By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Two local artists also highlighted in Albion gallery
The late Charles Werberig, who created metal sculptures in an avant garde style, is featured at Marti’s on Main in Albion.
ALBION – Charles Werberig of Rochester was a prolific artist, as well as a professor of photography and film at Rochester Institute of Technology.
He created sculptures from metal, wood and also two-dimensional sculptures on walls. He created more than 1,000 pieces of artwork with many in an avant garde style.
Werberig died in 2004 and his family has been keeping his collection. Tonight it was featured in a gallery for the first time since his death. Kim Muscarella, owner of Marti’s on Main, met Werberig’s son David through a mutual artist friend, Peter Monacelli, a former Albion resident.
Muscarella saw some of Charles Werberig’s pieces and wanted to bring them to Albion. The artwork is very unusual and it stopped me when I visited the gallery at 229 North Main St.
Tonight was an opening reception at Marti’s and it seemed most of the Orleans County artist community was there. David Werberig also attended. He said his father created most of the work during the 1960s and 1970s. David also has collages and digital artwork on display in Albion.
Chris VerSteeg created this image as well as several others at Marti’s on Main.
Two local artists, Chris VerSteeg and Laurie Groth, both have artwork in the upstairs exhibit area. Muscarella said she welcomes people to stop by the gallery for a tour. For more information, give her a call at 589-6715.
Laurie Groth painted this cobblestone building. She has other paintings at the Albion gallery.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Organization insists it owns decorations, and wanted to spruce them up for holidays
Editor’s note: This article was updated to clarify a comment attributed to AMSA President Maarit Vaga, who says the village did not request to have the decorations returned.)
ALBION – The decorations are back at the village, but a dispute continues over which entity actually owns the wreaths, garland and lights.
The Albion Main Street Alliance believes it owns the decorations, and took them from the Village Hall on Tuesday morning to make an inventory of what needed to be fixed before they were hung up in the downtown later in November.
Some village officials saw the removal of the decorations as possible theft of village property.
AMSA says it has paid insurance on the decorations and has operated on the understanding for several years that they owned them. Even Mayor Dean Theodorakos said during an emergency meeting this morning that he thought AMSA owned the decorations.
AMSA representatives handed the decorations to village officials this morning. This after AMSA said it was threatened with criminal and civil litigation.
“This has been very upsetting because it’s so stupid,” Katelin Olson, the organization’s interim director, said. “It’s been a lot of wasted energy that could have gone into bettering the community.”
Village officials accused the organization of wrongdoing Tuesday when the decorations were removed. The village thought AMSA was doing an on-site inspection. But when the decorations were taken off-site, the village worried the decorations might not be available to display for the holiday season.
Village representatives said they tried to reach out to AMSA about the decorations. AMSA President Maarit Vaga said she heard from the village, but the village didn’t make a request to have the items returned.
Olson said AMSA never would have hidden the decorations or prevented them from being displayed out of spite, as was insinuated.
“There’s nothing to ever suggest we’ve done that kind of behavior,” she said. “We proceeded from a good-faith understanding that these were ours.”
Olson believes AMSA owns the decorations. Its predecessor, the Albion Business Association, rallied the community for donations and also secured a member-item grant from former State Assemblyman Charles Nesbitt to buy the decorations in 2005. The village today said the ABA was a pass through for the money and the village owns the decorations.
AMSA and the ABA stored the decorations from 2005 until the village agreed to store them in 2010, Olson said.
HOLLEY – A power outage affecting parts of eastern Orleans County and the Village of Holley is likely the result of a traffic crash in the Town of Murray.
The incident occurred at about 8 a.m., in the 3500 block of Fancher Road. Richard J. Breslawski, 23, of Hamlin was operating an 18-wheel tractor-trailer truck and was exiting westbound Route 31 onto northbound Fancher Rd., when he lost control of the vehicle. The truck jack-knifed, striking several parked cars at A&M Transmission Service at 3581 Fancher Rd., before shearing off a National Grid utility pole.
Breslawski, the sole occupant, was not injured. The truck is owned by Charles Breslawski Farms, also located in Hamlin. There was no cargo on-board at the time of the incident.
Unsafe speed is a probable factor in the crash, investigated by Deputies A.L. Jenks & M.C. Mele. Also assisting at the scene are firefighters from the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray and the Holley Fire Departments. That section of Fancher Road remains closed to traffic.
MEDINA – Five Star Bank has donated $5,000 to Orleans Habitat for Humanity, money that will go towards a project on West Oak Orchard Street in the village of Medina.
Orleans Habitat is very grateful to Five Star for its commitment to the local community and its willingness to support local projects, Habitat leaders said in a news release.
“Five Star Bank is proud to support such a meaningful causes as Habitat for Humanity,” said Marty Griffith, regional president for the bank. “We firmly believe that as a community bank we have an obligation to support the communities in which we live and work. We thank the Orleans County Habitat for their hard work and dedication to making Orleans County a great place to live.”
Five Star has sites in Albion and Medina.
Orleans Habitat is a non-profit group dedicated to helping provide simple, decent housing to those in need in Orleans County. The all-volunteer organization welcomes new supporters. For more information, check the group’s web site at www.orleanshfh.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
The high winds that are whipping through the area are knocking down some trees. I drove around Albion and saw one tree down in Mount Albion Cemetery and another one on West Academy Street near the grain facility by the railroad tracks.
There are lots of fallen limbs. But, for the most part, the trees are holding their ground against the gusts that have are up to 60 miles per hour.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 November 2013 at 12:00 am
HOLLEY – Holley schools closed early today and sent students home due to a power outage in the community. All after-school activities were also cancelled.
The entire Holley Central School campus did not have electricity after a tractor trailer hit a pole on Route 31 and Fancher Road, taking out a National Grid power line.
“We have been in communication with National Grid and this situation will not be rectified within a short period of time,” the district stated on its Web site. “Consequently, students in both schools will be dismissed early.”
Holley sent home Middle School/High School students at 10:33 a.m. Morning Pre-K students were dismissed at the regular time.
Elementary School students, including Kindergarten, were dismissed at 11:33 a.m. The afternoon Pre-K is cancelled and all after school and evening activities are cancelled.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 October 2013 at 12:00 am
LYNDONVILLE – Some smoke in an art storage room in the primary wing of the Lyndonville Central School triggered a fire alarm and kept students and staff out of the building for more than an hour this morning.
Lyndonville and Medina firefighters both investigated the storage room and the entire building, and deemed the site safe, said Jason Smith, Superintendent of Schools.
The alarm went off at 9:12 a.m. Students and staff left the school building on Housel Avenue and went to the former elementary school building while firefighters investigated for about 40 minutes.
Firefighters and the school haven’t determined a specific cause or source of the smoke. The area has been on watch throughout the school day since students and staff returned to the building at about 10:30 a.m., Smith said.
He thanked the firefighters for their response and said students and staff were cooperative during the alarm.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Brown’s Berry Patch and the Albion Rotary Club raised $2,566 for Hospice of Orleans with a 5-kilometer walk and run on Oct. 12. Margy Brown, center, presents a check to Hospice today. She is pictured with Rotary Club President Cindy Perry, left, and Marsha Rivers, director development and community relations for Hospice.
CARLTON – For 17 years the Brown family has organized a 5-kilometer run and walk through their orchards as a benefit for Hospice of Orleans County.
The race has now raised $31,190 for the agency, with the Oct. 12 race netting $2,566.
Margy Brown presented a check to Hospice Director of Development and Community Relations Marsha Rivers today during the Albion Rotary Club meeting. The Rotary Club provides some manpower during the race.
The Oct. 12 race was dedicated in memory of Judy Christopher, a Rotarian and volunteer at many of the Brown’s races.
“She was always a mentor,” Brown told the Rotary Club today. “I had a great deal of respect for her.”
The race T-shirt included an image of a phoenix as a tribute to Christopher, who owned Phoenix Fitness for about two decades in Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Provided photo
MEDINA — Representatives from Monsanto were in Medina last week to present a $25,000 check to the school district for its agriculture program.
The company met with FFA students, district leaders and local elected officials as well as State Assemblyman Steve Hawley.
Medina will use the funds to create a small, self-sustained, on-campus mini-farm with video surveillance; a compost center; a hydroponics system; and organic community gardens at the middle and elementary schools.۬
Medina would like to have some of the projects in place by May, when the community will host the state FFA Convention.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Dick Diminuco, the retired football coach and athletic director at Albion, addresses about 700 people on Wednesday night when he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
Diminuco’s plaque will be part of the Hall of Fame exhibit in the First Niagara Center, an arena in Buffalo. (The photo shows him as coach at Alden, where he led the team for four years after 34 years at Albion.
BUFFALO – Retired Albion football coach Dick Diminuco joined 12 other athletes and sports leaders in the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday. None of the other inductees, including NFL and NHL players, could top Diminuco in fan support at the banquet.
Coach D filled eight tables with former players, coaches, teachers, friends and family.
His crowd of supporters gave him an enthusiastic cheer when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“He has touched so many lives in such a positive way,” said Randy Knaak, who succeeded Diminuco as Albion’s athletic director. “People are glad to have an opportunity to celebrate his special day with him.”
Knaak played tackle for Diminuco in 1980 and 1981. The team in Knaak’s senior year played at Rich Stadium. It was an unforgettable experience, Knaak said.
He credits his coach for pointing him to college and connecting him with the physical education program at Canisius College.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today without him,” Knaak said.
Diminuco grew up in Rochester and attended college in Kansas at Ottawa University, where he was a star quarterback.
When Knaak graduated, Diminuco encouraged him to take a job at Albion, first in the correction room and as a coach for three sports. Knaak, a P.E. teacher, said Diminuco was a mentor to his players, coaches and the other teachers.
“He wasn’t just a coach to us,” Knaak said before dinner at the Hyatt Regency in Buffalo. “He was more than a coach.”
Diminuco won 204 games with Albion, including state championships in 1983 and 1987. When he retired from Albion, he took the job as coach at Alden for four seasons, including a 31-3 record the last three years. Diminuco won 242 games in his career with only 70 losses.
Knaak and Dan Monacelli put the call out in the Albion community to see who would want to attend the induction ceremony, where tickets cost $75.
“It wasn’t hard to get people here,” Knaak said.
Monacelli, now the middle school principal, played on Diminuco’s first team at Albion in 1979, a squad that played at Rich Stadium. Monacelli today counts Coach D as one of his best friends.
Diminuco steered Monacelli to Ashland University in Ohio, and welcomed him back to Albion as a teacher and coach after college.
“If it wasn’t for Dick Diminuco I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing,” Monacelli said.
The Hall of Fame introduction for Coach Diminuco showed many newspaper clippings when he was coaching Albion, a perennial powerhouse for three decades under Coach D.
Monacelli said the coach treats people like they are a son or daughter.
“The turnout here tonight is because of all the relationships he’s formed over the past 40 years,” Monacelli said.
Albion was a perpetual powerhouse for three decades under Coach D, regularly defeating teams from larger schools. Monacelli said Diminuco stressed team over individuals.
“He made everybody believe that we were one,” Monacelli said. “He didn’t care who scored or who made the tackle. It was about doing what’s right and winning. He is the man, end of story.”
Diminuco called the induction in the Hall of Fame “very special.” The turnout, from so many at Albion, was “very humbling,” he said at the banquet.
“I’ve seen a lot of people tonight I’ve haven’t seen in a long time,” he said.
During his induction speech he thanked his wife of 37 years, Dale, for being such a great life partner. “I outkicked my coverage when I got you, honey,” he said.
“He wasn’t just a coach to us. He was more than a coach.” – Randy Knaak on Coach Dick Diminuco
Diminuco had a reputation as an intense coach who sometimes loudly voiced his displeasure with officials.
“One of my regrets is that I was very tough on football officials, especially in my younger days,” Diminuco a crowd of about 700 in Buffalo. “I feel bad about that, really I do. I’m serious, I do. I never won a debate with them.”
He referred to himself as “just an old football coach.” But the Hall of Fame committee said he had an impact of thousands of high school athletes in Western New York.
Diminuco said he is thankful for his career in high school athletics and the many relationships through coaching.
“I have not touched as many people as have touched me,” he said. “I have had so many great role models and mentors in my life.”
