after centralization into the Medina school system.
This school was located on Route 31 at the Culvert Road. Notice the outhouse which could be accessed easily by students from a side door.
A hand pump at a well appears by the side of the school for drinking water. In our estimation the teeter-totter appears to be located much too close to the highway for the safety of the children.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion FFA chapter hosted its annual Mini-Farm Day today when hundreds of elementary students visited livestock, tractors and other farm equipment.
In the top photo, fourth-graders feed a llama under the care of FFA member Elizabeth Bentley.
“We’re bringing the farm to the kids,” said Adam Krenning, FFA advisor and agriculture teacher. “It’s hard to take a field trip to a farm so why not bring the farm to them.”
Elizabeth’s cousin Brian Bentley discussed tractors with a group of students. Kast Farms, Panek Farms and Bentley Brothers all brought over tractors and equipment for the exhibit.
Aaron Burnside shows some of the tractors. There were track tractors and ones with tires. The tires were taller than many of the students.
Riley Kelly, a senior, brushes the feathers on a duck he brought for the Mini-Farm Day. Students brought in all of the animals, except for the pigs. They came from Poverty Hill Farms in Albion, which is owned by the Neal family.
Today’s Mini-Farm Day capped off FFA Week at the school. The Albion chapter last year hosted the state FFA convention. Medina is hosting that event for more than 1,000 students across the state from May 8-10.
Photos by Sue Cook – The hallways were packed to bursting as Marshall continued to collect presents. At the end of the walk, he had two large baskets and a cardboard box overflowing with cards, several plastic guitars and at least three beachballs signed by the students.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
KENDALL – For 50 years – first as a student and then an employee – Kendall schools have been like a home to Bruce Marshall.
Today Marshall was greeted to a celebration from a grateful school community following 36 years of work for the district. Marshall is retiring, and Kendall Superintendent Julie Christensen says the school is sad to see him go.
“Bruce was a mainstay of the elementary school and Kendall community for over 50 years. He knows all the nooks and crannies,” she said. “If anybody needs anything, they’re stuck in a snow bank, need help with their locker or broke their glasses, he’ll do whatever he can to help. He’s been a great guy and we’ll miss him terribly.”
He began as a student at Kendall at 5 years old. When was 15, he started in the position of student helper, which is the title for a part-time custodian at the school. He moved on to full-time custodian in 1977 and became the head custodian in 1980.
Head custodian Bruce Marshall retired today from the Kendall Elementary School.
“I would like to still be able to stop in and see concerts now that I have more time and things like that,” Marshall said. “I would still like to see some of the kids.”
For Marshall’s last day today there was a cook-out style lunch celebration of hot dogs and hamburgers. The real surprise was at the end of the day.
Christensen had coordinated a surprise among elementary school staff and students for a final farewell to their head custodian. She called Marshall down to the principal’s office. Over the loudspeakers they played his favorite musician. To the soundtrack of Bruce Springsteen, Marshall walked the halls of the school followed by the administrators. In every hallway, students stood waiting outside their classrooms with cards, gifts and confetti.
Some students asked for signatures on items, as if they were meeting a celebrity. The sixth-graders sent him down their hall to the loud chanting of “Bruce! Bruce! Bruce!” The younger kids supplied their own chants of “Marshall! Marshall! Marshall!”
Teachers offered strong hugs and happy words. Even Channel 2 news out of Buffalo and Channel 13 from Rochester came out with cameras. It was a rock star sendoff that was both unexpected and touching for Marshall. In all, approximately 400 students congratulated Marshall on his retirement.
Marshall’s long-time girlfriend Karen Keck was there to watch Marshall walk the halls. They had already been talking about what it would be like when he retired.
“I think it’s going to be very exciting,” she said. “We’ve been counting down days since around 500-something. Now it’s finally here. I think it’s a good move for him and he’s really going to enjoy his time off.”
The youngest students were given glitter to toss for Marshall. At the end of the walk, the administrators joked that he wasn’t allowed to leave until every speck of glitter was off the floor.
“I don’t see him ever not being connected somehow to the Kendall schools,” Keck continued. “He’ll always find a way. Whether it’s participating in something like a community event or he does a lot of baking and he brings in his baked good, and I’m sure he’s going to continue with that.”
Marshall has been very happy with his employment at Kendall. He loves the school and believes in the staff and students continuing the positive direction.
“This has been a great place,” he said. “This school does everything it can for the students. I was glad to be able to be a part of creating an atmosphere that they were taken care of and this building being well-maintained. Just the caring that everybody shows from the superintendent, the secretaries, the cafeteria workers, the bus drivers, everybody just puts 110 percent into these kids to help them in every way they possibly can.”
Marshall has immediate retirement plans to follow Bruce Springsteen on tour for a while. His first concert stop will be in Pittsburgh later this month.
After following Springsteen’s tour for a little while, Marshall is already planning for more.
“I will be traveling to family,” he said. “Karen’s family is out in Colorado, a couple of sisters are in Florida. We have some grandkids in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Raleigh, North Carolina, that we’d like to see a little more of. We have a cottage at the lake. The main thing is enjoying the lake this summer and relaxing for my first summer off.”
‘There’s positive things that we do here 180 days a year. It’s been a great place and it always will be.’ – Bruce Marshall, who is retiring from the school
Starting Monday, Mark Kessler will move up to become the elementary school head custodian. Marshall expects Kessler to do a great job, but will be available in case there are questions.
“He has my number, and fortunately, I live one mile away,” Marshall said. “There are some little troubleshooting things that only I kind of know because I’ve been here 36 years, so I can point them out to him. There’s times you never know what’s going to hit you when you walk into this school.”
Marshall wanted to end his day with good words and encouragement before leaving to celebrate with friends over a pizza.
“There’s positive things that we do here 180 days a year. It’s been a great place and it always will be,” he said, picking glitter and confetti out of his hair.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 April 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – About a dozen reporters from television and newspapers attended a press conference this afternoon at City Hall about Medina’s village dissolution.
Orleans Hub had the first story about the tax impact from the proposed dissolution. We’ll have more soon on a push to create “One Medina” from Mayor Andrew Meier (left), Dissolution Chairman Don Colquhoun (back right), and One Medina Chairman Nathan Pace (at podium). They favor dissolving the village and then merging the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway, reducing three municipalities into one.
The effort is drawing interest in the region from Buffalo and Rochester media outlets.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Agency won’t let company piggyback on Waste Management’s permit from 2003
File photo by Tom Rivers – This photo from last July shows the former McKenna and Orleans Sanitary landfills next to the Erie Canal in Albion, between Densmore and Transit roads. The photo was taken from the Transit Road bridge looking west.
ALBION – In 2003, the state Department of Environmental Conservation approved a permit for Waste Management of New York to operate a new 78-acre landfill in Albion.
Waste Management completed a costly and grueling process to get approval from the DEC. However, the company never gained a permit from the town and wasn’t able to get started on the new landfill.
The state permit drew the notice of landfill operator Richard Penfold of Orchard Park. He has worked in recent years to try to take ownership of the site and have the state permit transferred to his new company, Albion Recycling & Recovery LLC.
On Wednesday, the DEC decided Penfold didn’t have “the legal capacity” to renew the permit originally approved for Waste Management, according to a letter on April 9 to town officials from Scott Sheeley, the regional permit administrator for the DEC.
Penfold can challenge the DEC’s decision within 30 days. He also can seek his own permit for the site but he would have to start from the beginning with environmental studies for the property. That would be far more costly and time-consuming than simply having the Waste Management permit transferred to his company.
Even if he secures the DEC permit, he still would need approval from the Town Board. The board has been adamant in stating its opposition to additional landfills.
A closed gate near Transit Road blocks access to the McKenna Landfil in this photo from last July. Richard Penfold wants to open a new landfill next to the site.
“I am glad they acted in this way,” Town Supervisor Matt Passarell said about the DEC decision. “We thought the application had some gaps. I hope Mr. Penfold doesn’t pursue litigation with this.”
Penfold has said he would offer the town a host community benefits package that would cut taxes, offer residents free garbage pickup, create jobs and also care for two existing landfills. Passarell and the Town Board aren’t interested in having a new landfill.
The DEC in its letter on Wednesday said Waste Management has never formally relinquished its rights for future options at the landfill. Waste Management received a 10-year permit on Nov. 20, 2003, but that permit expired on Nov. 20, 2013, Sheeley said in his letter.
The DEC said it would consider any new applications for the site. The applicant would still need to ultimately satisfy the Town Board.
Congressman Chris Collins voted today in support of the House Republican Budget, including a provision that he secured to protect Medicare Advantage from future cuts.
“I was proud to vote for a budget that makes necessary reforms and structural changes to Medicare in 2024 to strengthen the current program and sustain it for future generations,” Collins said. “To protect Medicare Advantage, I personally fought for a provision to prevent cuts to this program so many WNY seniors rely on.”
The Republican House Budget balances in 10 years, saves taxpayers $5 trillion by shrinking big government and cutting wasteful spending, and reduces the country’s historic debt.
“The House Republican Budget does what so few Washington budget proposals do – it actually balances,” said Congressman Collins. “The American people understand we cannot keep borrowing money from China to pay our bills, bankrupting our children and grandchildren’s future in the process.”
In an effort to get the economy moving and leave taxpayers with more of their hard-earned money, the House Republican Budget also includes significant tax reform including lowering the top individual and corporate tax rates to 25 percent, and eliminating special-interest tax loopholes and the Alternative Minimum Tax. The Budget also protects Americans who have been hurt by ObamaCare.
“The GOP Budget includes tax reform to bring down rates and level the playing field for small businesses and hard working families,” said Congressman Collins. “And it relieves the burdens of ObamaCare for the countless Americans who have seen their premiums skyrocket, their coverage dropped, or their hours cut.”
The House Republican Budget was passed by a vote of 219 to 205.
“Those opposed to the GOP Budget will demonize it and suggest Congress continue to kick the can down the road. The American people want Washington to get its head out of the sand and deal with our out-of-control spending and staggering debt. The House Republican Budget does just that,” Collins said.
