By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2016 at 9:37 am
File photo by Tom Rivers: The band Zero performs at the Rock the Park music festival at Bullard Park on July 25, 2015. Zack Burgess, center, is the lead singer and Dylan DeSmit, left, is on lead guitar and vocals, and Brad Maxon on bass. Dan Ryan plays the drums. A state grant includes money for an amphitheater/performance stage for the park.
ALBION – The state grant approved for Bullard Park on Thursday includes a spray park at the popular Route 31 site. It will be the first spray park in Orleans County.
The spray park will be a big boost in quality of life for families with young children, and could draw people to the community who want to use the park, said Kim Remley, a member of the Rebuild Bullard Committee.
“The spray park is the mainstay of the application and was from day one,” she said this morning.
The state will provide a $499,605 grant for Bullard improvements with the village providing $166,370 in kind-services or funding.
The overall $665,975 project also includes an amphitheater/performance stage, a walking/hiking trail with signage, infrastructure (water and sewer) for the spray park, a utility building, and parking lot and lighting improvements.
“It’s a wonderful feeling,” Remley said this morning.
The village had applied for the grant three times before but was denied.
Many community members have been working to upgrade the park in recent years, adding playground equipment, improving the sledding hill and pushing for the grant.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2016 at 5:14 pm
File photo by Tom Rivers: People watch the fireworks at Bullard Park in Albion on July 5, 2015.
(Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include more details on the state grant, including spray park as part of project.)
ALBION – The Village of Albion will be getting a $499,605 state grant to make a series of improvements at Bullard Park, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today.
The governor today announced more than $700 million in economic and community development funding for projects around the state.
Orleans County only was approved for two grants.
Besides the money for Bullard, the state approved $30,000 for the Village of Medina for an engineering report for its sewer plant. Engineers will identify sources of inflow and infiltration as well as sewer separation opportunities.
Albion tried for state funding for Bullard three times before, but was denied. The scope of the grant has been tweaked with each application.
A new spray park will be part of the project, the first spray park in Orleans County.
The state also approved funds for an amphitheater at Bullard, which should draw people to Albion for concerts, said Ron Albertson, chairman of the Rock the Park music festival and also a member of the Rebuild Bullard committee.
“We could bring big-name acts and some revenue into this little town,” he said.
Bullard is a 26-acre public park located a block south of the Erie Canal. Bullard Park contains three picnic shelters, two baseball diamonds, a large children’s playground, a basketball court, a hard surface skateboarding area, a sledding hill, and restroom facilities, according to a description of Bullard in the state grants announcement.
“By renewing Bullard Park, the entire population of Albion will once again have a center piece for community functions and a public setting to enjoy the summer months,” according to the grant announcement.
The village this past summer added new playground equipment for about $100,000, with state funds from Sen. Robert Ortt covering half the cost. The village also installed new equipment at the Pee Wee Park, which is a section of Bullard for small children. That playground equipment was done in memory of Kathy LaLonde, a key leader of the Rebuild Bullard movement.
The Albion Lions Club also has been a big proponent of the Bullard upgrades, donating money and helping to run the annual music festival – Rock the Park.
To see a list of projects funded state-wide, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 December 2016 at 10:51 pm
ALBION – The school district has tested about 600 fixtures at water sources on the school campus and about 100 came back with lead levels at 15 parts per billion or greater, the threshold set by the state for elevated lead levels.
The district needs to take action on those water sources. Some of the fixtures have been remediated already, while others have either been turned off or have signs noting that the water from sinks should be used for hand-washing only and not drinking.
The district tested 138 water sources in cafeterias, everything from sinks to ice machines. There were six water sources that exceeded the state threshold for elevated lead levels, Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent, advised the Board of Education this evening.
Of those six, four have been remediated and retested and are now below the 15 ppb threshold. The other two include one that has been remediated and is waiting to be rested, and the remaining one is soon to be remediated, Bonnewell said.
Outside the cafeterias, the district tested all other water sources. Three drinking fountains had elevated levels, but those three are rarely used, the superintendent said. One has been out of service due to a drainage issue, one is in storage area and the other is in the district office. All three won’t be used again until remediated.
About 80 other drinking fountains all had water under the state threshold. Shawn Liddle, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, credited Dan Shuler, the retired buildings and grounds superintendent, for leading a push to have filters installed in those fountains beginning about a decade ago.
Liddle said the tests provide good baseline information for the district to compare with in the future.
The water tests also showed elevated lead levels at 27 hand wash sinks, 30 science labs and 35 mop sinks/garden hose areas. Those spots have either been turned off or marked not for drinking.
“We’re prioritizing the areas of greatest potential use,” Bonnewell told the Board of Education.
The district is sending about 1,200 letters out to parents on Tuesday with a summary of the water test results. The information also should be posted on the district website later this week.
“There’s issues and we’re addressing it,” BOE President Margy Brown said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 December 2016 at 8:57 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: Margy Brown, president of the Albion Board of Education, led today’s board meeting which only was attended by three of the nine BOE members.
ALBION – The Board of Education has been “ravaged by illness,” Board President Margy Brown said at the beginning of this evening’s monthly meeting.
Only three of the nine volunteer BOE members were able to attend the meeting. Sickness kept the majority of the board at home. (The elementary school principal also was unable to attend due to illness.)
Without a quorum, the board wasn’t able to take any action tonight. That meant votes were pushed back until January on minutes, and financial and personnel matters.
A presentation from King & King Architects about the district’s capital project also was moved to January so a majority of the board could be present.
School leaders still managed an hour of discussion at the meeting, although no official action was taken.
The following three students also were recognized:
• Abigail Kincaid, a third-grader who won the Character Award for her honesty and hard work in the elementary school;
• Aisha Drisdom, an eighth-grader won the Leadership Award in the middle school for her good grades and friendship. She is a member of the National Junior Honor Society. “She really is a special young lady and will be successful in the future,” Principal Dan Monacelli said.
• Lliam Rowella, a sixth grader who won the Character Award. He has three dogs, races dirt bikes and also gets good grades in school, while being polite to teachers, staff and his fellow students. “He is a pure gentleman,” Monacelli said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 December 2016 at 7:51 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – It was a near full house this afternoon for a concert at the First Presbyterian Church featuring Albion students and alumni.
Joseph Sacco was among the performers. He sang, “Mary’s Boy Child,” “Oh Holy Night,” and “The Lord’s Prayer.”
The concert was presented by the Albion High School Alumni Foundation. Jean Shervin, a member of the Alumni Foundation, hands out programs for today’s concert.
Karen Conn, an Abion vocal teacher, and her daughter Shannon Vanderlaan sing, “Every December,” a song in memory of Conn’s mother and Vanderlaan’s grandmother, Barbara Kenney. The concert was in the historic Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1874.
Albion faculty members also performed “Christmas Song.” This photo shows Carrie Kozody (left), Karen Conn and Gary Simboli. Mike Thaine and Greg Martillotta also were part of the group.
The Saxophone Ensemble from the school performs “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies.” Tyler Kast, Riley Seielstad and Emilie Barleben are part of the group that also includes Dyllan Beach, Nate Grammatico and Freeman Lattin.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 December 2016 at 4:08 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Rose Allen sings, “Mary Did You Know,” during today’s noon show of the seventh annual Nicholas Kovaleski Hometown Christmas at the Holy Family Lyceum.
There are three shows today of Hometown Christmas, which features 19 acts, with singing, dancing and some comedy.
Hometown Christmas raises money for a memorial scholarship for Nicholas Kovaleski, who fought leukemia before passing away at age 15 on June 29, 2011. He was a popular student at Albion, excelling at football, swimming and tennis. He was also an active Boy Scout.
Jay and Kelly Kovaleski, parents of Nicholas, talk about the new workshops they have created called, Live With Purpose. (Mr. Kovaleski is holding a T-shirt with the program’s logo.)
The interactive workshop is geared towards helping teens and others find purpose and direction for their lives. The Kovaleskis will be run a free workshop on Jan. 13 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Gotta Dance Studio at 28 West Bank St., Albion. Click here for more information.
Marcy Downey and Gary Simboli sing “Happy Days” during Hometown Christmas.
Rylie Lear, center, and other dancers perform a routine to “Frosty the Snowman.”
Angela Tarricone, an Albion High School senior, performs one of her two songs, including “Grownup Christmas List.”
Amy Sidari, Hometown Christmas coordinator, gives an inspirational welcoming message to start the show.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 November 2016 at 2:02 pm
Hometown Christmas, Albion Family Christmas Concert highlight local talent
File photos by Tom Rivers: Marcy Downey sings “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” next to a cutout of Dean Martin during last year’s Hometown Christmas.
ALBION – Two events this weekend in Albion will celebrate the Christmas season and also raise funds for Albion scholarships.
On Saturday, there will be three performances of Hometown Christmas at Holy Family Parish’s Lyceum on Main Street.
There will be 19 acts featuring about 80 performers at shows starting at noon, 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. There will be singing and dancing in the 90-minute shows that raise money for scholarships in memory of Nicholas Kovaleski.
“We’re blessed with a lot of people contributing time and talents to it,” said Amy Sidari, oner of Gotta Dance by Miss Amy and coordinator of Hometown Holiday.
This is the seventh annual event in memory of Nicholas Kovaleski. He inspired the Albion community with his valiant fight against leukemia. He died at age 15 on June 29, 2011.
The shows on Saturday feature many popular returning performers, including Marcy Downey and Josie Waverly. (Some Albion children will be on stage doing sign language while Waverly sings, “O Holy Night.”) Rachel Curtin, the elementary school principal, also will be back singing.
A new performer for the Hometown Christmas will be Albion senior, Angela Tarricone, singing with chorus teacher Gary Simboli.
Sidari said the 6:30 p.m. show is already sold out but some tickets remain for the 3:30 and noon shows. Call her at 354-2320 for more information.
“People come out and support it year after year,” Sidari said about the turnout.
Joe Sacco is shown during a Christmas Mass in 2013 with Harriette Greaser. They will both be performing on Sunday.
On Sunday, there will be a 3 p.m. concert at the First Presbyterian Church, 29 East State St.
Many familiar faces and a warm welcome home are on the program for “An Albion Family Christmas Concert.” The holiday event, co-sponsored by the Albion High School Alumni Foundation and Albion Courthouse Square Concert Series, will feature a mix of professional and amateur musicians, all connected to Orleans County.
“We have so much talent right here in our hometown,” said concert organizer Maarit Vaga. “For previous Christmas concerts we have hosted musicians from neighboring communities, but this year we decided to pull together a program that we’ve been dreaming about and discussing for a long time: This truly will be an Albion Family Christmas celebration! And we really want families—even with small children—to feel comfortable bringing them. It will be lovely.”
Proceeds benefit scholarships awarded by the Foundation. In fact, many of the performers are alumni or students at Albion High, including: longtime Albionites and Holy Family Parish musicians Joe Sacco and Harriette Greaser; mother and daughter duo Karen Conn and Shannon Vanderlann; brother and sister act Greg Martillotta and Gwen Ferchen; husband and wife Gary and Claudia Deibolt; members of the Mike and Mary Jane Grammatico family; and legendary music and drama teacher Gary Simboli, along with some of his vocal and Mike Thaine’s instrumental student ensembles.
The program will be narrated by Janne Erakare and will include a visit from Cobble the Museum Mouse (representing the nearby Cobblestone Museum). The event will culminate in the annual audience singalong.
Tickets are available at Bloom’s in Albion, a lily and a sparrow in Medina, Roxy’s in Batavia, or online by clicking here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 November 2016 at 3:07 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Some Albion kids, including 10-year-old Hailey Warren, painted ceramic ornaments at Hoag Library today. Brushstrokes Studio in Medina ran the workshop.
Kayli Miller, 10, of Albion works of her creation.
Kayli puts the finishing touches on this stocking.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 November 2016 at 7:23 pm
Photo by Colin Downey: Bill Downey of Downey Signs in Albion installs a new 4-by-10-foot sign in downtown Albion this afternoon. The sign is on the Gurney’s Olde Coach Inn at 35 North Main St.
The Albion Betterment Committee pushed for the sign and paid for the project.
The Betterment Committee wanted to spruce up a spot where there was a faded sign and promote an optimistic message about Albion. The group also wanted the the sign to tie in with its efforts for a Charles Howard memorial in downtown Albion. Howard was the founder of a Santa Claus School and Christmas Park in Albion. The Betterment Committee is trying to raise funds for that project, which would include a bronze statue of Santa and perhaps Howard together.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Here is how the Gurney building looked in September. The sign advertised the Olde Coach Inn.
Photos by Marsha Rivers: Downey and his grandson Colin put up the new sign this afternoon. The message of the sign is open to interpretation by each person. It may mean to believe in themselves, Albion, Santa, God, or maybe even in the Buffalo Bills making the playoffs.
This is the third sign the Betterment Committee has erected in Albion in the past 12 months. Last December it had a sign put up on Route 98 noting Albion as the home of Charles Howard, the Santa School founder. The Betterment Committee also replaced the sign this year on the former Santa Claus School at the corner of Route 31 and Gaines Basin Road.
For more on the Albion Betterment Committee, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 November 2016 at 4:50 pm
ALBION – Bailey Maier and Lauren Becht, members of the Albion Honor Society, ring the bell for the Salvation Army kettle drive on Tuesday at Tops in Albion. Albion Honor Society students are taking several shifts for the kettle drive, which raises about $20,000 each year for Community Action to help needy families in Orleans County.
More volunteers are needed to ring the bell. To help, call Community Action at (585) 589-5605 and ask for Annette Finch.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2016 at 7:37 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Fred Miller, the owner of a hardware store in downtown Albion and also an Orleans County legislator, gives blood today as a double red donor. He is pictured with Cindy Fraser, a donor specialist for the American Red Cross.
Miller said he first gave blood when he was 19. He become a regular donor in his mid-30s. It takes eight donations to reach a gallon, unless it’s a double red which counts for two pints.
Donors can give every 56 days or every 112 days if it’s a double red, where more red blood cells are taken.
Miller holds a pin noting he is a 20-gallon blood donor.
“I’ve been blessed to be fortunate enough to give,” Miller said during the blood drive today at the Elks Club in Albion. “I’m fortunate I’ve been healthy because you can’t give if you aren’t healthy.”
Miller, 63, has been a regular at the blood drive for about 25 years. He typically heads over after he closes the hardware store at 5 p.m.
“It’s something we can do because blood isn’t man-made and may never be,” he said.
The Red Cross says each pint donation can be used by as many as three people. Miller has given the equivalent of 160 pints, and potentially saved nearly 500 lives, he was told by Fraser, the donor specialist.
“You just gave me goosebumps,” Miller responded.
Terri Gannon, a supervisor with the Red Cross, said there are still many dedicated regular donors like Miller, but the Red Cross would welcome many more.
“You don’t see it every day,” she said about someone reaching the 20-gallon mark.
About 45 people were expected to give blood at today’s drive at Elks Club.
“For some people it is a way of giving and helping the community,” Gannon said. “It doesn’t cost you anything but your time.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 November 2016 at 10:48 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Bus drivers at Albion are pictured this morning with some of the food collection they helped gather and donate. This group includes, from left: Donna Hart, Charlene Cook, Joseph Marvin, Christina Naylor, Pete Toenniessen and Dan Deibel.
The bus drivers, office staff and mechanics at the Albion bus garage are employees of Student Transportation of America which for three years now has run a friendly competition among transportation employees who work for STA at nearby districts, including Lyndonville, Newfane, Barker, Lockport and Starpoint, as well as Albion.
The competition is based on donated food in pounds per person. In Albion, STA has 57 employees, who donated an average of 19 pounds per employee or 1,083 pounds of produce, nonperishable canned foods, turkeys and hams.
The food will be given to three families picked by bus drivers, The Warrior House in Shelby (which provides a hunting retreat for wounded veterans) and Eagle Star Housing, which provides transitional housing in Pembroke for homeless veterans.
The Albion bus drivers won the food competition the first two years among the other districts. The winner for this year hasn’t been announced yet, and today is the deadline. The STA staff in Albion bought most of the food with their own money, and also secured donations from local farmers. Root Brothers Farm donated cabbage, Stymus Farms gave potatoes and squash, and Lake Ontario Fruit donated apples.
“We know there are people out there who need it,” said Donna Hart, one of the Albion bus drivers.
The Albion drivers, staff and mechanics see the competition as a friendly rivalry with the other districts, said driver Pete Toenniessen.
“We’re a close-knit group,” Toenniessen said about the drivers and staff at the bus garage. “We’re all neighbors trying to help out the community.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 November 2016 at 8:47 am
Provided photo: JaQuess Harrison, a student in the new Science of Food class at Albion, cuts a turkey on Friday when the class had a Thanksgiving meal with food mostly grown by the students. (The turkey was purchased from Save-A-Lot.) Ben Restivo is in the back working on part of the meal.
Students grew cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peppers, tomatoes, squash, potatoes and pumpkins.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Laurencé Walker works on a Brussels sprouts salad, a popular dish on Friday. The class is led by Adam Krenning, the high school FFA advisor and agriculture teacher.
The students have been growing and preparing food, and experimenting with recipes. Krenning said those recipes are being compiled and will be shared beginning next year at the FFA’s annual food drive, when about 30,000 pounds of produce is donated by local farmers and given to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee and local food pantries.
Alexis Bentley checks on the turkey. Students made the stuffing for the turkey. The class worked on the meal over three days.
Janae Doty and Meach Gardner are making squash pie.
Provided photos: Andrea Nauden and other members of the class happily consumed the meal on Friday.
The class poses for a picture. They will dehydrate and freeze some of the vegetables for upcoming meals. For example, some of the tomatoes have been frozen and will be used by students to makes their own sauces for pasta dishes.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 November 2016 at 9:54 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Annalise Steier plays Frog, left, and Emily Mergler is Toad in Albion Middle School’s production of A Year with Frog and Toad.
Students will perform the show at 7 p.m. on Friday and noon and 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Middle School Auditorium.
Frog and Toad are two close friends who go on fun-filled adventures together through four seasons. They plant gardens, swim, rake leaves, go sledding and learn plenty of life lessons along the way.
Zachary Kilner plays Snail and Aubrey Boyer is Turtle. Snail is tasked with delivering mail. After a successful delivery, a proud Turtle sings, “I’m Coming out of My Shell.”
These Birds include, from left: Leeanna Montanarella, Olivia Morrison and Abby Allen. The Birds return at the end of winter and are anxious for spring.
Leah Kania and Faith Bennett also play Birds in the show.
A Year with Frog and Toad tells the story of a friendship that endures throughout the seasons.
