Albion

Most local high school graduations will be nearly a week later next year

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 July 2018 at 5:33 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers: On June 22, 120 students graduated from Medina High School. Next year graduation will be six days later on June 28.

High school graduation will be almost a week later next year, compared to this year’s ceremonies, for most local high schools.

Albion, Medina and Lyndonville will hold commencement on June 28, while Holley has it on June 29. That is six days later than graduation last month for those school districts.

Kendall, however, has opted not to wait until June 28. The district typically has graduation the fourth Friday in June. It will have the service on June 21 next year.

The Albion Board of Education and school administrators on Monday discussed moving its ceremony to June 21 next year. That would be five days before Regents are done. Elementary and middle school students also have half days of school on June 24-25.

Albion has traditionally ended the school year with graduation.

The board decided to continue with graduation on the fourth Friday of June.

Students will have completed all of their final exams, including Regents, by then. That way high school staff can make sure students have the appropriate designation noted on their diplomas. Some of the graduating seniors might be taking a Regents exam after commencement if it was held on June 21. Their score could determine if it is an Advanced Regents or a different designation – or if they meet the standards for a diploma.

There is a drawback with having graduation on June 28. It doesn’t give much time off in June, board members said, especially for varsity athletes who have practices in mid-August. They will have a short summer vacation.

Albion also could hold graduation on Wednesday, June 26, or the Thursday the 27^th, so there would be more vacation time in June. But the board decided that graduation on a Friday is a long-time tradition in Albion that should be preserved.

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Margy Brown will serve as Albion BOE president one more year

Photos by Tom Rivers: Margy Brown signs the oath of office on Monday evening after she was unanimously elected as president of the Albion Board of Education. Shawn Liddle, the district clerk and assistant superintendent for business, administers the oath.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 July 2018 at 11:25 am

Elissa Nesbitt signs the oath of office. She is a new member of the Board of Education.

ALBION – Margy Brown was unanimously elected as president of the Albion Board of Education on Monday, a role she has served in since 2011.

However, Brown said this will be her final year as president. She was re-elected to a five-year term in May as a member of the Board of Education. She intends to stay on the board after this year, but not as president.

The board also unanimously backed Steve LaLonde as vice president. Brown said she will work with him this year so he could take the reins and become president after her term ends June 30.

Brown said the district has pushed for excellence in academics and extracurricular activities while insisting on a program that is affordable to district taxpayers. In the past 12 years, Albion has either reduced school taxes or kept them in check 10 times.

“We have a great board and I look forward to working with all of you,” Brown said.

Brown is a certified registered nurse anesthetist. She co-owns and serves as managing partner of Anesthesia Care Associates, which provides anesthesia services for cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries.

She and her husband Eric have two sons in the district: Harrison and Jeffrey.

LaLonde was elected to the board two years ago. He has a doctoral degree in statistics, measurement and evaluation from Syracuse Univeristy. He is recently retired as a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology. He and his late wife, Kathy, raised three children who graduated from Albion.

The Board also welcomed one new member, Elissa Nesbitt. She was elected to a five-year term in May. She works as director of community relations for Xerox. She and her husband Chuck have two children in the district.

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Children’s Carnival is Friday at Bullard Park

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 July 2018 at 9:47 am

File photo: Xavier Byrd, then 9, of Albion gets a football painted on his cheek by Gabriell Struble, one of the park supervisors at Bullard Park, during a children’s carnival in July 2016.

ALBION – The carnival returns on Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Orleans Community Action sponsors and helps organize the event, which usually is attended by about 300 kids. There will be several games, events, and activities featured through the day.

The Albion Parks program this week is also running a baseball camp at Bullard from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. for children in grades 4 to 12.

On Wednesday, the park children will be bused to Oak Orchard Lanes for a day of bowling.

Hamlin Recreation Department will visit Albion on Thursday and the two departments will be having fun playing games with each other.

The Village of Albion Recreation Department run a free USTA Tennis Camp on July 23 to 27 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Albion High School Tennis Courts. Tennis balls will be provided. Participants are encouraged to bring your own tennis racquet. Walk up registration will be on Mondays at the beginning of the session. An adult needs to be at registration.

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Cyclists, travelling in big caravan, enjoy canal towns in Orleans

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 July 2018 at 1:27 pm

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Cyclists cross Main Street in front of the lift bridge in Albion at about 8:30 this morning.

About 650 cyclists left Medina this morning and headed east through Orleans County with Fairport the final destination for the day, as part of an eight-day Cycling the Erie Canal.

The 20^th annual trip is organized by Parks & Trails New York. The cyclists started in Buffalo on Sunday and will complete the trip this Sunday in Albany.

The cyclists cover about 40 to 60 miles per day. There are participants from ages 6 to 82 from 37 states and several Canadian provinces, as well as Australia and the United Kingdom.

Stan Farone (pictured), an Albion village trustee, is cycling the Erie Canal for the second year. The trip is showcase of the many canal towns in New York.

“There is a lot to see,” he said.

He praised the Albion Merchants Association and other volunteers for the welcome stop this morning. Farone said there aren’t too many stops with a warm welcome for the cyclists on the canal east of Rochester.

Mayor Eileen Banker and Trustee Gary Katsanis were among the contingent greeting cyclists in Albion this morning.

“Albion is one of the biggest and the best,” Farone, 68, said about the welcome stop. “It’s a long ride and when you see a welcome stop, it helps.”

One cyclist from Kentucky enjoyed seeing the big Medina sandstone churches and downtown buildings.

“When you think of New York, you think of the city,” she said. “People are very polite here, maybe even more polite than in Kentucky.”

Martin Frahme is a volunteer on the ride – “on call for bicycle and people breakdowns,” he said. He is shown at the top of the stairs to the lift bridge tower taking a photo.

His wife is one of the cyclists. She enjoys the 50 miles or more on her bike. The couple is from Morristown, NJ.

“We love these towns and the reception we get,” Frahme said. “New York State is a pretty nice place in the summer.”

Two Canal employees – Larry Marling (top left), a bridge operator, and Mark Standish, a bank walker – chat with two of the cyclists today on the stairs of the Main Street lift bridge.

These cyclists are headed east with the Ingersoll Street lift bridge in the background. There is another rest stop in Holley.

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Fundraisers set up after Albion teacher’s Hamlin home burned on Saturday night

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 July 2018 at 11:10 am

HAMLIN – An Albion teacher’s home was destroyed by fire on Saturday night, two weeks after she and her family moved in.

Deanna Richardson, a first grade teacher at the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School, had just settled into a new home on Monroe-Orleans County Line Road. She lives with her fiancé Ben Moore and their two children.

Richardson told WHAM she suspects sparklers that the kids were playing with likely started the fire. The family thought the sparklers had been completely extinguished. A fire broke out about 10 p.m.

Everyone was able to get outside safely, including two dogs. However, they lost their possessions, including Moore’s military memorabilia and their daughter Hannah’s medication for type 1 diabetes.

A GoFundMe has been established to assist the family. In addition, there will be a fundraiser today at Jimmy Z’s restaurant in Brockport from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with 20 percent of a food order going directly toward the family. There will also be a jar for people to make donations.

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Pullman couch donated to Cobblestone Museum

Photos by Tom Rivers: David Mitchell, left, donated this couch made by George Pullman in the 1850s to the Cobblestone Museum. Mitchell is pictured with Doug Farley, the museum’s director, in the Danolds Room on the first floor of the Cobblestone Church.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 July 2018 at 10:11 am

ALBION – When David Mitchell pursued buying the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home’s Albion and Holley sites last year, he made sure the sale included the “Pullman couches.”

Merrill-Grinnell had a sofa and loveseat from the mid-1850s. One had a stamp “From G.M. Pullman and Co. Albion” on back. The other loveseat doesn’t have a Pullman mark, and it can’t be determined for sure if Pullman made that furniture.

The loveseat is in the Rococo style, with ornamental carving and asymmetrical designs. Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County Historian and former curator of the Cobblestone Museum, said both “are really nice pieces.”

The back of this couch from the 1850s bear a mark from George Pullman’s furniture company in Albion.

When Mitchell did a walk-through of the Merrill-Grinnell funeral home last year, the couches weren’t on the premises. He made it clear he wanted them back before he would purchase the Albion and Holley funeral homes from Service Corporation International. SCI is based in Houston, Texas and owns about 1,500 funeral homes.

Mitchell closed on the sale last Dec. 22, and the two sofas were back.

On Friday, he donated them to the Cobblestone Museum. The loveseat was moved to the upstairs gallery of the Brick House next to the Cobblestone Church. The Pullman sofa was moved to the Danolds room in the first floor of the Cobblestone Church.

The loveseat is in the Rococo style, while the Pullman couch is in the Empire style.

The Danolds Room is dedicated to Charles and Mary Jane Danolds, who were friends with George Pullman. In the 1850s, when the canal was enlarged, Danolds had a contract to expand the canal and he hired Pullman to move some of the houses that were in the way of the expansion.

Pullman also ran a furniture business in Albion from 1853 to 1859. He would move to Chicago and become a titan of industry with railroad sleeping cars.

Danolds kept up a friendship with Pullman and while the two were vacationing in the Thousand Islands in 1890, Danolds made a pitch for Pullman to help build a new Universalist Church in Albion. Pullman agreed as long as the locals would commit some of their own funds to the project.

The new church opened in 1895 as a memorial to Pullman’s parents, James Lewis Pullman and Emily Caroline Pullman.

Bill Lattin, right, discusses the life of George Pullman on Friday with Josh and David Mitchell, and Doug Farley, director of the Cobblestone Museum. They are pictured in the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home in Albion.

Lattin said he hasn’t seen other Pullman sofas in such great shape as the one that was at Merrill-Grinnell’s. Lattin saw others before but the couches were broken down.

Mitchell, owner of Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes, is selling the Merrill-Grinnell site on East State Street. He wanted the sofa and loveseat showcased and preserved.

“It’s exciting it’s going to a good home,” Mitchell said about the Pullman couch. “You have to embrace your local history. You have to know where your roots are.”

The museum will put out a display about the couch in the Danolds Room.

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Christopher Mitchell acquires funeral homes in Albion, Holley and Middleport

Photo by Tom Rivers: David Mitchel and his son Josh are pictured by the Merrill-Grinnell funeral home in Albion at the corner of East State and Ingersoll streets. The property, the former home of Lt. Gov. Sanford Church, is one of Albion’s grandest homes.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 July 2018 at 6:11 pm

Merrill-Grinnell sites will be sold, while Christopher Mitchell will honor legacy of that business

ALBION – Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes has expanded its local presence by acquiring the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Homes in Albion and Holley and also the Bates, Wallace & Heath Funeral Home in Middleport.

The sale closed Dec. 22 with David Mitchell, Christopher Mitchell’s owner, buying the three sites from Service Corporation International. SCI is based in Houston, Texas and owns about 1,500 funeral homes in 45 states, eight Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico.

Mitchell learned the three local properties were for sale last year and pursued an acquisition. The two Merrill-Grinnell sites will be sold while Bates, Wallace & Heath has already been upgraded. Christopher Mitchell’s four full-time funeral directors are serving the Middleport funeral home as well.

One of the Christopher Mitchell funeral directors, Scott Schmidt, is a Roy-Hart graduate from Middleport.

“Middleport will get to know all of us,” Mitchell said.

Photo courtesy of Bruce Landis: Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes has four full-time funeral directors, from left: Josh Mitchell, Scott Schmidt, Paula Fuller and David Mitchell.

Mitchell has worked 34 years as a funeral director while Paula Fuller has 24 years of experience, Scott Schmidt 21 years, and Mitchell’s son, Josh, six years. The younger Mitchell is the third generation to work as a funeral director. David’s father Rho was the first.

“I’m very blessed with the staff that I have,” Mitchell said. “And I feel very fortunate my son is with me. There aren’t too many third generation businesses.”

Christopher Mitchell and Merrill-Grinnell were long-time competitors in Albion and Holley. Christopher Mitchell has sites on Route 31 in both Albion and Holley. Mitchell said he has great respect for the Merrill-Grinnell history and will include the Merrill-Grinnell name on the Christopher Mitchell sign when the buildings are sold.

“Merrill-Grinnell did a lot of good in the community for many years,” Mitchell said. “We want to honor that longevity and legacy.”

Bates, Wallace & Heath will keep its name in Middleport. Christopher Mitchell has worked to update the site “from the ground up,” Mitchell said. It has completed masonry work, paint, new windows, HVAC, carpet and other upgrades – “a complete overhaul.”

There will be an open house in August for the community to see the improvements.

“Whether it’s for calling hours or a funeral service, you’re welcoming people into your home,” Mitchell said. “It’s service, service, service, the best that we can.”

Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes started in 1957, and has remained a locally owned business, donating many thousands of dollars to numerous local causes each year. Christopher Mitchell was recognized with a national “Pursuit of Excellence Award” from the National Funeral Directors Association in 2016. The association represents about 10,000 funeral homes.

Snell Realtors in Albion has listed the Merrill-Grinnell building in Albion for $219,900. The property is zoned commercial and is 5,511 square feet.

The Holley site at 39 Geddes St. is expected to be listed soon.

Mitchell said it doesn’t make sense for Christopher Mitchell to operate two funeral homes in the same small town. Until they are sold, both sites are available to be used for funerals.

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Art show features work of scenes in England, and watercolors while undergoing chemo

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 July 2018 at 9:58 am

Arthur Barnes and Suzanne Wells are showcased at Marti’s

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Arthur Barnes holds a painting – “Chester Sunset” – he did of Chester, a walled city in Cheshire England, very close to Wales.

Barnes, a resident of Shelby, was in Wales while visiting his cousin. He sat on bench and did this sketch in an hour while a young man played the violin nearby, playing “To Dream the Impossible Dream.”

Barnes has been to England several times the past decade and many of his ink drawings and watercolors are on display this month at Marti’s on Main, an art gallery at 229 North Main St.

Barnes has paintings and drawings of country landscapes, churches, windmills, castles and a 1,000-year-old mill.

“When I go there I feel so at peace,” Barnes said about his trips to England, Wales and Holland. “There are open trails for miles and miles. There’s so much to see and I can’t wait to see what’s around the corner or over the hill.”

There was an opening reception on Friday for the new show. This was the first show featuring Barnes’ work in a few years.

The show also included Suzanne Wells, a returned Albion art teacher.

The gallery is run by Kim Martilotta Muscarella. She will feature different artists each month through November. There is a “First Friday” opening each month from 6 to 9 p.m. Muscarella said people are welcome to stop by at other times when she is home.

Suzanne Wells is pictured with a watercolor she did of her granddaughter, Alice.

Suzanne Wells painted many of her watercolors while undergoing chemotherapy. She has been fighting cancer for about three years. Wells brings watercolor pencils and paper to her chemotherapy appointments. Rather than watch TV for two hours while hooked up to an IV, she does artwork.

Wells travelled to Italy in 2014. She made these paintings of places she visited in Italy when she returned home, using her cell phone photos as a reference.

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Mini barn destroyed by fire in Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 July 2018 at 5:26 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Firefighters responded to a structure fire at 15447 Holley Rd., Albion, at about 4:30 this afternoon.

The mini barn was destroyed by the fire. The building, which was larger than a shed, is owned by John and Jodi Sugar. Their home was far enough away from the building and wasn’t damaged by the blaze.

An Orleans County fire investigator is at the scene. Albion, Holley and Barre firefighters responded to the scene.

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Hoags give $250K more to Albion library

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 July 2018 at 10:43 am

Photos by Tom Rivers: This plaque at Hoag Library in Albion shows Maurice “Mo” Hoag and his wife, Courtenay. The couple has now donated $700,000 to the public library in Albion.

ALBION – Hoag Library’s biggest benefactors have boosted their giving to Albion’s public library.

Last week, Maurice “Mo” Hoag sent an email to Kevin Doherty, president of the library’s board of trustees. Hoag said to look out for a check coming soon. A cashier’s check arrived in the mail on Monday. It was for $250,000.

Mo and his wife, Courtenay, have now given $700,000 to the library that bears their name.

The couple first gave $25,000 towards the capital campaign for the new library, and increased it by $225,000. That $250,000 secured the naming rights to the new building, which opened in July 2012.

Since then the Hoags have sent $100,000 in 2015 and another $100,000 last year.

They make the donations in a low key manner, not seeking any fanfare, Doherty said.

Maurice Hoag has strong personal ties to the Albion area. He graduated from Albion High School in 1961 as valedictorian, as well as class president. He continued his education at Cornell where he earned a degree in chemical engineering and met his wife, Courtenay.

The couple currently lives in Maryland, but Maurice has maintained a relationship with Albion and Cornell classmates from the Albion area. The Hoags return to Albion yearly in August for an annual class picnic.

The Hoag Library opened in July 2012 on South Main Street in Albion.

The couple also pays for generous scholarships for Albion college students pursuing degrees in chemical engineering.

Doherty is driving to Warsaw this morning to deposit the check and have it reduce the mortgage through Steuben Trust.

The donation from the Hoags will bring the mortgage down to about $700,000, Doherty said. Rather than reduce the size of the annual payments, Doherty said the library’s board of trustees has decided to keep paying the same payments, which will allow the mortgage to get paid off sooner.

Doherty sent an email to library supporters on Monday, informing them of the latest gift from the Hoags.

He said the library has been busy with a summer reading program, and the air-conditioning in the building has been appreciated by the community during the current heat wave.

“But most of all, rest assured that the work you accomplished and the money that you gave, have created a premier institution in our little town that makes us proud,” Doherty said in his message to library donors.

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Last touch on Santa Mural includes artist’s signature

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2018 at 3:35 pm

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The new 24-foot-long mural of Santa Claus in his sleigh over Albion was completed on Friday. The mural went up on Thursday at Waterman Park, a half block south of the Erie Canal.

Photo courtesy of Ingrid LaMont

Artist Stacey Kirby Steward, an Albion native who now lives in Spencerport, was back on Friday to add her signature and paint on over the bolt used to hold the mural on a metal frame.

The mural highlights the Courthouse Square, downtown and the Erie Canal, which are all nationally recognized historic districts and landmarks.

The Albion Rotary Club coordinated the project and wanted to highlight the historic districts and small town charm on main Street.

The mural also honors Charles Howard, who ran a Santa Claus School in Albion from 1937 to 1966. Howard also created Christmas Park in Albion, and served as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Santa in New York City for nearly 20 years.

Howard remains a revered figure among people who play Santa Claus. Albion hosted a Santa Claus conference in 2010 and 2015. The Rotary Club is hopeful the mural will provide an extra incentive for the Santas to return.

These reindeer fly past the First Presbyterian Church and its 175-foot spire, making it the tallest building in Orleans County.

Steward added Christmas lights to some of the Main Street storefronts.

The Erie Canal is at the far right of the mural. The canal is a National Historic Landmark that opened in 1825.

Kirby Steward included six people in the mural, who are family who have been supportive in her artistic pursuits.

She also included the “Believe” sign which was added by the Albion Betterment Committee in November 2016. The 10-foot-long sign is on the Gurney’s Olde Coach Inn at 35 North Main St.

The Betterment Committee is raising funds to have a bronze statue at Waterman Park in honor of Charles Howard.

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Josie Waverly performs to sellout in Albion

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Country/Western star Josie Waverly, right, brought down the house with her first appearance in Albion on Saturday night since suffering severe injuries from a motor vehicle accident, which occurred when she was traveling to Albion in December 2016 for a benefit concert. Waverly performs here at the Cabaret at Studio B with Kelly Reilly of Irondequoit, who was making her first official appearance singing harmony with Waverly.

Posted 2 July 2018 at 10:49 am

By Ginny Kropf, correspondent

ALBION – If returning to Albion for a show was traumatic for Josie Waverly, she sure didn’t show it.

The Country/Western star from Hilton put on her first show in Albion on Saturday night since being seriously injured in an automobile accident December 2016 when she was route to do a benefit concert.

Waverly, who recently signed Amy Sidari as her publicist, performed to a sold-out crowd at the Cabaret at Studio B.

Amy Sidari, owner of the Cabaret at Studio B, and Josie Waverly of Hilton share some antics about their recent trip to New Jersey, where Waverly sold out a 450-seat venue four days in a row. Sidari has taken on a new role as Waverly’s publicist.

The evening was also special, as it marked her official debut with Kelly Reilly of Irondequoit singing harmony.

“I have been looking for a long time for someone to sing harmony,” Waverly said. “I’m so fortunate I found her.”

Waverly also introduced Dave “Tank” Taney of Hilton, a drummer whose rendition of “Hot Rod Lincoln” had the crowd stomping their feet and cheering.

Waverly said she and Sidari just returned from New Jersey, where Waverly’s show sold out at a 450-seat venue for four days. Waverly said she had also just received a call inviting her and the band back next year.

The evening became emotional when near the end, Waverly choked up in the middle of a song and stopped the band. She said she felt the urge to sing something different which she wanted to dedicate to Sidari. Her rendition of “How Great Thou Art” brought the room to its feet.

Sidari and Waverly are both looking forward to the day expansion begins on the Cabaret at Studio B, which will at least double its space.

Sidari announced the stars of several upcoming shows at the Cabaret, including a variety show featuring local talent and Albion High School student Riley Seielstad, accompanied by Albion music teacher Gary Simboli.

Topping it off will be a return appearance of nationally acclaimed jazz singer Erin Boheme, who will be at the Cabaret for two shows in August. Boheme is the singer who performed at the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

“Amy makes things happen,” Waverly said.

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Albion students create new interpretive panel about Erie Canal

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2018 at 8:20 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – A new interpretive panel was installed on Friday by the Erie Canal. The Albion Department of Public Works added the panel, which was created by seventh-grade students at Albion who are in a service-learning class taught by Tim Archer.

The students worked with County Historian Matt Ballard in researching and designing the panel which is located between the Main Street and Ingersoll Street lift bridges.

The panel highlights how the Erie Canal opened up the world to our region’s farmers. “Agricultural products and raw materials were distributed to distant locations, beyond the reach of horse and buggy,” the panel states.

“Lower costs and decreased shipping times were boon to local producers. An abundant supply of crops like wheat and apples were shipped to eager consumers in places thought unreachable before the Canal’s construction.”

Medina sandstone quarries were developed near the canal and the stone was shipped to create curbs, roads, and many buildings, including many of the most prestigious churches and public buildings in canal cities in Upstate New York. The quarries brought thousands of skilled immigrants to the community to work at cutting stone.

“The Erie Canal brought great wealth to the ‘Niagara Frontier,’ making Albion a progressive town for its time,” according to the panel. “Commerce grew and entrepreneurs prospered as Canal traffic provided a means to both export and import valuable commodities. The local populace reaped the benefits.

“Commercial buildings sprang up along the towpath as goods were transported up and down the ‘express waterway.’ The increased population spawned the need for schools, hotels, blacksmith shops and general stores, as well as jewelers, hatters, newspaper printers and druggists.”

The panel also highlights a tragic event on the canal in Albion. On Sept. 28, 1859, 15 people were killed, including 11 teen-agers or younger, when a bridge collapsed on Main Street when 250 people crammed on it to watch a tightrope walker.

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County planners support DePaul’s 40-unit housing project in Village of Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2018 at 1:39 pm

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board gave its support on Thursday for a proposed 40-unit housing project in the Village of Albion on Liberty Street.

The Planning Board recommended the village approve the site plan for the project and also three variances.

DePaul Properties of Rochester is proposing to demolish three unoccupied houses on Liberty Street, between the railroad tracks and Beaver Street.

DePaul needs variances for the project. It is proposing 50 parking spaces, when the village code requires 80 (two parking spots for each unit). DePaul is seeking a 5-foot rear setback when the village code requires 25 feet. DePaul also wants a fence to be 10 feet high for a sound wall on the south side of the property, instead of the 7 feet required by the village code.

DePaul anticipates the 50 spaces will be adequate based on the demand at its other apartment buildings. DePaul serves low-income individuals, veterans, and people with disabilities.

With the rear setback, DePaul will plant a row of evergreen trees for additional screening. DePaul also wants the taller sound wall to mitigate noise from the neighboring rail line.

The Village of Albion Planning Board has the final vote on the site plan with the Zoning Board of Appeals to vote on the variances.

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Albion Rotary inducts president, who is a familiar leader of organization

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 June 2018 at 9:32 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

GAINES – Karen Sawicz, right, was sworn in as the new president of the Albion Rotary Club on Thursday night by Tracy Ford, assistant district governor for Rotary District 7090, which includes about 70 clubs in Western New York and southern Ontario, Canada.

This will be the third time Sawicz will be president of the Albion Rotary Club. She is the owner and publisher of The Lake Country Pennysaver and Orleans Hub.

Mike Bonnewell, right, receives a plaque and president’s pin from Rotarian Ed Fancher after Bonnewell served the past year as the Rotary president. Bonnewell is the superintendent of Albion Central School. He also was named a Paul Harris Fellow and the club donated $1,000 in his name to the Rotary Foundation for its humanitarian work.

Members of the board of directors take their oath of office including, from left: Mary Anne Braunbach, Heidi Truschel, Doug Farley, Deb Boyer and Mike Bonnewell. Dick Remley, Bruce Landis and Becky Karls are also on the board. Tracy Ford administered the oath.

The Rotary Club on Thursday was pleased to see a large Santa mural installed on Main Street in Albion. The club had been working on that project for about two years. Sawicz said she wants to see the Rotary Club continue its efforts to help downtown Albion.

The club is the lead sponsor of the annual Strawberry Festival the second Friday and Saturday in June. Rotary has a golf tournament on July 19 and runs the Orleans County Fishing Derby from Aug. 4 to Aug. 19 with more than $8,000 in prizes will be available.

The club also gives out three scholarships each year to high school graduating seniors and serves a St. Patrick’s ham dinner to benefit a youth service program through the Interact Club at the school.

The club also is gearing up for its 100^th anniversary in 2022.

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