By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 March 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – A committee that was scheduled to meet on Wednesday morning is pushing back the session until Friday to avoid a snowstorm that is forecast to hit tomorrow.
The Medina Dissolution Committee was to meet at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. It will now meet on Friday at 8 a.m. The committee expects to have projected tax impacts for the village and the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway in a number of scenarios for the dissolution of the village and how the current services could be provided.
The meeting will be at City Hall. The committee is close to accepting a final report on the dissolution. It has been working with a consultant, the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester. The committee on Friday may schedule a public hearing for the residents to comment on the proposal.
The Village Board also is expected to have its own public meetings and hearings on a dissolution plan, which ultimately will be decided in a public referendum by village residents.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Abigail Feldman
LYNDONVILLE – A Lyndonville student has been named to a list of the top 100 high school seniors in the eight-county Western New York region.
Business First of Buffalo announced Abigail Feldman will receive Special Mention honors for the 2014 All-Western New York Academic Team. An eight-member selection committee put Feldman on the list.
Business First’s Academic Team puts the spotlight students who pursue excellence both in and out of the classroom.
Feldman in January won the Distinguished Woman of New York during a competition at SUNY Albany. She advances to the national competition in June in Mobile, Ala.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Most of land likely will be converted to farmland
Provided photos – Lynn-Ette and Sons on Friday closed on a deal to buy Harbor Pointe Country Club on Route 98 in Carlton.
Some of the trees are being cleared.
WATERPORT – A golf course that opened 50 years ago on Route 98 in Carlton has been purchased by a local farm, which will discontinue the site as a golf venue.
Lynn-Ette and Sons closed on a deal Friday to acquire Harbor Pointe Country Club from the Cardone family. The Cardones owned and operated the course since June 1, 1981. The course opened in 1964 as the Oak Orchard Country Club.
The course had several owners before the Cardones bought it in 1981.
“It was a wonderful business to operate,” said Joe Cardone. “My mother and father made a lot of close friends. We appreciate their business and friendships.”
The golf business has struggled in the region in recent years, due to the economy and increased competition with many golf courses, Cardone said.
“There has been a drop off in golf play,” he said. “It’s also an indication of the economic times in Orleans County.”
As part of the deal, Lynn-Ette purchased 93 acres on the east side of Route 98 that have been farmed. The local farm also bought the 100-plus acres that is the golf course.
The land won’t be orchards. The farm is cleaning up the property and clearing some trees. It will need to do soil tests to determine a good crop match for the ground.
The farm’s owners weren’t available to comment today, but an employee said Lynn-Ette will likely keep the existing buildings. The farm is still evaluating how it wants to use the site.
Cardone said he was happy to have a local buyer – Lynn Roberts and his family – pursue the property.
“We were thankful we were able to work something out with the Roberts family,” Cardone said. “They’re a wonderful family and they’re working hard down there.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Frederick Miller
ALBION – The trial against accused murderer Frederick Miller of Carlton has been pushed back two months. The trial was scheduled to begin with jury selection today but will now start on May 12.
Miller’s lawyer, Robert King of Rochester, filed notice he is seeking a psychiatric defense for Miller. That prompted Orleans County Court Judge James Punch to adjourn the trial so District Attorney Joe Cardone would have time to hire an independent psychiatrist to evaluate Miller. Cardone will then review the psychiatrist’s report.
Miller faces second-degree murder charges after he allegedly killed his girlfriend, Rachel Miller, on March 4, 2013.
Rachel Miller, 53, died of blunt force trauma combined with multiple stab wounds. The couple allegedly had a fight at a home they shared on Oak Orchard River Road.
ALBION – A Charles D’Amico High School senior has been named to Business First’s 2014 All-Western New York Academic Team.
Jonathan Trembley (Second Team) has qualified for this year’s list of the 100 most outstanding high-school seniors in the eight-county region. Winners were chosen for their records of academic excellence, school leadership and community involvement. The top 25 were named to the First Team, 25 runners-up to the Second Team, and another 50 to the Special Mention list.
“This is a highly competitive award,” said Jack Connors, president and publisher of Business First. “Think of it this way: We have about 20,000 high-school seniors in Western New York this year, and we’ve picked only 100 for the Academic Team. That puts them in the upper one-half of one percent. They’re the best and brightest students anywhere in this region.”
Schools throughout the eight-county area were asked to nominate their smartest and most accomplished students for consideration by an eight-member committee, which included six admissions directors at area colleges and two Business First editors. A total of 122 schools responded with 419 nominees. (Each school was limited to four candidates.)
The complete list of 100 honorees, along with their photos and profiles, will be published in Business First’s 2014-2015 Guide to Western New York Schools, which will hit newsstands on June 13.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 March 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – The woman who admitted to driving the getaway car during a bank robbery in Albion last July 2 was sentenced to five years in state prison today.
Elyse A. Hoffer, 22, of Rochester apologized in court to the Bank of America employees, her family and the community.
Hoffer was the girlfriend of Jeremy J. Rothmund, who robbed the Bank of America on July 2. Rothmund went into the bank with a false bomb. He robbed the bank of $18,000. He was sentenced to 15 years in state prison last week.
Hoffer in December pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery. She had the getaway car behind Freeze-Dry Foods near the railroad tracks. The couple was spotted by an Albion resident who gave the vehicle ID to police. The two were stopped and arrested in Holley.
Hoffer in December pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery.
In other cases in county court today:
Alejandro Mendoza, 28, was sentenced by Judge James Punch to five more years in state prison for assault. Mendoza was an inmate at Orleans Correctional Facility when he allegedly used a razor to slash the neck, stomach and finger of another inmate.
That inmate needed 12 stitches for his neck and five stitches for his cut finger, the District Attorney’s Office stated.
Mendoza is currently in Southport Correctional Facility in Pine City. He is a Mexican citizen without legal documents to be in the United States, the DA’s Office said.
Jairo Chavez was sentenced to two years in state prison for two counts of third-degree rape. Chavez was living in Orleans County as a farmworker when he allegedly twice had sex with a 15-year-old girl who became pregnant. Chavez was 26 at the time. He also is a prior felon.
After prison, Chavez will be subject to 15 years of post-release supervision.
ALBION – This image is an ambrotype, which is a positive picture made of a photographic negative on glass backed by a black surface.
It shows the graduating class of girls in 1858 from Phipps Union Female Seminary in Albion. Caroline Phipps Achilles operated this private school for girls from 1833 to 1874. It was located on the Courthouse Square and removed in 1882 when the county purchased it and built the County Clerks Office on the site.
Adelaide Murdock Pells from Ridgeway is in the top row, fourth from left. Thanks to Nelda Callard for the donation of this picture to the Orleans County Department of History.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Tim Lindsay, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion, is site leader for the new Jobs for Life program in Orleans County. He discussed the program during a meeting with the Albion Rotary Club last week. Lindsay welcomes mentors and businesses to be part of the program.
ALBION – A group of churches is trying to “flip the list,” and the break the cycle of poverty for local residents.
The churches have formed Hands 4 Hope Orleans and launched a “Jobs for Life” program that is designed to give residents basic job skills, and also connect them to job opportunities and a mentor who will be a source of encouragement. The Rev. Tim Lindsay, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion, is site leader of the program.
“We’re trying to do things that foster independence and help people become self-supporting,” Lindsay told the Albion Rotary Club on Thursday. “We want to put jobs at the top and get people out of the cycle of dependency.”
Hands 4 Hope Orleans started the 16-class program on Jan. 27. The class meets twice a week at Hoag Library. Local business leaders have volunteered to help lead some of the classes. The first group of five students is scheduled to graduate on March 24.
Lindsay said he has witnessed big changes in the students in about six weeks of classes. They have gained confidence and direction.
He urged the Rotary Club, which includes several local business owners, to consider hiring a Jobs for Life graduate. The first class is expected to include five graduates. Lindsay expects to have additional classes in the future.
Each graduate will receive a certificate and businesses can have faith the students have learned the importance of values, showing up on time, conflict resolution, team work, a positive attitude, taking responsibility and overcoming roadblocks.
“We want this certificate to mean something to employers,” Lindsay said.
Besides Harvest Christian Fellowship, the Oak Orchard Assembly of God, Light of Victory, Albion Free Methodist Church and Alabama Full Gospel are all helping with Jobs for Life. For more information on Hands 4 Hope Orleans, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
Most of the Medina Waterfalls are suspended in ice. But a narrow spot is still roaring and flowing with water from the Oak Orchard Creek near the Erie Canal.
MEDINA – There’s been a lot talk in the news recently about the frozen Niagara Falls. It’s a spectacle getting world-wide attention and drawing tourists to the natural wonder when we were in our deep freeze recently. (Click here to see a story about the phenomenon.)
I wondered about the most powerful waterfalls in Orleans County. How has it held up in the freeze?
A good portion has been held up in ice. But the fast-moving part is still flowing strong, plummeting over a gorge.
The Medina Waterfalls as it appeared in early November.
I had never seen the Medina Waterfalls until November. I had heard about it and wanted to see it. It has the “wow” effect.
It’s disappointing to me how difficult it is to reach the falls. I stopped by on Saturday morning. It’s somewhat of a perilous journey through a wooded area, climbing over fallen trees. There are steep embankments and one slip could send you into the Oak Orchard Creek.
To get to the waterfalls, you can walk through this path or venture into a wooded area with fallen trees.
The powers-that-be should recognize this is a great untapped resource for tourism, recreation and improving our quality of life. I’d highly recommend a safe walking trail to the waterfalls, a ladder from the towpath, perhaps a pavilion area and some guardrails to improve the safety.
A stone wall is a relic from when powerful mills did business near the waterfalls in the 1800s.
Here is one more photo of the waterfalls, which are located near the Erie Canal, close to Horan Road bridge.
