‘It’s been beyond our expectations. We’ve been beyond busy.’

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Bobby Skrzypek & the Pedestrians perform today as part of a food truck rodeo event at the Courthouse Square. In addition to the food trucks, three bands performed from noon to 7 p.m.

There wasn’t an official Albion Strawberry Festival today, but the village was busy with food and entertainment at the Courthouse Square and also at a “Caring for COVA” event at the Arnold Gregory office Complex.

Brian Alexander of Dubby’s Wood Fired Pizza said the customers kept coming throughout the day, which he said was the first “mega event” of the year.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “It’s been beyond our expectations. We’ve been beyond busy.”

The food trucks and vendors were lined up along East State Street at the Courthouse Square.

The Albion Merchants Association organized the food truck rodeo with the live bands. It was an attempt to fill a void with the Albion Strawberry Festival cancelled for the second year. Covid-19 restrictions capped the crowd at 500 people and those restrictions have been in flux and uncertain.

Alice Casson, left, and Annette Mannella serve up a strawberry sundae at the First Presbyterian Church of Albion. The church continued its strawberry sundae booth and also has more than 60 baskets up for raffle through Sunday afternoon. Church leaders said the sundaes were in demand.

The band Vette was the lead off performer. This trio includes from left: Travis Mackie, Kole Moore and Alex Fitzak. Shelby Starr is the drummer.

Today was the band’s first performance in front of a live audience since last August during a benefit at the Elk’s Lodge. The band enjoyed playing southern, classic and hard rock for the crowd.

“It feels amazing,” Fitzak said about performing in front of people again. “It’s unbelievable.”

Another band, the Zackstreet Boys, also performed at the Courthouse Square.

The “Caring for COVA” included several food and craft vendors, and other entertainment. Serenity Acres brought along several farm animals including a horse.

Kylie Brown, 10, of Albion pets the horse, “Gooby,” from Serenity Acres.

The Albion Lions Club served up some grilled goodies. In this photo Lions Club member Kevin Howard is grilling sausage while Barb Navarra gets a customer a drink.

Dylan DeSmit of the band Driven sings “Hard to Handle” by the Black Crowes during today’s benefit for COVA.

Arnold’s Auto Parts coordinated a classic car show that included two lines of vehicles.

Matteo Lambert gives his medals to children facing much harder test

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Matteo Lambert, 11, of northern Virginia finishes the Albion Strawberry Festival 8K this morning. He won his age group completing the course in 37:43.

Matteo made the trip to Albion to run in honor of Gage Stacey, 12, of Lockport who has been diagnosed with brain cancer.

After the race, Matteo presented Gage with the cape that Matteo wore during the race and the medal he earned.

Matteo Lambert and Gage Stacey pose for a photo after the race today. Matteo said Gage has super hero powers.

Matteo has been running races for kids with cancer since 2019. He wears a cape with the name of a kid with cancer, and gives them the cape and his medals.

He has now run about 50 races for other people. If they can’t make the race in person, Matteo sends them the cape, the medal and a video praising their courage.

“You’re a champ and a hero,” Matteo posted on Facebook this morning after meeting Gage.

Gage recently turned 12. Like Matteo, he loves to play soccer and be outdoors. The fathers of the two boys connected through social media and arranged for Matteo to come to Albion this morning to run for Gage.

Matteo said he borrows the super powers of the kids fighting cancer for the race.

Matteo’s father, Brandon Lambert, said his son has an “extraordinary empathy gene.” Mr. Lambert noticed it about 2 years ago when Matteo won a medal at a 5K and gave it to a kid fighting an illness.

The family has formed the Off The Charts Club, where kids with cancer are nominated as heroes, and can receive care packages from Matteo including a personalized cape, race medal and other gifts.

Matteo has run races for other kids in more than 15 states. He will be running a 4K race on Sunday morning in Syracuse.

Mr. Lambert said the children fighting cancer feel empowered when they get the cape and the medal.

“They’re getting it from someone their size and age who really sees them,” he said.

Matteo and Gage started talking months ago. The families began planning for today’s race and get together about six months ago.

Matt Stacey, Gage’s father, said Gage was happy to attend the race and see Matteo run in his honor.

Gage is the family’s super hero, showing tremendous courage since being diagnosed with Medulloblastoma.

“He takes it on the chin and is very resilient,” Gage’s dad said.

Brandon Lambert said the kids fighting cancer are all extraordinary. They have inspired Matteo and the family.

“A lot of these kids who have cancer they become leaders,” Mr. Lambert said. “After what they’ve been through they can face anything.”

Photo by Marsha Rivers: Matteo Lambert turns from the Erie Canal Towpath and gets ready to cross the Ingersoll Street lift bridge in Albion this morning during an 8K race.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Jackson Skrypnick, 8, of Spencerport races “The Strawberry” is the last stretch of today’s Strawberry Festival 5K/8K. Jackson held off The Strawberry.

Brett Sobieraski of Kent wore the costume. He is a retired Rochester Police Department sergeant and continues to be an endurance athlete.

About 200 finished the race this morning. This was the 30^thyear for the race. Last year’s event was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Bert Gallmon, left, served as the race director for the Albion race for the first time. He runs Wolfpack Multisport, which manages other events in the region. Gallmon helps Sobieraski put on the Strawberry costume. Gallmon kept the tradition of having a local runner wear the costume for the race.

Alden Cayea of Medina was the first male to finish, completing the 5K in 18:08. Dana Goetze of Lyndonville was the first female to cross the finish line, with a time of 21:00.

In the 8K, Roger Bolton of Albion was the fastest male in a time of 30:41 and Amy Konopka of Scottsville was the fastest female at 34:22.

Erin Smith Casillo heads down East State Street near the finish for the race. She is pushing her dog Ruthie in the stroller. She has pushed three of her kids in a stroller in the race in prior years. This was Ruthie’s first time in the 5K. Ruthie is a Shorty Bull – half English and half French bulldog.

Band and chorus perform at lawnchair concert

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – For the first time since December 2019, the Albion High School band performed live for a concert on Thursday. Covid-19 prevented in-person concerts since the middle of March 2020. Some of the band members on Thursday had just stepped off the baseball field for the Purple Eagles.

Until April this school year, band students were on a hybrid schedule with half the students one day and half the next, and others remote. They weren’t able to get together as a group until about two months ago.

Mike Thaine, the high school band director, is shown directing the band outside the school during a lawnchair concert.

The band performs in front of family and friends who were spread out in lawnchairs in the grass between the middle and high schools.

The high school chorus this year is led by Connor Doran. The chorus last performed in a live concert on March 3, 2020 during a district-wide chorus concert in front of about 1,000 people in the high school gym. The district last year had its last day of in-person classes on march 13 due to the Covid pandemic.

The high school band and chorus performed for about an hour and 15 minutes on Thursday.

The 30th Strawberry Festival 5k/8k will happen on Saturday morning. Last year’s race was cancelled but it is back this year.

ALBION – There isn’t a Strawberry Festival for the second straight year due to the uncertainty with Covid restrictions in the months leading up to the event, as well as the limits on crowd sizes.

Last year it was quiet in Albion when the festival was scheduled for the second weekend in June.

This year, there are several events planned for tomorrow, the second Saturday in June which is typically jam-packed with activities during the festival.

5K/8K RACE: The 5K/8K is back for the 30^th year and begins at 8 a.m., starting in front of the Courthouse on East State Street. So far nearly 200 people are registered for the race. Click here for more information.

CARING FOR COVA: There will also be a Caring for COVA event at the COVA Base and Arnold Gregory Complex at 239/243 South Main St. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

That event includes a basket raffle, craft vendors, COVA open house, fire department apparatus, Blue Groove coffee, K9 demonstrations from the Albion Police Department and Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, Car Seat Safety Checks, State Police rollover simulator, Best of Tymes Party Rental, Lion’s Club Food Booth and a Car Show sponsored by Arnold’s Auto Parts. The car show will be from noon to 3 p.m. The Lion’s Club will be serving food for free to law enforcement officers. Tree House will be doing a “Splash Bash” with proceeds going to COVA.

FOOD TRUCK RODEO: The Albion Merchants Association has its first Food Truck Rodeo from noon to 7 p.m. on East State Street near the Courthouse.

There will also be three bands playing during the time period.

The band lineup includes:

• Vette, noon to 2 p.m.
• Bobby Skrzypek & the Pedestrians, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• Zackstreet Boys, 5 to 7 p.m.

The Albion Merchants will also celebrate opening day of a new farmers market on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This will be at the municipal lot on main Street next to the Presbyterian Church.

STRAWBERRY SUNDAES: The Presbyterian Church will have strawberry sundaes available from noon to 4 p.m. for $5.

The church is also doing a basket raffle with over 60 baskets that will begin at noon. Tickets and baskets will be available for viewing at the church, 29 East State Street. Tickets will be drawn on Sunday at 3 p.m.

‘It’s all about helping. It’s our love for Orleans County.’

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Kevin Ross, an employee at the Iroquois Job Corps in Medina, moves a 20-pound box of produce this morning during a food distribution in Albion.

Anthony Washington, right, is another Job Corps employee who helped lug boxes to car trunks and truck beds for about 2 hours.

The Job Corps had six employees helping at the distribution this morning. The Job Corps staff go to almost every distribution, which typically is three or four a month.

“They have been angels,” said Annette Finch, director of emergency service at Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

Ross has volunteered at about 25 of the distributions since last year. He works as a nursing instructor at the Job Corps.

“This is about helping people and it’s good for the community,” said Ross, who is also a firefighter and paramedic.

Anthony Washington is a career transitions specialist for Job Corps, helping students to find jobs or get connected to college. He is happy to help at the distributions.

“It’s a change of pace, but it’s more about helping people out,” he said.

Krista Fiegel, an employee at the Iroquois Job Corps, has led the Job Corps team at the distributions since at least last September. She is thankful the Job Corps supports allowing staff to be off site to help at the distributions. With the drive time and work at the distributions it can be a three to four hour commitment.

Finch said the Job Corps staff have a great system down for organizing the boxes and getting people in place. The men often handle the heavier boxes with dairy products, but Fiegel said the women are strong and can move the heavier boxes, too.

There are typically 300 main boxes at the each distribution, but there are often surprise items that aren’t known until the delivery truck arrives in the morning. Today there was tofu for the first time, and corn on the cob, sealed in packages of four.

Community Action staff and the volunteers will quickly count all the loose or unexpected items, and determine how many to include with each boxes. Sometimes that’s two or three bags of Brussels Sprouts, grapes, apples, green bags, containers of yogurt, and other items.

They do the work in all kinds of conditions, from stifling heat to sub-freezing temperatures. At one of the distributions last month, the weather went from rain to sleet to hail to rain in the morning.

“We power through it,” said Fiegel, who works in outreach for Job Corps. “Nobody complains.”

She sends an email to staff with a list of the upcoming distributions, and people volunteer, often from many different departments. The efforts have helped build a stronger team at the Job Corps.

But Fiegel said the main motivation is wanting to help people get food and have the distributions go more smoothly and quickly.

“It’s all about helping,” Fiegel said. “It’s our love for Orleans County.”

The Orleans Hub each year recognizes a group of “Outstanding Citizens.” The Orleans Hub picked the Job Corps as one of the award winners in 2020. We normally recognize the “Outstanding Citizens” during an awards presentation with all the winners. A larger gathering was difficult due to Covid restrictions earlier this year. Tom Rivers, the Orleans Hub editor, presented the Job Corps team with the plaque this morning and commended the group for staying committed to the food distributions.

The group this morning includes from left Anthony Washington, Marylou Porter (human resources manager), Lance Tlustos (TEAP specialist), Krista Fiegel, Kevin Ross and Denise Socha (data integrity specialist).

There was a long line of vehicles down Chamberlain Street this morning. That line then extended down McKinistry, East Park and onto Main Street.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Annalise Steier, one of the drum majors in the Albion marching band, directs the group during a performance for parents and friends last month on May 27. The band performed “Old Town Road.”

ALBION – The Albion marching band, in its only competition this season, won the Peoples’ Choice Award, getting more YouTube likes for its video and two other bands in the AA Division.

The video competition was organized by the Sherburne-Earlville Pageant of Bands is up. People could only vote once. (The video link is no longer available.) Albion topped Norwich HS in second place, and Fonda-Fultonville HS in third.

Albion filmed its video on May 8. The contest gave the band a competition and an event, because its parade season was cancelled.

Albion and its 50 band members performed “Old Town Road” and the video also included some antics and whimsical moments.

“The band appreciates the community’s support, especially in this unusual year, which included practices held virtually via Zoom, no travel, and no live competitions or parades,” said band director Mike Thaine. “I applaud the core of kids who stuck with it!”

Provided photo: Mandy Gilmore and her 2-year-old daughter, Rosie Gaines, were the first ones to try the spray park today at Bullard Park. “We had so much fun,” Gilmore said. “She loved it.”

ALBION – The Village of Albion’s spray park is now open. The village was looking at a July 1 grand opening but moved that up with the current heat wave.

The site is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. There is a touch pad to activate the water at the splash park, which is located at Bullard Park on Route 31.

The village has been working on site for more than two years. It still needs to put in some sidewalks leading to the splash pad, and that could mean the site is off limits briefly.

The spray park has 18 spray elements. It is part of about $800,000 in upgrades to Bullard, Albion’s most popular park on Route 31. The improvements also include an amphitheater, utility building with bathrooms and a pavilion.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The splash pad is shown through a climbing wall at Pee Wee Park that is part of Bullard.

The village in December 2016 was awarded a $499,605 state grant for the Bullard projects. The village also received $97,500 from the county and $45,000 from the town of Albion, money that was through a revolving-loan fund by the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

The Albion DPW is providing $166,370 of in-kind services as part of Albion’s local share for the state grant. The DPW took down a pavilion and storage building in 2019 to make way for the new utility building. The DPW also ran a new sewer line across Route 31 near the Bullard entrance. That sewer line will service the park.

The DPW also ran 600 feet of waterline for the splash pad and utility building, several feet of sewer line, and did the electric service for the amphitheater.

ALBION – The school district is planning to celebrate graduation outside at the football stadium at 7 p.m. on June 25.

The district usually has graduation in the high school gym. Last year, when schools were limited to no more than 150 people at commencement, Albion opted to record each student receiving his or her diploma individually and then compiled a video.

This year the students will all be together for graduation. They will be limited to three tickets. The crowd will sit on the football field, between the 20-yard lines, with the grads in the bleachers.

The state has currently limited outdoor graduation ceremonies to 500 people or 20 percent of venues with more than 2,500 capacity. Indoor ceremonies are limited to 150 people or 10 percent for venues with capacity of 1,500 or more.

If it’s raining on June 25, Albion will move the ceremony to 2 p.m. on June 26. If it’s raining then, June 27 at 2 p.m. is the next option.

Jennifer Ashbery, high school principal, went over the plans with the Board of Education this evening.

The graduates will meet before the ceremony at the LGI in the high school. They will also be given the option of decorating their graduation caps, with the design to be approved by school officials.

The graduates will walk from the community entrance at the back high school parking lot, up the driveway and enter the football stadium from the east gate facing the elementary school. Faculty will line up and create a tunnel for students to pass through.

After the ceremony, the graduates can gather on the grassy area between the football stadium and high school parking lot. That differs from the past when the graduates and their families would congregate in front of the high school.

Ashbery shared other end-of-the-year highlights for seniors, including prom this Friday at Hickory Ridge. Last year’s formal event was cancelled due to the Covid restrictions.

Class night, which is usually on the Friday a week before graduation, this year will be on Thursday, June 17. That’s because there won’t be school on June 18 due to the new Juneteenth holiday.

Class night also will be celebrated in the high school gym instead of the middle school auditorium. Ashbery said she met with the class officers and they preferred the gym.

“They love the atmosphere, the warmth and the feeling of home that our high school gymnasium offers,” Ashbery said.

Members of the junior class will serve the seniors dinner before class night.

The baccalaureate service also will be on Sunday, June 20, at the First Presbyterian Church in Albion.