Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Brad Hudson, a member of The Arc’s mobile cleaning crew, sweeps in the former children’s library section of Swan Library on Friday afternoon. The site is nearly cleared out and should be turned over to its new owner, Chad Fabry, on a March 23 closing.

A dumpster is outside the former Swan Library site at the corner of Main and West State streets on Friday. Many of the items have been junked while other more valuable pieces have been put in storage, taken to the new Hoag Library or will be offered to local historical groups.

A piano remains in the main upstairs meeting room of the former library.

I had not been inside these rooms for nearly three years. It was an emotional feeling, seeing the library stripped of the tall shelves, the main desk, all of the books, videos and CDs.

This is the room on the second floor, behind the main desk. This spot used to have thousands of books.

This is the room that used to have many Civil War artifacts and also was used as work space for some employees.

Robert Greer, right, and Chris Hardie move some chairs in a spot that used to have a table with materials about events in the community and library. Hardie is standing near the elevator.

Heather Boyd created these paintings of churches and county buildings on the historic Courthouse Square. The paintings are in the stairwell leading from the second to third floors.

A door with a swan image is on the third floor.

The mobile cleaning crew – Brad Hudson at left, Bob Tower (supervisor), Robert Greer and Jonathan Doherty – head to the elevator to go downtstairs to work in the former children’s library.

I used to go to the Swan Library at least on a weekly basis for more than a decade, often with one of my kids who enjoyed riding the elevator most of all.

Good luck to Chad Fabry as he works to make the site available for offices. He’d also like to have a community meeting room in the building.

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Kate Krieger plays the role of Kaa, a snake trying to prey on Mowgli (Sophia Zambito), during tonight’s opening performance of Disney “The Jungle Book.”

The Albion Middle School will also perform the show on noon and 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available at the door.

Zachary Moore plays the part of Baloo, a bear, during the show and Hannah VanEpps is Shante at right.

Kaylyn Holman is Bagheera, a black panther who looks out for Mowgli. In back are two members of the Vulture Committee, Omar Peterson and Dalton Wilkins.

Sophia Zambito plays Mowgli, “The Man Child.” Mowgli prefers life in the jungle.

King Louie, the leader of The Barrel of Monkeys, is played by Katelyn Spierdowis.

Mallory Kozody, daughter of musical director Carrie Kozody, makes her Albion stage debut as Hathi Jr., a baby elephant. Annalise Steier plays the elephant in back.

Arella Ives stars in the role of Shere Khan, a Bengal tiger that tries to hunt down Mowgli.

Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A sign is up on Clarendon Street at the end of East Park Street, telling motorists that contractors will begin demolition of the Clarendon Street bridge on March 20.

Keeler Construction of Barre submitted the low bid at $442,639 to tear out the bridge over the railroad tracks.

Besides removing the 50-year-old bridge, the highway embankments will be lowered and the street will be blocked off at a 90-degree angle at Crimson Drive. On the north side, it will also be blocked off with a turnaround spot near Childs Street.

The Village Board may pursue an at-grade crossing for the site in the future.

A bus carrying preschoolers drives up the bridge and heads to the elementary school earlier today.

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – If you were wondering what the bell tower looks like inside the tallest steeple in Orleans County, the top photo gives you a look.

You have to climb up the steps to get a closer view, and I wasn’t up for it today.

Bill Diehl, a member of the Albion Rotary Club and one of the caretakers of the First Presbyterian Church in Albion, gave Bruce Landis and me a tour of the bell tower this afternoon.

Bruce couldn’t resist tugging the rope and making the bell ring.

(File photo) The church was built in 1874 and at 175 feet high, it’s the tallest building in the county. It’s one of seven churches on the Courthouse Square, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Diehl also gave us a quick tour of the basement. There are some old signs and furniture down there, and some tools for working on many projects to maintain the building.

ALBION – The Village Board agreed to have village employees run Elba’s water and sewer plants, a move that will help the small village in Genesee County and generate about $24,000 in net revenue for Albion.

Albion will have personnel at the Elba facilities for about 2 hours each day. Rick Albright, the sewer plant chief operator, will handle the sewer oversight in Elba while Bill Logan, a DPW worker with a water license, will work at Elba’s water plant.

Albright urged the Village Board to move on the agreement with Elba, and the board on Wednesday gave it’s blessing to the municipal contract. Mayor Dean London said the village will have to finalize the contract with Elba.

Albion also has been managing the Holley sewer plant for the past year.

Albright said the village has dedicated and talented group of employees who could help nearby municipalities and also bring in needed revenue for the village.

Albright estimated the village’s costs would be for the weekend overtime, which he said would total about $8,000 over the year for the two workers.

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Rotary Club is preparing for its annual St. Patrick’s Ham Dinner today from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Albion (corner of East State and Main streets).

In the top photo, Fred Nesbitt puts potatoes in a pot to boil.

Mary Anne Braunbach gets hams ready to be baked.

Ed Fancher puts hams with brown sugar and pineapple on top in the oven with help from Bruce Landis.

Dinners are available for take-out or dining in. Proceeds from the dinner go to the Rotary Interact Club at Albion High School.

Provided Photo – Mitzie Collins (front, center) is pictured with members of the Striking Strings Dulcimer Ensemble, which will perform Sunday in Albion at the First Baptist Church.

ALBION – The Eastman at Albion concert series is back for its sixth season this Sunday with a “Celtic Celebration,” a performance featuring an assortment of musicians and Irish dancers.

Along with the well-known Mitzie Collins, the concert on Sunday at 3 p.m. will feature the Striking Strings Hammered Dulcimer Ensemble, and the Harmonious Harp Ensemble, directed by Roxanne Ziegler. The Drumcliffe School of Irish Dance will join the celebration, as well as popular Irish tenor Casey Costello.

“Mitzie always puts on a tremendous concert and brings something new,” said Diane Palmer, the concert series coordinator. “This year the dancers are new.”

They will perform at the First Baptist Church, which has a stage up front. This is the second time the Baptist Church is hosting one of the Eastman concerts. The series has included nearly 20 concerts, raising more than $20,000 with the proceeds going to scholarships for Albion students who pursue music and the performing arts in college.

In many of the concerts, Albion high schoolers have performed with the professional musicians in town for the concert.

The series features Rochester-area musicians, often affiliated with the Eastman Community Music School, paired with Albion’s architectural treasures – the historic churches at the Courthouse Square.

“The churches have been extremely gracious to have the community come in and enjoy a concert,” Palmer said.

The series this year will include the Sunday concert and a performance during the Christmas season.

“It has fulfilled a need in our community for higher-level musicians to perform,” Palmer said. “The concerts have really brought people together.”

Tickets are available online by visiting eastmanatalbion.com/ticket-sales, or at Bindings Bookstore, Bloom’s Flower Shop, or Fischer’s Newsroom in Albion; a lily and a sparrow in Medina; Roxy’s Music Store in Batavia.

Town also approves resolutions for AIM funding, repeal of SAFE Act

File photo by Tom Rivers – A member of the White Sabers Drum and Bugle Corps from Dansville performs in the Albion Strawberry Festival in June 2013. About 10 marching bands usually perform in the festival parade.

ALBION – The Albion Town Board agreed to provide town funds for the first time to help put on the Strawberry Festival, a two-day bash that is the Albion community’s biggest celebration each year on the second Friday and Saturday in June.

The Town Board would like the funds to go towards the costs in bringing in the many marching bands for the event, and perhaps the cost of a fishing pond that may be part of this year’s event, Town Supervisor Matt Passarell said.

This year’s Strawberry Festival will include a fishing theme and organizers are working on some fishing-related activities.

The parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday during the festival is one of the big highlights of the two-day fest. The marching bands don’t perform for free. Altogether they cost about $5,000.

Some of the bands have increased their appearance fees, and other festival costs have also been rising. The contribution from the town will help the festival committee continue to offer an array of entertainment, the Town Board was told.

The Rotary Club is the sponsor of the festival, which costs about $18,000 to $22,000 to put on over two days. Karen Sawicz, a Rotarian, attended Monday’s Town Board meeting and made the pitch for funding.

Passarell said the money would come out of the town’s B Fund for outside-village residents. That way village residents aren’t paying twice towards the festival, Passarell said. The village provides manpower with the DPW, police and other staff for the event.

In other action, the Town Board approved two resolutions about state issues. The board stated its support for a fairer system for distributing Aid and Incentives to Municipalities (AIM), a formula that currently directs 90 percent of a $715 million pot to upstate cities.

The Town Board also stated its support for repealing the SAFE Act, a gun control measure passed by the State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January 2013.

Fourth annual ‘Run for God’ starts in snow

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Before heading out on about a 2-mile run and walk today, a group of 50 people in the “Run for God” program held hands and joined in a prayer outside the Albion Free Methodist Church.

Today was the first run, which alternated with 60-second runs followed by 90-second walks. The program builds up participants to complete a 5-kilometer race, which will be at the Albion Strawberry Festival on June 13.

Mark Moore, front, and Thom Jennings were out for the kick-off session of the 12 week “Run for God” program organized by the Albion Running Club and Albion Free Methodist Church.

The participants will be getting together for a weekly run at 3 p.m. at the Free Methodist Church. They share running tips and spiritual lessons. They can also join for a group run at 2 p.m. Saturday with the “Fit in 50” through the Albion Running Club that meets at GCASA’s community room at East Avenue across from the middle school.

Participants are also urged to get out on their own or join friends for another run/walk during the week.

This year’s program includes a kids’ running group. Clara Bolton, center, is among the young runners in the program. Her mother Dana Bolton is one of the leaders for the kids’ running program.

Tom Smith, left, and Sheila Lemcke are the adult leaders for Run for God. They are sharing Bible verses and running tips before the run/walk.

Lemcke started running through Run for God and lost more than 100 pounds and finished a half marathon.

“The best way to start is by taking one step at a time,” Lemcke told the group.

More participants are welcome to join the program, which next meets 3 p.m. Sunday or the “Fit in 50” at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

For more information, click here.

ALBION – The Village Board sees a talented group of village employees who could use their skills to help nearby municipalities and also bring in needed revenue for the village.

Albion’s sewer employees already are contracted to run Holley’s sewer plant. That agreement started last September. Albion has since been approached by other communities for sewer, water and infrastructure work.

A deal with the Village of Elba for Albion to manage that sewer plant, for $24,000 a year, seems the most promising. Village Board members, following a recommendation from Sewer Plant Chief Operator Rick Albright, voted to move on working out a deal with Elba, which has 260 sewer customers.

“We’re a marketing a service,” said Mayor Dean London.

Albright and Dale Brooks, the DPW superintendent, told the board they were willing to manage their staffs to serve other communities, and bring in money for the village.

The village departments need to be careful not to overextend themselves, and need to ensure there are backup employees to step in leadership roles, Village Attorney John Gavenda advised.

“I don’t think we should spread ourselves too thin,” said Village Trustee Pete Sidari.

Trustee Gary Katsanis echoed similar concerns during a Village Board meeting last week.

Albright and Brooks assured the board the village has the staff and expertise and take care of village needs, and do some work for other municipalities.

Brooks has created a price list for services by village employees for other municipalities.

Elba is interested in Albion providing secondary service on waterlines. Albion also wants to talk with towns about village employees maintaining water lines outside the village.

The Village Board wants to first iron out an agreement with Elba, which would like village staff to start work in May at the sewer plant, Albright said.

The Village Board has been discussing the issue for several months. Albright urged the board to reach a decision.

London agreed the village needed resolution. The board will pursue the deal with Elba first and then consider other work with municipalities, weighing the revenue versus demands on village staff.

“We’ve been going back and forth,” London said. “Either we make a plan to go forward or we’re done with it.”

Part of the plan for extending services outside the village should include more cross-training of employees so they can work with sewer, water and DPW, he said.

More roof repairs, building maintenance needed

Photo by Tom Rivers – A proposed building project would demolish the current district office, a metal structure from 1964 that was intended to be temporary – 20 years at the most. The district office employees will move to space in the middle school.

ALBION – The school district will present a $14.37 million capital project to voters on May 19, a project that will address many maintenance issues throughout the district campus.

Putting the work in a capital project will make Albion eligible for state aid, perhaps as much as 90 percent of the cost. Albion already has $1.3 million in a capital reserve account to cover nearly the entire local match. Albion also has some leftover state EXCEL funds that could be applied as the local share, said Michael Bonnewell, district superintendent.

The district’s overall campus is in good shape, but several smaller projects should upgrade the buildings and grounds, reducing maintenance and some energy costs for years to come, the Board of Education was told on Monday.

“Your buildings are in great shape,” said Luc Lefebvre, a senior project architect with King & King Architects in Syracuse. “We’re always surprised at how well they are maintained.”

Lefebvre worked with other building and infrastructure specialists on a building conditions survey of the district. The conditions survey is required by the State Education Department every five years.

Lefebvre has worked on two other building condition surveys before with Albion. While the campus doesn’t have major glaring needs, many projects could be tackled in a capital project.

Lefebvre and the other inspectors made a list of priority projects that were approved by the Board of Education.

The project would replace roofs, upgrade parking lots, improve drainage on athletic fields, resurface the track, and add some exterior lighting and utilize more LED lights.

The District Office, currently housed in what was intended to be a temporary metal building in the 1964, would be demolished and those offices would shift to existing space at the middle school. Moving the offices to the middle school will save the district from completing needed repairs to the current “temporary” space, Bonnewell said. Most of the district office space was replaced in a 2000 capital project.

The capital project, outlined during Monday’s Board of Education meeting, would also include stronger doors at school entrances and card access controls.

The fire alarm would be replaced with a new system at the elementary school, which would also see a relocated flag pole to the front of the building, HVAC upgrades, additional exterior lighting, and a new playground on west side.

The school would also receive a shading system on the south side to reduce solar heat gain in the warmer months. That side of the building gets hotter than other parts of the school in September and October, and in May and June when the weather warms up.

Albion also wants to replace some single-pane windows in the middle school with more energy-efficient windows, upgrade the sound booth, improve the boiler and heating system, add exterior lights to northeast side of the school, widen the sidewalk by bus loading zone and replace decaying steel hand railing with aluminum ones.

At the high school, the 1,200 high school lockers that are 9 inches wide would be replaced with 800 lockers that would be a foot wide. The bigger lockers would allow students to better store their thick backpacks and winter coats.

The high school library would also be repurposed with new technology to meet the needs of the 21st Century, Lefebvre said.

The district also was encouraged to put in a new condensing boiler system, to replace a tri-fuel system. The condenser system would use less energy.

The capital would also include work on the bus garage, adding an emergency generator, and new doors and lighting.

If the voters give the project their blessing on May 19, the construction documents would need to be prepared and sent to the State Education Department for its review, which is currently a 7-month process.

Lefebvre said it will be a tight schedule to get everything on track so bids could be approved in spring 2016 with work to start that summer. The project would be finished in the summer 2017.

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Members of the First United Methodist Church in Albion have served about 150 lasagnas dinners this evening from the historic church at the corner of Platt and East State streets.

Pastor Jack Laskowski hands a plate of lasagna to Diane Scharping, right, while Rachel Morasco cooks some pasta in back.

Kae Wilbert, right, served bowls of salad to Ed Neal, left, and his grandson Justin Robinson.

The church serves community dinners four times a year. This is expected to be the final dinner served from the church before the congregation leaves the site. It will have church services from Christ Episcopal Church beginning on April 5, Easter Sunday. The United Methodists will have their services at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays with Sunday school to follow.

Ellie Lockwood is at the table full of brownies. The support pillars, used to help prop up the roof in the sanctuary, can be partially seen. The congregation is leaving the site due to the roof problems. The church doesn’t have the $1 million need for the roof replacement.

The church wants to continue its quarterly community dinners and is planning to use the kitchen and dining hall at the First Presbyterian Church. A community supper will also be served from the site the last Wednesdays of each month, a tradition at the United Methodist Church.

Church member Kae Wilbert said the congregation is sad to leave the building and faces lots of work before vacates the site. However, she is pleased to see the emerging colloborations with other churches.

“We’re all glad a decision has been made,” Wilbert said. “We’re tired of being sad and being focused primarily on the church building.”

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Student instrumental musicians from grades 4 through 12 performed in the high school gym this evening in an All-District Concert.

In the top photo, junior high band teacher Greg Martillotta leads seventh- and eighth-grade band members. About 400 students from elementary, middle and high school play in the band program.

The Albion music program has been honored the past seven years with national awards through the North American Music Merchants. NAMM has named Albion a “Best Communities for Music Education.” The NAMM organization gives out the award to recognize districts that make music a priority, especially in an era of tight school budgets and packed student schedules.

Zach Moore, an eighth-grader, plays the clarinet with the band.

Elementary band teacher Lindsey Fix directs a group of fourth grade musicians.

Fourth-graders are pictured in the front while a big crowd turned out to see student musicians perform inside the gym.

High school band members, including Matilda Erakare with black bow in hair, perform for the crowd.

High School band teacher Mike Thaine directs the group. Thaine is one of several music teachers who also graduated from Albion.

Ben Vanacore plays the bass clarinet in the high school band. Albion High School senior Char Olick, left, directs sixth-graders for the last song, the Albion Alma Mater.

District already has lowest tax rate in county

ALBION – The school district with the lowest tax rate in Orleans County may be able to reduce the rate even more in 2015-16.

Albion Central School will see about $200,000 in retirement savings next school year plus about $100,000 less in debt service. Those savings have district leaders optimistic the tax levy can be cut by 1 percent or about $84,000 from the $8,439,939.

The Board of Education and school administrators also intend to keep all existing programs offered by the district, superintendent Michael Bonnewell said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting.

The district is working to fine-tune a proposed budget for 2015-16. State aid is a big wild card. The governor’s budget released in January did not include aid projections for Albion or other school districts.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said districts can expect 1.7 percent more state-wide on the low end, and that’s if the governor’s reforms in education, including changes in teacher evaluations, are not approved by the State Legislature. If the reforms are passed, Cuomo said he would support 4.8 percent more in aid for districts state-wide.

Albion is budgeting for a 0 percent change in state aid at this point in the process. With the goal of preserving existing programs and still cutting taxes by 1 percent, Albion faces a $235,000 budget gap.

That’s if the district doesn’t see an increase in state aid. School officials expect there will be more state aid for Albion, but the number is uncertain given the differences between the governor and State Legislature.

The $235,000 gap isn’t too big of a hurdle at this stage of the budget process, said Shawn Liddle, the district’s assistant superintendent for business.

“That is a very workable number as a first draft,” Liddle said.

The draft of the budget for 2015-16 calls for $33,252,000 in spending, which is down more than $300,000 from the $33,551,051 budget for 2014-15.

School administrators are continuing to look at enrollment and student schedules for next year to see if any efficiencies in staffing that can be achieved.

Albion taxpayers paid a $16.78 tax rate per $1,000 of assessed property in 2014-15. That compares with the following rates in Orleans County: Holley, $22.43; Kendall, $17.44; Lyndonville, $18.34; and Medina, $23.31.