Provided photo: Pictured from left include Albion police officer Dan Baase, Sgt. Karol Hughes, Lt. Dave Mogle and police officer Daryl Robb are shown at the Albion Tops on Wednesday.
Press Release, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni
ALBION – Members of the Albion Police Benevolent Association on Wednesday volunteered to assist the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign. Several police officers donated their time to “Ring the Bell” and man the Red Kettle at the Tops Market on West Avenue in the Village of Albion.
The Albion Police Department and Albion Police Benevolent Association have assisted in the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign for many years and we hope that in some way they have helped a person in need. The job of police officers is to serve and protect. The term serve to a police officer can have many meanings. The Albion Police P.B.A. feels that to serve goes farther than just enforcing the law.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 December 2018 at 10:08 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – John Keding, center, was presented with a pin and commendation letter this morning for his 50 years of service to the Albion Lions Club. Ron Alberton, left, is the Albion Lions Club president. He presented Keding with the recognition pin and letter. Keding is joined by his daughter, Christine Buongiorne, who is also a member of the Lions Club.
Albertson and Buongiorne made a surprise visit to Keding Automotive, which Keding has owned for 45 years. At age 83, he remains a full-time presence at the repair shop on East Avenue.
“He’s old school,” Buongiorne said about her father. “He has a work ethic once he makes a commitment.”
Keding joined the Lions Club in 1968. He served as president in 1976. For about 25 years he was the club’s secretary, taking attendance, writing the minutes from meetings and doing all of the reports. It’s a demanding role that few want to do in the club.
Albertson said he is impressed with Keding’s long-time service and his integrity. He said Keding is also popular among the Lions Club members for his sense of humor and enthusiastic singing, especially of “Home on the Range.”
Keding coordinates the club’s annual rose sale around Mother’s Day, when the Lions Club sells about 350 dozens of roses. It’s one of the club’s best fundraisers.
He has a shift later today ringing the bells for the Red Kettle drive. He will be at the Tops in Albion from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Albion Lions Club has about 20 members. They meet the second and fourth Tuesdays. Albertson said the club welcomes more members. Call him at (585) 738-8690 for more information.
Photos by Tom Rivers: The former Albion grammar school, renovated for $7 million a decade ago, has 30 apartments for senior citizens on East Academy Street.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 December 2018 at 8:50 am
Turning big school buildings into apartments and offices costs many millions of dollars.
Home Leasing in Rochester has started work on the former Holley High School, turning a building that had been vacant for about 30 years into 41 apartments for senior citizens with about 6,000 square feet also to be used as the Village of Holley offices.
The Holley project will cost about $17 million. Tax credits and grants have been critical for the project to move forward.
The big cost for renovation won’t result in a property tax boom for Holley. Home Leasing is paying $13,500 in a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) beginning in 2021. The $13,500 will be shared among Holley Central, the Village of Holley, Orleans County and the Town of Murray.
Home Leasing in Rochester faces an ambitious project in turning the long-vacant former Holley High School into 41 apartments and the offices for the Village of Holley.
The 30-year PILOT agreement has the amount in payments increasing 2 percent each year until it reaches $23,973.90 in 2050.
Those 41 apartments would generate about $330 each in annual tax revenue in 2021 with the PILOT in 2021.
The owner of a house in Holley, valued at $80,000, pays about $4,000 in taxes. The tax rate for the school, village, town and county is about $50 per $1,000 of assessed property.
The renovation of the old school was never looked at as a tax windfall. Village officials didn’t want a prominent location in the community to continue to deteriorate, oppressing the entire neighborhood. The property also was in bankruptcy and had long stopped generating any taxes.
Albion also witnessed a stunning $7 million transformation of an old school. PathStone, formerly Rural Opportunities, in 2007 started work on the former Albion Grammar School, which was built in 1906 with gray Medina sandstone. The school on East Academy Street served kindergarten through grade six before closing in the early 1970s. It was originally a high school.
Rural Opportunities in 2009 opened the Albion Academy with 30 apartments for senior citizens, as well as space on the first floor for the Office for the Aging and the Arc of Orleans County. The Meals on Wheels and Nutri-faire program is run from the Academy.
Rural Opportunities wanted to plan its expenses for taxes. It reached a deal with the local municipalities to pay what the site was generating in taxes, $5,800, when it was privately owned with only a few apartments.
The Town of Albion, Village of Albion, school district and county agreed to keep the tax burden at $5,800 annually for 10 years.
The Albion Academy, like the Holley school, was viewed as an opportunity for affordable senior housing, while saving an important community landmark and providing a big lift to a neighborhood.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 December 2018 at 11:06 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature is seeking to make rifles permanent for big game hunting in Orleans County.
The County Legislature on Feb. 22, 2017 passed a resolution which was later supported by the State Legislature to allow rifles for deer and bear hunting. That authorization will expire on Oct. 1, 2019.
The County Legislature has been asked by the Orleans County Sportsmen Federation to request permission from the state for permanent use of rifles for big game hunting.
County legislators have it on their resolution at the Legislature’s meeting this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
The County Legislature was presented with a petition signed by about 500 sportsmen two years ago in support of rifles for hunting.
The meeting on Wednesday is at legislative chambers in the top floor of the County Clerks’ Building, 3 South Main St.
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Photos by Tom Rivers: Mike Outten, the pastor of North Point Chapel in Albion, greets kids on Wednesday evening after they had pizza in the fellowship hall. They were heading to sanctuary to sing.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 December 2018 at 10:23 am
About 70 kids attend Wednesday program at North Point Chapel
Lisa Waldron, one of the leaders of the Truth Explorers youth program, speaks to the kids. They sang upbeat songs with a biblical message.
ALBION – North Point Chapel is bustling with kids on Wednesday evenings. About 70 children attend the Truth Explorers program.
The church started the program last January. Initially, it had a few kids on Wednesdays and they were mainly the kids of the North Point church families.
The church put flyers in the community and went door to door inviting children. Attendance was up to 30 in May. The program took a break in the summer. It was at 30 in September and then doubled when kids were given a $10 gift card from Walmart if they invited a friend.
Most of those friends have continued to go to Truth Explorers on Wednesdays. Last week there were 72 kids for the 2-hour program.
“We just love ’em and have fun,” said Lisa Waldron, leader of the program with her husband, Dean.
The Waldrons play recorded music that is up-tempo which Christian lyrics. They share a Bibical message. They keep the kids moving to different activities.
The program keeps the kids’ attention, and introduces many to Bible verses. Mike Outten, the church pastor, is pleased to see the kids so interested. Every week there are new faces. Last Wednesday there were three necomers.
The church bought a used mini-van in September so it could pick up children for Truth Explorers. The van holds 13 people. Outten made four trips on Wednesday to give children rides to North Point, which owns the former United Methodist Church building at the corner of Platt and East State streets.
“The kids are coming and they’re making friends,” Outten said. “They’re having a blast and they’re learning about Jesus.”
The children sing songs, including, “The B-I-B-L-E, that’s the book for me.”
The kids arrive about 6 p.m. and have pizza in the fellowship hall. They go to a check-in table and get points if they brought a Bible and memorized a verse.
The more points they accumulate, the bigger the prize they can win. They also earn points playing games at the church, including a bowling game where they can knock down plastic soda bottles. They can also shoot basketballs and play mini-golf.
North Point has 16 volunteers running the program, from serving food, checking to see if kids know their verses to running the games. Outten said the church welcomes more volunteers, who all need to go through a background check.
He said more children, ages 5 to 12, are always welcome for Truth Explorers. There is also a teen program on Wednesday evenings.
Outten and North Point took a leap of faith acquiring the long-time United Methodist building about two years ago.
The church purchased a used van in September to pick up kids in Albion for the program. The van holds up to 13 people. Outten makes four trips with the van on Wednesdays.
North Point started as a congregation about three years ago. It first met in the Hoag Library before going to the Arnold Gregory Office Complex. Two years ago North Point went to the United Methodist building after that congregation left the building and now shares space at Christ Church with the Episcopalians.
The United Methodists were told their historic building needed a million-dollar roof repair. When the North Point congregation was preparing to run steel rods in the ceiling, to support the walls and roof, it found the original steel cables. The big roof repair wasn’t needed after all.
Outten said he felt God leading North Point to the church building. His biggest priority was never about the building. He has been most concerned with reaching the community, especially the children.
“This building has come back alive again with all of these kids,” he said Wednesday above the excitement of the kids who were eating pizza and chatting with their friends. “This is the future of the church right here.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 December 2018 at 4:57 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion FFA unloads a flatbed trailer this morning after 35,000 pounds of produce was delivered to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.
Adam Krenning, left, is the FFA advisor. He is joined on top of the trailer by his nephew, Ryan Krenning, an FFA member.
About 20 farms donated to the annual FFA food drive. FFA members called them about six weeks ago. Many of those farms have been contributors to annual food drive for several years now.
Emily Harling works with other FFA students to unload the trailer.
The following donated to the effort:
Triple G Farms – Potatoes
Root Brothers – Cabbage
Kludt Brothers – Squash
Nesbitt Fruit Farm – Apples
Orchard Dale Fruit Farm – Apples
Kreher’s – Eggs
Martin Farms – Squash
Jeff Partyka – Apples
CY Farms – Onions
Starowitz Farms – Cabbage
Torrey Farms – Onions and Potatoes
Panek Family Farm – Green Beans and Corn
Robert Colby/ Colby Farms – Potatoes and Cabbage
Bittner Singer Orchards – Apples
Orleans County Farm Bureau – Hams
Mortellaro and Sons – Onions
Costanzo’s Bakery/ Dale Root – Bread
Adam Kirby – Apples
Navarra’s Greenhouses – Crates
Call Farms – Potatoes
Poverty Hill Farms and Upstate Niagara – Butter
Middle School Principal Brad Pritchard, right, joins the FFA students in a line that filled a shed with potatoes and other produce.
Some of the food today was picked up by six food pantries in the county, and four soup kitchens. The rest will be stored and given to people in the coming weeks and months.
Community Action will use the food for more than 450 families, including 250 in central Orleans, 186 in the Holley area and 20 in Lyndonville.
Russ Peters, pastor of Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship in Shelby, said the food will help the church prepare about 55 to 60 food baskets for families in the community.
“This is a huge help,” he said.
Michael DiCureia hands off a box of eggs.
State Assemblyman Steve Hawley was back again helping to unload the tractor trailer. He hands a bag of cabbage to Amanda Krenning-Muoio, a senior field advisor for New York Farm Bureau and Adam Krenning’s sister.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 December 2018 at 8:48 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – FFA students from Albion were up early this morning to load produce for the annual FFA food drive.
The food was packed in bags, crates and boxes by the FFA on Friday. It will be delivered this morning to Communty Action of Orleans & Genesee.
The students were joined this morning by Paige Levandowski, in back left. She was an FFA student in 2010 when the Albion chapter had its first food drive. It collected 3,000 pound then and delivered the food to Community Action with two pickup trucks.
Levandowski is in her first year as a middle school career and technical teacher at Albion.
The food drive grew to 9,000 pounds in 2011, 17,000 the following year and 19,000 in December 2013. The FFA reached 27,000 pounds in 2014 and reached 30,000 for the first time in 2015. It was at 33,000 pounds in 2016 and now has hit 35,000 pounds the past two years.
Loren Beam, left, and Aneesa Jackson, both juniors, carry crates full of onions. Aneesa helped for the first time with the food drive today.
“It’s fun,” she said. “There are a lot of people here.”
Emma Mathes, a senior, carries a crate of apples.
Emily Graham, left, and Abby Pappalardo grab 50-pound bags of potatoes.
Kendall Derisley and Abby Pappalardo work together in carrying a big bag of cabbage.
Cody Wilson, left, Michael DiCureia and FFA advisor Adam Krenning load bags of onions and potatoes on a truck from Panek Farms.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 December 2018 at 3:39 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce and the owners of a Jackson Hewitt franchise in Albion celebrated the grand opening of the tax preparer’s office on Main Street.
Jackson Hewitt is at 33 North Main St., the site most recently used by the former U-Need-O Burrito in Albion.
Pictured from left include Kelly Tardera, tax preparer; David Gagne, board member for Chamber of Commerce; Adam Johnson, Chamber vice president; Cyrus Chubineh, co-owner of Jackson Hewitt in Albion; Diane Goodier, tax preparer and office manager; Kathy Blackburn, Chamber president; Albion Mayor Eileen Banker; and Becky Charland, executive director of Chamber.
The Jackson Hewitt in Albion is owned by Cyrus Chubineh and his mother Farideh Chubineh. They also run Jackson Hewitt sites in Batavia, Lockport and Newark.
They owned the site in Albion when it was in Wal-Mart. There they only had room for one tax preparer. The site in downtown Albion has room for three tax preparers.
The Main Street site will be open full-time from Dec. 17 to Dec. 24, and from Jan. 4 to April 15. After that it will be only one day a week and by appointment. Call the Albion office at (585) 283-5082.
The inside of 33 North Main St. has been changed from a kitchen and dining room into an office for the tax preparation business. Pictured from left include: Diane Goodier, tax preparer and office manager; Cyrus Chubineh, co-owner of Jackson Hewitt in Albion; and Kelly Tardera, tax preparer.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2018 at 8:14 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – “Mr. Scribbles” – Michael Sparling of Perry – was a popular person Saturday during the Hometown Holiday celebration in downtown Albion. Sparling lets kids scribble on a paper and then he adds cartoons of animals with a friendly message.
He is making a picture for Carsyn Mogle, 7, of Holley at the Village Office.
Oliver Carter, 5, Albion gets his picture taken with four members of the Albion Police Department, including from left: officer Daryl Robb, Lt. David Mogle, officer Nathaniel Staines and Police Chief Roland Nenni.
The Police Department served coffee and doughnuts in the morning and pizza for lunch. They were one of the stations at the Village Hall.
The Albion merchants Association organized the seventh annual Hometown Holiday, which included many activities at downtown businesses and a raffle.
Al Capurso helps children with a craft. He also led the group in singing Christmas carols.
Albion police officer Karol Hughes chats with Santa at the Village Office.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2018 at 10:37 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association is hosting its seventh annual Hometown Holiday in the downtown today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Debbie Grimm, left, and Grace Kent are getting crafts ready for children in the Village Office at 35-37 East Bank St.
The Village Office also will have Mr. Scribbles, coffee with a cop and a coloring contest. There is free coffee and doughnuts this morning and free pizza at noon while supplies last at the Village Office.
Other businesses are also hosting activities, including cookie decorating, a sing-a-long, letter writing to Santa, crafts with Mrs. Claus, Christmas trivia and a reindeer raffle with 28 items up for raffle.
Anita Finley is ready for people to enter the coloring contests. There will be prizes for children 5 and under, ages 6 to 9, and ages 10 to 12. Finley’s husband Todd is owner of the Oak Orchard Canoe. They are members of the Albion Merchants Association.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 December 2018 at 4:40 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Contractors this week started construction on the Albion waste weir. This is a spot behind Community Action of Orleans & Genesee. A waste weir is used to drain the Erie Canal. This waste weir was built in 1910.
The project costs $1.46 million and is scheduled for completion in July 2019, said Steven Gosset, spokesman for the State Canal Corp. and New York Power Authority.
Cold Spring Construction of Akron has been hired to do the work.
Cold Spring Construction had an excavator in the canal to work on the project on Wednesday.
This file photo shows the waste weir located off State Street behind Community Action, west of Brown Street in Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 December 2018 at 8:52 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Mary Anne Braunbach, president of the Friends of Hoag Library, serves chips in a spinach artichoke dip on Thursday evening during the Tasty Treats event at Hoag Library.
The popular fundraiser supports the library, including a new sign and flagpole that will be installed over the winter. That sign will have electronic messages to promote programs at the library. A state library construction grant for $47,000 will cover half of the cost.
Corinne Johnson, assistant manager at 39 Problems in Albion, serves some of the tasty treats prepared by the Albion restaurant, which is owned by her parents, Adam and Tina Johnson. 39 Problems prepared the spinach artichoke dip, sliders with smoked prime rib, and peanut butter pie.
Johnson, left, is joined by Gloria Nauden, Eileen Allen and Mary Anne Braunbach in serving the food.
The event included several raffles with many of the items and gift certificates donated by local businesses.
Gloria Nauden and Mary Anne Braunbach get the chips and dip ready for the crowd.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Marty Zwifka, a Village of Albion Department of Public Works employee, holds one of the new water meters. Zwifka is about halfway through replacing 2,500 meters in the village.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 December 2018 at 10:22 am
ALBION – The Village of Albion is replacing about 2,500 water meters that will give an accurate account of use by village water customers.
The new water meters replace ones that are about 20 years old. Many of those older meters lose their precision as the years go by, leading to water use measurements that aren’t accurate, village officials said.
Albion borrowed $300,000 to buy the new meters, with the money to be paid back by water customers through the water fund.
“We want to ensure to the people that we’re giving them the best product possible,” said Marty Zwifka of the Department of Public Works. “We want to ensure people are getting what they pay for.”
Zwifka has replaced just over half of the meters. It takes about 15 minutes for him to swap out the old ones with a new Zenner meter which has an automatic Internet reader.
The DPW gets a daily report from the meters and any big uses are highlighted. That can help alert the DPW and a village water customer if there is a leak.
The village had more than one water meter manufacturer before. The new meters are all standardized.
The village is saving about $140,000 by having Zwifka, an in-house employee, replace the meters, rather than contracting out the service.
Zwifka replaced a few meters in late 2017, and has been doing about 15 a day since March.
Village water customers who haven’t changed meters yet are encouraged to call the Village Office at (585) 589-9176 and schedule an appointment with the village clerk’s office.
ALBION – The New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists about new weight restrictions on the bridge carrying Presbyterian Road over the Erie Canal in the Town of Albion, Orleans County.
The structure, which was previously posted for 14 tons, will be temporarily posted for a 10-ton weight restriction.
NYSDOT bridge maintenance crews are in the process of scheduling a project for next summer to strengthen the bridge and bring it back to a minimum posting of 14 tons.
