File photo by Tom Rivers – Adam Johnson owns a building with three storefronts in downtown Albion, 39-41-43 North Main St.

ALBION – The new president of the Albion Merchants Association believes downtown Albion can again be a thriving business district.

Adam Johnson said there is already a good nucleus of businesses, but he said many of the merchants are struggling and the historic buildings are costly to properly maintain.

He urged the community to support the merchants in downtown. There are a variety of shops, and several new ones have recently opened.

“Hopefully we can get people to open their eyes and take notice,” Johnson said. “The potential is there, people have just been conditioned to look past it.”

Johnson, owner of Blue Top Management, owns about a dozen properties, including a mobile home park near Syracuse. He bought the building in downtown Albion last year. He has sat on a bench outside the building and observed there is a lot of traffic on Main Street, but not too many cars pull over and stop in downtown.

Johnson said local officials and businesses should work on branding the community with stepped up marketing efforts. He thinks the artistic nature of many of the businesses, with hand-made crafts, clothes and other products, could be part of the Albion brand.

The community also has a wealth of stained-glass windows and other artistic features – even the ornate doors on many of the historic buildings. He said the architecture of the buildings from the 1800s is an asset and should be better highlighted as an attribute for the downtown.

“We really have a lot of appeal,” he said.

The challenge is to make local residents and visitors aware of the downtown strengths and the merchants.

Johnson wants to engage the community and local officials to build a stronger downtown. He tried last year to get the Albion Village Board to pursue a Main Street grant that offers matching funds for downtown buildings owners. The board didn’t pursue the grant last year, but Johnson is hopeful the board will try this year.

Medina was awarded a Main Street grant last month. Holley also used a Main Street grant to improve its downtown, with the transformation of the former Tagg’s Tavern into a restaurant and bar the biggest project. Other buildings were painted, and received new awnings and windows.

Albion received a Main Street grant about four years ago. Johnson said there are many buildings in the downtown that would benefit from the grant.

Johnson was elected president of the Albion Merchants Association on Tuesday by the group’s members. He succeeds Carolyn Ricker, owner of Bindings Bookstore. Other officers for 2016 include: Paula Brooks, vice president; Lisa Stratton, treasurer; and Sarah Brigham, secretary.

File photo by Tom Rivers – Miguel Jimenez stands outside El Gallo in this photo from July 2014. He opened the restaurant in downtown Albion during the Strawberry Festival the previous month.

ALBION – A Mexican restaurant in downtown Albion that abruptly closed around Thanksgiving expects to reopen soon.

Miguel Jimenez opened El Gallo, a Mexican restaurant, in downtown Albion in June 2014 during the Strawberry Festival.

Jimenez spent four months with the help of friends and family renovating a downtown building that had been closed for most of the past two decades. He gutted the building, put in a new kitchen, floors and many utilities. He painted the outside of the building, put on new signs and an awning.

His mother was hospitalized in November, Jimenez said on the El Gallo Facebook page.

“Our main concern has been her recovery,” according to the Facebook post. “Fortunately, she has been doing well and we hope to reopen within the next few weeks. We would like to once again, thank the community for your patience and understanding during this very difficult time.”

ALBION – Matt Passarell, the Albion town supervisor, takes the oath of office during tonight’s organizational meeting for the Town Board. Town Justice Gary Moore administers the oath at Town Hall.

Passarell is beginning his third year as town supervisor. He just completed his first two-year term and was unopposed for a new term for the last election in November.

Michael Neidert takes the oath with his mother, Nancy Neidert, administering the oath. Neidert was elected highway superintendent in November, defeating incumbent Jed Standish.

Darlene Benton takes the oath administered by Town Justice Gary Moore. Benton won a close election to the Town Board in November.

Passarell appointed her to a new committee for economic development this evening during the Town Board’s organizational meeting. She will be on that committee with Councilman Jake Olles. Benton said she will reach out to village officials and others in the community for ideas to retain and attract businesses.

She would also like to target companies in solar energy. “I’d like Albion to get on that bandwagon because really it’s just exploding,” she said.

Passarell also assigned two Town Board members to be liaisons to Village Board members. Benton and Olles will also serve as town representatives to the village. Passarell said he would like to see the town and village work together for joint municipal agreements and projects.

The Town Board approved many appointments and set salaries during the organizational meeting, including the following:

Ian Mowatt as town historian, $450 annual salary;
Richard Remley as deputy town supervisor;
Michael Neidert as water superintendent at a salary of $20,908. (The highway superintendent pay is also $54,815;
Sarah Basinait’s salary for town clerk was set at $36,330. She also will be paid $7,679 as water/sewer clerk and $3,060 as registrar of vital statistics;
Town Board members (4) will be paid $3,704 each for the year;
Passarell will be paid $5,750 as town supervisor and another $1,000 as budget officer;
Town Justices Gary Moore and Joe Fuller will each be paid $17,146;
Planning Board chairman will be paid $1,000 for year and other members $600 each
Zoning Board chairman will be paid $350 for the year and other members will each be paid $250;
Board of Assessment Review chairman will be paid $300 and other members will be paid $175 for the year;
First Niagara Bank will serve as official depository for town funds;
Phil McKenna will be town constable at a salary of $100 for the year;
Sara Stirk will serve as deputy town clerk at a salary of $14.78 per hour;
Election inspectors will be paid $9.30 per hour;
The Daily News of Batavia will be the official newspaper with The Lake Country Pennysaver and Orleans Hub to be used for supplemental public hearing notices and other notices as the Town Board deems appropriate;
James Bell will serve as attorney for the town for routine matters with Hodgson Russ in Buffalo appointed for special services, including bond issues;
Chatfield Engineers will serve as engineer for the town.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Firefighters work to put out a fire at 140 South Clinton St. in the Village of Albion this evening.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 7:43 p.m. Dark smoke was spewing into the air.

A two-family house wasn’t damaged by the fire, but residents were evacuated as a precautionary measure. No one was injured in the blaze.

One of the residents was working on a motor vehicle in the garage when the fire started, a neighbor said. The fire is under investigation.

Barre firefighters are at a backyard on West Academy Street, making sure the fire doesn’t spread to other structures.

Firefighters check hot spots from the fire in the garage.

Frank Carter

ALBION – An Albion man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on a victim who was sleeping in a bed this morning and then ignited the liquid, causing burns to victim’s hands and feet, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said.

Frank G. Carter II, 50, of 431 West State St., Lot 17 has been charged with attempted arson in the second degree (B Felony), assault in the second degree (D Felony), and reckless endangerment of property (B Misdemeanor). He was arraigned in Albion Town Court and has been jailed on $25,000 bail.

Albion police officers were dispatched at 5:05 a.m. to 431 West State St., Lot 17.
Officers arrived on scene and encountered Carter in the street holding a knife, Nenni said.

Carter was taken into custody. Albion police officers units then located the victim, an adult male, who resides with Carter. The victim had burns to his hands and feet and was transported to Medina Memorial Hospital by COVA ambulance with non-life threatening injuries.

Carter is to return to Town Court on Jan. 6 at 9 a.m.

Press Release, DEC

ALBION – An Orleans County man is facing charges for deliberately running over and killing 16 seagulls with his car in the parking lot of the Albion Walmart, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Regional Director Paul D’Amato announced today.

“This type of illegal activity will not be tolerated,” D’Amato said. “Protection of New York State’s fish and wildlife resources is an important mission for DEC, and anyone who kills animals for fun and with disregard of the laws will face punishment.”

A DEC Environmental Conservation Officer arrested 19-year-old Tyler Nicholas Strassner, of Kendall, on Dec. 18 after he allegedly aimed, drove and accelerated his vehicle into a flock of seagulls in the store’s parking lot.

He was charged with illegally killing protected wildlife, illegally taking wildlife with a motor vehicle, and illegally taking wildlife during a closed season.

Strassner is scheduled to appear in the Town of Albion Court on Jan. 12, 2016 and faces a potential fine of up to $12,000 and/or 720 days in jail.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The windows on the upper floors of 39 North Main St. have been boarded up for years.

On Monday, the windows were turned into art. Adam Johnson, owner of the building, installed 16 of the painted boards that are 8 ½ feet high. The boards were painted by local high school art students, except for one. The window in the top right was painted by Jasmine Almeter of Holley, a former Johnson employee.

His daughter Corinne Johnson painted the two to the left of Almeter’s on the third floor. Corinne, 16, is a junior at Holley Junior-Senior High School.

Albion students painted all eight on the second floor. Lyndonville students did the top three on the left, and Kendall students did the two in the middle on the third floor.

This painting depicts Grace Bedell, the Albion girl who wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln, encouraging him to a grow a beard in his first presidential race. Lincoln took her advice.

The Albion students tried to use historic and community themes in the paintings.

These windows highlight the former Santa Claus School in Albion and the current Strawberry Festival, a two-day event the second Friday and Saturday in June.

These windows highlight the Pratt Opera House, the Erie Canal and the historic Mount Albion Cemetery.

Johnson delivered the boards to Albion, Holley, Kendall and Lyndonville schools in early fall. He left the artwork up to the students and teachers.

He saw similar efforts in the cities of Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse, where art helped rejuvenate older buildings.

Johnson is working to turn the first floor of the building into a restaurant, with a goal to have it open by the Strawberry Festival in June. He was going to partner with J.J. Heideman, owner of BAD-Ash-BBQ, on the project, but the two decided against the effort. Heideman continues to run BAD-Ash from a trailer and attends many community events and parties.

Johnson said he has a different concept for the restaurant. In the meantime, he is pleased with the effort by the art students with the windows.

Tracy Damico

Press Release, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni

ALBION – The Albion Police Department has made an arrest following the investigation of several suspicious conditions that occurred in the early morning hours on Dec. 24.

Several commercial properties, businesses and homes on West Avenue and other locations in the Village of Albion had the outside phone lines, cable lines, camera systems, security systems and water meter lines disabled or otherwise tampered with.

Tracy A. Damico, 51, of 3309 Brown Rd., Albion, was arrested in connection with the damage and tampering of the above listed property. The investigation indicated that Damico targeted the location in retaliation to individuals and business that he felt “wronged him.”

Damico was charged with three counts of criminal tampering in the first degree, one count of criminal mischief in the third degree, and three counts of criminal mischief in the fourth degree.

He was remanded to Orleans County Jail on $10,000 bail. He is to return to Town Court on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Art Girasole, the preacher this morning at Next Steps of Orleans Ministries, urges the congregation to continue its ministry even though the church held its final service this morning. “The Lord will open up new doors,” said Girasole, a pulpit supply minister for Next Steps.

ALBION – In May 2012, members of the Barre Center Presbyterian Church held a vote whether to break away from the Presbyterian Church USA. Many of the members were concerned the denomination was becoming increasingly liberal.

In 2010, the denomination’s General Assembly decided to allow non-celibate homosexuals to serve in church positions and receive ordination.

That was the last straw for some of the members of the Barre Center church. About 90 people voted whether to leave the PC (USA), and the vote narrowly called for staying in the denomination. (That year 110 churches were granted dismissal from Presbyterian Church USA and 86 other churches were dissolved.)

Some of the Barre Center members were so distressed with the denomination’s direction that they made the decision to leave a church many had been attending for decades and start a new church, Next Steps of Orleans Ministries.

The new church met for the first time at the home of Mark and Lois Chamberlain. By June 2012, it was meeting in a room at the Arnold Gregory Memorial Complex, the former hospital at 243 South Main St. The new church also aligned with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

About 30 members left the Barre Center church. About a dozen have been dedicated participants of the Next Steps ministry, attending Sunday services at 10 a.m.

The church has had five different pulpit supply preachers in 3 ½ years.

“We’re not large enough to have our own full-time pastor,” said Lynn Goetz, one of the Next Steps members.

Next Steps also didn’t want to pull from other congregations. The Next Steps membership didn’t grow, and the church held its final service this morning.

The Next Steps members say they will get together for regular Bible studies and want to have a reunion at least annually. Some of the members say they will visit other local churches and look to join a congregation.

Art Girasole, a seminary student from Orchard Park, has been a pulpit supply preacher for Next Steps the past six months. He gave the sermon today. He told the Next Steps members they will be a blessing to the churches they attend.

Lynn Goetz leads the Next Steps congregation in singing, “God Be With You.”

Next Steps was a mission group of the Lancaster Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Ed Carlson attended the final service. He is a member of the church in Lancaster.

“It’s exciting to think what the Lord will do as you disperse,” Carlson told the group.

Dick Tucker has been one of the Next Steps leaders. He said the Next Steps members are seeking God’s grace as the church closes and the members pursue the next steps of their lives, trying to find new church families.

Next Steps also has chairs, tables, and an electric piano it would like to give to organizations in the community. The lectern at Next Steps was donated after today’s service to The Villages of Orleans, the former county nursing home, for its Sunday church services.

Don Joslyn, one of the Next Steps members, shares during the final service of the church this morning. Joslyn said he and other Next Steps members will be visiting other local congregations, looking to connect and contribute to other local churches.

ALBION – Korra R. Gerety, an Albion teen missing since Monday, has been located and is safe in Medina, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said.

Gerety, 17, was successfully located because of the public’s help from media reports earlier in the day, Nenni said.

Press Release, Albion Police Department

ALBION – The Albion Police Department is currently investigating several suspicious conditions that occurred in the early morning hours on Dec. 24.

Several commercial properties and businesses on West Avenue in the Village of Albion had the outside electrical systems, phone lines and cameras disabled or otherwise tampered with, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said.

A Blue Chevrolet Cruz was seen in the area and is possibly related to the incidents. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Albion Police by calling 911.

Area businesses are asked to be extra vigilant in securing their locations and to report any further suspicious activity. The Albion Police Department will be detailing officers to pay special attention to businesses and commercial properties.

Korra Gerety

ALBION – The Albion Police Department is currently investigating a missing person case involving Korra R. Gerety, who was last seen on the evening of Dec. 21 at about 9 p.m. when she left 349 West State St. in Albion.

Gerety was believed to be going to see a male known only as Brandon, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said.

Gerety, 17, has a history of depression.

She is described as follows:

White Female (light skin tone)
Black Hair
Blue Eyes
5’02” Tall
120 lbs
Pierced Lip
Tattoo: Semicolon with open heart on right hand
Last Seen Wearing: Black winter coat, Jeans and White Sneakers

If anyone has information as to Gerety’s location, please contact your local 911 center or the Albion Police at 585-589-5627.

Provided photos

ALBION – Girls from Albion in Brownie Troop 82007, along with their Junior Aides from Troop 82127, recently held a hat and mitten drive to help Community Action of Orleans & Genesee in the agency’s efforts to help keep people warm this winter season.

Michelle Figueroa, case manager for emergency services at Community Action, is pictured with girls, from left: Neveya Barnes, Kendall Newbould (both Troop 82007), Riannon Newbould and Abrielle Shuler (Troop 82127).

The girls each made their own posters that they either put on display in their homes or out in the community asking for donations. They collected almost 250 items total.

They also made 40 reindeer suckers to be given to children of families picking up Christmas baskets.

“Everyone should just love and help everyone.That’s what Jesus would want at Christmas,” said Kendall Newbould, 7, one of the Scouts.

Leaders are Yvonne Newbould, Pauline Bachorski and Danny Shuler.

Julianna Newbould holds her poster for the Hat and Mitten Drive, which was from Nov. 23 to Dec. 14.

Mackenzie LeFrois is pictured with her donation box that was placed at Uncle Sal’s in Albion.