Photo by Tom Rivers: The Orleans Community Health facility at the corner of Butts Road and Route 31 is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. There will be an open house from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Nov. 30.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 10 November 2022 at 8:24 am
ALBION – Orleans Community Health will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Albion Healthcare Center with an open house from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Nov. 30.
“This is an exciting time for the center,” said Alana Palone, clinic administrator at Orleans Community Health. “We’ve seen a growing number of those in the community deciding to use our walk-in services, and it’s right as we celebrate this anniversary. Beyond this event, several exciting things are in the works for the Albion Healthcare Center. We’ll be excited to share them all soon.”
The Albion Healthcare Center originally opened as an Urgent Care Center, but wasn’t utilized that way, according to Scott Robinson, director of marketing at Community Partners. OCH officials soon realized the site could better serve the community as a walk-in, healthcare center.
“Whether it’s primary care, a walk-in lab and radiology, physical therapy or the several other services, the Albion Healthcare Center is leading the way in providing for the Albion community,” said Marc Shurtz, CEO/CIO of Orleans Community Health. “We couldn’t be more proud of the team and all they’re doing for the health and wellness of the surrounding communities.”
The community is invited to join in this anniversary celebration by attending the open house Nov. 30. Light refreshments will be provided.
The Albion Healthcare Center is located on Route 31, at the corner of Butts Road, just east of the Village of Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 November 2022 at 3:28 pm
ALBION – Gotta Dance by Miss Amy is welcoming the community to get up and dance to show their appreciation for COVA and raise some money for the organization, which has providing critical services to Albion and the surrounding area since 1979.
There will be a dance-a-thon from 5 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 22 at Gotta Dance at 28 West Bank St. Dancers don’t need to pre-register. They can simply show up and dance, and give a donation of at least $20. Others are welcome to attend and watch the dance-a-thon and leave a donation for COVA. Cider and donuts will be available.
COVA has been struggling financially and could cease operations soon, with a different ambulance organization expected to take over in central Orleans County.
Amy Sidari, owner of Gotta Dance, said COVA has served the community for 43 years, providing emergency help, including for her late mother.
“I pray your family hasn’t needed their help, but for those of you who have, I am sure you share in my gratitude,” Sidari said. “Last year we lost my mom and it was the most difficult two years of our lives. I do not know how we would have made it and kept her safe during times of emergency. Thank you to all the staff who have dedicated their days and hours to serving Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance.”
If there are changes to COVA and the organization closes, Sidari said the funds raised at the dance-a-thon will still go to COVA for the organization to use as needed, possibly to set up scholarships, cover past expenses or emergency needs.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 November 2022 at 1:01 pm
Design by APD Engineering & Architecture in Victor – Hospitality Syracuse is proposing a 2,600-square-foot Taco Bell at 118 West Ave., next to McDonalds.
ALBION – The Village Planning Board will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday to review the site plan for a new Taco Bell in Albion, with the Zoning Board of Appeals to meet at 4 p.m. on Nov. 15 to consider whether the restaurant can have four signs, which is more than the maximum of two allowed in the village code.
The business also wants the main sign on a pole with that sign exceeding the square footage that is allowed in the village code.
Both meetings are at the village office on East Bank Street. The ZBA meeting on Nov. 15 includes a public hearing at 4 p.m.
Hospitality Syracuse is the developer for the new Taco Bell, which is proposed for 118 West Ave. at a vacant paved lot next to McDonalds.
Hospitality Syracuse would remove a 36-foot high steel water tank from the back corner of the lot, and make about 40 percent of the 1.33-acre lot green space with grass. That would be an improvement with drainage at the site over the current space that is nearly all asphalt, members of the Orleans County Planning Board said during an Oct. 27 meeting.
The county board recommended the Village Planning Board approve the site plan, and the ZBA approve the variances.
The County Planning Board encouraged the village and developer to press the state Department of Transportation for a wider driveway or a second driveway to make it easier for tractor-trailers to turn right when exiting the property.
Hospitality Syracuse is proposing four signs with three on the building and one on a freestanding pole. The freestanding sign would be 79.5 square feet, which is above the 48 square foot maximum.
Hospitality Syracuse also is seeking a pole height of 25 feet, which is 5 feet higher than the limit.
The company wants its pole for the sign to be set back 10 feet from the road to align with the sign at McDonalds. However, the village code calls for signs to be set back at least 15 feet.
The total cumulative area of the signs is at 147.6 square feet, which is 44 feet over the Albion zoning.
The developer is seeking the additional building signage due to the unique “tower” aspect of the building design, the company said in its application. A sign on each side of the tower provides architectural symmetry, and a sign over the door identifies the main entrance, Hospitality stated in the application.
The configuration of the drive-through does not allow for a pylon setback greater than what has been proposed, the developer stated in the application.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 November 2022 at 5:37 pm
File photo: The late Wayne Burlison competes in a long distance race. He completed a marathon and also several half marathons.
ALBION – The organizers of the Wayne Burlison Colon Cancer Awareness 5K announced that next year’s event will also include an option for a half marathon on March 25.
Bert Galloman of Wolfpack Multisport sent an email previous participants on Sunday, informing them that there will be a 13.1-mile option on March 25. Galloman said he wanted to include the half marathon, a distance conquered several times by Burlison, a former Albion elementary school band teacher who passed away at age 36 from colon cancer on March 26, 2014.
Burlison promoted fitness in the community through a Run for God program that took people from the couch to a 5K in less than three months. He lost more than 150 pounds through exercise and better nutrition.
“This was one of Wayne’s favorite race distances and we have been trying to find a way to make this happen and 2023 was finally the right time!” Galloman said in his email. “There will be a limited number of spots for the half marathon for the first year, so don’t miss out on this inaugural event.”
The course map will be released in early December, Galloman said. The 5k course starts on Clarendon Road near the elementary school and goes east on Route 31 to Mount Albion Cemetery. After running in the cemetery, participants come back out on 31 and head back to the elementary school parking lot.
About 75 to 125 runners (and some walkers) typically participate in the Burlison 5K.
Some of the proceeds from the event on March 25 will support a scholarship in Burlison’s name. Some of the money raised from previous races supported a new walking trail at Bullard Park.
“Come join us and break up the cabin fever we all get during the long winter months and let’s have some fun!” Galloman said in a message to runners.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 November 2022 at 3:56 pm
ALBION – The Village of Albion will have a 6 p.m. meeting on Thursday at the village office on East Bank Street to discuss possible projects in the Restore NY program, which could bring up to $10 million to revitalize distressed commercial and residential sites.
The program funds reconstruction, structural repairs, repair and replacement of mechanical systems, energy efficiency upgrades, and demolition.
Projects could include new construction, renovation of existing buildings, facade improvements, and renovation for new retail, office, commercial, industrial, recreational or cultural uses.
The village is working with G & G Municipal Consulting and Grant Writing in Spencerport to submit an application. For more information, contact a G & G representative at (585) 368-8866 or Contact@GGProcess.com.
The village already meets the qualifications as an economically distressed community due to poverty levels and economic hardship, said Jay Grasso, owner of G&G Municipal Consulting and Grant Writing.
That means the village won’t need to do income surveys for a part of the village to qualify. The entire village meets that criteria, which means projects can be picked throughout the village and not just the downtown business district, like other state programs are focused on.
He sees Albion as a strong contender to receive funding through Restore New York.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 November 2022 at 12:24 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – There are more than 200 raffle items, plus 28 bigger-end items up for raffle today in a benefit for Maddox Pearl and his family.
Maddox, 5, has an incurable brain tumor. He is receiving radiation and has his treatment on Tuesday. His mother Katelyn Pearl said her son is responding well to the treatment and remains very positive.
She and her husband Ryan Pearl are very grateful for the community response to help Maddox.
“The support of the community, our friends and family have shown us we’ll never be able to repay,” Mrs. Pearl said today at the start of the benefit at Dubby’s Tailgate. “This gives us strength and hope. We are looking at every possible way to keep him happy and healthy.”
Maddox Pearl plays pinball at Dubby’s with some assistance from his grandmother Kim Achzet and aunt Riley Fitzwater.
Dubby’s on Platt Street will be hosting family fun time from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with games for children and a raffle of baskets for children. Another basket raffle and big ticket raffle will go from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a cornhole tournament from 5 to 9 p.m.
Maddox’s family and volunteers at the benefit are wearing “Full Steam Ahead” shirts with a train because Maddox loves trains, especially Thomas the Train Engine. His family is planning to take him on the Polar Express train ride in Medina this Christmas season.
Dick DeCarlo, left, and Cameron Heller get ready to flip chickens in an outdoor space by Dubby’s. The 750 chicken barbecue dinners are already sold out.
The chicken barbecue cooking team poses for a photo. Dan Monacelli organized the crew. Tom O’Hearn, Dick DeCarlo and Dusty DeCarlo also were key volunteers in the dinner.
Maureen Bennett, left, organized the basket raffle. She is shown with Annette Pearl, Maddox’s grandmother and a retired special education teacher at Albion. Bennett worked with Pearl for many years. Bennett said the benefit quickly outgrew space at the First Presbyterian Church and was moved to Dubby’s. She praised the community for donating so many raffle baskets, including the high-end items.
“This is pure love at its greatest visibility,” Annette Pearl said, looking at all the donated items and the people arriving for the benefit.
She said the Albion community is showing why it’s a great place to live in its support for Maddox and also with a benefit next Sunday for Byron Neal, 8. Byron also is facing cancer. That benefit will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Maison Albion.
“This community is supporting two children in this small town,” Pearl said. “There is something to be said about living in this small community.”
There are more than 200 items up for raffle at Dubby’s.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 November 2022 at 9:16 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Mallory Kozody stars as Snoopy in the Albion High School Drama Department’s production of The World According to Snoopy!!!
Opening night was Friday with shows today at noon and 7 p.m. in the middle school auditorium. Tickets are $5 each.
Nick Andrews, left, is Linus and Zackary Baron is Charlie Brown.
The musical is based on the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. This is an updated musical featuring the characters from Peanuts.
Natalie Baron portrays Woodstock in the musical. In this scene she is acting out a scene being written by Snoopy for a book submission. Snoopy received several rejection letters from publishers for the material. Woodstock is quite animated in the show as Snoopy’s best friend.
Nick Andrews as Linus keeps his blanket close at all times. Here the characters are in school struggling with an essay about Edgar Allan Poe. Mallory Kozody provides the voice of the teacher, Ms. Othmar. Alexis Hand in green is Peppermint Patty and Ella Trupo is Sally at right.
There are 17 students in the cast, including from left Khalil Thompkins as Floyd, McKenzie Olmstead as Frieda and Charlie Allen as Eudora. There are 38 students total involved in the production.
Charlie Brown (Zack Baron) seeks help from Lucy (Mallory Ashbery). Charlie Brown struggles with feelings of being a misfit. Lucy doesn’t offer much to make him feel better. Mike Thaine, the high school band teacher in back right, played Charlie Brown in an Albion show in 1985.
In this scene Snoopy (Mallory Kozody) sings about being “The Big Bow Wow” and becoming the “head beagle.”
Photos by Tom Rivers: Kids in the Purple Eagles Wrestling Academy practice stances, takedowns and other wrestling moves on Wednesday evening at the Purple Eagles Wrestling Academy. There are 71 wrestlers in the program from age 4 to seventh- and eighth grade.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 November 2022 at 9:16 am
ALBION – The former Apollo restaurant on Route 31 has a new purpose: the training site for a growing number of young wrestlers.
The Purple Eagles Wrestling Academy received its certificate of occupancy on Monday to run wrestling programs at the former Apollo at 13939 NY 31. The academy will have open houses today and Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.
The academy already has 71 wrestlers in the program, including 15 girls. It is open to wrestlers from age 4 right through high school. Right now the oldest kids in the program are seventh- and eighth-graders.
Girls wrestling is also an emerging sport with several colleges running programs for female wrestlers. Sanders expects it will be offered in the not-so-distance future at Albion. The wrestling academy will help to get girls ready so Albion can field a competitive team.
Some of the wrestlers in the academy gather for a photo on Wednesday evening. The coaches pictured include Jared Moreland, front left; Mike Sanders, back left; Kyle Piccirilli, front right; and Jeff Lutes, back right. B.J. Aina and Brian Schomske also volunteer as coaches with the program. The wrestling mat used to be owned by the Albion school district for its wrestling program. It was purchased by the Wrestling Academy when the school got a new mat.
Mike Sanders pushed to start the wrestling academy four years ago. The first season there were 44 wrestlers and they used Cafeteria B in the high school. Twice a week, Sanders and the volunteers moved 90 chairs and 15 tables to set up for practices. The season was abruptly cut short because of Covid-19 restrictions in mid-March 2020.
The second year, the program was based out of Sanders’ garage. He had 35 wrestlers in the academy, coming to his garage from Monday through Friday for training.
Last year, in the third season, the program shifted to the Pratt Theater on Main Street with 60 wrestlers.
Sanders said the program is grateful for its new home. It has two large open rooms with mats, lockers for the wrestlers and a big opportunity to grow. The building is owned by Rick Stacey. It was last operated as the Apollo about two decades ago.
The former Apollo on Route 31 is owned by Rick Stacey. He has renovated the site and given it a much different look.
The location gives the program a place year-round. Sanders said there will be wrestling camps and clinics as well as practices.
“We can make our own schedule,” he said. “At the school we were limited to two days.”
The academy will be available for training Monday through Thursday, with live wrestling on Friday.
It costs $50 a month to be in the academy or $200 for the five-month season from November through March. The facility will be available year-round.
The Purple Eagles Wrestling Academy is a non-profit organization. Sanders is president/treasurer and Moreland is vice president/financial advisor. Brian Schomske is secretary/financial advisor. Ashley Sanders is the team coordinator, with Jennifer Moreland the parent liaison, Cassie Schomske the fundraising manager and Justin Mengs, Rocky Sidari and Zach Gillette as at-large members.
Mike Sanders gives instructions to the young wrestlers. Sanders is a former Section VI champ for Albion in 2004 at 130 pounds. He is the varsity coach at Albion this year.
Sanders, 36, won the Section 6 wrestling title in 2004 in the 130-pound weight class. He returned to the area as an English teacher four years ago. He and his wife Ashley have four children.
Sanders went to Gannon and was an All-American wrestler in the 133-pound class. After graduation he taught and coached for five years in Florida and then five years in Virginia before coming home to Albion in 2018. He works in the Albion Middle School.
Sanders said the skills he learned in wrestling, especially the mental approach, have been critical in his life. He wants to share that knowledge with a new generation.
“I want to give back to them,” Sanders said. “It’s mental skills and controlling your emotions. It’s showing up every day and facing challenges.”
Sanders is serving as the Albion varsity wrestling coach for the first time this season, after four years as the assistant coach. He knows the youth wrestling program is a key to building a strong high school program.
When he was a kid, he wrestled in youth programs in Kendall and Holley. The Purple Eagles Wrestling Academy is open to young wrestlers outside of Albion, too. Sanders wants to grow the sport locally, and repay the welcome he received from Kendall and Holley.
These wrestlers get in a cool-down run around one of the big mats. There are two large rooms for training.
The wrestling academy will compete in tournaments in 14 different weight classes through the Niagara Frontier Youth Wrestling League. That competitive team will be called the Purple Eagle Wrestling Academy Team Gold Force. That name is a tribute to the Gold Force Wrestling Club that was led by Hall of Fame coach John Grillo in Holley.
Sanders is assisted in running the program by coaches Jared Moreland, Kyle Piccirilli, Jeff Lutes, B.J. Aina and Brian Schomske.
Moreland is also a sectional champ from when he was at wrestling powerhouse Spencerport. He wrestled at 119 pounds. He is now a sergeant at the Orleans Correctional Facility. Like Sanders, he wants to give back to the sport of wrestling.
“Wrestling is a sport unlike any other in high school,” Moreland said. “It takes a lot of sacrifice and discipline.”
Moreland said the wrestling academy will help other Albion sports programs. He expects to see the wrestlers playing on the football, basketball, baseball, track and other sports teams.
“It will help them to be a gritty tough kid who can handle a challenge,” Moreland said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 November 2022 at 8:40 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: The village of Albion continues to upgrade the water plant on Wilson Road in Carlton with the next project a new fluoride building.
ALBION – The village’s water plant will soon have a new building to store fluoride.
The Village Board last week approved a $388,000 bid from Keeler Construction in Barre to do the work. The project will be funded with $312,000 grant from the state Department of Health, with the other $76,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The project is expected to take about two months. Keeler was the lowest of two bidders. The other contractor submitted a bid for about $550,000.
The project consists of the construction of the Fluoridation Building at 14-by-14 feet, construction of building-related structural, architectural, mechanical (HVAC and plumbing) and electrical components and systems.
New fluoridation system components will need to be relocated, plus installation of new piping, valves and appurtenances, as well as site work at the water treatment plant.
The village was keeping the fluoridation chemicals in the water plant. Adam Rush, the chief water plant operator, said it was a subpar setup. The village hasn’t added fluoride to the water since the summer of 2021 but will start doing that again when the new concrete building is ready.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 November 2022 at 9:21 pm
HPC has struggled recently to have a quorum
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Downtown Albion historic marker was recently moved from Waterman Park to near the municipal lot on Main Street next to the Presbyterian Church. This photo was taken Friday evening during Beggar’s Night.
ALBION – The leader of the Albion Historic Preservation Commission is asking the Village Board to reduce the HPC from seven to five members.
Mary Anne Braunbach, the commission chairwoman, said the HPC has struggled at some recent meetings to have a quorum. She doesn’t want to hold up projects in the historic district because the board doesn’t have enough participants for an official meeting.
With seven members, the commission needs at least four for a quorum. If the commission was reduced to five, only three would be needed to have a meeting. Braunbach said some members have been no-shows for several months.
Braunbach said the commission tries to be a resource to building owners looking to upgrade their facades or do other projects. The commission doesn’t want to be an obstacle, she said, but will push for property owners to meet the standard for the historic district.
“We want to let people know we’re working with them,” she told the Village Board last week. “We want to help people make the buildings look better and look historic.”
The village is working on a Main Street grant with several building owners doing projects on their sites. Albion also is looking at additional state funds that could result in significant work in the downtown.
Braunbach told the Village Board the commission wants to be involved in helping property owners plan projects and see them through completion.
