By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 August 2020 at 4:58 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Ondrea Pate and her friends and family serve up beef on wick dinners today at the Elks Lodge on West State Street. They are prepared to serve 500 dinners from noon to 6 p.m.
The meals are part of a benefit for the Pate family, which lost their Albion home in a fire on June 20.
Retired Albion music teacher Linda Logan checks out some of the 100 baskets up for raffle. The event was spaced out over six hours to allow for social distancing inside the building.
The band Lonesome Road performs this afternoon. From left include Mike Whiting, Todd Colegrove, Robert Williams and drummer David Leonard.
Angelo and Ondrea Pate and their two daughters, Eowyn and Maia, are currently staying with Ondrea’s father Richard Brackenbury in Waterport. The Pate residence on West Academy Street was declared a total loss after the fire.
Noreen Dixon and her sister Donna Halladay are the leader organizers for today’s benefit. The Pates were great neighbors to their mother, Marguerite, checking in on her frequently, and responding in the middle of the night if she needed help.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 August 2020 at 10:06 am
ALBION – The school district will be making Chromebooks available to all students next week, whether they are doing remote instruction or the hybrid model where they are in-person at school two days a week.
The computers will be available Monday through Friday. Families can go to their child’s building and pick up the Chromebook. The district urges families to pick up the Chromebook within this timeframe:
August 31: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
September 1: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
September 2: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
September 3: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
September 4: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The district’s information technology department also is making a MiFi unit available to families who don’t have internet access at home. If families need a MiFi unit and didn’t fill out a survey from the district stating that need, they need to call (585) 589-2060 to request one.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 August 2020 at 9:21 pm
Michelle Waters opened on March 12, but then had to close until July due to Covid-19 pandemic
Photos by Tom Rivers: Michelle Waters, owner and program director of The Tree House, runs preschool, parent child classes, special events and birthday parties at the site on the second floor of 116 North Main St.
ALBION – On March 12, Michelle Waters held her first class at The Tree House, a program for young children and their families.
The first session was a parent-child music class. She had debuted the program at Dance Reflections by Miss Heather. There was a big response and Waters decided to open her own space in the second floor at 116 North Main St.
She was happy with the energy and turnout in the first class on March 12. But a few days later the site was closed to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Michelle Waters and Cassie Langdon, assistant program director, check on these kids today who were playing at The Treehouse. Ava Waters, left, is Waters’ daughter and Kingsley Harden is Langdon’s son.
Waters had bills to pay and wanted to help families who suddenly had children home – nearly all the time. She put together activity kits and delivered them throughout Western New York. Those kits were fun and educational. There was a stuffed puppy kit, a project where children could assembly a bird feeder, a kit to do a dinosaur dig and others.
“We started the activity kits and took them to Buffalo, Rochester, Attica and locally,” Waters said. “The support from the community helped me to keep this open.”
She was able to welcome children back to The Treehouse in July, and this summer has offered several play camps and enrichment programs, with a focus on music, art and laughter. They kids do dramatic play, making “monster slime” and doing other activities that teach them to socialize with other kids, follow instructions from adults and get them ready for kindergarten.
At Tree House, children need to sanitize their hands frequently. Waters limits the number of kids to eight at a time in the 1,500-square-foot room.
She has taped off sections so kids space out, and she sets tables 6 feet apart during snack time. If she or her assistant director, Cassie Langdon, see children put a toy in their mouths, that toy goes in the “Yuck Bucket” to be sanitized.
Langdon was in the parent-child music class led by Waters when it was at Dance Reflections. Langdon was in the class with her son, Kingsley, who is now 3. Waters impressed with her energy.
“She is so welcoming and friendly,” Langdon said.
Michelle Waters, left, and Cassie Langdon look forward to a busy September and fall at The Tree House.
Waters will be offering a “playschool” program beginning next month for about 2 ½ hours, with the program for 3- and 4-year-olds on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 2-year-olds on Tuesday and Thursday.
Waters also will be making the space available for birthday parties, and a monthly parents’ night out, with programs in the evening.
Waters, 32, grew up in Holley and Rochester. She moved to Albion about a decade ago. Her daughter Ava, 2, joins her at many of the programs. She also has a son, Logan Poupore, who has proven a doting helper.
The Tree House is located in the former space for Spotlight Studio. Waters credited her husband, Patrick Waters, for helping to transform the large room into a fun place for children and their families. Patrick works with his father, Dave Waters, as a painter at Waters Autobody and Paint in Albion.
Waters will have a ribbon-cutting celebration at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Before that, she will meet with prospective playschool enrollees. She welcomes 2-year-olds and their families from 9 to 10 a.m., and 3- and 4-year-olds from 10 to 11 a.m. For more information about The Tree House, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 August 2020 at 11:41 am
ALBION – The couple turning the former Pillars property on West County House Road into a wedding and events center is offering a series of free classes on marketing and building a business profile online.
Kerri and Cole Glover, owners of Maison Albion, are offering the classes from Sept. 7 through Nov. 2 at 13800 West County House Rd. The class sizes are capped at 25 people and social distancing will be adhered to for the 1 1/2 hour sessions.
Mrs. Glover, a native of Maui in Hawaii, has worked 22 years in the wedding industry and has been a key leader in developing 13 other wedding venues in Hawaii, Colorado, California, Texas and Montana. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in marketing.
Mr. Glover, a seventh-generation Texan, has a sales background, as well as 15 years in event management. He and his wife met in Denver. They were engaged in Paris and married in Venice. He has a degree in mass communication.
“We would like to offer them because our investment in this community is not just about the purchase and restoration of Maison Albion, but also in the people, businesses and community here,” Mrs. Glover said about the classes.
The class schedule includes:
Sept. 7th – Beginning Website Design – Walk out of this class with a basic website design for your business.
Sept. 22nd – Google My Business Listings and Online Review Management – Ensure your business is searchable in GoogleMaps, up to date, and learn how to respond and solicit online reviews.
Oct. 7th – Social Media Creation and Development – Learn to create your Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest accounts and design social media content.
Oct. 22nd – Public Relations and Event Marketing – Learn how to get free exposure for your business and create events that draw attention to your company.
Nov. 2nd – Google AdWords and Beginning Search Engine Optimization – Leave this class with the knowledge to advertise with paid Google Ads and learn how to make your website searchable on the internet.
The classes begin at 5 p.m. and attendees are urged to bring a laptop or Maison Albion will have some to share. Please RSVP to bonjour@maisonalbion.com.
“When we open this venue, we want to ensure that as much revenue as possible is directed into the community,” Mrs. Glover said. “That means businesses that are searchable and recognizable online for a couple planning their wedding from Rochester and Buffalo as well. If we improve our online presence as a community, we improve the potential to capture as much income as possible locally as well.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 August 2020 at 9:21 pm
Teams with Amy Sidari in Sid-Boli Productions, Crossroads Studio
Photos by Tom Rivers: Amy Sidari and Gary Simboli will be welcoming tour buses and concert-goers once the restrictions on crowd sizes ease due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Simboli last summer performed six concerts at Sidari’s Cabaret at Studio B for six bus tour groups.
ALBION – Gary Simboli, Albion’s musical director the past 35 years as well as a vocal teacher and choir director, has retired from his teaching career.
Simboli, 56, is continuing to perform in the community. Every Sunday morning he leads the music at the First Baptist Church of Albion and the First Presbyterian Church of Albion.
He also has joined forces with Amy Sidari in Crossroads Studio or Sid-Boli Productions.
Once the Covid-19 pandemic is over or restrictions relent on crowd sizes, Simboli will be performing at Sidari’s Cabaret at Studio B at the corner of Liberty and West Bank streets.
Sidari also runs the Gotta Dance by Miss Amy studio and Simboli has signed on to lead weekly sing-a-long classes for senior citizens. That starts in October.
“I will miss the kids and my theater team, but I’m very excited for this new chapter,” Simboli said during an interview at Gotta Dance and the Cabaret. “The kids have been great from the very beginning, with their heart and energy.”
Simboli and the high school drama program were working on Little Mermaid when the school was shut down on March 13. That performance was never able to happen. It would have been Simboli’s 70thmusical at Albion.
The shows were consistently recognized as among the best high school musicals in the Rochester Region by the Stars of Tomorrow program through the Rochester Broadway Theatre League.
Gary Simboli is pictured during the June 28, 2019 Albion High School graduation along with Board of Education members Wendy Kirby, left, and Chantelle Sacco.
Simboli, in his role with Sidari, gets to be the performer while she works out the details with bus tour companies.
“She is very innovative,” Simboli said about Sidari.
During the downtime with the Covid-19 pandemic, when her studio and cabaret were closed, Sidari and her father Ace Caldwell worked to create a new space. (Simboli joked he handed some drywall to Caldwell, who is in his 80s.)
The room will be another dance studio to spread out the dance classes, which will be offered in the morning, afternoons and evenings. It will also be a “green room” for performers at the cabaret to rest and prepare off stage.
“They will be treated like kings and queens,” Sidari said.
Caldwell and Sidari also put in the infrastructure for a kitchen. Down the road, Simboli said he would love to prepare meals as part of a dinner theater at the site.
“When it’s finished, I think this place will be impressive,” Simboli said about the latest improvements.
Simboli has two shows for the performances – “Musical Mischief” and “All You Need is Love.” He performed last summer to the tour bus groups, for people who hadn’t been to Albion. They were positive about being in the historic downtown with the Courthouse Square and the Erie Canal.
“When you live here you forget just how beautiful this community is,” Simboli said.
He also is working on recording a Christmas album in time for the upcoming holiday season.
Sidari said she sees the studio and cabaret as a resource bringing hope and energy to the community, especially during trying times with the pandemic.
She is grateful Simboli is sharing his talents with the community. He has long been loved and appreciated by Albionites, but Sidari said the shows last summer proved Simboli has wide appeal. The tour bus groups all are eager to return.
“All six tour groups were booked to be back this year, with a dozen more possible,” Sidari said. “This will be a building with great energy.”
Photos by Tom Rivers: Greg Gilman (center), maintenance supervisor at Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, helps with a food distribution this morning at the Main Street Store parking lot.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 August 2020 at 10:22 am
ALBION – Local organizers of food distributions in Orleans County expect to hear from Foodlink today if the program will be extended into the fall.
Next Friday in Holley is currently planned to be the last distribution. There was one this morning in Albion and there will be another on Wednesday at the Orleans County 4-H fairgrounds.
The distributions started in April and have grown. Today there were a boxes of meat, dairy and produce given to each vehicle, about 300 of each box. The distributions are advertised as starting at 9:30 a.m., but if the food is delivered and volunteers are in place, it starts sooner. Today there was a long line of cars by 8 a.m. The distribution started at about 8:15 a.m. and the food was all gone an hour later.
Annette Finch, community service director for Community Action, hopes the program will continue. So does Melissa Blanar, Office for the Aging director in the county.
They have organized many of the food distributions.
Melissa Webster, an employee of Bentley Brothers, carries a box of produce to a vehicle.
The food distributions are made possible through a state-funded program called Nourish New York. This funding allows Foodlink to purchase local product.
On a federal level, the USDA has implemented a new initiative called CFAP (Coronavirus Food Assistance Program). In this program, distributors who would normally serve schools, restaurants, and municipal programs are able to pre-pack boxes of perishable product and deliver to distributions being done all over the country.
If the distributions continues after this month, new locations will need to be found in Holley and Medina, which currently use school parking lots. School is scheduled to start next month.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 August 2020 at 3:48 pm
Provided photo: Maura Pierce started on Wednesday as interim principal of the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School in Albion.
ALBION – A familiar face to the Albion school district will be serving as interim principal of the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School.
Maura Pierce started on Wednesday. She worked for the school district for 34 years until retiring in 2013. She has been serving the district in other capacities, including as evaluator of teachers and as an interim principal in the high school.
“I am looking forward to celebrating my 41st first day of school in the Albion district this year,” Pierce said. “I’m thankful to once again be able to serve our district and be part of the Purple Eagle family.”
Pierce started her career at Albion as a high school English teacher. She worked as an administrator in all three buildings. She was the School to Career coordinator and director of Special Education.
“Albion is a special place – one where I chose to spend my career and put down roots,” Pierce said. “My husband and I are very happy to once again be living in our community.”
She is stepping in as interim principal following the resignation of Rachel Curtin, who was the principal the past seven years. Curtin took a job as principal of the Chautauqua Lake Elementary School in Mayville. That is near her hometown of Ripley.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 August 2020 at 11:37 am
ALBION – The school district in early June typically has a recognition event for retiring staff, and also for teachers and administrators who are awarded tenure.
The Covid-19 pandemic prompted the district not to hold the event in normal fashion due to a limit on crowd sizes.
The district, however, recently held a celebration for the staff, teachers and administrators, separating the recognition program by building – elementary, middle and high school.
• Retirees – The following retirees were recognized:
Elementary school: Kelly Wadhams (1st grade), Lisa Werner (2nd grade), Lynn DiBella & Peggy Lemke (teacher aides)
Middle school: MaryAnn Jablonski (6th grade), Richard Shrout (counselor) and Tim Thornton (cleaner)
High school: Gary Simboli (Choral Director), Sarah Beckwith (cafeteria monitor), Valerie Rush (teacher aide) and Jean Swiercznski (nurse).
District: Sue Starkweather Miller (public information officer, school to career coordinator)
Board of Education: Chantelle Sacco, Joyce Riley and Gregg Boose Sr.
• Tenure – The following also were recognized for earning tenure:
Elementary school: Elizabeth Incardona (5th grade) and Maggie Orbaker (special education)
Middle school: Brad Pritchard (Principal)
High school: Elizabeth Hall (Spanish), Ann Sentiff (Science) and Jennifer Ashbery (Principal)
District: Derek Vallese, business adminsitrator
• Educator of the Year – The district most years also recognizes a teacher as the “Educator of the Year.” This year the Educator of the Year went to the partnership between the Albion staff and parents.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 August 2020 at 8:46 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
WATERPORT – Harrison Brown on Wednesday was presented with a $5,000 Rotary 7090 District Scholarship. Harrison is entering his sophomore year at Cornell University. He also is in the Army ROTC program.
He is presented the scholarship by Dick Remley, left, who was the Albion Rotary Club president in 2019-20, and Bob Artis, the 7090 District Governor in 2019-20.
Harrison, a member of Albion’s Class of 2019, was picked out of about 25 applicants for the scholarship. The Rotary district includes about 70 Rotary clubs in Western New York and Southern Ontario.
Harrison is the first person from the Albion community to receive the district scholarship. It is based on academic merit, demonstration of “Service Above Self” and an essay about the ideals of Rotary. The scholarship is for the second year of college.
Harrison is majoring in agricultural science at Cornell University. His family owns Orchard Dale Fruit Company, which was founded in 1804. After he graduates from Cornell, Harrison has an eight-year commitment to the Army.
Harrison, an Eagle Scout, in one of his essays for the scholarship cited the example of his grandfather, Edward Krause. He left his senior year at Auburn during November to join the military to help the country during World War II. He would later earn his GED diploma.
That example of “Service Above Self” has long inspired Harrison. Krause is the father of Margy Brown, Harrison’s mother.
Harrison Brown, second from left, is pictured with Dick Remley, past Albion Rotary Club president; Bob Artis, past district governor (and former Holley resident); and Marlee Diehl, the current Albion Rotary Club president and past district governor.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2020 at 11:02 am
ALBION – The school district announced today that it will not be offering in-person learning all five days to start the school for grades Pre-K to 6.
The district was planning to have in-person schooling be an option at those grade levels each school day, with grades 7 to 12 on a hybrid schedule, with in-person learning two days a week and remote learning the other three.
Now the district is looking at a hybrid schedule for all students. Families can also choose to do remote learning every day with no in-person learning.
“We will reassess the structure for grades PK-6 after the first five weeks of school to see if it would be possible to have students here for more than two days, but will need to start in the two-day-a-week model,” interim superintendent Scott Bishoping said in a letter to families. “We had hoped that we could manage having elementary students each day but we cannot be certain we can provide enough space to start the school year in that format.”
The needs to ensure that students are distanced by at least 6 feet so that face coverings can be removed while in the classroom, he said.
The district will discuss the reopening plan during three virtual parent forums on Wednesday. Those sessions will be at 10 a.m., 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Click here for more on the forums, including the links to the session which will be on YouTube.
