By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Ray and Linda Burke turn site into “Fairhaven Treasures”
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – The former Swiercznski homestead at the corner of routes 98 and 104 is planned to open on Nov. 29, the Friday after Thanksgiving. The site will be an art gallery and high-end craft co-op.
Ray Burke and his wife have spent about a year renovating and remodeling the 3,040-square-foot house, which was built in 1834.
“This old house was just sitting here,” said Burke. “We’ve tried to bring it up to some level of use and beauty.”
Burke is retired from DuPont in Rochester. The former machine shop foreman said several community members have helped work on the building and brainstorm uses for the site. He praised Gaines Town Supervisor Carol Culhane, in particular, for providing a vision for the site and also a lot of manual labor.
Culhane said the house will be a nice complement to the Cobblestone Society Museum, the Village Inn and other businesses on the Ridge.
“This is the historical crossroads of this community,” Culhane said. “It deserves to be showcased.”
The house has six fireplaces, including a heating pot and Dutch oven in the kitchen. Burke welcomes any historical photos and clues about the site’s past.
He has worked on the property almost every day since last Christmas.
“The more I work on it, the more I like it,” he said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The county jail received about $1 million in improvements that should mostly pay for themselves in increased efficiency costs, county officials said.
ALBION – The county has completed about $1.5 million in energy conservation upgrades, work that officials expect will pay for itself in the coming years through increased energy efficiencies.
Most of the work, about $1 million worth of projects, was focused at the county jail. But the initiatives included energy upgrades at the County Clerk’s Building, Courthouse, highway garage, mental health building, nursing home, public safety building, central hall (treasurer’s office) and veterans office. In the six of the nine buildings, new more energy-efficient lights were installed.
The county spent $1,474,371 for the projects. State and federal grants paid $111,200. The upgrades are expected to reduce the county’s utility bills by $63,853 a year at the current market prices, said Keith Krug, the project manager from Wendel Energy of Buffalo.
The projects could pay for themselves in about 15 to 20 years with the reduced energy costs.
Wendel worked with county officials, especially highway superintendent Jerry Gray, for about two years in making the improvements. The highway department helped bring the projects in under budget by $82,000, Krug told legislators.
“Jerry Gray and his staff are the most committed DPW department we’ve ever worked with,” Krug said. “They did everything on time. In the end you were able to do more with your dollar.”
The improvements have given the county jail extended life by at least another 20 years, and stopped the pressure from the state Department of Corrections to build a new facility, legislators said.
“The $1 million in jail improvements saved the county $30 million by not having to build a new jail,” Legislator Lynne Johnson said.
Wendel did an energy audit of 10 county buildings about two years ago and worked with the county to identify projects that would have a payback through grants and energy savings.
The jail on Platt Street, built in two stages around 1970, was crowded and falling into disrepair mainly due to water infiltration. The state was pressuring Orleans to build a new facility.
But a series of improvements, plus a drop in the inmate population, have quieted talk that the jail is inadequate.
The jail used to have a problem with water infiltration from the roof, with a leaking expansion joint the main culprit. But contractors put on a new tiled roof and sealed the expansion joint. The roof is on top of a rubber membrane with a drainage system.
The jail also has a new boiler system, and a series of energy efficiency improvements, including new caulking around about 100 windows and also on the seams of the building. Crews sprayed insulation inside the concrete panels on the building.
The project upgraded showers and gate motors in the cell blocks. The showers now have water timers and a raised concrete pad on the floor, which will reduce water migration.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Team plays Albion teachers in fund-raiser for PTA
Photos by Tom Rivers – A Harlem Wizard named BP cheers on Alyson Snow, 6, of Albion while she balances a spinning basketball in front of a crowd of about 700 people in the high school gym.
Before the game, during the contest and at halftime the Harlem Wizards liked to stop and mingle with the crowd in Albion.
The Harlem Wizards played the Albion All-Stars, a group of teachers and administrators. When one teacher made a jump shot, teacher Alec Sherman raised both arms in the air from the Albion bench. The event was a fund-raiser for the Elementary School PTA.
ALBION – Recently the Five Star Bank building at the northwest corner of Main and West Bank streets in Albion was freshly repainted. (Click here for a previous article.)
In this photo from about 1890 we see much more detail in the architecture. Here the brick has not yet been painted, which is in contrast with the decorative stone trim, making the building much more lively than today.
This large three-story block was built in 1882 by William G. Swan and boasted two-story corner tower. To the right appears the Sickels Block, which conformed in the same style known as Eastlake.
The corner store was operated by George Barrell, a druggist – hence the mortar and pestle symbol on a post in front.
The name James Bailey & Son appears on the awning next door where they operated a grocery store. These store fronts are now all a part of Five Star Bank.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2013 at 12:00 am
The Orleans County Farmers’ Market was going to end its season in Albion last Saturday, but the market day was cancelled due to high winds.
Farmers aren’t going to call it a season yet. They will be back for a final day this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Save-A-Lot parking lot.
Vendors will also be in Medina in the Canal Basin from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday for the last time this season. Trick-or-treaters are welcome to stop by around 5 to visit the farmers, said Ann Nice, one of the vendors.
“We continue to have plenty of farm fresh fall produce and products,” Nice said. “Thank you to all our customers. We look forward to growing for you in 2014.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 October 2013 at 12:00 am
SYRACUSE – The Medina Mustang Marching Band made it five state titles in a row on Sunday by winning the Governor’s Cup at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
Medina scored 91.50 in the Small School 1 category to claim the title from six other schools in the division as part of the NYS Field Band Conference Championship.
The Medina band has 130 members. This year’s program features an Olympic theme, “The Pursuit of Gold.” Marching band directors Jim Steele and Cheri Pritchard lead the program.
Medina’s 91.50 score topped the following schools: New Hartford, 89.90; East Irondequoit, 86.35; Oswego, 85.15; East Syracuse Minoa, 84.65; Mohonasen, 83.00; and Le Roy, 80.75.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 October 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A Medina man was sentenced to 2 to 4 years in state prison for attempted assault in the second degree.
Leo Woodrich Jr., 50, of North Street pleaded guilty to the crime. He hit his wife in the head with a baseball bat on May 30. He is a second felony offender.
He was sentenced today in Orleans County Court by Judge James Punch.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Free Methodists will meet at library for next 2 weeks
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Members of the Albion Free Methodist Church removed the pews, carpet and platform from the church following a service on Sunday.
The church will spend the next three weeks remodeling the sanctuary at 25 South Platt St., the first Free Methodist church in the world.
The pews, which were purchased about 40 years ago from a church in Greece, are being swapped out with cushioned chairs. Some of the pews have been purchased by members of the church, while others are available for sale to another church.
New carpet will be added and the pulpit will be shifted from the east side of the building to the north wall.
The changes will allow the church to comfortably seat 240 people. Right now there is a space crunch for about 190 people that regularly attend the services.
The church will meet at the Hoag Library the following two Sundays before returning to the historic site on Nov. 17.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 October 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – An Albion man was sentenced to seven years in state prison today for second-degree rape.
Scott D. Stanley, 33, pleaded guilty to the crime during a July court appearance. He was accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl in his apartment at 220 East State St. between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28, 2011.
As part of a plea deal, Stanley faced two to seven years in state prison. Judge James Punch gave him the maximum sentence today. Stanley will be registered as a sex offender and could face civil confinement when his prison time is over.
Stanley is already a Level 3 sex offender, considered the most serious. He was sentenced to 22 years in state prison by a Genesee County Court judge on Aug. 1. Stanley victimized a 14-year-old girl in Albion and then in Pembroke. He also raped the girl’s 11-year-old sister in Pembroke, according to the Orleans District Attorney’s Office.
The sentence from Orleans County will run concurrent with the Genesee sentence, meaning the seven years won’t be added to 22-year sentence.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 October 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – When Paul Mann thinks of historic downtown Albion, he longs for the Main Street of the early 1970s, an image captured in this post card. The photograph shows Main Street, looking north from near State Street.
“Notice the parking meters, awnings, signs, the Rialto Theater,” Mann wrote in an email. “Shell Gas station is now the municipal parking lot. This is the Historic Albion that I remember.”
There is also a nice hitching post in the bottom left corner, in front of the former Swan Library. Mann also notes the photo includes a nice-looking 1969 Plymouth Fury.
