Photo by Tom Rivers – This 28,235-square-foot warehouse between Platt and Main streets will be torn down so the site can be used for a new Dunkin’ Donuts. This photo was taken from the Platt Street side of the property.

ALBION – In the best-case scenario, an engineer working on the new Dunkin’ Donuts in Albion predicted in October the shell of the 2,000-square-foot store might be up by now with contractors working to have the site ready for a January opening.

Village Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti said the 28,235-square-foot warehouse has some asbestos remediation that needs to be done before the structure can be taken down.

“The project is still on but they may not be able to do anything until next year because of the weather,” Vendetti said. “They’re working through the process of getting their things together.”

The Dunkin’ Donuts will be operated by JFJ Holdings of North Andover, Mass. The new Albion store is planned to have 30 seats inside, 46 parking spaces, a 230-square-foot freezer next to the building, and a drive-through lane that could accommodate 10 vehicles.

The site will have far more green space and landscaping because the building is so much smaller than the current warehouse.

JFJ also is working on a project in the town of Shelby at the southeast corner of the routes 31A and 63 intersection. The site is outside the village of the Medina in the town of Shelby. That store will go on land that is currently vacant.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Twin sisters Sam Hill, left, and Sarah, both 23 and from Middleport, sing “Silent Night” during tonight’s recital at St. Mary’s Athletic Club in Albion.

A singer who goes by “Daddy Cool” performs “Celebrate Me Home.”

St. Mary’s Athletic Club hosted “A Little Bit of Christmas Recital” tonight at the Moore Street site in Albion. Performers mixed the sacred – “Silent Night” and “O’ Holy Night” – with some silly songs, such as “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”

Eight performers sang 16 songs as part of the show by JNS Productions, which is led by Albion residents Nick Russo and Shellane Bailey.

This is their second effort at St. Mary’s. In August their first production was a Broadway revue. (Click here for previous story.) Tonight and Friday the show includes Christmas songs.

Albion native Lance Anderson hams it up while singing “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”

“We had a really good response to the first one,” Russo said. “We want to keep building on it.”

Russo and Bailey would like to do two or three different productions a year in Albion.

Many of the performers at the Dec. 5-6 shows were part of the cast in Les Miserables. The Lake Plains Players performed that show in October. (Click here to see previous article.)

Jake Hayes of Albion sings “O’ Holy Night” during a Christmas recital in Albion.

Albion native Lance Anderson had the lead role, Jean Valjean, in Les Miserables. Anderson lives in Spencerport. He said he is grateful for a chance to keep performing with the production in Albion.

“There aren’t enough opportunities for people to perform,” Anderson said. “We need more things like this in the area.”

Tickets are available at the door for the Dec. 6 show, which begins at 7:30 p.m. St. Mary’s is located at 538 Moore St.

The cast joins for the finale of the show by singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

ALBION – Organizers of an inaugural Holiday Spirit 5K in Albion have decided to cancel the race scheduled for this Saturday. The race was planned by the Mental Health Association of Orleans County.

The group was caught off guard by the day to day responsibilities planning the race, said Nola Goodrich-Kresse, Public Health Educator for the Orleans County Health Department.

The MHA will recruit more people on the planning committee when it tries again for a holiday 5K next year, Goodrich-Kresse said.

The group tried to pull off the race in a short schedule this year. Organizers didn’t want to have a bad event and decided to cancel the race with a goal to have it next year.

Another issue was finding a time keeper for the race. Goodrich-Kresse said a timekeeper and race official can cost about $300. The MHA hoped it could find a volunteer to time the race.

The group of organizers will start early in planning for a 5K race/walk in 2014.

“I believe with longer planning time we can have an excellent event that will benefit MHA both financially and by helping get the word out about this valuable resource,” Goodrich-Kresse.

Ron Armstrong plans to keep responding to fire calls

Photo by Tom Rivers – Ron Armstrong was treated with a birthday cake and much praise tonight by the Albion Fire Department. Armstrong turned 80. He has been an active firefighter for 55 years.

ALBION – One of Albion’s most dedicated firefighters just turned 80, but that milestone birthday doesn’t mean Ron Armstrong plans to retire anytime soon from the fire department.

“I’ve been blessed with good health,” he said tonight when firefighters treated him to a birthday cake in the fire hall. “Some day I will have to stop. My body will tell me.”

Armstrong served as fire chief in 1975, and then from 1996 to 1998. He said he has plenty of aches and pains. He doesn’t do interior firefighting anymore. He serves mostly as a driver of the big fire trucks.

“During the day he is our main driver,” said Fire Chief Rocky Sidari.

The fire department needs volunteers for the daytime calls when many of the firefighters are at jobs away from Albion. Armstrong knows there is a need. That’s why he has stayed active for the department through his 70s and now at age 80.

Armstrong said he is grateful for the chance to serve so long in the department. He joined back in 1958.

“I had friends who were in it,” he said.

Armstrong served in the Air Force as a radio operator. He was stationed in Germany during the Korean War. He then worked 30 years as a printer at the former Eddy Printing in Albion before working another 16 years at Kodak.

The fire department has members with longer service than Armstrong, but Lee Meisner, the fire department president, doubts anyone has ever been an active volunteer for 55 years with the department.

Many of the firefighters will pull back from the department when they have young children or when they become senior citizens. They may be members, but Miesner said they typically don’t respond to fire calls. That’s not true with Armstrong.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – More than 50 participants have been rehearsing for the fourth annual Nicholas Kovaleski Hometown Christmas. Gotta Dance by Miss Amy will perform three shows on Dec. 14 at noon, 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Holy Family Parish Lyceum, 106 South Main St.

Amy Sidari, Gotta Dance owner and director of the show, is pictured with a group photo of last year’s cast.

Nicholas Kovaleski inspired the Albion community with his valiant fight against leukemia. He died at age 15 on June 29, 2011. He was a popular student at Albion, excelling at football, swimming and tennis. He would have been a senior this year.

Several of Nick’s classmates will share a presentation during the Hometown Christmas. Nick’s mother Kelly will sing a solo, “The Shape Of You,” and Nick’s sister Michayla will do a solo dance. There are 15 acts in all.

Noted local musicians Marcy Downey and Gary Simboli are among the performers.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun with a lot of humor,” Sidari said.

The Rev. Richard Csizmar, parish priest, will also share a reflection during the each of the shows.

For more information about the show and tickets, click here.