By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Historic churches will showcase architecture May 18-19
Photos by Tom Rivers – The First Presbyterian Church in Albion completed a $300,000 renovation and restoration of its interior about five years ago, including work on the rose window.
The Pullman church includes this stained-glass window, an early work by the famed Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company of “Christ the Consoler.”
ALBION – Historic churches around the state on May 18-19 will open their doors to showcase the architectural wonders inside the buildings.
Two Albion churches, First Presbyterian and Pullman Memorial Universalist, are participating in the third annual “Sacred Sites” tour in New York, an event aimed to raise public appreciation for the churches as community treasures with stained-glass windows, pipe organs, ornately carved pews, decorative paintings and murals.
The New York Landmarks Conservancy is spearheading the Sacred Sites tour. The organization has provided about $7 million in grants to churches in New York since 1986. The two Albion churches are among the recipients of Sacred Sites awards.
Both churches are eager to participate in the tours and will be open both days from noon to 3 p.m.
“We love showing off our building,” said Lee Richards, pastor of the Pullman church at 10 East Park St.
The Pullman Memorial Universalist Church was built with Medina sandstone and includes 41 Tiffany stained-glass windows.
The church was built in 1894 with money from railroad manufacturer George Pullman, who grew up in Albion. The building is an excellent example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the NY Landmarks Conservancy stated. The church has 41 Tiffany stained-glass windows including one of “Christ the Consoler” that was featured in Tiffany brochures in 1898.
Richards believes the seven historic Albion churches have potential to draw more tourists to Albion. The community is unusual to have so many historic churches so close together on the Courthouse Square. They are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Pullman and the Presbyterian Church have both committed to being open on Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon on May 22 until the end of summer. The churches want to be available for canal visitors and community members who want to stop in to pray and tour the sites. The churches hope the other congregations in the Square will also open their doors and have docents available to lead tours.
The Presbyterian Church, with its 175-foot-high spire, is the tallest structure in Orleans County.
“Each church has something that is very special and should be shared,” said Martha Mitchell, an elder at the Presbyterian Church.
The church at 29 East State St. was built in 1874 and includes a 175-foot-high spire, the tallest structure in the county. Five years ago, the congregation completed a $300,000 restoration and renovation of its interior.
“We did a beautiful renovation that restores the church back to its Victorian décor,” Mitchell said. “We have a rich heritage with all of our nice windows and stories.”
Even the pews inside the First Presbyterian Church are works of art.
For more information about Sacred Sites, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Gertie Albano is pictured inside her shop, Gertie’s Groovy Garments, at 107 East Bank St., Albion.
ALBION – Gertie Albano knows about the financial pressure of trying to provide a teen-age daughter with the latest styles.
Albano said Orleans County parents may feel they need to pay big dollars for trendy clothes for their daughters while driving to malls near Rochester and Buffalo.
Albano has opened a new store that offers fashion at affordable prices. Gertie’s Groovy Garments has dresses, blouses, shirts, pants and other clothes for girls and younger women. Albano sells everything for $19.99 or less. Most items are $12.99.
“I’m sure there are parents who don’t want to drive to malls or put it on charge cards,” Albano said today at the store, 107 East Bank St.
She also sells prom dresses and jewelry, all for less than $20.
Albano, a Waterport resident, worked in local child care centers for several years. She bought fashionable clothes for her daughter through wholesalers. Albano had to buy the clothes in bundles of six. She gave one item to her daughter and then sold the other five at clothing parties. That went well enough to convince Albano to open her store on April 1.
“We don’t have enough variety in this town,” she said. “I like individuality.”
Gertie’s is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, contact Albano at 205-5236.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2013 at 12:00 am
County Legislature is trying to sell nursing home
ALBION – Picketers have been gathering on Main Street each Orleans County Legislature meeting since the group voted in February to transfer the county nursing home to a Local Development Corporation.
About 20 to 25 people have participated in the pickets the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. So far the demonstrations have been in either the freezing cold or a downpour.
Concerned Citizens of Orleans County, a group of nursing home employees, families of nursing home residents and other community members say Wednesday could be the biggest gathering yet of nursing home supporters. The picketers want to surround the entire Courthouse Square block, trying to stir the public to pressure the Legislature and the LDC to not sell a county-owned nursing home. Concerned Citizens want the Legislature to terminate the LDC.
The Legislature in February created the LDC and appointed three community members – former Yates Town Supervisor Russ Martino, former Gaines Town Supervisor Richard DeCarlo Sr. and Clarendon Town Supervisor Richard Moy – to serve as LDC directors. Martino has said the LDC will work to ensure the county gets a good price for the 120-bed facility and that the operator will maintain a high level of care for residents.
Legislators say a sale would likely take at least two years to identify a suitable buyer and obtain permission from the state Department of Health to sell The Villages of Orleans.
Cindy Troy, president of the local CSEA union of county employees, is critical of the LDC because it has little public oversight and accountability to taxpayers.
“An LDC is politics at its worst,” Troy said. “It is nothing more than a way to weaken the process, get around the law and eliminate the need for a super-majority vote on the sale of The Villages.”
Troy said the county shouldn’t be working to sell the nursing home, which she called a “public safety net.”
The Concerned Citizens will meet tonight at 6 at the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Provided photo – State Sen. George Maziarz received an honorary Empire Degree from the FFA during last weekend’s state convention in Albion. He is pictured with state FFA officers, including Adam Eick of Medina, next to Maziarz at right.
ALBION – Last week’s state FFA convention, which drew 1,100 students from across New York to Albion, wouldn’t have been possible without an army of local volunteers and generous community donations.
Many of those supporters were recognized by the local FFA chapter with honorary “Empire Degrees,” the highest honor an FFA student can attain in New York.
FFA advisor Adam Krenning and FFA students presented the honors to FFA Alumni President Barry Flansburg, Paula and Steve Nesbitt, Gary Kludt, Jim and Kerry Panek, Alan Panek, Kathy and Jacob Jurs, Jeremy and Tina Neal, Ed Neal and local contractor Jim Babcock.
“They’re always here to help out,” Krenning said about the honorees. “They’re huge supporters of the FFA. They have the same vision I have for keeping agriculture thriving in our county.”
The FFA also gave Empire Degrees to Albion Central School leaders, who welcomed the three-day convention to the school campus. The FFA honored Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent; Leslie Stauss, high school principal; and Mary Leto, the assistant superintendent.
The state FFA also bestowed two honorary degrees to politicians who the organization said have been advocates for agriculture. State Sen. George Maziarz, who represents all of Orleans County, was given an Empire Degree. He is regularly recognized as a “Friend of Agriculture” by New York Farm Bureau.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-Brooklyn, also was honored by the FFA, although he was unable to accept the award in person. Schumer attended the convention in 2007, the last time Albion hosted the event.
He frequently is in the area, visiting fruit and dairy farms. He is a key leader of the immigration initiative in Congress that would increase the number of legal foreign workers for agriculture, an issue that farm organizations say is a top priority.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
The East Shelby Community Bible Church stands tall on a beautiful spring day this evening on 5278 East Shelby Rd. The congregation has worked to renovate and expand the church since 1989. The church was built in 1854 and includes stained-glass windows from 1919.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – There is an election in Albion today, although many people likely don’t realize it because it’s such a low-key campaign.
The community will pick a new member for the board of trustees for the Swan Library Association.
There are actually four seats open, but only one candidate, Terry Wilbert, agreed to be on the ballot. The other three openings will be left to the discretion of the 11-member board. The board could appoint members to fill the spots, or the positions could be left vacant until the next election in May 2014, said Kevin Doherty, board president.
Voting will be from noon to 7 p.m. today at Hoag Library, 134 South Main St. Voting is open to residents in the Albion school district. They will need proof of identity and residence.
The annual meeting, when the library reviews its proposed budget and circulation numbers, will begin at Hoag tonight at 7.
The board includes nine members who are elected by the public and two members who are appointed, one by the president of the Board of Education and one by the mayor of Albion. Doherty said the library board has talked about reducing the number of seats, which would require approval from library users in a public meeting.
Doherty and other board members believed all 11 members were needed when the community was working to not only run a public library, but to also build a new complex for the library. Now that the building project is complete, board members are open to reducing the size of the board.
“It’s been an item for conversation,” Doherty said.
Press Release, Independent Living of Genesee Region
Independent Living of Genesee Region (ILGR) is presenting its Third Annual Luncheon and Fundraiser on Friday, May 10, 2013, at Terry Hills Golf Course and Banquet Facility, Batavia. The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., with New York State Assemblyman Stephen Hawley who represents the 139th district. The assemblyman will deliver the keynote address followed by a question-and-answer session.
The Third Annual Luncheon and Fundraiser will support ILGR’s programs and services for people with disabilities throughout the Genesee Region. The assemblyman will focus on the work of his office within the community.
Independent Living of Genesee Region (ILGR) is a part of the WNY Independent Living Inc., family of agencies. The ILGR office is located at 113 Main Street, Suite 5, Batavia. For more than three years, the agency has offered individuals of the Genesee Region (Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties) four core services including information and referral, peer counseling, independent living skills training, and individual and community advocacy, through empowerment, education and equality for all, regardless of disability.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Heise isn’t seeking re-election to BOE, but will stay on with BOCES
John Heise, Holley BOE President
HOLLEY – John Heise decided against running for another term on the Holley Board of Education. Heise has served as the board president for nearly a decade.
But the Holley community can still count on him to be an advocate for Holley children. Heise will serve on the board for the Monroe II-Orleans BOCES. He has been on that board for about four years and was elected last month to another three-year term.
“It keeps me active, and it’s not as intense as the being president of the Board of Education,” Heise said.
The Monroe II-Orleans BOCES includes representatives on the board from each of the nine component districts, which includes Holley and Kendall in Orleans and seven Monroe districts.
Heise said the organization works with local districts with special education, technical skills and work studies, as well as other services.
Heise didn’t rule out running again for the Holley board. “I’ll revisit it in one or two years,” he said.
Holley is shrinking the BOE from nine to seven members. Three incumbents – Heise, Dorothy Morgan and Brenda Swanger – would have had to run against each other this election. But Heise and Morgan opted against re-election, leaving Swanger as the lone candidate on May 21.
Heise has been busy with volunteer work since he retired as a Holley school administrator 10 years ago. He has served on the BOE, the Village Board, and the boards for Community Free Library, BOCES and the Lakeside Foundation.
“I know it’s a cliché but I want to give back to the community because the community has been good to me,” Heise said. “It’s a good little community. We love it here.”
Heise’s wife Sandy is one of the organizers of the June Fest community celebration on June 1.
He also is an active member of the Holley Rotary Club and served as the district governor in 2011-12. Heise remains a leader in the district that stretches from southern Ontario, Canada, into Western New York. He is the district’s director of training programs, working with club directors, and youth and Rotary Foundation leaders.
“I enjoy the people and this role there’s education,” he said. “It’s teaching and learning, except it’s with adults.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Former town judge, current county legislator ready to close 45-year run in public service
Photos by Tom Rivers – George Bower is pictured in Holley’s Public Square. He is in town most mornings for breakfast at Sam’s Diner.
HOLLEY – George Bower says he’s been fortunate to live in Holley – as a kid, a young parent and a grandparent who is steady presence at many Holley soccer games and other youth sporting events.
Bower also has been a mainstay in public service for the community, serving as a Murray town justice for 21 years before joining the County Legislature nearly 24 years ago. He won’t be running again, and will retire Dec. 31.
Bower, 76, grew up in the hamlet of Brockville just outside Holley. He married a Hulberton girl, Sandy. They have four children and 11 grandchildren who all live nearby.
He worked at Kodak, starting as a draftsmen and working his way up to head of patent researching, a job that took him to Washington, D.C. monthly for more than 25 years.
The following interview was conducted at Sam’s Diner:
Question: Did you always have an interest in the justice system?
Answer: Especially justice. Having four children and going to all of the events, I saw some of the young people who really weren’t acting as well as they should. They needed a little extra guidance. It worked out and it was really interesting for me for 21 years.
Question: Was being a justice different then? Did you have more latitude because nowadays you hear judges complain about all of these mandatory sentences?
Answer: It was different then. You could sentence to community service, which I did quite often. Students used to get ticked at me because of some of the jobs I created. They didn’t have to take the jobs. They could have gone to jail. They had the choice.
You could counsel young kids. You could take time with them then.
That’s where I got the idea for the welfare-to-work crew (at the county), which is still going on. I had all of these people coming into court and I wanted to do more for them, but I couldn’t. I tried to come up with creative ideas for them where they could work.
At the county I had this in the back of my mind. Many of these people are downtrodden. There is a reason they are and we wanted to get to it. We first had a garden and they could work on it and see something materialize, and take some of the fruits of their labor home. A lot of them got off of welfare.
Question: You don’t see too many county legislators with a background as a town justice. It seems like as a judge you would make a lot of enemies?
Answer: I made way more friends than enemies. I always worked with everybody who came into my court. I took time with them. But it started to get where there wasn’t enough time to work with them because the state started to meddle into what you could do and what you couldn’t do with them. It started to get ridiculous where court was another way for the state to raise money. It became all about money. I wanted to be able to work with people to improve their lifestyle, because they weren’t getting that at home.
We had a lot of bars in the village back then, I think there were six. Every weekend I had to get out of bed to do arraignments for drunk drivers. That gets tiring but you have to do it because it’s all part of being a judge.
Question: Why retire this year from the Legislature?
Answer: My wife and I talked about it. It’s really a family thing. We went to a baseball game last night in Attica. My grandson went 3 for 4, drove in two runs. We miss some of the games, but very few. We really believe in family.
George Bower, right, is retiring from the Orleans County Legislature on Dec. 31. He is pictured at a recent meeting with legislators Don Allport, left, and Ken Rush.
Question: People may just see the Legislature as twice-a-month meetings. But I know there are a lot of committees and other meetings with the job.
Answer: There are a lot of committees. If you’re interested, you got to go to things. There’s a youth recognition awards banquet coming up. I believe I should be there. I have always gone. Holley kids will be there with their families. From the sporting events, I know a lot of people.
If you want to be a good legislator, you have to work.
Question: You’ve always an advocate for the nursing home.
Answer: Redoing the nursing home was a battle I fought because I believed we should have had a better nursing home. We could no longer (about a decade ago) attract our own people because the nursing home was so bad.
That was my first committee, the nursing home, and it was a long battle to get it done. Now we’re in the throes of maybe losing it, which I think would be a mistake, but I’m the only one (on the Legislature).
Question: When they talk about the big deficits, $2 to $4 million a year at the nursing home, it seems speculative.
Answer: It is. We also really promised the people we wouldn’t touch it until January 2015. (The Legislature, in a 6-1 vote in February, voted to transfer the nursing home to the local development corporation that has been tasked with finding a buyer for the 120-bed nursing home.) With that resolution we lost control of it. Now we can pawn it off.
I’m there a lot at the nursing home. I gave tours for about six months, trying to bring back the numbers. A lot of people don’t know it’s out there. We have a rehab center there, as well as the nursing home.
It’s not just the downtrodden in the nursing home. We have some of our top-notch citizens in the nursing home. A lot of people want to know what they can do to keep it county-run. That nursing home touches thousands of people in the community. It’s such a great place right now.
Question: You don’t see too many people these days grow up in a little town and stay there forever like you have.
Answer: It’s about the jobs. You see it in our schools. Our schools are going down because the people of child-bearing age are leaving. I think it’s going to force some of the school districts to merge.
Question: It seems like the American Dream to grow up in a small town, to stay here and be involved.
Answer: I think it’s been wonderful. I’m lucky because my family has stayed here. They have good jobs or they’re in college.
This is a nice place to live. We have nice people here.
Question: How do you think your life would have been different if you didn’t get involved in the community 45 years ago? You wouldn’t be as well known in Sam’s Diner, that’s for sure.
Answer: It’s funny because I come in here most every morning. I know everybody in here. I see county workers in here. It’s been rewarding for me. This is who I am.
Question: I have to think you’re one of the most accessible legislators.
Answer: I play cards once a week with people from Albion. They all go to diners. Around that card table, we’re all older and there’s a vast amount of knowledge. Around that table, you can pick up things. There’s one Democrat. We have a good time. I can mix those things and athletics with politics.
Question: What are some things you’re proud of as a public official?
Answer: I look back at some of the things I’ve accomplished, with the help of others of course, and we’ve accomplished a lot in the county over the years. The public safety building was a battle when we did it because it was an old store (on Route 31 in Albion). People thought the roof would leak. I was chairman of the Public Safety Building when we did it (in the late 1990s). I sat in on every meeting.
It was a battle to get into a new shelter. The work crew, I helped push that. A lot of things have gone on in the last 24 years. We redid the courthouse so it can last another 50 years so it can house what we need.
The nursing home was the biggest battle we had, and now it’s a battle again because we might lose it. People don’t understand, they say we’ll get the same care (under private ownership). But everyone I talk to say there’s no comparison when you compare it to Brockport, Medina or Batavia. There’s not the quality of care.
Our nursing home is clean and there’s almost never, ever a smell. There’s beautiful artwork in the dementia ward. There’s music.
Question: Are you really retiring or do you have other projects in mind?
Answer: I’m going to stay involved in Holley. I like to walk the canal and in Holley we have an old canal bed by the falls. About five years ago the county workers cut down a lot of trees so you could see the bed. Now, I’m working with them and the village of Holley to get down there and clean the 100 feet or whatever it is because the stone is on both sides on the canal bed. I want to bring it back, I really want to do it. We should bring it back and flood it.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2013 at 12:00 am
Cardone family reopens Main Street site for food and entertainment
Photos by Tom Rivers – Renee Schuner, events coordinator for Medina Theatre, stands inside the remodeled theater that is used for music, live entertainment, parties and other events.
The Cardone family has reopened the Medina Theatre at 607 Main St.
MEDINA – After 30 years of mostly sitting underutilized on Main Street, the Medina Theatre has a new life as an entertainment venue for bands, a party house for weddings, and restaurant for individuals and groups.
The Cardone family remodeled the historic theater site and reopened it late last year. The building has been equipped with state-of-the-art audio, video and lighting equipment. Live entertainment is booked most weekends, including a Murder Mystery this Saturday. Local and regional bands also perform inside the former theater that seats 400 people.
“We have the capability to book any kind of event you want,” said Renee Schuner, the events coordinator. “I love this venue. It has so much potential for the community.”
Medina Theatre has a busy schedule with entertainment lined up Fridays and Saturdays, including a Murder Mystery this Saturday.
Joe Cardone said his family wants a new generation to experience the Medina Theatre. The site was restored and expanded by Warner Brothers in 1938, making it a premiere movie theater in Western New York that drew regular customers from outside the county. Warner Brothers was hit with an anti-trust suit in mid-1940s and had to sell its theaters.
The Medina site changed hands many times. Vincent Cardone bought it in 1975 and remains the owner. The site was used as a movie theater until that year, when it last showed “Jaws.” Movie theaters received a tiny portion of the ticket sales and had to rely on concessions. That wasn’t enough to survive for many small-town theaters, including the theater in Medina, Joe Cardone said.
Cardone is optimistic about Medina, and sees the upgraded building as part of the community’s renaissance.
“We didn’t want this to be an eyesore or a nonproductive building,” he said about site at 607 Main St. “There’s a whole generation of kids that haven’t been in here. We have a lot of things planned to draw people here.”
The theater received an extensive upgrade in 1938 when it was acquired by Warner Brothers. Many of those improvements are still evident, including movie reels and old projectors. This plaque near the front entrance remains.
The main theater room has space for large parties or for bands and live entertainment. The Cardones have also serve lunch from Mondays through Fridays in the Diana Lounge, named for the daughter of former theater owner Nikitas Dipson.
Medina Theatre serves dinners from Thursdays through Saturdays.
Schuner returned to Medina last year after working as an event planner in Sacramento, Calif. She said Medina is becoming a destination.
“There has been a resurgence in Medina,” she said. “It’s a darling town. People come from Buffalo and Rochester and can’t believe what a gem is here.”
