Feat of daring
ALBION – The rock wall proved popular at the festival in Albion today. Leah Pawlak, 5, of Albion didn’t have any trouble getting to the top.
Rashad Ghani, 7, of Lyndonville also gives it a shot.
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Record crowd tries to outrun ‘Strawberry’
270 runners in annual Strawberry Fest 5k/8k
ALBION – A record crowd of 270 runners joined for the annual Strawberry Festival 5k/8k race this morning.
Ryan Lubba dressed as “The Strawberry.” Anyone who beat him won a T-shirt. Lubba, a 2008 Albion grad, ran the 5k course in about 29:30.
The parade is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. today.
Lots of smiles in Albion parade
Photos by Tom Rivers – Rich Monacelli of Albion holds his 1-year-old grandson Matthew Schomske while watching today’s Strawberry Festival Parade on Main Street.
The turtle, being driven by Don Bishop, waves to the crowd. Hundreds of plastic turtles will race at 2 p.m. on the canal today.
Dancing Derrick does his thing for the Weed Man in Albion.
It rained during the Strawberry Festival Parade today. Big deal. A crowd turned out to show their support for the marching bands, Little League teams, firefighters and numerous other community organizations.
I’ll have more photos from the parade later today.
Local munies approved new tax incentive deal for Chase in 2011
PILOT lasted until 2021, adding 10% more in taxes each year
ALBION – Tax incentives for keeping JP Morgan Chase in Albion were far from expiring.
The County of Orleans Economic Development Agency worked with local municipalities to offer a 10-year tax incentive deal to Chase that started in 2011.
That first year Chase didn’t have to pay any taxes to the local governments. With each following year, the company would pay 10 percent more of a $4,046,000 assessment until the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) expired in 2021. At that point, the company would be paying the full 100 percent of its taxes.
The PILOT was approved as an incentive for Chase to stay in Albion at 231 East Ave. Now that the company has announced it will be closing the Albion site, the PILOT agreement may be voided, and Chase could be billed for the full assessed value, said Jim Whipple, chief executive officer of the Orleans EDA.
The EDA board will discuss the issue. Whipple said he favors canceling the PILOT and having the property fully taxed.
That would be a significant tax boost for the village of Albion, town of Albion, Orleans County and Albion Central School. With a combined tax rate of about $45 per $1,000 of assessed property, Chase’s local property tax bill would be about $180,000. The company paid a tenth of that in 2012 and 20 percent in 2013. The PILOT schedule calls for Chase to pay 30 percent in 2014, with 10 percent more added each successive year.
Chase also hasn’t paid towards the large parking lot by the site. The village created that lot in the mid-1990s when Dime Bank expanded at the site. Dime was later acquired by Washington Mutual, which was bought by Chase in 2008. The village has plowed and maintained the parking lot ever since the Dime days.
Sounds from the Strawberry Festival
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION -Ryan Klatt of Holley performs on East Bank Street today as part of the 27th annual Strawberry Festival. The festival continues tomorrow with a packed lineup of live music.
Schedule for Strawberry Festival
Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion Lions Club members Dan Parker, left, and Kevin Howard cook Italian sausage by the Post Office at lunchtime today. Two other Lions, Lloyd Wright and Don Knapp, work the grill in back. Many food vendors are part of the Strawberry Festival today and Saturday.
Friday, June 7, 2013
11am-9pm Food Court – East Bank Street
11am-9pm Craft Booths
1pm-2pm Albion Middle School Jazz Band – Courthouse Lawn
2pm-4pm Ghost Riders – Courthouse Lawn
3pm-8pm Family Fun Faire
3:30pm-5:30pm Kandi Kiss the Clown- Courthouse Lawn
4pm-6:30pm Chicken BBQ at the First Presbyterian Church & Strawberry Social
4pm-6pm Ryan Klatt Solo Acoustic – Food Court
4:30pm-6:30pm Jazzamatazz – Courthouse Lawn
6:30pm-8:30pm The Triple Play Band – Food Court
7pm-9pm Second Nature Jazz Band – Courthouse Lawn
Carol Vespi, a former Albion resident who now lives in Horseheads, is selling decorative lawn ornaments at the Strawberry Festival. The ornaments are made from tin, cast iron and wrought iron.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
7:30am-10am Pancake Breakfast First Presbyterian Church
8am 23rd Annual 5k/8k Race (Registration 7 – 8 a.m. at the Courthouse Square) Sponsored by Albion Free Methodist Church
9am-3pm Car Show Sponsored by Don Davis of Albion (Registration 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.; Judging 12 – 2 p.m.; Awards 3 p.m.)
10am Parade Albion Purple Eagles, Hitmen Brass Band, Mighty St. Joes, Mark Time Marchers, Rochester Scottish Pipes & Drums, Pembroke Dragons, Kendall Royal Blue, White Sabres Dream Corps, Alexander Fireman’s Band
10am-5pm Craft Booths – Courthouse Square
10am-9pm Food Court – East Bank Street
11am-6pm Family Fun Faire
Noon-2pm Blind Leading the Blind – Courthouse Lawn
Noon-3pm Klutzy Jugglers – Courthouse Lawn
1pm-2:30pm Pratt Pack Community Band & Open Mic – Food Court
2pm-4pm Wegmans Zoomobile – Courthouse Lawn
2pm Turtle Race at the Main Street Canal Bridge
2:30pm-4:30pm Don Newcomb Band – Courthouse Lawn
2pm-3pm Magic and Illusions – Courthouse Lawn
2:30pm-4pm Border Town – Food Court
4pm-5:30pm The Who Dats – Food Court
5pm-7pm Remember the Exodus – Courthouse Lawn
5:30pm-7pm Jonsie and the Cruisers – Food Court
5:15pm-7:15pm Jerry Johnson and Friends – Courthouse Lawn
7pm-10pm Theatre On Main Variety Entertainment Under the Stars for the Entire Family – Theatre On Main
State legislators say Chase closing is ‘heartbreaking’
State Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, and State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, both issued statements about JP Morgan Chase’s decision to close its mortgage serving facility in Albion. The company will lay off 400 people in the coming 90 days.
Hawley said 150 of the Albion workers will be eligible to seek positions at Chase offices in Rochester.
Maziarz: “The closure of JP Morgan Chase in Albion is a huge disappointment for Orleans County.
“Elected officials and economic development officials have worked extensively with the company, and its predecessors in that location, over the years to maintain good, local jobs. We would have been ready and willing to do so again if the company had reached out to us for helpwhich they chose not to do.
“I was in touch with JP Morgan Chase officials today and I expressed my frustration that this site could not have been repurposed.
“I hope that employees will be able to transition to new career opportunities, but this will certainly be a long and painful process for many. My heart goes out to them, and they should know that my colleagues and I will be more than happy to assist anyone we can who is looking for a fresh start.”
Hawley: “After the lengths the community has gone through to support Chase Bank and keep the jobs at the call center that are critical to so many local residents and families, its closure is nothing short of heartbreaking.
“With the livelihoods of so many Western New Yorkers hanging in the balance, bank management should have taken the time to come to the table with local elected officials and work on a solution. Instead, their unwillingness to partner with their supporters has led us to this point, and my heart goes out to all of the men and women who are now left searching for work in this bleak economy.
“I am committed to working with state and local officials to provide assistance for these residents and to grow businesses that are truly engaged in and committed to this community.”
Come and eat it
Bring your appetite to the Strawberry Festival
Photos by Tom Rivers – A candy apple with sprinkles
Strawberry-flavored kettle corn
ALBION – It only happens once a year, so forget the calories.
A smorgasbord of deep-fried, candy-coated food awaits at the food court on East Bank Street.
Local service clubs, pizza shops and other food vendors have been toiling by grills, deep fryers and heat lamps today, and they’ll be back tomorrow.
Don’t resist.
Fried dough with powdered sugar
Pepperoni pizza
Hot dogs
Long-time travel agency closes in Medina
Tom Rivers/Daily News – Carlene Stockwell worked her last day at Travel Horizons in Medina today after 23 years with the Main Street business.
MEDINA – Carlene Stockwell used to be part of a team of four full-time employees, arranging flights, cruises and other trips for local residents.
The travel agents at Horizon Travel would receive a commission from the airlines and tour operators. And customers would bring back trinkets from the trips, stone shamrocks from Ireland, dancing figurines from Hawaii, sea shells from the ocean and chop sticks from Tokyo.
Stockwell worked 23 years at Travel Horizons. She was the last remaining full-time employee. Owner June Seager decided to close the business today after 24 years at 511 Main St.
“It’s been a pleasure working in the business,” Stockwell said today. “We’ve built so many friendships.”
Stockwell said the elimination of commissions from the airlines, plus the proliferation of the Internet, which makes it easier for customers to book their own trips, has pushed many travel agents out of the industry.
“It’s a very different business now,” she said. “I don’t see a future for me in travel tourism.”
It used to be a promising career. She earned a degree in travel tourism from Genesee Community College more than two decades ago. GCC no longer offers that major. It’s been adapted to “Tourism and Hospitality Management.”
Pole vaulters will be back Saturday
Organizers postpone Jenn Suhr event due to rain
Photos by Tom Rivers – Jenn Suhr charges down the runway and gets ready to vault last Friday during a competition at the White Birch Golf Course in Lyndonville. Suhr will be back in action at the White Birch at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
LYNDONVILLE – The community will have to wait another day to see Jenn Suhr and other leading pole vaulters compete at the White Birch Golf Course.
Suhr and five other vaulters competed at the White Birch last Friday. They were scheduled to be in action again today at 5:30 p.m. The threat of rain prompted organizers to push the event to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Suhr cleared 15 feet, 7 inches last Friday, the same height she topped to win a gold medal last year in London.
Janice Keppler of Medina also is competing in the event. She is currently the fourth-ranked pole vaulter in the country.
The second fairway at the golf course is being used for the event. Other competitors include: Heather Hamilton, the top-ranked vaulter in Canada; Claire Dishong of Brockport and Cornell University; Linda Hadfield of Utica and Tennessee University; and Erin Champion of Tennessee University.
The White Birch is located at 1515 North Lyndonville Rd.
Jenn Suhr clears the bar during a pole vaulting event last Friday at the White Birch. She cleared 15 feet, 7 inches, the height she passed to win a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.
