Photo by Tom Rivers – The century-old lift bridge on Main Street will have its weight limit reduced today from 22 to 19 tons.

ALBION – The Main Street Lift Bridge will soon be getting repairs, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley announced today.

The state Department of Transportation is reducing the maximum weight limit today from 22 to 19 tons so repairs can soon get underway, Hawley said.

The DOT may need to close the bridge for some of the construction. Notifications will be sent to the media if the bridge is shut down for repairs, he said.

“I am proud to announce that infrastructure improvements are taking place right here in Albion,” Hawley said. “Work is scheduled to begin very soon on the lift bridge and I have been told that we could see a completed project as early as March. Projects such as these are crucial for the transportation of heavy materials that go through Albion. These repairs will not only improve the safety of the bridge but allow heavier loads to cross once repairs are complete, which in turn cuts down on travel time and reduces costs for local businesses.”

Focus is on splash pad, new playground

(Editor’s note: This story was changed from the original version to reflect that the Town of Albion won’t be giving $1,500 towards the grant as was originally reported. That town did give $8,000 towards Bullard, but that money wasn’t specified for the grant.)

ALBION – The Village Board intends to seek a grant for up to $400,000 for improvements at Bullard Park with the top goals a new spray park and playground equipment.

The village may also look to establish a recreational trail around the park and perhaps other improvements, depending on the cost.

Albion twice sought state funding for up to $600,000, but was denied in 2012 and 2013. A pared down application could sway state officials this time, Kim Remley, a member of the Rebuild Bullard Committee, told the Village Board tonight.

“The belief of the committee is there is no way this could happen without a grant,” Remley told village officials.

Rebuild Bullard met with grantwriter Jean O’Connell of Clarence. She said there are several pots of money that could be used for funding the park upgrades (which would also likely include a local match.)

The Village Board agreed to hire O’Connell for $6,000 to prepare grant applications. A music fest organized by the Lions Club last summer raised $2,000 towards a grantwriter. The Elks Club also is committing $1,000 to the grantwriter. The village will pay the other $3,000.

There will be some additional engineering costs to update the estimates for the spray park, playground and other improvements. The village would like a changing area/bathroom and concession stand near the spray park.

Albion had sought regrading and building up its ball fields with past grant applications. That likely won’t be part of the new grant application. The village plans to use fill from the Clarendon Street bridge to improve the field on the north side of the playground.

The bridge will be removed this spring and early summer, and the dirt for the approaches will be removed. That material will be used at Bullard, said Dale Brooks, DPW superintendent.

John Grillo, Albion’s recreation director, said the committee is enthusiastic about the project and other energy in the community, including the Metro 10 race on Aug. 22, a 10-mile running race that will finish at Bullard. There could be 3,000 runners in the debut event which is being organized by the Albion Running Club. Some of the proceeds from the race are planned for Bullard improvements.

“Albion is starting to pop,” Grillo said at the Village Board meeting. “The future looks bright.”

ALBION – Tickets are still available for a Friday concert that will honor the memory of Wayne Burlison, an elementary music teacher who died on March 26 from colon cancer. Burlison was 36.

His wife Lisa and the Albion Alumni Foundation are working to establish a fund for a memorial scholarship in Burlison’s name. The group has set a $10,000 fund-raising goal with a plan to offer a $500 scholarship each year.

Burlison worked as an elementary band teacher at Albion. He was active in the community, playing in several music groups. His teaching colleagues at Albion will perform in the 7 p.m. concert on Friday at the Middle School Auditorium.

Some of the ensembles and groups that Wayne was involved in throughout the years will also perform. Scheduled to perform that evening are The Mark Time Marchers, The Hit Men, the praise band at the Albion Free Methodist Church, The AHS Jazz Ensemble (Wayne was the assistant director), and an ensemble from the AHS Marching Band (Wayne was the assistant director).

Tickets are $5 and will go directly to the scholarship fund. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Call 589-2050 ext. 2405 for more information. Tickets are also available at Bloom’s Flower Shop and Fischer’s Newsroom or at the door the day of the concert.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Michael Bonafede, chairman of the Strawberry Festival Committee, addresses the Albion Rotary Club last week about this year’s festival on June 12-13. The Rotary Club helps plan and run the event.

ALBION – Albion’s biggest community bash, the Strawberry Festival, is several months away, but many volunteers are busy working on the two-day celebration.

The Strawberry Festival Committee welcomes help and money for the 29th annual festival on June 12-13. The event draws several thousand people to Albion for the two days. This year’s festival will have a fishing-related theme – “Hook, Line and Strawberry!” – to celebrate the Chinook salmon, brown trout and rainbow trout that are one of the county’s top attractions.

There will be a contest among Albion students to design artwork for the poster for the festival, a poster that will include a fishing theme. The festival committee wants to incorporate fishing themed events for festival. Michael Bonafede, committee chairman, said the organizers welcome ideas on how to best embrace fishing for the Strawberry Festival.

The committee welcomes help and money to put on the event. The Village of Albion provides many in-kind services for the festival. The festival committee will reach out to the towns of Albion and Gaines to help support the event, Bonafede said.

“This is part economic development, it’s tourism, it’s bringing people in here and showcasing the area,” Bonafede told the Albion Rotary Club.

The Rotary Club is sponsor of the festival and provides much of the manpower in planning the event, which costs about $16,000 for entertainment, bands for the parade, prizes, equipment and other expenses including portable potties, postage, dumpsters and advertising.

A member of the Rochester Scottish Pipes and Drums plays the bagpipes during the 28th annual Strawberry Festival Parade last June. The parade accounts for $5,000 or about a third of festival’s overall costs.

Members of the Rotary Club and other community members are heading up different parts of the festival. The following are in charge of different aspects of the festival: Karen Sawicz, advertising; Brad London, food vendors; Don Bishop, logistics; Website, Lake Country Pennysaver; Tammy Yaskulski, major sponsors/fundraising; Brad Shelp, parade; Bill Pileggi and Karen Appleman, entertainment; Joe DiBella from Don Davis Chevrolet Buick GMC, car show and cruise in; June Persia, craft vendors; Marsha Rivers, Family Fun Faire; and Michael Bonafede, overall chairman.

The committee is looking for someone to manage the Turtle Race.

Bonafede wants to see the event continue for years to come. Costs have climbed in recent years to put on the festival.

“Looking to the future we’ll need to get more revenue in,” he said.

For more information, contact Bonafede at 585-749-1413, by email at bonaler@yahoo.com or click here to go to the festival website.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Firefighters, including Marty Zwifka in red, respond to a two-vehicle accident on Saturday in Albion at the corner of West County House Road and Gaines Basin Road.

ALBION – State Police have released the names of the five people in a two-vehicle crash on Saturday at the intersection of West County House and Gaines Basin roads. All five were transported to hospitals by either ambulance or Mercy Flight helicopter.

An initial investigation has shown that a vehicle operated by Edward R. Read of Rochester was headed southbound on Gaines Basin Road, failed to stop for a posted stop sign at the intersection of West County Road and struck a westbound vehicle.

Read, 72, and a passenger Tina D. Elliot, 56, of Rochester were ejected from the vehicle, which then rolled onto its side on the westbound shoulder. Read also had two other passengers in his vehicle: Christina J. Elliott, 32, of Rochester and Kathy A. Jones, 50, of Rochester.

The second vehicle, which was westbound on West County House Road, was operated by a sole occupant, Brandon J. Grimes, 20, of Medina. He entered the intersection was struck by Read, and then crossed into the eastbound lane, struck a mailbox then came to rest on the eastbound shoulder of West County House Road.

Grimes sustained facial injuries and was transported by ambulance to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, where he was treated and released, State Police reported.

Edward Read, the driver, and Tina Elliott, the front seat passenger, were ejected from the vehicle and were transported by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial with unknown internal injuries. Read was admitted and was listed in guarded condition. Tina Elliott was treated and released.

Passenger Christina J. Elliott also was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital via Mercy Flight as a precaution due to her injuries. She was treated and released.

Kathy A. Jones was transported by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital, where she was treated and released.

The collision is still under investigation with charges pending, State Police reported.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Five people were injured in a two-vehicle accident this morning at the intersection of Gaines Basin Road and West Countyhouse Road.

The accident occurred at about 10:50 a.m. The driver of a pickup truck likely sustained internal injuries while four people in a minivan had lacerations and other injuries, firefighters at the scene said.

Two of the people in the minivan were ejected.

Two Mercy Flight helicopters, and ambulances from COVA and the Medina Fire Department transported those with injuries.

State Police, Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance and firefighters from Medina, Albion and Barre all responded to the scene.

‘Metro 10’ race on Aug. 22 has running community buzzing

Photos by Tom Rivers – Fleet Feet personnel were in Albion on Sunday doing fittings for running shoes. The Greater Rochester Health Foundation approved a grant to the Albion Running Club to provide sneakers for $20 to walkers and runners who commit to a fitness program.

ALBION – Albion will host a 10-mile race on Aug. 22 that will pit the running communities of Rochester and Buffalo, an event that is generating lots of interest among runners in the two regions.

Fleet Feet is one of the main sponsors of “The Metro 10” race, a first of its kind competition. Two Albion residents, Thom Jennings and Brian Krieger, had the brainstorm for the race last year.

They have been lining up sponsors, with Fleet Feet one of the key backers of the race. Fleet Feet has two stores in Rochester and one in Buffalo. The business sells sneakers and other running merchandise.

“If an event is about getting people fit and healthy, we will support it,” said “Boots” Boutillier, co-owner of Fleet Feet with his wife Ellen.

Feature stories about the Metro 10 appeared in The Buffalo News and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle this past week. The articles were highlighted by Fleet Feet through social media, which created a lot of interest in the race, said Ellen Brenner-Boutillier.

“Buffalo wants in and Rochester wants in,” she said. “This is an incredible concept and we are so proud to be a part of the event and help promote it.”

The Boutilliers and 10 of their employees were in Albion on Sunday to do a shoe footing as part of “The Shoe Fits” initiative by the Albion Running Club.

Sheila Lemcke, left, gets here foot measured by Fleet Feet for a pair of running shoes at the Hoag Library on Sunday.

The Running Club is organizing the 10-mile Metro 10, which could draw more than 1,000 runners for the event on Aug. 22.

The Running Club also secured a $17,000 through the Greater Rochester Health Foundation for three initiatives.

One of those includes “The Shoe Fits,” where walkers or runners pay $20 for a pay of sneakers that are fitted for their feet and how their feet “wear” a shoe, measuring foot length, width and arches, and whether a person needs supports in a shoe to compensate for pronating and other issues.

There were 75 people for “The Shoe Fits” on Sunday. The grant will pay the difference in the cost of the sneakers. If people pay $20, the difference is likely about $80. For 100 pair of sneakers, the grant will pay about $8,000 for the shoes and the proper fitting. Fleet Feet will be back for one more fitting at a time to be determined.

Mike Neidert and his son Elliott, 15, both were fitted for sneakers on Sunday. Mr. Neidert also committed to training for three Running Club races: the Run for Wayne on March 28, the Strawberry Festival 5K or 8K on June 13, and the 10-mile race on Aug. 22.

Neidert, 50, started running about three years ago in the Run for God, a 12-week program for beginning runners that culminated in the 5K at the Strawberry Fest.

“That’s when I got off the couch,” Neidert said. “I was never a runner.”

He likes doing a sport with his children and other members of the community.

Sunday was his first time getting his feet fitted for shoes.

“I always just bought shoes,” he said. “Getting fitted by a professional was the big thing, the big incentive for coming.”

The grant from the Health Foundation is also helping to pay for “Fit in 50” and “Run for God” programs. Click here for more information.

The Running Club met with the Albion Village Board on Wednesday to discuss the Metro 10, which will end at the Bullard Park in a festival-like atmosphere, with popular foods from both Rochester and Buffalo. The board gave the effort its support.

“By design, this is meant to be a ‘healthy’ competition, and an opportunity for Western New Yorkers to come together to celebrate what makes each area unique, and what better way to do that than with an event that promotes running, a popular, healthy and addictive activity,” Krieger said during a Sunday news conference, to kick off publicity for the race.

Krieger is executive director of the not-for-profit Running Club and Jennings is the communications director. They believe the race could become one of the big running events in Western New York.

It differs from other races in that every runner who finishes will score points for their “team,” whether Rochester or Buffalo.

“The initial communications went out this week and people immediately said ‘I’m in,'” said Brenner-Boutillier. “It’s different and people like different.”

Fleet Feet will be promoting the race in both Rochester and Buffalo. It also will promote it on social media and through an e-mail subscriber list of about 75,000 people.

Fleet Feet’s company, Yellow Jacket Racing, will do the timing for the race.

“It’s the perfect event for us,” said Mr. Boutillier. “It’s not just another 5K. There will always be a Rochester and Buffalo rivalry. We’re two cities separated by 75 miles.”

The Running Club released the first in a series of promotional videos that are designed to fuel the Buffalo-Rochester rivalry. Click here to see the video, which features Jory Bierdeman of Albion.

Firefighters help clear out clogged chimney pipe

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Albion firefighter Nathan Bloom carries a bucket to a house owned by Gary and Barb Ostrowski at 13344 Route 31 in Albion after a chimney fire there today at about 3 p.m.

Bloom and other firefighters helped clean out a clogged chimney pipe. Mr. Ostrowski used a fire extinguisher to put out a fire that was in the pipe that connected a stove to the chimney, firefighters said.

Firefighters responded from the Albion, Barre and Medina fire departments.

Restaurant opened 4 years ago after renovations

Photo by Tom Rivers – Sue Holmes, owner of the Crooked Door in Albion, is pictured at the site last April. She announced to employees on Saturday she was closing the business at 469 East State St.

ALBION – A restaurant that opened four years ago at 469 East State St. closed on Saturday night.

Sue Holmes, owner of the Crooked Door since April, told employees the business was closing. She purchased the Crooked Door on April 3 from Joe and Debbie Martillotta. The Martillottas opened the restaurant on Jan. 31, 2011 following extensive renovations of the former Club 469.

The business employed 17 people, and drew customers from Orleans, Monroe, Genesee, Niagara and Erie counties.

Sue (Schafer) Holmes grew up down the street from the tavern. She told the Orleans Hub in April she remembered the site when it was an Italian neighborhood bar.

Holmes worked as a software engineer for Xerox until the company sold its research and development, and laid her off in December 2012. A Hamlin resident, she set out looking to own a business. A business broker mentioned the Crooked Door was for sale and Holmes was thrilled to reconnect with her hometown. She had never worked in the restaurant business after a career in a corporate setting.

Holmes said in April she liked the excitement in the restaurant business and the chance to connect with so many people.

She has had the business up for sale in recent months.

Orleans Hub was unable to reach her for comment today.

Jeff Davignon

ALBION – Hoag Library has a new director following a Board of Trustees’ decision this morning to end Jaff Davignon’s employment with the library.

Davignon joined Hoag as director in August. After about five months on the job, Board President Kevin Doherty said it was clear there would be long-standing differences over management strategies.

Davignon was hired with an undefined probation period. Doherty said Davignon implemented some good changes, including a more robust programming schedule that was drawing more people to the library. Davignon also was working to strengthen the library’s relationship with Genesee Community College and the school district, Doherty said.

However, the board decided this morning it wanted a new direction with the library director. It voted to hire Betty Sue Miller, an Albion resident and former librarian at Holley Central School, as the interim director.

“While we were pleased with a number of the initiatives begun by former Director Jeff Davignon, it was clear that he and the Trustees were not aligned in management strategies,” Doherty said in a statement. “We expect Betty Sue to continue with the positive aspects of changes made in the past six months, while tweaking some others.”

The monthly board meetings have been crowded in the past three months with many residents attending the sessions to express their concern over staff changes. At least four long-term employees either resigned, retired or were fired since Davignon started.

Doherty acknowledged there was “discomfort” among the staff with Davignon’s management style.

The library is consulting with an attorney about whether a fired staffer can return to her job.

“There may be movement or not,” Doherty said. “It has not yet been determined.”

Davignon came to the Albion library after working as director of the Walworth-Seely Public Library in Wayne County. He was also a former children’s library directory at the Seymour Library in Brockport.

Hoag will now have its fourth leader in less than a year. After Susan Rudnicky was terminated last March after 16 years as library director, the board hired Terry Wilbert on an interim basis before Davignon started.

Betty Sue Miller is a 1970 Albion graduate. She taught at Albion Central School and was a librarian at Holley. She has her master’s degree in Library Science from the University at Buffalo. She is married to County Legislator Fred Miller, owner of the Family Hardware in Albion. They have two adult children.

Mrs. Miller will serve on an interim basis before a search may begin for a new director.

“After an appropriate waiting period, we may start a new search process, but with Betty Sue on board, we have reduced the pressure to start that process immediately,” Doherty said.

ALBION – The motor on the basketball hoop at the Albion Elementary School set off a fire alarm this morning, which resulted in an evacuation of the school just before 10 a.m., Albion school officials said.

Students are returning to the school after going to the high school gym.

“Everyone is fine,” District Superintendent Michael Bonnewell said in an emailed and text message to parents. “Appreciate the student cooperation throughout.”

The district will send a letter home today about the incident.

Events will help fund memorial scholarship for Albion music teacher

Provided photos – A concert on Jan. 30 and a 3.17-mile walk/run on March 28 will honor the memory of Wayne Burlison and raise money for a memorial scholarship.

ALBION – Two upcoming events will include two passions in Wayne Burlison’s life: music and running.

A concert on Jan. 30 and a 3.17-mile walk/run will also raise money for a memorial scholarship in Burlison’s name. The Albion Alumni Foundation will administer the fund. The group has set a $10,000 fund-raising goal with a plan to offer a $500 scholarship each year.

Burlison’s wife Lisa, an elementary school teacher, will help select the scholarship winner.

“With a strong passion for music and the fine arts, he was also a person of integrity and perseverance, believing that all can achieve in ways they hope to grow,” the Alumni Foundation stated. “He sought to find ways to help others learn, especially amongst difficulty. Mr. Burlison loved both the school and his community, showed compassion towards others, and was dedicated and committed to his family.”

Burlison was 36 when he died from colon cancer last March 26. He worked as an elementary band teacher at Albion. He was active in the community, playing in several music groups.

He also promoted fitness through the Albion Running Club, which organizes the Strawberry Festival 5K/8K. The Running Club will debut the “Run for Wayne” on March 28 with the course starting and ending at the school.

The Jan. 30 concert will be 7 p.m. at the middle school auditorium and will feature
Albion music teachers and some ensembles and groups that Wayne was involved in throughout the years. Scheduled to perform that evening are The Mark Time Marchers, The Hit Men, the praise band at the Albion Free Methodist Church, The AHS Jazz Ensemble (Wayne was the assistant director), and an ensemble from the AHS Marching Band (Wayne was the assistant director).

Tickets are $5 and will go directly to the scholarship fund. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Call 589-2050 ext. 2405 for more information or click here to be directed to the Alumni Foundation website. Tickets are also available at Bloom’s Flower Shop and Fischer’s Newsroom

Besides his active involvement in music programs, Burlison also became an advocate for health and wellness.

Burlison lost nearly 150 pounds in 2008. He was about 300 pounds before he started losing weight through the Wii Fit game, exercise and healthier foods.

He ran early in the mornings and became a long-distance runner, completing a 26.2-mile marathon and several half marathons. He also was a leader of a 12-week running program that culminated with the 5k at the Strawberry Festival in June.

That “Run for God” training program continues with another session starting in March. Burlison’s friends in the Running Club are taking the lead in organizing the 3.17-mile walk and run. The distance is a little longer than the 3.1-mile 5Ks. The 3.17 represents 3 months and 17 days, the amount of time Burlison lived from his cancer diagnosis until his death.

The “Run for Wayne” will begin at 12:01 p.m. That start time represents one of Burlison’s favorite Bible verses: Hebrews 12:1. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witness, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Participants in the event will receive shirts and medals. For more information on the “Run for Wayne,” click here.

Billy Martin’s Cole All-Star team thrills at Albion

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The circus was back in Albion tonight with jugglers, acrobats, contortionists and clowns all in the ring.

In the top photo, Kevin Sadrak had the audience squirming with some of his contortions in the high school gym. Sadrak was among the perfromers in the Billy Martin’s Cole All-Star Circus. The group will be performing in Medina at the middle school for two shows on Friday at 5 and 7:15 p.m.

Billy Martin, the circus’s owner, welcomes the crowd at Albion. Some of the proceeds from the event benefit the Albion High School Close-Up Club.

The Fabulous Francy is a hoola-hooping sensation.

The show stopped for a moment so Vincent, one of the performers, could be recognized on his 13th birthday.

Two members of the Renowned Rinny Family from Argentina perform a juggling routine.

There were many lighted wands, swords and toys waving in the air by children in the crowd.

Johnathan, one of the Rinny family members, rides a 5-wheeled-high unicycle that is 20 feet tall.

Roger, a crowd favorite, provides some comic relief. He is pictured with Billy Martin. Roger would do a funny trampoline routine.

For more on the circus, visit billymartincircus.com.

Project expected to be complete in summer

File photo by Tom Rivers – The Clarendon Street bridge in the village of Albion will be ripped out this year with that section of the street to be blocked off.

ALBION – Contractors have submitted bids for tearing out a village-owned bridge, a project that should start in March and be complete in the summer.

Village officials opened bids for the Clarendon Street bridge project on Wednesday and the prices ranged from a low of $442,640 from Keeler Construction of Albion to $1,130,089 from Frederico Construction & Demolition in Rochester.

Kevin Miller, project manager and an engineer from Bergmann Associates in Buffalo, is reviewing the bids and will make a recommendation to the Village Board, which could vote on the contractor on Feb. 28.

The village expected the project to cost about $700,000. Keeler’s bid is well under that. None of the other five bidders were under $700,000.

The village is paying 5 percent of the overall project costs, while the state pays 15 percent and the federal government 80 percent.

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 was planning on replacing the bridge but the costs for the project exceeded estimates by about $600,000. The state and federal shares weren’t approved for the additional cost, which would have left the village footing the entire bill for the increase.

The Village Board deemed that too expensive and chose a different, less costly option of tearing out the bridge and blocking off the street near the railroad tracks.

File photos by Tom Rivers – The First United Methodist Church in Albion, built in 1860, is located at the corner of Platt and East State streets. The Upper New York Conference of the United Methodist Church wants the congregation to vacate the build within three months due to structural issues with the roof.

ALBION – The First United Methodist Church will be leaving a building that has been the congregation’s home for more than 150 years.

The Upper New York Conference of the United Methodist Church has given the congregation an April 15 deadline to be out of the historic building at the corner of Platt and East State streets.

Church members are working on packing up possessions in the church and cleaning out rooms. It will be an arduous process, said Terry Wilbert, church of the church’s administrative council.

Many of the items will go into storage. Some will be thrown out or recycled. Some may be donated to other churches or back to families.

The Conference discussed the Albion building during its meeting Monday in Syracuse. The church has a failing roof and replacing it, with a new structural system, is estimated at about $1 million, money the church doesn’t have.

The church has many large stained glass windows including this one of “The Good Shepherd.”

The congregation of about 30 families plans to stay together, to continue its Sunday School ministry and worship service. Wilbert said the congregation is negotiating with Christ Episcopal Church to jointly share that building on Main Street.

“It will be temporary and we don’t know if temporary is five weeks, five months or five years,” Wilbert said today.

The Conference wants to try to sell the building that dates from at least 1860 and is part of the Courthouse Square, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wilbert said the Conference is reaching out to real estate firms and auction companies to market the building nationally.

The church has been using five wooden beams to help support the roof since December 2012.

For more than two years the church has rented tall wooden pillars to support the roof. That isn’t a long-term solution and those beams are costing the church about $15,000 a year. The Conference has committed to paying that cost in the immediate future, Wilbert said.

In the meantime, church members will be cleaning the site and boxing up valuables.

“It’s a daunting task when you think about how big the building is,” Wilbert said.