By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 March 2016 at 12:00 am
File photos by Tom Rivers – The Albion Marching Band performs at last June’s Albion Strawberry Festival.
ALBION – The Albion music program has again made a national list of schools with music programs cited for excellence by the North American Music Merchants.
NAMM has named Albion and 475 other school districts in the country as a “Best Communities for Music Education.” Albion has made the list the past nine years.
The NAMM organization gives out the award to recognize districts that make music a priority, especially in an era of tight school budgets and packed student schedules.
Nathaniel Trembley played Ugly, a misfit rejected by his siblings for his unusual appearance in Albion High School’s production of “Honk!” during last year’s high school spring musical. Albion will perform Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat April 8-9.
Albion runs an active music program in the elementary, middle and high schools. The high school puts on a full-scale musical and students also perform in several different instrumental and choral groups. In all, high school musicians perform numerous times during the school year.
Just last week, 468 kids in grades 3 through 12 sang in a district chorus concert.
The middle school puts on a full-scale musical, and its students perform with the marching and jazz bands. Elementary music teachers lead students in performances throughout the year.
The NAMM Foundation wants to single out districts for outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have made music education part of the core curriculum.
The schools recognized by name represent 3.5 percent of the nation’s 13,515 school districts.
To see the list of school districts recognized by NAMM, click here.
MIDDLEPORT – The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office is attempting to identify the above individual, who was involved in a robbery today at the Cornerstone Community Federal Credit Union (5 State St., Middleport).
The man is described as white, approximately 5’5″ to 5’8″, stocky build, with short dark hair and scruffy facial hair. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, blue Levi jeans, a white baseball hat, dark-colored, thick-rimmed, glasses and what appeared to be a gold cross necklace.
Any information, please contact the Investigator Tracy Steen of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office at 716-438-3337 during normal business hours or Niagara County Dispatch at 716-438-3393.
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 24 March 2016 at 12:00 am
Seniors could lose driving privileges if failing a class
KENDALL – Board of Education members held a public hearing Wednesday evening on proposed changes to the district’s code of conduct.
Kendall Jr./Sr. High School Principal Carol D’Agostino went over revisions and additions suggested by a committee. Many proposed changes are in regards to personal electronic devices/technology and ways to help motivate seniors to remain in good standing in order to graduate.
D’Agostino said additions include very specific wording regarding cyber bullying as being inappropriate behavior and using, “language as clear as possible for appropriate behavior regarding the use of social media.” Additionally, there is language prohibiting, “the sharing of inappropriate photos,” and “selling, using or distributing inappropriate or obscene materials.”
Additions to the code of conduct also include a senior lounge area located in the commons which could be utilized by seniors in good standing as well as what D’Agostino called a “big change” in eligibility for Senior Class Top Ten recognition.
Beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, students would be required to earn four math or four science credits to be eligible for the Top Ten.
The proposed addition which received the most attention from board members was in regards to driving privileges. Seniors would have to be passing their classes or staying after school for extra help in subjects they are failing, or their driving privileges would be revoked.
“It seems like punishment,” D’Agostino said, “but I see it as motivation.”
She said she wants seniors to have freedom, but she also wants to see them graduate. The possibility of having driving privileges revoked would help them to be responsible.
“We are providing more opportunities for them to get help,” she said of students who are failing classes.
School Board Vice President Christopher Gerken said he agreed with what D’Agostino was trying to do, but, “I don’t know where we stand if this is challenged. It gets complicated.”
Gerken expressed concerns over students who participate in off-campus programs and must drive themselves.
“We need niches to help motivate kids to behave in an age-appropriate manner,” D’Agostino responded.
Kendall Senior Coralee Freitag, who attended the meeting for Student of the Month recognition, told board members during the public hearing she felt such a code would be unfair to students who are participating in programs that take them off-campus and require that they drive themselves.
“If you want to make students more motivated, this is not a good way to do it,” Freitag said.
Her parents, however, who also attended the meeting, disagreed. They told board members they thought the possibility of losing driving privileges was a good motivator and might work to “wake up parents,” if their child is failing a class. They said the district will provide opportunities to help students regain driving privileges if they are lost.
School Board President Nadine Hanlon noted there were no students on the committee which worked on the code changes. D’Agostino explained that the teacher who chaired the committee invited students to be a part, but those students had a conflict with the committee meeting time. She said the students were able to review proposed changes before they were presented to the board.
The code of conduct revisions were not on the Wednesday agenda for board action.
In other business, Superintendent Julie Christensen said during her report that tests for lead in the district’s water supply will likely be conducted in April.
Recent concerns over the issue in area schools is prompting the testing which will be done through Genesee Valley BOCES/Monroe County Water Authority, Christensen said.
Board members also approved an inter-municipal cooperation agreement with the Holley Central School District regarding varsity baseball. School officials said four Kendall students tried out for the Holley team and two made the squad.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 March 2016 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – These pastors are among the members of the newly formed PACT – Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation. The group pictured, includes, from left: Russ Peters from Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship, Randy LeBaron from the Albion Free Methodist Church, Tim Lindsay from Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion, and Dan Thurber from Oak Orchard Assembly of God in Medina.
ALBION – Several church pastors in Orleans County have united in an effort to transform the community through the good news of Jesus Christ.
The church leaders are calling their new group, Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation (PACT). They worked together to plan the Good Friday service today at Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship on Route 63, south of Medina. That service starts today at 6:30 p.m. and six pastors have roles in the service, including serving communion.
The pastors in PACT have been getting together for several years to pray for each other and the community. It was an informal group. But they have given their group a name, developed a mission statement and a purpose
“Christ is Lord and we want to share him with the region,” said Randy LeBaron, pastor the past 12 years at the Albion Free Methodist Church.
The pastors say the group isn’t elitist. It’s open to Christians who share the PACT mission, an evangelical message that they say will take people from personal transformation to a bigger impact in the community.
The PACT leaders say they aren’t splitting hairs over denominational differences, or worship style preferences. They want to focus on prayer and the Gospel message.
“It’s a message of unity under Christ,” said Thurber, who has been pastor at Oak Orchard for 13 years. “The churches will come alongside each other and not compete. We’re stronger together.”
Tim Lindsay has served as pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion for 29 years. He said vibrant churches will help build a stronger community.
“When the church is revived, the community will be revived,” Lindsay said.
The churches will also host individual events open to other congregations. Albion Free Methodist, for example, hosts several movie nights with Christian-themed movies. Oak Orchard last week hosted a prayer meeting open to the community. Harvest Christian Fellowship is planning a trip to Israel and organizes the annual Father-Daughter Dance.
Peters has led the Alabama Full Gospel church for 3 ½ years. His father, Robert Terry Peters, was the church’s pastor for 30 years. The elder Peters met frequently to pray together with Thurber’s father, Stanley, who led Oak Orchard for 41 years.
Russ Peters said PACT provides the pastors with a support network.
“We minister to each other,” he said.
The Good Friday service this evening also will include Chad Wirth, pastor of Faith Covenant Fellowship in Medina, and Richard Allis, pastor of The Light of Victory Church in Albion.
BUFFALO – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Donald Stirk, 36, of Albion was sentenced to 48 months in prison for importing αPVP into the United States.
Stirk could have faced up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who handled the case, stated that on March 5, 2015, Customs and Border Protection officers in Memphis, Tenn. conducted a routine inspection of a package mailed from China and addressed to the defendant in Albion.
The inspection revealed that the package contained αPVP (sometimes known as “flakka”), a Schedule I controlled substance. On March 13, 2015, law enforcement officers inspected another package from China addressed to “Donald Starks” at the Albion Post Office, which again revealed αPVP.
Subsequent investigation revealed more such packages at the Albion Post Office. On April 15, 2015, officers performed a controlled delivery of several of the packages to the defendant at his Albion residence and then executed a search warrant at the residence revealing an additional quantity of αPVP.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 March 2016 at 12:00 am
Sets April 20 meeting to hear from community if village-owned land should be used for Santa site or parking
Charles Howard is pictured in 1965 in one of the last times he wore the Santa suit. Howard died at age 69 on May 1, 1966. The Albion Betterment Committee would like to see a bronze statue of Howard, perhaps in this pose with his hands on hips.
ALBION – The Albion Village Board said it supports the idea of a Santa Claus heritage site, but wants more information about the project and more input from the community whether village-owned land on Main Street should be used for a statue and a “Santa House.”
Board members would like to recognize Charles W. Howard, the creator of a Santa Claus School in 1937. The school was run in Albion until Howard’s death in 1966. It now is operated in Midland, Mich., and still bears Howard’s name.
Howard was an influential Santa who established standards for how Santa should dress and act. He was in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade as Santa for nearly 20 years, one of the most high-profile assignments for a Santa.
The Albion Betterment Committee would like a bronze statue of Howard on Main Street on vacant land next to the Presbyterian Church. Adding a building that would resemble Howard’s Christmas Park and Santa Claus School would create an attraction on Main Street, said Gary Kent, one of the directors of the Betterment Committee.
“We could put the village on the map all over the place big time,” Kent told the Village Board during a meeting this evening.
The Betterment Committee sees a building at about 1,000 square feet as a year-round operation, selling Santa-themed merchandise and perhaps baked goods, coffee and other drinks. The village would ultimately own the site and could lease it out to a business.
Mayor Dean London supports the idea but would like more specifics of the proposal. London and board members say they worry about the downtown business district and would welcome an attraction that would boost foot traffic for other businesses.
Santa visits with children at the former Christmas Park in Albion. The Betterment Committee would like a building on Main Street, resembling a site from Christmas Park.
Vinny Navarra owns a downtown building with a liquor store, fitness center, and barber shop. He has additional space for tenants. He said the village-owned land should be used for public parking. That was the stated purpose when the village took down a deteriorating building five years ago, Navarra said.
The land next the church could be used for 14 parking spaces at a cost of about $15,000 to pave the space and have the same grade as a neighboring parking lot, said Todd Sargent, the Department of Public Works superintendent.
Although parking currently isn’t an issue, downtown can run out of parking fast, especially with plans for a new restaurant by Adam Johnson, Navarra said. He said the statue could go elsewhere on Main Street without a Santa House. The statue might be best at Waterman Park, a half block south of the canal, Navarra suggested.
Kent and the Betterment Committee want the new building so it could be made to look like the former Santa Claus School in Albion. The site would appeal to a vendor and could also function as a visitor center with a public bathroom for the downtown.
Village Trustee Stan Farone stated his support for the statue and “Santa House,” saying the look of the building is important for the project to be a draw for the entire downtown.
Trustee Eileen Banker also voiced support for the project, saying it would be a boost for the downtown.
Trustee Pete Sidari said it is a difficult decision. He wants to play up on the Santa theme for Albion, but he also thinks downtown merchants could be out of parking with more businesses. He also wondered what would come of the “Santa House” if no vendor comes forward. He doesn’t want the village saddled with an empty structure.
Maureen Bennett, a vendor with Uptown Browsery, said she would support the Santa statue and house. She said existing merchants are struggling to get people into their stores.
“We don’t need more parking,” she said. “We need more people coming into our shops.”
The board decided it wanted more feedback from the community. It set a 7 p.m. public hearing for April 20 with a vote from the board at 7 p.m. on April 27.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Chris Collins (NY-27) and Louise Slaughter (NY-25) today led a bipartisan letter from members of the New York Congressional delegation to President Obama opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Collins and Slaughter were joined on the letter by Representatives Clarke (NY-09), Donovan (NY-11), Engel (NY-16), Gibson (NY-19), Higgins (NY-26), Jeffries (NY-08), Katko (NY-24), Lowey (NY-17), Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Meng (NY-06), Nadler (NY-10), Reed (NY-23), Serrano (NY-15), Tonko (NY-20), Velázquez (NY-07), and Zeldin (NY-01).
“Western New York bears the scars of poorly negotiated past free trade agreements; scars like lost jobs, shuttered factories, and a generation lost to economic opportunities that were outsourced to foreign competitors,” said Congressman Chris Collins. “I cannot support a trade agreement that once again threatens America’s working middle class, and fails to address several of the biggest challenges facing American manufacturers including currency manipulation and intellectual property protection. I want to thank Congresswoman Slaughter for her leadership on this issue and the rest of the New York delegation who joined us in signing this letter.”
“I have never seen a trade agreement that benefited the American manufacturer or American worker, and the TPP will just be more of the same. Rochester lost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs under NAFTA, culminating in one of the highest poverty rates in America. We’re beginning to make progress when it comes to reigniting our manufacturing base in upstate New York. This bipartisan opposition to the TPP is making clear to the administration that another NAFTA-style agreement would be bad for New York and the country,” said Slaughter.
In the bipartisan letter signed by 19 Members of New York’s Congressional delegation, the lawmakers write: “We are united in our opposition to the agreement and in our belief that the TPP will harm many working and middle-class families in New York and across the country.”
The lawmakers also point out that “since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements took effect in 1994, our state has lost more than 370,000 manufacturing jobs.”
Additionally, “this TPP agreement has no effective measures to address currency manipulation. Currency manipulation is one of the greatest issues facing American manufacturers today and is estimated to have suppressed millions of U.S. jobs.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 March 2016 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – Jonathan Oakes is interviewed during the ice wine harvest in January 2015. There needs to be a deep freeze to harvest frozen grapes for ice wine. Oakes will be featured April 9 at an event in Canandaigua.
CANANDAIGUA – The New York Wine and Culinary Center will host Leonard Oakes Estate Winery on April 9 during a winemaker dinner.
The center in Canandaigua has featured Leonard Oakes at many events before, but this is the first time the winery on Ridge Road in Medina has an event exclusively for their products, said Jordyn Gould, the PR and marketing coordinator for the Wine and Culinary Center.
“They’ve been a good partner and this is an opportunity for a larger event to be focused on them,” Gould said.
The event will showcase wine and Steampunk Hard Apple Cider from Leonard Oakes and includes a seven-course meal of local foods. (For more information on tickets, click here.)
While guests enjoy food, winemaker Jonathan Oakes will share stories and insider information on his beverages. Oakes helped develop the winery a decade ago, first planting vineyards in Lyndonville.
Oakes and his cousin Jerod Thurber attend many of the New York Wine and Culinary Center events and the two have engaging personalities, Gould said.
“They know how to work a crowd,” she said.
Leonard Oakes Estate Winery also has quality products, she said. Leonard Oakes has become an award-winning producer of handcrafted artisanal wines and ciders.
Provided photos – Kendall faculty participants in the March 3 volleyball match icnlude, front row, from left: Tige Noni, Lovette French, Martin Goodenbery, Louise Reger and Kelly Picardo. Middle row: Bethanie Mason, Kelly Smith, Nicole Pettrone, Jessica Glanton and Jessica Hutton. Back row: Marty Christensen, Jack Keenan, Chris Proukou, Melisa Rath, Julia Robinson, Michael Yaskulski and student Madison Rath.
Courtesy of Holley and Kendall school districts
HOLLEY – The Holley Faculty Team competed against the Kendall Faculty Team in volleyball at the recent “Cause for the County” game at Holley Middle School/High School on March 3.
Holley won 3 games out of 4. This is the fourth time Holley has competed against Kendall in a sporting event. Ticket proceeds were divided between the Kendall Food Cupboard and Holley Loaf and Ladle. Each food cupboard netted $720. The annual game has raised over $5,000 for the local food cupboards in the last four years.
Holley faculty participants include, front row, from left: Jenn Morgan, Kellie Marciano, Janelle Baker, Renee Wolf, Kelly Frost, Kristen Pelkey, Sara Missell and Kate Connor. Back row: Sal DeLuca, Jason Cole, Jeff Shannon, Chris Grasta, Nick D’Amuro, Bill Silpoch, Jeremy DeFazio and Chad Cummings.
As part of the pre-game entertainment, brothers Ashley and Andrew Grillo wrestled against each other. This was a rematch of their 2014 half-time wrestling match during the annual faculty game, with younger brother, Andrew, a Holley physical education teacher, beating his oldest brother, Ashley, an assistant principal at Holley Elementary School, once again. Middle brother Adam Grillo served as referee of the match, while father John Grillo, Holley varsity wrestling coach, supervised.
From left, Andrew Grillo takes on his brother, Ashley, in a pre-game wrestling match.
Press Release, U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr.
BUFFALO – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Allen M. Young, 39, of Barker pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methylone. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $2 million fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who is handling the case, stated that between October 21, 2011, and December 13, 2012, the defendant conspired with Peter Viera to obtain methylone from China, which Young then distributed.
On December 13, 2012, while members of the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force were attempting to execute a search warrant on Young and his car, he fled at a high rate of speed before crashing the car in Ridgeway.
Young fled the scene on foot. Nine rounds of .50 caliber ammunition were found in the car. As he fled, the defendant discarded a backpack near the scene of the crash which contained 1.8 pounds of methylone and just over one pound of marijuana.
Young was subsequently arrested in Erie, Pa. on Feb. 14, 2013, and has been in custody ever since. On April 5, 2013, officers executed a search warrant at his residence and seized seven firearms belonging to the defendant.
Peter Viera has also been convicted and will be sentenced on May 5, 2016.
The plea is the result of an investigation on the part of the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force, under the direction of District Attorney Joseph V. Cardone and Sheriff Randall Bower, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 17, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
