By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – I stopped by Point Breeze today for a story about the ham radio operators participating in an international lighthouse event. I wrote a story about their event earlier. (Click here to see the story.)
While at the lighthouse, I was surprised to see so many boats coming and going at the Oak Orchard Harbor. The radio operators agreed it was a busy day at the Point.
The sunshine helped, and I bet some of the boaters were trying to catch a big fish for the annual Orleans County Fishing Derby, which ends on Sunday. Foster Miller of Holley is the current leader with a Chinook salmon that weighs 34 pounds, 13 ounces.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The village of Medina, town of Shelby and Orleans Economic Development Agency are working together to make Medina Business Park attractive to developers.
MEDINA – It already has a road, and there is plenty of vacant land. But the Medina Business Park is lacking an important designation that would gain the notice of developers: “Shovel Ready.”
But that should soon change. The town of Shelby, village of Medina and Orleans Economic Development Agency are working for “shovel ready” status for the 65-acre business park on Bates Road. Clearing all of the hurdles for environmental and surveying work, as well as approvals with state agencies offers businesses a chance to build at the site without delays. But to get that status will cost about $90,000, according to a report from the Orleans EDA.
“This has been a high priority,” said Medina Mayor Andrew Meier. “We’re very happy to be working with Shelby and the EDA.”
Medina and Shelby have both committed $20,000 towards the costs of obtaining shovel ready status. The EDA has agreed to spend $4,367.75 from the Orleans Land Restoration Corporation. National Grid would pay half of the $88,735.50 cost with a grant.
“We can accomplish a lot more if we all work together,” said Ken Schaal, a Shelby town councilman.
Shelby set aside $10,000 for the project in its 2013 budget, and Schaal expects the other $10,000 will be in the town’s 2014 spending plan.
To reach “shovel ready” status, the site needs nearly $90,000 of services, including boundary, topographical and survey work ($26,010); geotechnical information ($16,000); concept plans and traffic study ($15,000); State Historic Preservation Office application ($1,500); environmental impact report ($3,500); meetings and coordination with Empire State Development ($15,000) and an application to Empire State Development for “shovel ready” status for the site ($7,500). The costs also include a 5 percent contingency for $4,225.50.
The EDA is working to have two shovel ready sites. The other site is a 120-acre cow pasture owned by the Keppeler family on Route 31A .
The EDA last year and in early 2013 worked with a consultant to develop an 850-page plan for economic development for the county. The report was complete in April. The project identified the two sites in Medina – the Keppeler site and the Medina Business Park – as priorities.
O’Brien and Gere, consultants for the EDA with the project, said the two sites are the county’s best bet for luring manufacturing and other companies. The sites both have access to water, sewer and other infrastructure. They both fall within the 30-mile radius of the hydropower plant in Lewiston. The New York Power Authority determines which companies receive that low-cost electricity.
This photo, perhaps dating to the second decade of the 20th Century, has recently been given to the Cobblestone Society Museum by Robin Stelmach. Only partial information was written on the back, which includes: “Watson Farm on Million Dollar Highway – Milton Johnson.” The man at the far right with an X by his head is probably Johnson.
These men are engaged in sorting apples and putting them in barrels for shipping. The top of each barrel was faced with larger apples to make for an attractive appearance when the head was popped off.
A sorting rack is seen here in the middle while the man to the left shows off a bushel of large apples sorted out for facing.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Napoli will be speaker on state panel about ‘Fiscally Distressed Municipalities’
Photo by Tom Rivers – Brian Napoli, the town supervisor in Ridgeway, has been invited to speak at a state public hearing Thursday in Buffalo about fiscal challenges facing local governments.
RIDGEWAY – Many local officials often bemoan the impact of state regulations and mandates on budgets at the village, town, county and school levels. Officials may pass resolutions, stating their concerns about the state driving up costs.
Many officials will grouse about the state, casting blame on “downstate.”
In the town of Ridgeway, Brian Napoli will fire off letters to the state officials. He has developed a reputation locally and in state circles for some of his strident objections to state policies. On Thursday, the Ridgeway town supervisor gets a chance to speak directly to state officials during a public hearing in Buffalo at the City Hall.
Napoli has compiled “a short list and a long list – of all the things the state has done to us.” He will share a condensed version during a hearing on “Fiscally Distressed Municipalities: Preparing for and Preventing Municipal Bankruptcy in New York.” The State Senate’s Committee on Local Government is having the hearings around the state.
Napoli gets five minutes to speak at the hearing. He will also submit a written report, which so far totals 14 pages.
State legislators have passed policies that strained local governments, including the tax cap. The law limited local government to annual increases of about 2 percent in taxes. However, the state didn’t ease state mandated expenses, including pension contributions that typically exceed the 2 percent cap.
With the cap in place, municipalities can’t raise taxes enough to meet increased costs. That has forced local governments including schools to eat into their reserve funds and make staff and program reductions. Napoli worries about the long-range impact of the tax cap without meaningful reductions in state-mandated expenses.
Napoli won’t just launch an attack about state policies, including environmental regulations that have proven costly to Ridgeway. He wants to press the state to be an active partner in helping the rural economy. He said Ridgeway would be doing better economically if the state helped bring Broadband Internet to the community. High-speed Internet access is critical to attract and keep businesses.
The state also needs to allocate more funding to rural roads and bridges, especially the canal communities, Napoli said. Agriculture is the biggest business in town and some farmers have land on both sides of the canal. However, bridges may be closed or have weight restrictions.
“Our farmers can’t get across the bridges,” Napoli said. “It hinders ag development.”
Without adequate infrastructure for the Internet and big farm equipment, Napoli said the community won’t reach its potential.
Thursday’s public hearing at Buffalo City Hall begins at 11 a.m. in the Common Council Chambers on the 13th floor.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Robin Hill Nature Preserve features sandstone home, 250 varieties of trees
Photo by Tom Rivers
Photo by Tom Rivers – Doug Pratt has returned to the nature preserve and sandstone home built by his grandparents from 1948 to 1952 on Platten Road in Lyndonville. Pratt has created a foundation for the nature preserve.
Photo by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – When he was a kid, Jerome Pawlak remembers William Smith leading Boy Scouts through a 45-acre nature preserve in Lyndonville.
Smith would stop and take photographs along the way. He was particularly enamored with mushrooms. But he also loved birds, swans, trees and Medina sandstone.
Smith, owner of a canning factory in Lyndonville, built a nature preserve with 450 varieties of trees at his property on Platten Road. In 1948, he and his wife Mary began work on a Medina sandstone home, doing much of the work themselves with some help from family and employees at the canning factory. It took several years to build the house. It remains a cherished site in the community.
But until recently, few people set foot on the grounds. That is changing now that the Smiths’ grandson, Doug Pratt, has returned to the community. He continues to spend time in Virginia, but Pratt wants to live full-time in the house where he spent his childhood.
“I love it,” Pratt said. “I feel we have something special here and we need to share it.”
Photo courtesy of Doug Pratt – William Smith, right, was beloved in Lyndonville for his enthusiasm in showing off a 45-acre nature preserve. This photo shows him giving one of the tours. William and his wife Mary kept swans. Many Lyndonville youths from two generations ago grew up feeding the swans.
On Thursday, Pratt opened the property to the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce for a “Mix and Mingle.” Pawlak, owner of the Save-A-Lot stores in Albion and Holley, was eager to have a chance to see the property.
He remembers the Smiths as very gracious hosts, eager to show the property to people who often showed up unannounced at the door.
“They were wonderful people,” Pawlak recalled. “They were very hospitable people.”
Pawlak hadn’t been inside the house in about 40 years until Thursday. It is largely unchanged, he said.
Pawlak was a Boy Scout growing up in Lyndonville and the Smiths welcomed Scouts to use their pond for fishing derbies. Scouts helped clear walking trails. Many Lyndonville residents have fond memories of feeding the swans at Smith’s Pond.
Pratt, a 1974 graduate of Lyndonville, lived in the Midwest for six years and then the past 20 years in northern Virginia. He is planning to move back full-time to Lyndonville. In his travels he said he has never encountered a place like his grandparents’ home. William and Mary Smith created the site after their daughter Lucille died from Scarlet Fever at age 19. They named it Robin Hill.
Photo by Tom Rivers – William and Mary Smith created a nature preserve on their property with 250 varieties of trees that still survive at the site. William Smith planted a variety of trees to attract birds to the property.
Pratt worked with family to establish the Robin Hill Foundation with an educational mission. He is reaching out to colleges, offering the site for research and observation. Many of the trees and plants are rare and exotic, and they attract numerous varieties of birds.
“I’m looking for ideas,” Pratt said about uses for the property. “I want to develop more educational things here. Granddad created something unique here.”
The site has already been used for weddings. Pratt said the property may need a visitor center to help explain all the natural resources.
While Pratt spoke from his office on Thursday evening, two humming birds were a couple feet away, outside at a bird feeder. Pratt marveled at the natural wonders that are so accessible at the site.
He has worked in the hobbying industry, writing books and creating kits about model rockets and other hobbies. He was an editor for the Model Retailer magazine. Lately, he has been in demand as a narrator for audio books. He will soon narrate a lengthy book on the War of 1812 – “The Forgotten Conflict.”
Robin Hill is a perfect work area for Pratt. The building with thick stone walls and the nature preserve provide a quiet work space for audio recording. And Pratt said if he needs to feel inspired, he only has to look out the window or take a short walk through the woods.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Kendall brothers started their own farm last year
Photos by Tom Rivers – Whipple Brothers Farm built a 16-foot-high trellis system for hops vines at the farm along Norway Road in Kendall.
KENDALL – Hops is making a comeback in New York, which once led the country in hops production before Prohibition, and two Kendall brothers are using the revived interest in the crop to start their own farm.
State incentives to grow micro-breweries and the craft beer industry have created a demand for hops, a plant that adds flavor and taste to beer.
The crop takes a lot of work, but it’s also a high-value product in a niche market. That’s a perfect recipe for two brothers just starting out, who don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on planters, combines and grain storage facilities.
Last year Chris and Justin Whipple purchased a 92-acre farm off Norway Road in Kendall. They planted an acre of hops, building a 16-foot-high trellis system to hang the tall bines. The brothers grow corn on the other 91 acres, contracting with another farmer to have it harvested.
Both Chris, 31, and Justin, 28, continue to work for other farmers. When they finish working for the other farmers, the brothers work evenings and weekends on their own farm.
They don’t mind all the effort.
“This is really a dream come true,” Justin said today at the farm. “It was always our goal and our dream to have our own farm.”
Chris and Justin Whipple hold some of the hops they harvested this week. The brothers are part of an emerging hops industry in New York, which is supplying breweries.
The two both have college degrees from Brockport State College. Chris earned a degree in accounting and Justin earned a bachelor’s in finance. They worked desk jobs for a couple years and hated it.
“I didn’t like the professional world and the professional world didn’t like me,” Chris said.
The two Holley graduates watched the state’s efforts to grow the craft beer industry, hoping to create destinations much like wine trails. They researched the crop, and they saw it as a way to farm on their own without an enormous capital investment.
The crop, however, is labor intensive, especially during the harvest. The brothers have had 30 friends and family helping to pick hops off the bines. Their wives have been by their side, even when the plants need weeding.
Justin Whipple, left, and Chris Whipple work together today to harvest hops at their farm on Norway Road. Chris uses a tall pole to cut the bines and Justin catches them.
Carrie married Justin on June 30, 2012. On their honeymoon, they stopped by a hops farm in Oregon. Carrie works as a health educator. Amanda is married to Chris and she works as a speech pathologist.
Amanda and Carrie both exclaimed about the beauty of the hops when they grow tall and sway in the wind.
“It’s beautiful to watch them,” Amanda said.
The hops take three years to produce a mature crop. This year the plants are yielding about a third of their potential. Next year there should be a full crop for the first time.
The brothers have purchased a pelletizer to put the hops in a form desired by craft breweries. They expect they will process hops for other growers as well.
They also expect to double their hops field, planting another acre of the crop next year. State-wide there are about 100 acres of hops.
Justin said it’s an exciting time to be in agriculture, with the state encouraging niche farms and the public responding to the products.
“Growing up we were told there was no future in farming,” Justin said. “But right now there are a lot of opportunities, and it’s actually a lot of fun.”
The Whipple Brothers Farm includes, from left: Justin, Carrie, Amanda and Chris.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Neal Muscarella, an Albion stone mason, uses a hammer and chisel to face up the top of the base for a new Mount Albion Cemetery sign.
Muscarella has been working on the sign at the entrance of the historic cemetery on Route 31. He put the capstones on yesterday and worked today on some final touches, dressing up the sandstone pieces.
The village of Albion owns the sign and has been working for about eight months to line up stone and contractors to replace the previous sign that was smashed by a driver last December.
Muscarella was able to create a new base for the sign using pieces from the old sign as well as repurposed sandstone curbs that were once in Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – It was another colorful sunset in Orleans County tonight. I happened to be driving through Carlton and snapped a picture of a barn with the sunset and then took two from the bridge on Route 279. The two boaters were friendly and waved just before they passed under the bridge.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Orleans Hub editor has a giant sunflower by his front porch and took notice of some bees at work this afternoon. Hub editor snapped a quick photo up close despite being allergic to bee stings, and then quickly fled the scene.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – An inspection crew from the state Canal Corporation passes under the Hulberton lift bridge this morning and heads east to check the bridge in Holley. The lift bridges, despite being 100 years old, are working well, Canal officials said.
HULBERTON – Parts of the canal system have been battered by floods and the wrath of Mother Nature in recent years. With each storm, the canal has endured, with occasional short-term closures of some sections. This year storms hit the eastern end of the canal and Lockport particularly hard.
“When the storms come through, we’ve been able to turn around and reopen quickly,” said John Joyce, director of special projects for the Canal Corp. “It shows that the canal is in good shape and we have a dedicated crew.”
Joyce and a team of inspectors passed through the canal in Orleans County the past two days, stopping to inspect seven lift bridges in the county and assess the embankments and other infrastructure. They travelled by boat on the Tug Syracuse.
“We don’t find major problems because they are being maintained on a daily basis,” he said today in Hulberton after inspectors completed an assessment of the lift bridge.
Joyce and the inspectors had high praise for the mechanical and electrical systems on the century old lift bridges. One of them in Knowlesville has a weight restriction and is limited to one-lane. The bridges are owned by the state Department of Transportation, but the Canal Corp. operates them and handles a lot of the electrical work and maintenance.
The canal is like a “living museum,” and remains an important source of pride and economic development for the canal communities, Joyce said.
He believes the communities with lift bridges are particularly fortunate to have the iconic structures. There are only 16 of them. They’re between Lockport and Fairport. Orleans has the most of any county.
“For 100-year-old technology they are working great,” Joyce said.
State law requires an annual inspection of the canal each year. For many years the assessment was made by car. But the past three years under Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Canal Corp. has traveled the entire 363 miles by boat.
The canal has been in the news for much of the past year, depictied as a drain to the Thruway Authority and a reason to raise tolls.
The Thruway Authority proposed 45 percent toll hikes, but backed off the toll increase. The Canal Corp. however cut 5 percent of its workforce this year.
The canal has been under the Thruway Authority’s budget since 1992. Joyce said the Thruway Authority has proven a good steward of the canal system.
“We have a good working relationship with the Thruway Authority and we want that to continue,” he said.
The Tug Syracuse heads to Holley after an inspection in Hulberton.
