news

$250K grant will help Holley businesses with building projects

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2013 at 12:00 am

State funding includes $15K for streetscape

Photo by Tom Rivers – The fountain at Holley’s Public Square, originally erected in 1914, could be upgraded with some of $15,000 targeted for streetscape improvements in Holley.

HOLLEY Contractors will soon be at work at several Public Square sites in Holley, making improvements on buildings from more than a century ago.

The village last December was awarded a $250,000 Main Street grant from the state, which provides matching money for building projects in the downtown.

Dan and Monica Seeler are doing the most extensive project, turning the former Tagg’s Tavern into a steak and seafood restaurant.

Other building owners are tackling projects. Jonathan’s Pastry Shop and Café will have a new façade. Lisa’s Dance Boutique is replacing second-floor windows and repointing some of the roof. VP Supply is working on a vestibule for its Geddes Street building. Nancy Penna may also renovate apartments on Thomas Street.

The projects will give the downtown area a big facelift, and may encourage other building owners to invest and improve their sites, said David Dill, Holley’s deputy mayor.

“It’s going to make that end of the Square look really nice,” he said.

Holley also has $15,000 from the grant for streetscape improvements. Village officials are considering using that money to refurbish the fountain, built in 1914, and add new benches. Dill said the village is open to ideas for spending that money.

Holley also also has been awarded a $30,000 state grant for records retention. The grant will fund scanning many of Holley’s paper documents into digital files. That includes board minutes, payroll records, and birth and death records. The paperwork goes back many decades.

Murray man sent to jail for trading indecent images with a child

Posted 26 September 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department

MURRAY – An 18-year-old Murray man was sent to jail on $15,000 bail after being charged with endangering the welfare of a child, use of a child in a sexual performance and disseminating indecent material to a minor.

Damien Jost of 16699 Ridge Rd., Lot 29 was arrested on Monday. An investigation showed he was allegedly sending and receiving photos of a victim less than 15 years old that he was messaging on-line.

Investigator Ken Strickland assisted by Deputy Jeff Cole in the investigation. An order of protection was issued for the victim.

Dunkin’ plan for Albion passes county

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2013 at 12:00 am

File photo by Tom Rivers – The new Dunkin’ Donuts will be next to Tim Hortons on Route 98, once the white warehouse is demolished and the new restaurant is built.

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board gave its blessing for a new Dunkin’ Donuts in Albion, a project that calls for removing a warehouse between Tim Hortons and the railroad tracks.

JFJ Holdings of North Andover, Mass., is pushing for the new Dunkin’. The company wants to tear down the warehouse owned by Charles Breuilly of Albion.

Planners backed the project during tonight’s meeting. However, some of the board members expressed concerns about the Platt Street driveway. Planners agreed having that second entrance and exit will help alleviate some of the traffic from Main Street.

But planners wondered if an additional turning lane may be needed for the Platt Street driveway, and if a traffic device may be warranted on the Dunkin’ site to allow for drivers from both Main and Platt streets to take turns entering the drive-through.

County planners left it the Village of Albion Planning Board to consider whether a traffic device is needed for the driveway near Platt Street and if a turning lane should be added at the Platt Street driveway.

JFJ is willing to pay for any needed improvements, but the company wants to wait a year to see how traffic is working at the site and on Platt Street, said Ron Vendetti, the village code enforcement officer. The company agreed to add traffic flow improvements after a year if they are needed, with village officials getting the final say on the issue, Vendetti said.

Planners said they expect customers will learn how to best maneuver on the site. But planners welcomed the option for the village to review how the site is working after a year.

Dunkin’ wants to build a 2,000-square-foot restaurant at 153 South Main St. The project also includes a 230-square-foot freezer and cooler. The site will have 46 parking spaces. It adds green space to a site that currently is almost entirely occupied by the warehouse.

The Village of Albion Planning Board is expected to give a final vote on the project at 7 p.m. Oct. 2 at Village Hall on East Bank Street. Dunkin’ wants to begin demolition in October. The company is eyeing a January opening for the new store.

Hungerford buys Chase building in Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am

ALBION – There is good news for Albion and Orleans County: Roger Hungerford has reportedly acquired the JPMorgan Chase building in Albion, a site on Route 31 that was once home to 1,000 employees.

Chase closed down the site earlier this month, eliminating about 400 jobs from the community.

Hungerford owns the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina. He has spent millions of dollars at that site, turning an old factory into a remarkably clean building where Baxter International makes medical infusion pumps. There are also doctors with offices at the site and Claims Recovery Financial Services recently moved into a part of the Olde Pickle Factory on Park Avenue.

Hungerford told The Journal-Register he has a tenant lined up for the Chase building in Albion, but the details need to be finalized before there will be an announcement.

I’ve noticed several contractors have been working at the site in recent days. I’m relieved to know Hungerford will own the building, and it won’t sit idle with an absentee owner.

Board of Education Honors Holley Seniors with Award

Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo courtesy of Holley Central School – From left, Katrina with her father William standing behind her, school librarian Lisa Osur, Joshua with his mother Marie McAllister to the right and school Principal Sue Cory in back row.

Press release, Holley Central School District

HOLLEY – Two Holley seniors, Katrina Grathouse and Jacob McAllister, were honored recently by the Holley Board of Education with the Soaring to New Heights Award. The students volunteered their time to help school librarian Lisa Osur prepare for the new school year by unpacking, scanning and shelving thousands of books.

Two women hospitalized after head-on collision in Clarendon

Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am

Press release, Orleans County Sheriff

CLARENDON – Two Orleans County women are hospitalized this morning following a two-car head-on crash in the Town of Clarendon. The incident occurred shortly before 8 a.m., on East Lee Rd. (State Route 31-A) at intersection with South Manning Rd. Randi Lee Johnson, 28, of Albion, the sole occupant, was operating a 2012 Jeep SUV westbound on East Lee Rd., when her vehicle crossed the center line and collided with an eastbound 2001 Ford Taurus operated by Sherell L. Lindsey, 29, of Medina. Lindsay was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

Johnson was able to escape her vehicle before it burst into flames and was totally consumed by fire. She was transported by Monroe Ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Lindsey was trapped in her vehicle for approximately 45 minutes, before being extricated by Clarendon, Holley and Barre firefighters. She was flown to Strong by MercyFlight helicopter.

The incident remains under investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were assisted at the scene by State Troopers from the Albion barracks.

Medina will dedicate memorial for firefighters on Saturday

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am

MEDINA – The community is invited to a memorial service for Medina firefighters on Saturday, when a memorial stone will also be unveiled in front of City Hall, 600 Main St.

Firefighters intend to make the memorial service an annual event. The fire department’s benevolent association paid for the memorial.

“We want to honor the past firefighters,” said Jonathan Higgins, a current firefighter.

Ultralight takes flight on a fall day

Staff Reports Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Cheryl Wertman

GASPORT – During Tuesday’s boys soccer game with Medina against Roy-Hart, Orleans Hub photographer Cheryl Wertman captured this ultralight in flight over the field in Gasport.

The lightweight aircraft and its pilot “seemed to be up enjoying the great weather,” Wertman said.

Albion’s Main Street lights before LED

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 September 2013 at 12:00 am

ALBION – Most of our Vintage Orleans features are from a century ago. This one isn’t even quite a year old. It shows Albion’s Main Street while it was lit up with incandescent light bulbs.

The village has replaced about 30 of the those lights with new LED technology that use far less power and give a softer glow. The lights also have new globes that help direct the light downward.

A Hub reader, Wayne Burlison of Albion, took this photo last December. I didn’t have a pre-LED photo to compare the new lights with. Thanks, Wayne.

Collins says Congress shouldn’t accept pay if government shuts down

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2013 at 12:00 am

WASHINGTON, D.C. – If the government shuts down after next Tuesday, due to a showdown in Congress over funding a new health care law, Congressman Chris Collins said members of Congress should not accept their paychecks.

Collins, R-Clarence, has introduced the Government Shutdown Fairness Act (H.R. 3160). This legislation would stop members of Congress from receiving a salary in the event of a government shutdown.

“As members of Congress, it is our job to keep the government running, and if the government shuts down, I don’t believe we should collect a salary during that time,” Collins said in a press release. “It is wrong that members of Congress should continue to get paid while programs for veterans, seniors and many others are adversely impacted.”

This type of legislation has proven effective in the past, Collins said. Earlier this year, the House passed the “No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013,” which said members of Congress would not be paid unless they passed a budget. Following the passage of No Budget, No Pay, the Senate adopted a budget resolution for the first time in four years, Collins said.

“Salary and job performance should be tied together, and if members of Congress aren’t doing their job, that should be reflected in their salary,” Collins said. “The American people deserve more from their Congress and it is time, as members of Congress, that we put ourselves at the back of the line and put our constituents first in a government shutdown.”