Photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Jerry Lewis and other Medina firefighters spent eight hours in the blazing sun today raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Lewis is pictured on Main Street, near Rotary Park.
The Albion Historic Preservation Commission supported a street-scape plan that includes these bike racks, which will be painted blue and highlight Albion’s canal heritage. Design by DERO Bike Rack Company.
ALBION – The Albion Historic Preservation Commission has approved $50,000 worth of street-scape improvements, including new bike racks, trees in planters, benches painted as murals and other projects.
The Commission voted to support the projects on Thursday. The different projects now will be submitted to state preservation officials and the New York Main Street grant program for their approval.
The street-scape improvements are part of a $477,000 Main Street grant that was awarded for the downtown in December 2011. Most of the grant offered matching funds to property owners to work on their buildings.
The street-scape projects include 10 large tree planters made of concrete and stained pale red to mimic Medina sandstone and 18 smaller flower planters. The planters will be able to be moved by the village DPW and they will have drainage.
Twelve benches will be replaced and local artists will paint murals on them with local heritage themes, including apples, the canal, the trolley system and the quarrying industry, as well as many others.
Four bike racks, all with a tugboat theme, are planned for Main and Bank streets. There will be three smaller hoop-shaped racks and a larger rack that looks like a bicycle.
The street-scape subcommittee also wants to swap out the street signs in the Albion historic district with ones that would be blue with a upper box that says “Historic Albion.”
Those signs are targeted for portions of Liberty, Main and Platt streets, running between the canal and Beaver Street. The state DOT needs to approve those changes.
Two interpretive panels – cast-iron mounted signs – also are planned for the downtown. One is targeted for Waterman Park and would be focused on the downtown architecture. The sign also would have “teasers” about the four other nationally recognized historic districts in Albion: the Cobblestone Society Museum, Courthouse Square, Mount Albion Cemetery and the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor.
Another panel is planned to go near the village parking lot, just north of the Presbyterian Church. The village is expanding the site for parking. There will be space to display two hitching posts. A panel will discuss these artifacts from the horse-and-buggy era and will note that Albion and the 14411 zip code is loaded with old hitching posts and carriage steps.
Other projects include a cast-iron historical marker that will note the downtown business district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Main Street clock will have a sandstone base similar to the one in Medina. A sandstone bench will also be added to the sidewalk and that bench is planned to stay out year-round. The other benches typically are brought inside during the winter.
Mary Anne Braunbach and some of her gardening friends want to create a memorial garden for veterans in front of her building at 138 North Main St. The grant would fund a bronze plaque to be installed on a boulder, noting the garden is a veterans’ memorial.
The commission approved two other projects on Thursday.
The Albion Free Methodist Church wants to replace doors on an addition to the building that was put up in 1985. The double-aluminum doors on the south side of the building and a steel side door will be replaced with bronze-colored aluminum framed doors.
Michael Bonafede and Judith Koehler, owners 118 North Main St., want to change the sign of the building from “Coffeehouse” to the “Pratt Center.” The current sign color, lettering style and signboard will be used.
Editor’s note: Hub editor Tom Rivers is chairman of the street-scape subcommittee.
Press release, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department
MURRAY – A Brockport man is hospitalized this morning following a one-car crash in the Town of Murray.
The incident occurred at about 7:25 a.m. in the 16300 block of Ridge Road (State Route 104). A 1999 Toyota sedan, operated by Richard F. Graziano, 73, was travelling west on Ridge Rd., when witnesses say the car began to drift into the eastbound traffic lane. Upon realizing this, Graziano apparently over-corrected and lost control of the vehicle, which then rolled over several times before running off the north side of the roadway and slamming into a tree.
Graziano, the sole occupant, was trapped in the wreckage for approximately 40 minutes before being extricated by Fancher-Hulberton-Murray and Holley firefighters. He was then flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by MercyFlight helicopter.
Neither alcohol nor excessive speed appear to have been contributing factors. Deputies will try to determine if some medical issue precipitated the crash.
The incident was investigated by Deputies T.N. Tooley and M.C. Mele.
About two months ago my 7-year-old daughter planted sunflower seeds in a small patch of dirt by our house in the village of Albion. I was dubious the plants would grow. I figured they would need more space.
The sunflowers have flourished, towering 7 or 8 feet high. This morning they are in bloom.
A few feet away in the front stands a Rose of Sharon that is also is full glory.
ALBION – Dr. John Thompson, who has worked in Orleans County the past 26 years as a family physician, has announced he is leaving to provide medical care and substance abuse treatment to homeless in Arizona.
Effective Aug. 1, he is transferring his medical practice and all records to the Orleans Community Health Center, which recently opened a new facility on the corner of Route 31 and Butts Road.
Thompson said his patients will be in good hands with doctors Sandra Boehlert and Jamal Janania.
“They are primary care doctors who work at this state-of-the-art facility, and they offer continuing medical care for my patients,” Thompson said in a letter to his patients. “They are caring and well-qualified physicians. I recommend them highly.”
Thompson said is new job gives him a chance to be closer to his father, who lives in Phoenix.
Thompson, a former Orleans County coroner, will have his last day on July 31 in Albion. His office is in the former Arnold Gregory Hospital.
“It has been my honor, privilege, and joy to provide medical care for so many of you and your families during the 26 years that I have lived and worked in Orleans County,” Thompson said in his letter. “I will miss you. May God bless and keep you.”
Press release, National Weather Service
The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for Orleans County, effective from noon to 8 p.m. today when temperatures could reach 91 degrees.
“If proper precautions are not taken, heat exhaustion or other heat-related symptoms could develop in those exposed to the hot and humid conditions,” the Weather Service said.
Young children and elderly are most at risk. The Weather Service advises people to drink plenty of fluids, avoid the sun and stay in an air-conditioned room.
The heat advisory also includes Genesee and Niagara counties.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Dunkin’ Donuts wants to demolish a warehouse next to Tim Hortons in Albion for a new store that sells coffee and baked goods.
ALBION – Dunkin’ Donuts and Advance Auto Parts are both pushing forward with projects only a few buildings away from each other on Route 98 in Albion.
Dunkin’ has submitted a “concept plan” to the Village Planning Board that calls for removing a warehouse next to Tim Hortons. Dunkin’ would build a new structure with about 40 parking spaces just south of the railroad tracks. The site would have access from both Main and Platt streets, which would relieve some of the traffic on Main Street, said Ron Vendetti, the village code enforcement officer.
The two access points would also allow delivery trucks to pass through the property without having to back up.
Dunkin’ is expected to submit a formal site plan in time for the board’s next meeting, 7 p.m. on Aug. 21.
Advance Auto Parts plans to spend $140,000 fixing up the interior of a former Rite Aid at the corner of routes 98 and 31 in Albion
The warehouse is owned by Charles Breuilly. The building occupies almost the entire property. The Dunkin’ plan would add green space to the site, improving runoff and water quality, Vendetti said.
The Dunkin’ store would be run by a franchisee. Vendetti said the store could open soon after Jan. 1. Dunkin’s closest site is in Batavia.
Another major chain, Advance Auto Parts, plans to spend $140,000 on interior changes and improvements at the a former Rite Aid at the northeast corner of the routes 98 and 31 intersection. The site has been vacant for several years since Rite Aid moved to the former Eckerd building across the street.
Advance will be on the Orleans County Planning Board agenda at 7 p.m. July 25 for its plan for signage at the site. The company wants two signs on the building and a monument-style sign closer to the road.
Advance has nearby sites in Brockport, Batavia and Lockport.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Jerome Pawlak, left, accepts a Paul Harris Fellow Award from Albion Rotarian Nathan Lyman at the end of today’s Albion Rotary Club Golf Tournament.
ALBION Jerome Pawlak and his family have accumulated a half century of service to Orleans County. Today, the Albion Rotary Club honored Pawlak with a Paul Harris Fellow, the highest honor the club can give.
Pawlak isn’t a member of the Rotary Club, but his decades of good works are noticed and appreciated, said Albion Rotarian Nathan Lyman, who presented Pawlak with the club’s award at the end of today’s golf tournament.
Pawlak runs a grocery store, video station and beverage center in Albion. Last year he opened a grocery store in Holley after the community there was without a grocery store for about five years.
Pawlak has donated his time serving on the boards of the Orleans Economic Development Agency, Chamber of Commerce, and United Way. He is the current vice president of the Albion Main Street Alliance.
Jerome Pawlak is pictured with one of his hole sponsor signs at today’s Albion Rotary Club Golf Tournament. Pawlak supports numerous community organizations.
He donates to numerous community causes and organizations. The Albion club will give $1,000 to Rotary International for the organization’s humanitarian work.
(I was part of Pawlak’s team in today’s golf tournament. Jerome is a good athlete. He also has been active at Notre Dame High School in Batavia, serving on the school’s board of trustees.)
Today’s golf tournament likely raised about $5,000 to help fund scholarships and other community projects, said Cindy Perry, the club president. There were 72 golfers at Hickory Ridge in Holley for the tournament.
“We figured we’d have some fun and raise some money,” Perry said.
The Rotary Club lost one of its most spirited members with the July 13 death of Erling Maine, who owned a hardware store, lumberyard and a car wash in Albion for many years. He was in the Rotary Club for 48 years.
Erling, 75, was an enthusiastic member of the club, and often led Rotarians in singing at their weekly meetings on Thursdays.
Press release, Medina Fire Department
MEDINA – Firefighters will be at the intersection of Main and Center streets on Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., passing the boot to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Medina firefighters have participated in the MDA fund-raiser for the past few years. Motorists are welcome to donate some of their spare change and dollars to support the MDA.
Photo courtesy of Al Capurso – The graves for the Bailey family were moved to Mount Albion Cemetery in 1865.
ALBION – The Capurso family is continuing its efforts to honor pioneer settlers in Albion. The family unveiled a bronze historical marker for William McAllister and his wife on July 8.
The McAllisters were Albion’s first settlers. The built a log cabin where the County Clerk’s Building stands on Main Street.
The Capursos now plan to dedicate a veteran flag holder for Lansing Bailey, a pioneer settler who fought in the War of 1812. The marker will be dedicated during a 10 a.m. service on Aug. 10 at Mount Albion Cemetery. The Honor Guard of the American Legion will be there to honor Bailey.
Capurso has been researching Bailey and discovered he came to Albion in 1811 with his younger brother Joel. Bailey owned land in Gaines where Bill Lattin now lives. Capurso was able to verify Bailey’s service with the local VA.
Bailey’s brother Joel died of a fever on August 10, 1813. While plans were underway for his burial, Lansing’s wife Loda became ill from the same fever and died on August 15, leaving three children, the latter two being 3 month-old twins born in the Bailey Cabin in May 1813, Capurso said.
“Lansing buried both his brother and wife on the same day at Bailey Cemetery (where the veterans office is now on Route 31 Albion),” Capurso said. “This is the bicentennial of that sad occasion.”
The 10 occupants of Bailey Cemetery were moved to Mt. Albion in December 1865. They are located on Bitternut Path. Bitternut is also the resting place of two of Lansing’s children and Lansing’s second wife, Sylvia Pratt Bailey. Lansing died in 1866.
Capurso said Lansing was instrumental in the forming of Orleans County in numerous ways and his life is chronicled in “Pioneer History of Orleans County” by Arad Thomas and echoed by J. Howard Pratt in “Saga of the Ridge.”
Lansing’s grandfather Samuel was a Revolutionary War Veteran.Samuel is buried in Oneida County.
