Provided photo

ALBION – Roots Hair Salon on East Bank Street won the Albion Merchants Association’s annual window decorating contest.

The AMA picked the winner based on which business’s window had the most likes on the AMA’s Facebook page. Roots received 331 “likes.” The business, owned by Amber Mogle, wins a $100 gift card from the AMA.

Photos by Tom Rivers

There were many storefronts decorated for the holidays. This photo shows Serenity Tan, left, and Tease on East Bank Street.

“Every storefront window looked gorgeous this year, and definitely boosted our town’s holiday spirit!” The AMA posted on tis Facebook page. “Thank you everyone!!!!”

The AMA also is having a “Deck the Town” contest for best residential holiday decorations. Dec. 15 is the deadline to vote. Click here for the AMA Facebook page for more information.

Frontier Heating & A/C Service Inc., last year’s winner, had another big holiday display for 2020.

Snell Realtors’ display included Santa, wrapped presents, ornaments and an old root beer dispenser from when the site was Fischer’s Newsstand.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Jennifer Mateo of Albion takes a photo of her daughters, Eva and Elise, with Santa and Mrs. Claus in front of a holiday backdrop in Beaver Alley. That spot hosted “Selfies with Santa and Mrs. Claus” as part of Saturday’s Hometown Holiday celebration.

The Albion Merchants Association organized the annual event, which included more outdoor activities due to Covid-19 concerns.

Elise Mateo, left, and sister Eva join Santa and Mrs. Claus for a photo.

Gavin O’Brocta, 7, of Albion writes a letter to Santa inside the Dwontown Browsery. His mother, Laura Lechner, took him to some of the holiday activities.

There was also ornament making, ribbon ornaments, free ice cream, hot cocoa and other fun during the event.

Valerie Rush portrayed Mrs. Claus and handed out ornament kits outside The Back Room and Little Sweet Bakery.

Lori Laine brought a selfie stick to get a photo with Mrs. Claus.

Community members and the Albion Merchants Association lighted the Christmas tree at Waterman Park which is in front of a big mural celebrating the late Charles W. Howard, who started the first Santa Claus School. He ran the school in Albion from 1937 to 1966.

Click here to see a video of the tree-lighting, which included confetti cannons.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – FFA members and some of the Albion football players are pictured this morning after loading a flat-bed trailer and another smaller trailer with 53,000 pounds of produce, milk and other food.

They then delivered and unloaded the food at Community Action of Orleans and Genesee on East State Street.

This is the 11^th year the Albion FFA has organized the food drive. The 53,000 pounds breaks the record of 40,000 pounds set last year.

Albion football player Adonis Guzman was among the helpers this morning. He is in the ag shop moving eggs donated by Kreher’s.

Bailey Nesbitt, the FFA president, carries a box of produce from the flat-bed trailer. She said the farm and agriculture community responded to a bigger need in the community due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic hardships for many local residents.

The Albion FFA started calling farms and ag businesses about a month ago. Many already had set aside food for the drive, and gave more than they had in previous years. Some new contributors also joined the effort this year.

“This year everybody realized people needed help,” Nesbitt said.

She has been a part of the food drive the past four years. When a flatbed truck from Panek Farms arrived at Community Action, the agency and volunteers gave the FFA loud cheers and applause.

“It’s very exciting to give back and see the smiles on their faces,” Nesbitt said.

Gina Sidari holds a crate with four gallons of milk. The Upstate Niagara Cooperative donated 108 crates or 432 gallons of milk for the food drive.

The food will go to about 10 local soup kitchens and food pantries, and also for 150 food baskets for families served by Community Action.

“This is a godsend,” said Annette Finch, the community services director for Community Action. “If we didn’t have this we’d have to go out and purchase it which is hard to do on donations.”

FFA advisor Betsey Krenning takes a box of produce from her husband Adam, who used to be the FFA advisor.

The food drive donors this year include:

• Orleans County Farm Bureau
• Triple G Farm
• Panek Farms
• Root Brothers
• Kludt Brothers
• Nesbitt Fruit Farms
• Orchard Dale Fruit
• Kreher’s Eggs
• Martin Farms
• Kirby Farms
• Partyka Farms
• CY Farms
• Starowitz Farms
• Poverty Hill Farms
• Torrey Farms
• Dale Root
• Colby Farms
• Mortellaro Farms
• My-T Acres Farm
• Lynnette and Sons
• Mayer Bros.
• Schutts Apple Mill
• Intergrow Greenhouses
• Upstate Niagara Cooperative
• Rush’s Vegetables
• Champion Moving & Storage
• Lake Ontario Fruit
• H. H. Dobbins
• Citrus (Sue Holland and Laura Simboli)

Mickey Edwards, who starts as Albion’s new superintendent of schools on Feb. 1, helped unload the produce this morning.

Brad Pritchard, the middle school principal, got a workout moving the heavy bags and boxes of produce from the flat-bed trailer.

Olivia Krenning reaches for these tomatoes donated by Intergrow Greenhouses.

Click here to see a video of the FFA students in action.

Events include tree-lighting at Waterman Park, selfies with Santa

Photo by Tom Rivers: This Christmas tree is shown last December at Waterman Park by the mural showing Albion native Charles Howard as Santa, flying over the downtown and Courthouse Square. The tree will be lighted up at 4:15 on Saturday during the Hometown Holiday celebration.

ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association has several activities planned for Saturday as part of the annual Hometown Holiday celebration.

The schedule includes:

• 10 a.m. to noon – Selfies with Santa and Mrs. Claus at Beaver Alley
• 10 a.m. to noon – Ribbon ornaments at Town and Country Quilter
• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Ornament kits at Red Check Rustic
• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Christmas Time Fun at 49 Main St. while supplies last
• 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Letters to Santa at Downtown Browsery
• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Dubby’s Wood Fired Pizza at The Lockstone
• 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Ornaments with Mrs.Claus at The Back Room
• Noon to 4 p.m. – Cocoa & Christmas Canvases at He Brews 5:9/Marked by Janna
• 2 to 4 p.m. – Free ice cream at Tinsel
• 4:15 p.m. – Tree Lighting Ceremony at Waterman Park

The winners of the storefront decorating contest will be announced at the tree-lighting. People can vote for their favorite on the AMA Facebook page (click here).

The events on Saturday also include at a ribbon-cutting at Maison Albion, the former Pillars at 13800 County House Rd.

Kerri and Cole Glover, the owners of Maison Albion, will host a grand opening with a Victorian holiday party with a French flair. Click here for more information on the party – Fête de Nöel.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Dancing Derrick Bradley entertained motorists this afternoon at the northeast corner of the routes 98 and 31 intersection in Albion.

Bradley made his first dancing appearance in Albion since last summer. He dressed as an elf and danced to Christmas music.

He also was raising money for a close friend, Bobby Maxwell. His house was badly damaged in a fire on Saturday, when his neighbor was making fireworks in his garage and one of them exploded. Three houses were destroyed from the ensuing fire.

Maxwell was proud of his house on East Academy Street. He worked several years to upgrade the residence. He lived there with his girlfriend, his daughter and two grandchildren.

Derrick Bradley dances at the corner of Albion’s busiest intersection today.

To see a video of “Dancing Derrick” from today, click here.

To see a GoFundMe for the Maxwells, click here.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Students in the Science of Food Class in Albion get boxes ready for apples that will be delivered this afternoon as part of the FFA food drive. The students include, from left: Lauren Wehling, Charley London, Cam Bell (in back), Sam Williams and Betsey Krenning, the FFA advisor.

The FFA has set a goal of collecting 50,000 pounds of food that will be delivered Saturday morning to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee in Albion. Community Action will then share it with other food pantries and agencies.

Local farms and agricultural businesses started delivering food on Tuesday for the annual food drive, which the FFA has coordinated since 2010. The first year there was 3,000 pounds and it has steadily grown, reaching 40,000 pounds in 2019. The FFA believes it has reached its goal of 50,000 pounds for 2020.

Photos courtesy of Betsey Krenning: Faith Woody, Emily Graham and Samantha Basinait put apples from a bin into boxes.

The food drive donors this year include:

• Orleans County Farm Bureau
• Triple G Farm
• Panek Farms
• Root Brothers
• Kludt Brothers
• Nesbitt Fruit Farms
• Orchard Dale Fruit
• Kreher’s Eggs
• Martin Farms
• Kirby Farms
• Partyka Farms
• CY Farms
• Starowitz Farms
• Poverty Hill Farms
• Torrey Farms
• Dale Root
• Colby Farms
• Mortellaro Farms
• My-T Acres Farm
• Lynnette and Sons
• Mayer Bros.
• Schutts Apple Mill
• InterGrow Greenhouses
• Upstate Niagara Cooperative
• Rush’s Vegetables
• Champion Moving & Storage
• Lake Ontario Fruit
• H. H. Dobbins
• Citrus (Sue Holland and Laura Simboli)

Bailey Nesbitt and Adam Krenning unload a truck that delivered produce for the food drive.

Residents urged to call 911 and have fireworks removed

Provided photos: These homemade fireworks were made by Gary Tarr, who faces felony charges for reckless endangerment and arson for a fire on Saturday that caused extensive damage to three houses. The fireworks are about the size of toilet paper rolls.

ALBION – The man facing felony reckless endangerment and arson charges after a massive fire on Saturday shared many of his homemade fireworks with people in the community.

Gary Tarr shared his homemade fireworks.

That is a huge concern for local law enforcement officials.

“We do know they are extremely dangerous,” Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said at a news conference this morning. “If you know where devices are, we want to recover them.”

Nenni said no one will be charged for being in possession of the illegal fireworks. The police don’t even need the names of people who have them.

Nenni urged people who have the fireworks to call 911 and local law enforcement will respond. The fireworks will likely be removed by bomb technicians from Monroe County.

“They are extremely dangerous and we want them so we can dispose of them,” Nenni said.

Gary Tarr, 56, was mixing compounds with commercial grade fireworks last Saturday. He lit a small portion of the firework to test it, and it exploded.

These fireworks were recovered by bomb technicians from Monroe County. The fireworks have a very quick burn rate and could explode soon after being lit.

The garage at 221 West State St. quickly was engulfed in flames, and explosions continued for 15 minutes after the initial blast.

Three houses were badly damaged in the fire. Tarr was inside the garage after the first initial explosion. Nenni said Tarr is lucky to be alive. He suffered facial and torso injuries, as well as an “extreme loss of hearing.”

Nenni doesn’t know how many fireworks made from Tarr are in the community. They have a very fast burn rate once the fuse is lit, and Tarr used “highly combustible” materials in making the fireworks.

He was able to purchase the compounds from local stores, and was mixing those materials with commercial grade fireworks, Nenni said.

The result are fireworks with no quality control.

“We know they have been distributed in the community,” Nenni said. “These are extremely dangerous.”

Nenni stressed for people to call 911, and they won’t face any charges.

“If you have them don’t drop them off or touch them,” Nenni said. “Call us.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: The explosions in the garage at 221 West State St. quickly caused a fire to spread to three houses.

Maison Albion will celebrate grand opening at site transformed for weddings and special events

Photos by Tom Rivers: A Christmas tree is reflected in one of the mirrors in the bridesmaids suite at Maison Albion, which will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday.

ALBION – Kerri and Cole Glover will host its grand opening of Maison Albion with an over-the-top Victorian holiday party on Saturday with a French flair.

Maison Albion had ornaments made in the likeness of the building at 13800 County House Rd., formerly known as The Pillars.

The Glovers have been preparing to open their doors to the public since they purchased the property at 13800 West County House Road, formerly known as The Pillars. They have worked since early July to transform the property.

The public will have its first chance on Saturday to see the new look for the 1878 mansion.

“The first phase of the project is almost complete,” Mrs. Glover said. “The name of the launch is ‘Fête de Nöel,’ which translates to ‘Christmas Party,’ fitting with the over-the-top Victorian holiday party theme.”

To adhere to Covid-19 regulations, Maison Albion will only be welcoming 50 guests at a time in designated two-hour time slots, beginning at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. The $25 admission charge will be donated to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

There will be temperature checks at the door and masks will be required to enter. The owners will be monitoring the changing Covid requirement as the situation develops in Western New York and will adhere to regulations as they may change, Mrs. Glover said.

Maison Albion is also offering virtual tickets to the event. Guests can “attend” the party online in the comfort of their home and enjoy everything the guests will via their guest guide from 6 to 8 p.m.

The bridal suite is pictured in this photo. Maison Albion owners Kerri and Cole Glover have transformed the site to give it a style from a late 19th century French estate.

Once inside, guests will be able to celebrate with hors d’oeuvres, drinks and many desserts. The house will be dazzling with holiday decorations designed by the area’s favorite local planners and florists, Mrs. Glover said. The event will include a tour led by a group of volunteer docents who will welcome and lead guests through this historic home.

The site will have nine Christmas trees decorated for the grand opening celebration. The chandelier in this photo was in the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

Fête de Nöel will be an annual fundraising event, Mrs. Glover added. All proceeds will be donated to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee. The donation will top off the evening’s events.

Maison Albion is a historic mansion built in 1878, which the Glovers have reimagined to host weddings and events. Guests will be transported to a time of luxurious craftsmanship and lavish celebrations through its breathtaking ballroom and grounds reminiscent of a late 19th century French estate, Mrs. Glover explained.

Tickets may be purchased through their website at www.MaisonAlbion.com.

The Glovers chose a French name and theme for their new venue for several reasons. The couple met in France and they love the French influence, originally from the settlers of this area and from abroad, she said. They created a French design for the interiors in the way Victorians would have enjoyed it – influenced from Marie Antoinette’s apartments at Versailles and Chinoiserie.

“We chose ‘Maison Albion’ because we wanted a fresh start for the venue,” Mrs. Glover said. “‘Maison’ means ‘house’ or ‘home’ in French. Also, Albion was originally settled by the French. In addition, we want our venue to feel warm and welcoming to the community.”

The Glovers plan to host several events for the community annually, and they will also donate the venue 10 times a year to non-profits for their events.

Saturday’s celebration will also include a ribbon-cutting with the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.

Group nearing 17 years of pumping gas for senior citizens

Photos by Tom Rivers: Gary Westlund pumps gas for a local senior citizen on Wednesday at Crosby’s in Albion at the corner of routes 31 and 98.

ALBION – A dedicated group that has pumped gas every Wednesday morning the past 16 years for senior citizens has also raised about $600 this year for the PAWS animal shelter in Albion.

The Albion Betterment Committee has spearheaded the effort every Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Crosby’s gas station on Route 31. Besides pumping the gas, the ABC pays for a 10-cent discount per gallon.

Few of the senior citizens accept the discount. Most choose to give it back for ABC to donate to PAWS. That has added up to $600 this year.

The Betterment Committee this holiday season also is directing some of those unclaimed discounts to the Salvation Army red kettle drive. That is up to $120 so far. Community Action runs the red kettle campaign in Orleans County. This year they aren’t having in-person bell ringers due to Covid-19.

Gary Kent, one of the ABC directors and a gas pumper, wanted to send some money to the red kettle campaign, which continues with countertop kettles in some stores.

Gary Westlund knocks some snow off the windshield and wipers of a vehicle driven by a senior citizen.

Kent sees the gas pumping as a way to assist senior citizens and make a weekly connection with those residents.

He praised a group of local veterans who have been dedicated to the effort, including Gary Westlund and Clarence Winkelmann. Joe Gehl, an ABC director and Korean War veteran, also has been very supportive of the effort.

Westlund, a Marine and retired materials manager at Delphi in Rochester, drives from Spencerport to Albion every Wednesday to pump gas for senior citizens. On Wednesday, he also wiped snow off their windshields.

Fay DeClerk

“He is as dependable as the sun rises,” said Kent, a retired social studies teacher at Kendall.

Sometimes the volunteers will check car fluids and walk the money inside the store so seniors don’t have to get out in the cold.

They also will open doors for other customers at Crosby’s and offer a friendly greeting.

Kent said the volunteers show no signs of slowing down from the weekly commitment. In February, they will mark 17 years of pumping gas for seniors.

“It’s a good cause,” Westlund said. He also visits family on his weekly trips to Albion.

Fay DeClerk appreciates the volunteers being so reliable and helpful on Wednesday mornings.

“They’ve pumped my gas a lot of times,” she said Wednesday morning. ‘It’s nice of them.”

Photo courtesy of Albion Police Department: Albion Police Officer Christopher Glogowski is pictured with elementary school students in this photo from February 2019.

ALBION – The school district agreed to keep a school resource officer until the end of the school year on June 30, 2022.

The Board of Education voted on Monday to renew a 2-year contract with the Village of Albion, at the same $81,250 rate. The contract keeps an officer committed at the district from Sept. 1 to June 30.

Chris Glogowski, an Albion police officer, has served in the role since February 2019, after the district didn’t have an SRO for several years. The Board of Education on Monday said Glogowski has proven to be “a valuable asset to the district.”

“He also has spent a large portion of his time working with our students and building a relationship with them,” the Board of Education stated in the contract agreement. “You can often find him greeting students when they arrive in the morning, along with a send-off wave at the end of the day. When he isn’t greeting students, you can find him in the classroom reading stories to students which he continued during our closure through recorded videos.”

If Albion is unable to assign an officer to the school, the contract will be reduced by $350 per day.

The school resource officer works under direction and supervision of the Albion police chief, but the school superintendent and building principals also can have input in the officer’s duties and job performance.

The duties of the SRO include but are not limited to law enforcement, investigation, education, counseling (as appropriate), and those items identified in a specific job description, according to the contract.

The officer will work normal school hours, Monday through Friday, and some major school social and sporting events.

The $81,250 contract with Albion is less than the $95,070 that both Lyndonville and Kendall pay the county to have a deputy assigned as school resource officer. With the county contract, there is no built-in overtime. If Kendall or Lyndonville district need overtime, that is invoiced separately.

Medina’s contract for a school resource officer has the school district paying the village $70,000 for services from a Medina police officer this school year.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Albion Fire Department is shown at the scene of 221 West State St. at about noon today for a rekindle at the scene.

This house was engulfed with fire on Saturday evening. The blaze, which started in an attached garage, spread to two neighboring houses, one on East Academy Street and the other on West State Street.

Firefighters left the scene at about 2 a.m. last night but were called back at about 3:45 when the fire rekindled. They were then called back again at about 11:45 when smoke could be seen coming from the house.

Fire Chief Harry Papponetti said the house is an unsafe structure. He isn’t allowing firefighters inside to deal with hot spots.

“We’re going to give it a good soaking,” he said at about noon today.

The Fire Department was spraying water on the house, using a deck gun on top of the fire truck.

Papponetti said the insurance company will decide how soon the house will come down.

The two neighboring houses remain boarded up.

Click here for a video of the Fire Department on scene at about noon today.

A section of East Academy Street is blocked off to traffic.

Albion firefighters Rob Conner, left, and Joe Grube check where the garage was for any hot spots.