Photo by Tom Rivers: Calvin Nichols sings classic rock songs with the Rock Soulgers during Rock the Park on Aug. 4, 2018. Four bands and five other acoustic acts will perform Saturday at Bullard from 3 to 11 p.m.

ALBION – Bands and acoustic performs will be rocking this Saturday at Bullard Park in the sixth annual Rock the Park.

The annual event has been rebranded to the Albion Summer Festival featuring Rock the Park. There will be food and alcohol vendors as well (and also nonalcoholic drinks). There also are many arts and crafts vendors.

Rock the Park was initially spearheaded by the Albion Lions Club in an effort to raise funds for upgrading Bullard Park. Contractors are currently working on $800,000 in improvements to the park, including a new amphitheater, splash park, pavilion and utility building.

The construction has shifted the musicians and vendors to the east side of the park. The amphitheater will be available for next year’s music event.

“With the construction going on people are seeing the results of what was the reason for doing this,” said Zack Burgess, co-chairman of the event with Ron Albertson.

Burgess has booked many of the bands and performers. He is a member of the band Zero, which performs at 5:30 at the 120-by-40-foot beer tent. Four bands will play in the beer tent from 3 to 11 p.m.

There also is a smaller tent, 40-by-20-foot, for five acoustic acts to perform from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All of the bands and acoustic acts have a connection to Albion or Orleans County, Burgess said.

“This will really be a celebration of the local musicians,” he said. “It is rare to see so many on the same stage on the same day.”

The committee for the festival wants to keep building on the event. Last year’s Rock the Park attracted about 500 to 600 people. Albertson and Burgess said donations are up this year from sponsors and the event’s social media pages have nearly doubled the traffic from last year.

“We’ve gained momentum, and you don’t want to slow down momentum once you got it going,” Albertson said. “I think we’ll have a fantastic turnout, I really do.”

Admission for Rock the Park is free, except for a $5 charge to enter the beer tent.

The full schedule includes:

11 a.m. – Festival opens

11 a.m. – Craft and artisan vendors open

11 a.m. – Food vendors open

11 a.m. – Gregg Albertson plays the acoustic stage

11:45 a.m.  – Unorthodox plays the acoustic stage

12:30 p.m. – Highway 31 plays the acoustic stage

1 p.m. – Kids games open

1:15 p.m. – What About Jane plays the acoustic stage

2 p.m. – Burial Harbor plays the acoustic stage

3 p.m. – Beer Tent opens

3 p.m. – Shotgun Pauly plays the beer tent stage

4:15 p.m. – The Trellis Cooper Band plays the beer tent stage

5 p.m. – Craft and Artisan Vendors close

5:30 p.m. – Zero plays the beer tent stage

6:45 p.m. – The Who Dats play the beer tent stage

8:30 p.m. – 7th Heaven plays the beer tent stage

11 p.m. – Festival closes

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Two people seek money from Crosby’s employees on Monday night in Albion.

ALBION – Two people allegedly attempted to rob the Crosby’s North convenience store on Monday night. The suspects entered the store and displayed a handgun and demanded money from store employees.

The suspects then immediately left without getting any money from the store at 202 North Main St., Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said.

The Albion PD was dispatched to store, just north of the canal, at 9:50 p.m.

Suspect descriptions are as follows:

• Suspect 1 is a white male wearing blue jeans, black hoodie with “ZOO YORK” in white bold letters on the front and two white stripes on the rear, with a black bandanna with sunglasses covering his face. The suspect described as having a lighter-colored receding hairline and missing teeth.

• Suspect 2 is a white female wearing black sweatshirt, black baseball hat, light-colored bandanna with sunglasses covering her face. She has short curly blonde hair with brown in it.

Both suspects were last seen eastbound on foot on Caroline Street.

If anyone was in the area of the store around the time of the incident or if anyone has information, they are asked to contact the Albion Police Department at 585-589-5627.

The suspects ran from the store and headed east on Caroline Street.

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Provided photos

ALBION – Students in grades 5 through 8 at Albion, Lyndonville and Medina sing in Thursday’s concert as part of the Summer Music Fest.

There were 209 students in the program, now in its sixth year. The three districts combine and run a music program for four days, to help students keep up with their music skills and connect with other students.

Jeanette Sheliga, a Medina music teacher, conducts the cadet band at the Albion Middle School Auditorium. Albion hosted the Summer Music Fest for the first time.

Music teachers at the three school districts have collaborated the past six years for the music fest, which started with 76 students the first year and set a new record with 209.

Amir Huzair of Lyndonville sings a solo, “This Is Me,” during the concert.

Lyndonville students are wearing orange, while Albion is in purple and Medina in blue.

This summer the program was expanded to include students going into the eighth grade.

Myles Kifner, Lyndonville’s new band teacher, made his debut with the school at the Summer Music Fest.

Three students play their clarinets, including, from left: Neveya Barnes (Albion), Teagan Balaban (Medina) and Jillian Robertson (Lyndonville).

The concert band performs “Hooked on a Feeling.”

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ALBION – The family of a mother and son killed in a Feb. 2 accident on Route 98 in Elba will celebrate their lives at two upcoming events.

Theresa Norton, 53, and her son, Thomas, 22, died in a car accident on a snow-covered section Route 98 between Edgerton Road and Batavia Elba Townline Road.

July 29 would have been Theresa’s 54^th birthday. The family will be releasing balloons at 6 p.m. on July 29 at her house, 4779 Cushing Rd. in Barre. The balloons will be released in honor of the mother and son, said Kim Albanese, Theresa’s daughter.

Earlier that day, Kim will also be laying flowers at the crash site in honor of her mother and brother.

The family will have a celebration of life for Theresa and Thomas Norton at 1 p.m. on Aug. 3. That celebration will be at 317 West Academy St., Albion, at a relative’s home.

Albanese said family and friends are welcome to attend and are encouraged to bring a dish to pass.

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This photo shows Charles W. Howard with a Santa at Christmas Park in Albion. Howard operated the Park and a school for Santa Claus in Albion until his death on May 1, 1966.

ALBION – A group that has been doing projects in Albion to honor the life of Charles W. Howard, the founder of a Santa Claus School, wants to name Route 31 in Albion in honor of Howard.

The Albion Betterment Committee would like there to be signs at each end of Route 31 in the Town of Albion, declaring that section to be in honor of Howard, who established the school in 1937 and ran it until his death in 1966. The school was located at the corner of Phipps Road and Route 31. (The school has been moved to Midland, Michigan, and still bears Charles Howard’s name.)

The Orleans County Legislature on Wednesday will vote whether to support the effort. The Legislature has a resolution on the agenda for the 4:30 meeting, which is in the new addition of the County Administration Building.

The resolution states:

“WHEREAS, Mr. Charles W. Howard was a resident of the Town of Albion for his entire life; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Howard was proud of his home town, county and country; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Howard brought national acclaim to himself and his home town by establishing the world’s first Santa Claus School; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Howard portrayed Santa Claus in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for 18 years;

WHEREAS, Mr. Howard passed away in 1966 without receiving from his local neighbors the proper recognition he deserved; and

WHEREAS, the Albion Betterment Committee (a not-for-profit charitable organization which was formed in 2003 with the intent to promote the area’s natural assets and to set the area apart from every other community in the country) is asking support to dedicate a portion of the NYS Route 31 in Memory of Charles W. Howard; now bet it

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Albion Betterment Committee had this sign honoring Charles Howard erected in 2015. It is on Route 98, on property owned by Gil and Donna Wolcott, north of Route 31A.

RESOLVED, that the Orleans County Legislature supports the Albion Betterment Committee in their request from the State of New York to have a portion of State Route 31 – when entering the Town of Albion (Northwest corner of Transit Road from the east to Southeast corner of Wood Road from the west) to be dedicated in Charles W. Howard’s name; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Legislature supports signage to be placed along that portion of Route 31 to read: THIS SECTION OF NEW YORK STATE ROUTE 31 IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF CHARLES W. HOWARD, A LOCAL FARMER WHO FOUNDED THE WORLD’S FIRST SANTA CLAUS SCHOOL.”

The Betterment Committee in recent years has put up a “Believe” in downtown Albion, replaced the Santa Claus School sign at Howard’s property (now owned by Robin and Jill Stinson), and erected a welcome sign on Route 98 that declares Albion is the home of Howard, founder of the Santa Claus School. That sign includes a cutout of Howard’s likeness in a Santa suit.

The Betterment Committee has also raised more than $30,000 for a monument in downtown Albion for Howard. The group also has been a regular participant in the Strawberry Festival Parade with a Santa and Mrs. Claus waving to the crowd.

This wouldn’t be the first time in Orleans County a state road was named in honor of people. Route 98 in Genesee and Orleans counties in 2014 was named the Genesee and Orleans Veterans Memorial Highway. A brown sign with white letters was unveiled on May 22, 2014. That sign is by the Orleans County Marine Park in Point Breeze. Click here to see photos of the sign unveiling.

The state also approved naming Route 104 in Orleans County as the “American Legion Memorial Highway in Orleans County.”

The Albion Rotary Club last year worked with artist Stacey Kirby to have a 24-foot-long mural of Charles Howard as Santa in a sleigh over downtown Albion.

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ALBION – Hoag Library in Albion today will stay open until 8 p.m., instead of the usual 5 p.m. closing time on Fridays.

The library is staying open longer to serve as a cooling station due to the excessive heat warning.

On Saturday, the library will be open its regular hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

An Excessive Heating Warning is in effect from noon today until 6 p.m. Saturday for Orleans, Niagara, Monroe, Wayne, northern Cayuga, Livingston and Ontario counties.

The high temperature today and Saturday will reach 92, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. The heat index values could be as high as 105 to 108.

“Heat illnesses likely for those spending prolonged periods outdoors or in non-air conditioned locations,” the Weather Service said. “Prolonged heat is most dangerous for young children and the elderly. Vehicle interiors can reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes. Never leave children, pets or the elderly unattended in parked vehicles. Temperatures will remain very warm and muggy Friday night, preventing non-air conditioned buildings from cooling off.”

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Chris Hammond, a retired Major League baseball player, poses for a photo with three brothers from Kendall: Louie, Sam and Jonny Conte.

They met with Hammond on Wednesday evening at North Point Chapel in Albion. The brothers are participating in a week-long baseball camp put on by North Point and NextLVL Sports Institute.

About 50 kids are practicing baseball and softball drills at the Barre Town Park with instructors from NextLVL Sports Institute in Georgia.

Chris Hammond signs a baseball for Aaron Sugar of Albion.

Hammond pitched 14 seasons in the big leagues with the Reds, Marlins, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, A’s and Padres. He had his best season in 2002 with a 0.95 ERA with the Braves. He is only the third pitcher in the history of the Major Leagues to maintain an ERA under 1.00 for a full season.

Hammond shared his concerns about playing baseball year-round and the demands and costs of travel baseball. He only played baseball three months a year when he was a kid.

He thinks parents put too much pressure on some kids to be on a high-performance track, rather than playing for fun with friends.

Hammond also urged people to be “Christ followers” and not just “church-goers.” He said families and communities need more people who are following Jesus Christ.

Mike Outten, pastor of North Point Chapel, thanked Hammond and about 10 people from NextLVL Sports Institute for spending time in Albion. Outten said the church is committed to reaching youth in the community.

Hammond will lead drills at the sports camp at the Barre Town Park today and Friday. The players will do a demonstration on Friday evening at the park, showcasing what they learned this week.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Stella Edward, 3, of Albion gives a generous coat of paint to a trinket box at Hoag Library during the summer reading program.

She was one of 70 kids who painted a box on Tuesday at the library.

Jim Babcock of Babcock Construction and his employees made the boxes out of wood. In previous years, Babcock made birdhouses and birdfeeders for kids in the summer reading program.

He cut and assembled the wooden pieces for the trinket boxes, and the kids then painted them.

Justin “Scoop” of Medina gives his trinket box a multi-colored look. He is part of the Little Leapers Childcare Center in Albion.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Veterans this morning at about 10:30 raised an American flag for the first time on the new flag pole that was erected last week at Hoag Library.

The veterans at the flag pole include from left: Earl Schmidt, director of the Orleans County Veterans Service Agency; John Pera, commander of the American Legion in Orleans County and also in Holley; and Dave Kusmierczak, chaplain for the American Legion.

The addition of the flag pole follows the recent construction of a new digital sign to promote library events. With the sign and flag pole, the library has completed the projects that were part of the orginal blueprint for the a new library which opened in July 2012.

“It feels like the property is now complete with this flag,” said Betty Sue Miller, library director.

Veterans and library staff and supporters watch the trio get ready to raise the flag for the first time.

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