Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Mike Thaine, director of the high school jazz band, leads the group during a lunchtime concert for senior citizens.

Albion students treated about 40 senior citizens to lunch, music and games during the annual senior citizen day, a tradition that goes back to the 1970s.

“We truly celebrate all you have done for the community so thank you,” teacher Sawyer Green, advisor to the High School Student Council, told the senior citizens.

The Student Council organizes the event each year.

Natalie Baron, a high school senior, joined her grandmother Donna Eisermann for songs by the jazz band. Natalie’s brother Zack plays the drums in the jazz band. Natalie and Zack both sing in the chorus and select chorus.

“I love seeing my granddaughter and grandson, and interacting with the kids,” Eisermann said.

The jazz band performs one of their songs, “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson.

Students are ready to serve the seniors, who also were invited to check out a student art display.

“Each and everything is just wonderful and beautiful,” said Agnes Piskorowski, one of the senior citizens.

Her friend Donna Laubacher, a former Board of Education member, said she enjoy “mingling” with the students and seeing so many of her friends.

Albion isn’t the only district opening its doors to seniors. Holley Central School hosts a senior appreciation breakfast on Thursday beginning at 9 a.m.

Photos courtesy of Sawyer Green: Albion students play bingo with senior citizens and also joined them in rock painting.

ALBION – The school district once again won’t be increasing the amount of money it collects it taxes. The district’s proposed $41,814,847 budget sets the tax levy at $8,449,039, the same as the current 2022-23 school budget. This is the 15th time in the past 17 years the school taxes have either stayed the same or gone down.

Wayne Wadhams, president of the Board of Education, said the budget provides well-rounded, student-centered educational programs while being responsive to the financial realities of the community.

“It has been our long-term goal to either decrease or keep the tax levy unchanged,” Wadhams said in the district’s budget newsletter. “We continue to strive to ensure a strong financial base that can withstand swings in state funding in order to ensure continuity and improvement in instruction and programs.”

The budget goes to a community vote on May 16. Districts residents 18 and older are eligible to vote if they have lived in the district for at least 30 days before the vote.

Voting will be from noon to 8 p.m. at the elementary school, conference room A near the community entrance at the back of the school.

There will be a public hearing on the budget Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the high school LGI.

The district’s budget increases spending by $3,516,157 or 9.2 percent. A 10.3 percent increase in state aid or by $3,045,607 to $32,473,384 will offset most of the increase. State aid covers about 78 percent of Albion’s total school budget.

The vote on May 16 also includes the following propositions:

• Authorization to spend up to $550,000 from the school’s bus purchase reserve fund to purchase buses.
• Authorized to collect $654,510 for Hoag Library.
• Authorization to establish a transportation reserve fund to acquire school buses and similar vehicles in the future.
• There is also one seat on the Board of Education up for election. Mary Brown isn’t seeking re-election to a five-year term. Porsche Taylor in the lone candidate on the ballot.

This is the cover of the 52-page booklet created by Albion service-learning students in the middle school.

ALBION –  Students from Albion Middle School will unveil a 52-page booklet about Mount Albion Cemetery during a ceremony at 11 a.m. on Saturday by the Ingersoll Fountain at the .

Students in Tim Archer’s serving-learning class have worked on the project throughout the school year. The booklet includes a history of the 70-acre cemetery that opened in 1843, photos, notable burials, caretakers and superintendents, the Civil War memorial tower, military sections, mausoleums, tree varieties/arboretum certification, old documents, and many other details.

The booklet will be available for free on a first come, first served with the expense to print 200 copies covered by the Orleans Chapter of the DAR, Christopher-Mitchell Cremations & Funerals, and Brigden Memorials. Some of the copies will be set aside and distributed to local libraries, schools and historians.

Matt Ballard, a former county historian who now lives in North Carolina, will speak at the program about some of the notable residents in the cemetery.

After the program, retired county historian Bill Lattin will give a tour of the cemetery, which was the first site in the county to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. That tour will start at approximately 11:30 a.m.

This is the final service-learning project for Tim Archer, who is retiring next month. He has led many projects with his students in the Albion community, including several at the cemetery.

ABATE president: ‘Keep an eye out for us. We’re back out riding.’

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Orleans County chapter of ABATE (American Bikers Aimed Toward Education) held a motorcycle safety and awareness rally at the Orleans County Courthouse this afternoon and then went on an awareness ride throughout the county.

“Keep an eye out for us,” said Chuck Persons of Medina, president of ABATE. “We’re back out riding.”

Persons has led the local ABATE chapter the past 15 years. He said the motorcyclists “are a very tight group.”

He enjoys the camaraderie among the other motorcyclists, and loves to be on the road.

“It’s the freedom,” Persons said. “It’s the wind in your face.”

County legislators John Fitzak and Skip Draper presented this proclamation from the County Legislature to leaders of ABATE in Orleans County :

“Whereas, ABATE of New York, Inc. is a Not-For-Profit organization dedicated to rider education and freedom of the road; and

“Whereas, ABATE of New York’s Aims and Purposes are as follows:

• To act as a legislative monitor with the intent to inform members of pending legislation and promote favorable motorcycle legislation at federal, state, and local levels;
• To improve road conditions by informing the department of transportation of potential hazards;
• To help prevent accidents through awareness programs aimed at all drivers;
• To promote good citizenship by encouraging members to use their right to vote;
• To act as liaison on behalf of motorcyclists with government agencies;
• To discourage misrepresentation of motorcyclists in the media;
• To present and promote a better public understanding of motorcycling in America; and

“Whereas, this organization has dedicated its efforts and does encourage all motorcyclists to become involved in preserving their rights, safety and freedoms,

“Now, therefore, we as Legislators of the County of Orleans do hereby proclaim the month of May 2023 as: Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month in Orleans County.”

Photos courtesy of Megan Gotte

ALBION – Scouts on Saturday morning placed about 2,000 flags at veterans’ graves at Mount Albion and at St. Joseph’s Cemetery. They joined members of the American Legion and VFW in the duty before Memorial Day on May 29.

The Scouts placing the flags include members of 82261 and 82007, the Daisy and Girl Scouts, and the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts with 164 in Albion.

The Scouts covered the area throughout Mount Albion and St. Joseph’s, cemeteries on Route 31.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Dylan Coyle of Albion tosses a frisbee at a basket at Bullard Park this morning. The village Department of Public Works put in several of the baskets today as part of a nine-hole disc golf course.

Coyle has been pushing for a disc golf course in Albion for several years. He lives right around the corner from Bullard.

Coyle is up close and tries a frisbee that functions like a putter for short-range tosses. Coyle also has frisbees for mid-range distances and then a driver for long throws.

The new baskets are funded with a grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. The Orleans County YMCA received the grant is spearheading nine-hole courses at Bullard and also at Gulf Street Park in Medina.

The grant covers tee boxes, signs and baskets that are mounted in small concrete foundations – 8 inches wide by 20 inches deep.

Coyle said he plays at courses around the region, including one at Lakeside Beach State Park. He said the sport is fairly inexpensive with the specialized frisbees available for $20 or less.

“There are no green’s fees,” he said. “It’s a great activity to get out into nature and have fun with your friends.”

Village of Albion Department of Public Workers employees put in one of the baskets for the disc golf course. From right to left include Charlie Ricci, Scott Bradshaw (in orange shirt), Shawn Stephens and Jeff Arnett (in backhoe).

The DPW expects to finish putting in all nine baskets on Wednesday.

One of the signature holes for the course has the basket nestled back in the woods along the bank of Sandy Creek.

The creek passes by this hole. One of the hardest holes has a tee-box from the top of the sledding hill.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Betty Sue Miller, Hoag Library director, discusses how the library is making efforts to meet the needs of the community.

ALBION – Hoag Library is a busy place, even as the circulation for books goes down.

The library, at its annual meeting on Monday, reported a total circulation of 40,082 in 2022, with 28,927 from books being checked out and 11,025 non-books. Prior to the Covid pandemic, the circulation was about 90,000. Circulation was at 46,270 in 2021.

Hoag sees lots of demand from the community in other ways, said Betty Sue Miller, the library director.

The meeting rooms were used 1,598 times in 2022. There were 12,260 WiFi sessions for internet use, 3,531 computer sessions, 971 Fax services, 654 reference questions, and 463 notarized documents.

There were 555 programs hosted by the library in 2022 with a total attendance of 5,433. There were 4,695 items from Hoag taken out through the inter-loan library system with 6,274 items borrowed through that program run by the three-county Nioga Library System.

The library last year also started hosting blood drives for the American Red Cross, AAA defensive driving courses, hot spots for the internet and welcomed a piano in memory of Jared Fearby.

This year the library has started a new concert series. Kinloch Nelson opened the series on April with about 75 attending the concert. Ricardo Saeb is the next performer this Saturday at noon.

Veronica Morgan was elected as a trustee on Monday. She received 25 votes as the lone candidate on the ballot. The board then re-elected the same officers for the new year with Linda Weller as president, Mary Covell as vice president, Dawn Squicciarini as secretary and Rachel Hicks as treasurer.

“This isn’t just a library but a community base,” Weller said. “I believe in the vision of this library to provide the services it does to the community.”

The library paid off its mortgage in 2021 following several large donations from Maurice “Mo” Hoag and his wife Courtenay. Their contributions totaled $1 million.

When the mortgage was paid off, the money the library sought from taxpayers through the school budget vote dropped 10.3 percent from $724,260 in 2021-22 to $648,964 in 2022-23. The amount requested with the upcoming May 16 vote will be $683,100.

Betty Sue Miller is shown giving blood during a blood drive at Hoag Library on Dec. 17. She gave blood for the first time that day.

Provided photos: Frosty and Friends has held several community events and fundraisers to support local charities in the past year, including a recent visit from the Easter Bunny. The group is planning a 40-mile motorcycle ride to support Justice for Children Advocacy Center.

ALBION – A motorcycle group that raises funds for non-profit agencies and also gives toys to hundreds of local children is planning a 40-mile motorcycle ride on May 13 to benefit the Justice for Children Advocacy Center.

Frosty and Friends will be escorted by Orleans County Sheriff’s Department on the ride. Frosty and Friends is looking to assist Justice for Children, an organization based in Batavia that serves children who are victims of abuse.

“We will be doing a lot more in the future to support them,” said Sean Paul, Frosty’s director. “At Christmas time we donated over 100 toy rescue pets for them to give to the kids during intake interviews.”

Justice for Children provides forensic interviews, victim advocacy, medical exams, mental health counseling and other services.

Frosty and Friends during the Christmas holiday distributed toys out to nearly 1,000 kids and helped five other nonprofits during an event at the Arnold Gregory Office Building. The bikers for charity motorcycle group has an office at Arnold Gregory, 243 S. Main St., Suite 235.

The ride on May 13 starts at the Arnold Gregory site and ends at the Old Crow Motorcycle Club at 2355 Peter Smith Rd. in Kent. Emelio Sebastian, pastor of Jubilee Christian Church in Brockport, will offer a bike blessing before the ride.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with music, food and drinks, games, vendors and bike blessings. To ride, the cost is $20 for the bike and $5 for a passenger. At the Old Crow, for those not on the ride, admission is $15 per adult and $5 per child.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. with kick stands up at 12:15 p.m. to head out for the ride around the county.

The Old Crow in Kent will host the end-of-ride party with food, drink, live music, vendors and raffles.

Assessed value for plaza at 318 West Ave. drops about $1 million

ALBION – The Albion Village Board approved a $7.5 million village budget for 2023-24 that will increase property taxes by 2.5 percent.

The village will collect $2,923,473 with the tax levy, up 2.5 percent from the $2,851,056 in the 2022-23 budget.

The tax rate will increase by 3.6 percent of 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed property, from $18.46 to $19.13.

The tax rate increase was higher than the levy as a percent because the village’s overall assessed value dropped by 1.08 percent or by $1,663,794 – down from $154,457,302 to $152,723,508. Most of the loss in tax base was from the assessed value be lowered at the plaza at 318 West Ave. That plaza includes Save-A-Lot, Pro Hardware, Dollar Tree and the vacant spot formerly for Gordman’s.

That value for the site has been reduced from $1,856,300 to $816,000 as part of a settlement between the Town of Albion and the owner, A & D Properties (Westwood Financial). As part of the agreement the village and taxing entities don’t have to pay back funds collected while the issue was in dispute.

“Our assessments went down by a lot and that really hurt our budget,” said Tracy Van Skiver, the village’s clerk-treasurer.

The budget was approved by the board unanimously on Friday.

The total budget is at $7,543,375, a $390,198 increase or up by 5.45 percent from the $7,153,177 in 2022-23.

The budget includes $4,307,602 in the general fund ($4,106,279 in 2022-23); $1,880,984 in the water fund ($1,797,521 in 2022-23); and $1,354,788 in the sewer fund ($1,249,377 in 2022-23).

The spending plan includes 2.0 percent raises for department heads; 2.5 percent for employees in the DPW, clerks, cemetery, sewer and water department; and 3.0 percent for police officers.

The budget includes the fire department, but the village is talking with the towns of Albion and Gaines about establishing a fire district which would take the fire department out of the village budget, possibly starting in 2024-25. If that happens, there would be a separate fire district tax for village taxpayers. The village tax rate would then likely be lower but there would be the other fire district charge.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Kim Martillotta Muscarella, right, talks with Elizabeth Penafiel during the opening reception for an art show on April 21. Penafiel’s father, Robert Wisner, is one of the featured artists in the new show. The wooden sculpture in the foreground was created by Richard Bannister of Barre.

Muscarella has organized a new season of art shows for Marti’s on Main. This is her 13^th year of doing the shows and the third season at the former Cornell Cooperative Extension building at 20 South Main St. Mantis is open Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m.

This year she is welcoming artists who haven’t shown before at Marti’s.

The works in the current show will be on display until May 31. A new show featuring Jill Gussow, Richard DellaCosta and Will Robinson will be featured from June 16 to July 31. The season then concludes with a show featuring works by Carrie Boyer and Sarah Hyatt from Aug. 18 through Sept. 30.

Robert Wisner is shown with a painting he did in the 1970s showing the inside of the Orleans County Courthouse dome.

“I was fascinated by the architecture,” Wisner said about the dome.

Wisner, a retired art director who worked in advertising in Rochester, has about 20 paintings on display at Marti’s including this one of “Penelope’s End,” an egg tempera painting of Orleans, Cape Cod.

Wisner also painted this watercolor of canal boats in Albion.

This is his first show in Albion in more than 40 years. His first show was in the former Swan Library in Albion. His work is often shown at galleries in Honeoye Falls and in Cape Cod.

Colette Savage of Rochester has been a plain air landscape painter the past 20 years. She is shown with some of her landscape painting at Marti’s. Savage has 50 paintings on display featuring many scenes in Rochester and the Finger Lakes.

Tom Zangerle of Medina greets Colette Savage and compliments her for the many landscape paintings in the show.

Nancy Radzik turned this dollhouse into The Dead Artists’ Residence. It includes rooms featuring famous artists Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jackson Pollock and a garden in the style of Claude Monet.

Radzik painted the shingles of the doll house in the Starry Night style of van Gogh.

Radzik decorated the rooms featuring prominent artists including Frida Kahlo. Radzik spent several months on the project. She is a resident of Ontario in Wayne County and became friends with Muscarella through the Brockport Art Guild. Radzik also makes assemblage sculptures from drift wood.

Veronica Morgan

ALBION – The annual meeting for Hoag Library will be today at 7 p.m. Residents in the Hoag Library service area also will elect a trustee to the library board.

Veronica Morgan is the lone candidate for the board. She has been a wedding and portrait photographer the past 30 years. She also has received GO ART! grants for projects in the county, including the upcoming live history event in October called, “I was a Hoggee on the Erie Canal.”

The election will be from noon to 7 p.m. at the library, 134 South Main St.

Residents 18 and older in the service area — Albion, Barre, Gaines and Carlton – are eligible to vote.