By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 September 2016 at 4:47 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – It’s still early, but a big crowd has turned out for the spaghetti dinner and basket raffle to benefit a memorial scholarship in honor of Brandon Bruski. St. Mary’s Athletic Club on Moore Street is hosting the benefit.
Bruski, who was 18 when he was killed in a car accident about a decade ago. His mother, Bonnie Velez, has been awarding a $250 fine arts scholarship to a graduating senior the past nine years.
Brandon graduated from Albion in 2006. He was a hard worker with a creative side. He enjoyed art. He had just finished his first year at Monroe Community College, when he fell asleep while driving and was in a fatal crash. He was also working with his mother at the Bonduelle vegetable packing facility in Brockport.
Marsha Gaddis of Albion looks over some of the gift baskets at the scholarship benefit today. There are about 100 baskets up for raffle. The benefit continues until 7 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 September 2016 at 11:50 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Enoch Martin has an “Albion Batman” painted on his face while he was part of the pep band during the Albion homecoming game vs. Depew.
Albion cheerleaders and the Eagle mascot rooted for the Purple Eagles during their game vs. Depew in front of the big Homecoming crowd.
Albion graduates Marissa Olles (Class of 2000) and Crystal Hollenbeck (Class of 2001) sold popcorn and Albion High School merchandise from the alumni booth at the football game.
Bruce Landis took this group photo of the Class of 2017.
Provided photo: The Homecoming royalty was crowned during the pep rally this afternoon. The group includes, from left: King/Queen – Sam Slick, Vivian Rivers; Prince/Princess – Demetrius Gardner, Natalie DiCuriea; Duke/Dutchess – Connor McQuillan, Brylie Hapeman; and Lord/Lady – Chase Froman, Kendall Derisley.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 September 2016 at 1:32 pm
Albion, Kendall and Medina all mark festive week
Photos by Tom Rivers: Albion is celebrating Homecoming this week and today started off with the hall decorating contest among the four high school classes. Seniors used an Alice in Wonderland theme to create “Senior Land.” This photo shows Class President Emily Blanchard serving as a guide, leading judges into the hall. Bella Prest, back left, and Kastriot Bela are dressed as cards.
Skyler Smith, a senior, serves tea (actually a cookie with candy) to the judges (Board of Education member Steve LaLonde is at left) as they make their way down the seniors’ hall.
Albion seniors painted this van, owned by senior Donato Rosario’s father, last night and parked the vehicle on the front lawn of the school today as part of the Homecoming celebration at Albion.
Photos courtesy of Marlene Seielstad: Victor Benjovsky and Riley Seielstad, members of the junior class, welcome judges in viewing their hall decorating theme set to Hogwarts and Harry Potter.
One of the banners by the junior class includes Simboli’s Owl Emporium for Gary Simboli, a popular music and drama teacher in the high school.
Medina, Kendall and Roy-Hart are also celebrating Homecoming this week, and Lyndonville’s Homecoming is next week. Holley and Barker have Homecoming Oct. 2-8.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 September 2016 at 7:14 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – There was a car show on Sept. 10 at Bullard Park that was a benefit for Hospice of Orleans County. There were 41 vintage vehicles at the event and the Masonic Lodge from Albion served food with proceeds donated to Hospice.
Cars are on display during last year’s show at Bullard Park.
On Tuesday, checks for $2,522 total were presented to Hospice. Pictured in top photo, from left, include: Timothy McGee, senior warden for the Masons; Mike Gillette, the lodge’s master; Becky Karls, organizer of the car show; Mary Anne Fischer, Hospice executive director; David Mitchell, sponsor of the car show; and Tim Irwin, secretary for the Masonic Lodge.
Karls has organized the car shows for Hospice the past four years. Fischer said the funds would likely go towards Hospice’s supportive care program for patients who receive care and treatment in their own homes.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 September 2016 at 9:12 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
Strawberry Festival Committee Co-Chairman Michael Bonafede, left, reads a certificate of appreciation that was presented Tuesday evening to the Albion Lions Cub for their support of the festival. Bonafede was joined by Karen Sawicz, second from from left, in presenting the certificate. She is a co-chair of the festival committee along with Don Bishop. Lions Club members include, front row, from left: John Keding, Mary Janet Sahukar (president), Lloyd Wright and Bill Robinson. Back row: Kevin Howard, Satya Sahukar, Sandy Church, Chris Buorgiorne, Dale Brooks, Ron Albertson and Dan Parker.
ALBION – In the three decades of the Albion Strawberry Festival, the Lions Club has always stepped up as a supporter. The club is a sponsor of the annual event the second Friday and Saturday in June. Club members also sell their popular sausage up near the Post Office.
Leaders of the Strawberry Festival Committee stopped by the Lions Club meeting on Tuesday and presented a certificate of appreciate to the members, including Club President Mary Janet Sahukar.
Michael Bonafede and Karen Sawicz, festival co-chairs, presented the certificate to the Lions. Bonafede said it takes many volunteers, and the support of local governments, businesses and service clubs to pull off the Strawberry Festival.
“We’re very fortunate that our festival continues, because in many others communities it hasn’t,” Bonafede said. “People are generous with their money and time, and that’s how we survive.”
Provided photo: American Legion Sheret Post #35 Commander Wally Skrypnik is pictured with a large bronze plaque memorializing 24 area soldiers who died during World War I. Skrypnik is pictured with Albion seventh graders Leah Pritchard, center, and Emily Harling. The seventh grade service learning class is working on having the memorial placed at Mount Albion Cemetery.
Albion Middle School seventh grade Service Learning students have received a valuable World War I memorial plaque and they need some help to display it in the community for others to enjoy.
American Legion Sheret Post #35 donated the large 3-by-5-foot bronze plaque memorializing 24 WWI soldiers from Albion, Barre, Carlton and Gaines. The plaque has been displayed in various indoor locations, but was most recently in storage, not visible to the public.
After being impressed by the students work last year on area Civil War soldiers, the local American Legion Post felt it fitting to donate the plaque to the hard-working students as the 100th anniversary of the United States entrance into WW I approaches next year.
“I know they will do a respectful and fitting job of displaying the plaque,” Legion Commander Wally Skrypnik said. “We trust them with this important piece of local history and I think they will learn a lot as they study this significant time period.”
The Village of Albion gave approval on Wednesday to the student group to display the plaque at Mt. Albion Cemetery. Mayor Dean London thanked Tim Archer, the service learning teacher, and seventh-graders for their projects at Mount Albion and in the community. Last year students worked on several projects for Civil War soldiers in Albion.
Archer said the bronze plaque weighs about 200 pounds. He would like to attach it to a large stone or boulder that would set in the cemetery. He thinks someone in the community might have a suitable stone that could be used to display the marker.
“We need the community’s help,” Archer said. “We are searching for a way to display this special artifact – maybe on a large boulder or slab. This plaque, recognizing the two dozen local heroes who gave their lives in service to their country, deserves a permanent, fitting home at Mt. Albion. I know there is just the right stone out there.”
In addition Archer’s classes will be studying the names listed on the plaque over the course of the school year.
“Our kids will learn a great deal about courage, integrity, and self-sacrifice,” Archer said. “There is no greater example of ‘loving thy neighbor’ than laying down your life for another. We all need role models like this.”
Those listed on the plaque include: John D. Arnett, Albert Beary, Jesse S. Brooks, John A. Butler, Leo. F. Christopher, Oliver E. Clement, Ronald F. Corey, Robert B. Densmore, Harry H. Dibley, Frederick Green, John Kurzawski, Martin Larwood, Louis Monacelli, Dewey Mott, Benjamin A. Needles, Leonard Osborne, Adolfo Passarelli, Stanley Rutkowski, James A. Sheret, Egbert Sheret, John H. Stevens, Alexander Wilson, and Stanley P. Zyglarski.
Anyone with information and/or pictures of any of the twenty-four names listed on the plaque, or an adequate size stone, can contact Archer at the Middle School at 589-2020 or via email at tarcher@albionk12.org. Donations to the project are also welcome and appreciated. For their part, students are collecting redeemable bottles and cans for the effort.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 September 2016 at 4:17 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The former Santa Claus School site in Albion, at the corner of Route 31 and Gaines Basin Road, has a new sign. Bill Downey of Downey Signs installed a replica of the sign for the school, which was run by the late Charles Howard from 1937 until his death in 1966.
Gary Kent (left), a director for the Albion Betterment Committee, and Bill Downey are pictured by the new sign that Downey installed about two weeks ago at the former Santa Claus School site in Albion.
The school property is now owned by Robin and Jill Stinson.
The Albion Betterment Committee paid for the new sign. The Betterment Committee last year also put a welcome sign on Route 98, noting Albion as home of Charles Howard and the original Santa Claus School.
The school has since moved to Midland, Mich. It continues to be named in honor of Howard, who developed many standards for how Santas should act and dress.
Downey said he had to hand-draw the letters to match the font used by Howard in the sign. Gary Kent, a director with the Albion Betterment Committee, said the Santa Claus School site remains a beloved memory for many in Albion and beyond.
He sees promoting Albion’s ties to the school and Charles Howard as a way to promote pride in the community. The Betterment Committee is also working on raising money for a bronze statue of Santa and perhaps Charles Howard in plain clothes in downtown Albion.
“This is one of the assets we have,” Kent said about the community’s ties to Santa and the school. “It can be a way of bringing back the community.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 September 2016 at 2:00 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Tugboat Syracuse carries engineers and Canal Corp. officials, as well as local planning and tourism leaders, during an inspection of the canal system in Orleans County today. The tug is approaching the Ingersoll Street lift bridge.
ALBION – The lift bridges that are part of the Erie Canal may be 100 years old, installed when the canal was widened a century ago, but the spans remain in good working order, state Canal Corp. officials said today.
The Tug Syracuse is in Orleans County today for the annual canal inspection. It is pictured in Albion with the Main Street lift bridge in the background.
The Canal Corp. is doing its annual inspection of the system. Today, canal engineers and officials are checking all seven lift bridges in Orleans County, as well as two in Brockport.
Orleans Hub checked with canal officials at about noon, when the crew was in Albion. It still had to check bridges in Hulberton, Holley and Brockport.
The five lift bridges from Medina to Albion all passed the Canal Corp. inspection in flying colors.
“We’re very encouraged,” said John Callaghan, Deputy Director of the NYS Canal Corporation. “There is a lot of attention to detail. It’s really a tribute to the dedicated and talented workforce.”
The canal crew travels by the tugboat, Syracuse, and grades the embankment walls, spillways, navigation aids, locks and lift bridges. The canal officials also make notes of those with dock permits on the canal.
Callaghan said the lift bridges, despite their wear and tear, are still getting the job done. Employees apply grease and do lots of preventive maintenance to keep the hydraulics and mechanical systems in reliable shape.
The canal is approaching its 200th anniversary. It opened in 1825. It was widened from 1905 to 1918 and many of the bridges, guard gates, waste weir systems and other canal infrastructure remain in use today from the “Barge Canal” widening.
Callaghan said the state remains committed to canal’s maintenance and viability. “We have a working museum here,” he said about the canal. “It’s really special.”
The bridges’ deck and other structural elements are the responsibility of the state Department of Transportation. The Canal Corp. oversees the hydraulics, and infrastructure below ground.
The DOT plans to do a major rehab of the Main Street lift bridge in Albion in the near future. A specific timetable hasn’t been identified, Canal Corp. officials said today. The Knowlesville bridge also will be rehabbed by the DOT, although it’s not on the schedule yet.
The Syracuse heads east from Albion to its next stop in Hulberton. Along the way, canal officials will check embankments, spillways and navigational aids.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 September 2016 at 4:51 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: Three houses on Liberty Street, between the railroad tracks and Beaver Street, would be removed to make way for a 45-unit supportive housing project by DePaul Community Services, Inc. Gov. Cuomo announced state funding for the project today.
ALBION – A 45-unit supportive housing project on Liberty Street has been approved for state funding, according to an announcement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo today.
DePaul Community Services, Inc. wants to build the project on Liberty Street, between the railroad tracks and Beaver Street. The organization would remove three houses that are on that section to make room for the housing project.
DePaul has told village officials the project would be similar to a DePaul site in Batavia that serves low-income residents. DePaul would have services and staff on site.
The two-story building in Albion would have parking on site as well as green space. Village officials say DePaul would be tax exempt, but would contribute money to the local government in the form of a PILOT or payment in lieu of taxes.
In an announcement today, the Albion project was among 121 projects with 1,200 units approved for funding, including 79 throughout upstate New York and 42 in New York City.
The funding will support the development of 1,200 units of supportive housing for vulnerable New Yorkers who are at risk of homelessness, the governor said.
The state Homes and Community Renewal and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance will work with supportive housing providers to secure the capital funding needed to complete supportive housing projects. These awards represent a major step forward in the Cuomo’s $2.6 billion, five-year plan to construct 6,000 new supportive housing units across New York State.
“The state is taking aggressive action to end chronic homelessness and help move thousands of New Yorkers into permanent housing,” Cuomo said. “These awards will not only help ensure New York’s families and children have a safe, comfortable place to call home, but provide them with the resources they need to change their lives. With the development of these vital units, we are swiftly moving forward on the state’s transformational blueprint to tackle this crisis and bringing hope and opportunity to our most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
DePaul Community Services also received state awards for projects in Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming counties.
The 1,200 new and permanent supportive housing units will serve vulnerable populations with special needs, and will include a variety of services tailored to their needs, such as employment training, counseling and crisis intervention, educational assistance, legal services, independent living skills training, benefits advocacy and assistance in obtaining and maintaining primary and mental healthcare, according to the governor’s announcement.
Targeted homeless demographics include veterans, victims of domestic violence, frail or disabled senior citizens, young adults with histories of incarceration, homelessness or foster care, chronically homeless individuals and families, as well as individuals with health, mental health and/or substance use disorders, the governor said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 September 2016 at 12:08 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – This section of the sidewalk in front of the Lake Country Pennysaver at 170 North Main Street was removed and a new one will be put in that meets Americans with Disabilities Act standards for slope pitch, the state Department of Transportation said.
There are eight sidewalks that are receiving some work to meet ADA standards on Route 98 in Albion. Keeler Construction is doing the work for the DOT.
The sidewalks are an add-on to the paving project that is nearly done on 5 miles of Route 98 in Albion, from Route 104 going south.
Keeler started the $2.3 million paving project the week of July 18, from Route 31A to Route 104. The 5-mile section of highway has been milled and paved with new asphalt from curb to curb.
New pavement markings also have been added, and bicycle and shared lanes will be indicated through the village of Albion.
The project also includes rumble strips on the center line and the shoulders along the stretches of Route 98 that do not run through the village. Tactile strips on sidewalk ramps at intersections also will be included to be ADA compliant.
This section of the sidewalk is at the northwest section on the sidewalk by the Main Street lift bridge. Some of the sidewalks were too steep or didn’t have the proper angles and pitches on the ramps. Some sidewalks in Albion will be sanded down less than an inch to meet ADA standards, the DOT said.
Route 98 now includes bike symbols to direct people on bicycles and remind motorists to share the road. This photo was taken on Sunday during the Sept. 11 memorial service was a section of Route 98 was closed and a giant American flag hung from the Albion and Medina ladder trucks.
The paving project should be complete next week after final striping, with yellow and white lines.
By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 12 September 2016 at 8:36 am
Site was precursor to Albion Correctional Facility, the current women’s prison
Photos courtesy of Orleans County Department of History: These images taken in the early quarter of the 20th century show some of the inner workings of the institution. A group of young women are shown posing with cups of soap in preparation to do laundry.
“Overlooked Orleans” – Volume 2, Issue 37
Nearly 125 years ago, the Western House of Refuge was constructed on farmland located west of the village of Albion.
It was largely due to the work of E. K. Hart that this location was selected as the site for this new establishment, which was opened on Dec. 8, 1893. For nearly a month, the institution went without receiving a single inmate until the first woman was “brought in” during the early part of January 1894.
The House of Refuge provides insight into an interesting period in the U.S. penal system. Women ages 16 to 30 who were charged with crimes ranging from petit larceny to public intoxication, prostitution, or “waywardness” would find themselves confined to the Refuge for a period of three to five years.
During a time when crimes of a sexual nature, such as prostitution, provided a double standard in society between males and females, women were sent to the House of Refuge by cuckolded husbands or families.
This image shows a group of children, those born to “inmates” at the House of Refuge. Many women who entered the institution were there under unfortunate circumstances and some of the babies were born as a result of those circumstances.
In its earliest years the House of Refuge would have fit the character of a minimum security institution where the grounds were surrounded by a short fence, far from the chain-link fence and razor wire used at prisons today. The goal of the institution was to train women in the various domestic duties assumed by good wives and housekeepers.
The fundamental belief was that by providing a basic grade-school education along with vocational training in sewing, knitting, cooking, laundry, and good etiquette, women would be well equipped to marry or enter into employment as a housekeeper upon their release.
This image shows the women receiving instruction in “domestic science” taught by Mrs. Ruth Webster Howard. The House of Refuge had both gas ranges and coal/wood stoves to prepare women for work in homes with either setup.
Here are a few interesting happenings and crimes involving women at the Western House of Refuge:
• 1894 – All of the inmates escaped from the Western House of Refuge through a second story window. Of course, the institution was only open for one month and the population consisted of three inmates.
• 1910 – Six young women escape from the House of Refuge and are chased to Albion by attendants of the institution. The women arm themselves with clubs and stones in an effort to confront their pursuers. Eugene Mahoney, the engineer at the House of Refuge is struck in the head with a rock and knocked unconscious. To avoid capture, the women threaten to throw themselves in front of an oncoming freight train but are apprehended before they are able to follow through on their threat.
• 1914 – Alice Stearns, 18, and Margaret Trapasso, 20, of Buffalo escape while hanging clothes outside; they were left unattended only for a few moments.
• 1915 – Antoinette Carron, a Utica woman, is sentenced to three years at the Western House of Refuge for stealing $1,000 worth of fine laces, embroidery, silks, feathers, and other expensive apparel.
• 1931 – Eva Young and Rose Babyak of Jamestown escape from the Western House of Refuge and were later arrested with an accused murderer and thief named Lyman Miller at Buffalo.
• In another case, date unknown, a 17-year-old girl was sentenced to three years at the House of Refuge after she was taken advantage of and “ruined” by a 38 year old man whom she was working for as a domestic servant. The man was sentenced to four months of hard labor; a fine example of the double standards of the time.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 September 2016 at 11:22 am
File photos by Tom Rivers: The ladder trucks from the Albion and Medina fire departments hold up a giant American flag during a Sept. 11 memorial service last year in Albion.
ALBION – Sunday will be the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, terrorist attacks where nearly 3,000 people were killed when four planes were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon and a field in rural Pennsylvania.
Larry Montello, a leader in the American Legion in Orleans County, has been organizing annual memorial services on Sept. 11.
He also pushed for monuments about the tragic day. Those monuments were unveiled five years ago on Sept. 11 and they are placed on the Courthouse lawn, Medina’s Rotary Park and the Legion in Albion.
“It’s part of history,” Montello said about the Sept. 11 attacks. “We can’t forget especially because it was something that happened close by.”
There will be a 10 a.m. memorial service on Sunday at the Elk’s Club on West State Street. Local firefighters, police officers, paramedics and other first responders will be part of the service, as well as local and state legislators.
Local veterans were part of the memorial ceremony Sept. 11, 2015 outside the Orleans County Courthouse by the 9-11 memorial.
Montello said the community is welcome to attend the ceremony. Later on Sunday, there will be a candlelight vigil outside the Courthouse at 6 p.m.
Montello said firefighters form throughout the county have been invited for the services. (There were 343 firefighters who died on Sept. 11 in New York City.)
Montello wants to remember the victims from the terrorist attacks, and also thank “local heroes” for being on the front lines of local emergencies.
He urged residents to proudly display flags on Sunday in memory of the victims, and in support of first responders.
He thanked the Elk’s Club and Orleans County government for hosting the services on Sunday. Local Boy Scouts and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) also are assisting with the events.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 September 2016 at 10:01 am
ALBION – Students make a dash from school buses to the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School this morning, the first day of school at Albion Central School.
Today is also the first day for Medina and Holley students. Kendall and Lyndonville kicked off the school year on Tuesday.
Now that school has resumed, the New York State Sheriffs’ Association reminds drivers it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus with red lights flashing from either direction. Before a school bus activates the red lights, yellow lights give a warning that the bus will stop shortly and the red lights will come on.
It is also illegal to pass a stopped school bus in a school parking lot when the red lights are flashing. Drivers should obey signs, signals, and crossing guards in school zones. Slow down, especially around bus stops and in school zones, during before and after school hours.
Stay alert behind the wheel. Avoid use of electronic devices and other distracting behaviors while driving. Look for and expect to see pedestrians and bicyclists, especially before and after school.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 September 2016 at 7:47 am
Photos courtesy of Bruce Landis
Contractors have been busy this summer at Albion and Kendall school districts replacing roofs at both school districts. The top photo shows work at the new front entrance to the junior-senior high school at Kendall.
Bruce Landis of Photo by Bruce in Albion took photos from up high of the new roofs.
Kendall has replaced roofs on both the elementary school and junior-senior high school buildings as part of the capital project that included many other upgrades and improvements to the school campus. Elmer W. Davis of Rochester did the roof work $5,782,177.
Albion tackled about $2.5 million of roof work over the summer. J & B Installations replaced about two-thirds of the roof on the middle school (pictured) and about half of the elementary school roof over the summer.
This photo shows nearly the entire Albion school campus, where school starts on Wednesday.
Eight Boy Scouts from Troop 164 in Albion, along with four advisors, covered more than 100 miles backpacking on a 10-day trip to the Philmont Scout Ranch, a High Adventure Base in Cimarron, New Mexico.
This photo shows the Scouts and their advisors. Front row kneeling, from left: Daniel Grabowski and Freeman Lattin. Back row: Dr. Tom Madejski, John Kast, Paul Pettit, Tyler Kast, Noah Shiffer, Harrison Brown, Caleb Pettit, Nick Fleming and Joe Madejski. Eric Brown, who took the photo, also was an advisor.
Harrison Brown tests his climbing skills.
The hiking trip included elevations between 7,000 and 12,500 feet. Along the way the boys engaged in various activities such as rock climbing, panning for gold, spar pole climbing, shot gun shooting, burro racing, challenge courses, horseback riding, metal forging and a conservation project where they helped blaze a new hiking trail for future scouts to use.
The Scouts left Aug. 7 and returned Aug. 20. Here are some other highlights from the trip.
