Photos by Tom Rivers: Madison Reese created the painting at right, one of about 40 in the art display at GCC in Albion.
Staff Reports Posted 23 April 2019 at 3:49 pm
ALBION – The Albion Campus Center of Genesee Community College proudly invites the public see about 40 paintings and other artwork done by the students in instructor Karen Flack’s Painting 101 and 102 classes. Artwork on display will encompass a variety of mediums, including watercolor, acrylic and mixed media.
There is an opening reception today from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Albion Campus Center, 456 West Ave. Light refreshments will be served. Artwork will be on display through the end of the semester or until May 7. Visitors are welcome to view the exhibit throughout this time during any of the campus center’s open hours.
The artists include Clifford Braman, Alyson Cameron, Diane Huntington, Joan Garcia, Anna Goodwin, Charity Kremer, Chase McAdoo, Heather Ramsey and Madison Reese.
“Our students create a refreshingly diverse array of lovely paintings,” Mrs. Flack said. “The students impress me year after year with their talent, their receptivity to painting theory and techniques and their appreciation of art as a worthwhile endeavor.”
Subjects are varied and include portraits, landscapes, abstract, still-life and research of great artists. Many of the students started with little or no prior experience in artistic painting, and those who have some background in art have honed their skills.
Alyson Cameron created the painting at left. Other artwork, from left to right, is by Heather Ramsey, Clifford Braman and Madison Reese.
Photos by Tom Rivers: A contractor has rebuilt the wall for a waste weir behind Community Action of Orleans & Genesee in Albion. A waste weir is used to drain the Erie Canal. This waste weir was built in 1910 and sends water into the west branch of Sandy Creek. Cold Spring Construction of Akron worked throughout the winter on the $1.46 million project, which is scheduled for completion in July.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 April 2019 at 6:12 pm
ALBION – The New York State Canal Corporation will begin re-watering the Erie Canal on May 3. The canal will open for its navigational season on May 17.
The tolls for recreational vessels have once again been waived for 2019. The state started that in 2017 and the toll-free travel boosted canal traffic, the Canal Corp. said in December when it announced the tolls have been waived through 2021.
The tolls are usually $25 to $100, depending on the size of the boat. The tolls were waived in 2017 and 2018 to celebrate the Erie Canal bicentennial and the 100-year anniversary of the New York State Barge Canal, now known as the New York State Canal System.
Motorized pleasure boat traffic on the state Canal System in 2018 increased 3 percent over the previous year as boaters took advantage of tolls being waived, the Canal Corp. said. Such vessels—the most-common type on the canals—were recorded traveling through Canal System locks and lift bridges 71,529 times during the 2018 navigation season, compared to 69,362 lockings in 2017.
The figures account for each time a boat goes through a lock or under a lift bridge, not the actual number of boats. If a boat travels through several locks it would be counted as locking through each time.
This year the boating season on the canal will run from May 17 to Oct. 16.
The new concrete wall for the waste weir is next to a century-old wall of sandstone.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 April 2019 at 2:23 pm
ALBION – Keitel Road will reopen to motorists on mid-day Thursday, following work the past month with masonry and steel repairs to the bridge on the railroad.
Genesee Valley Transportation Company, based in Batavia, is working on the bridge. The company will then shift to the railroad bridge on Butts Road in Albion for repairs. A section of that road, between Route 31 and East State Street, will be closed Thursday until mid-May.
GVT owns the Falls Road Railroad, which goes from Lockport through Orleans County to Brockport.
Photo courtesy of Albion Central School – Pictured include from left: Jillian LeBaron, Victoria Ramos Perez and Grace Nesbitt.
Press Release, Albion Central School
ALBION – The Elementary School’s Student Leadership Council (SLC) conducted a “Pennies for Patients” fundraising drive for the WNY Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This organization works with cancer patients in the Western New York area to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
SLC collected $2,153 in pennies and loose change from students, staff, parents and community members. SLC members Jillian LeBaron and Grace Nesbitt stood out as going “above and beyond” to make the program a success. They could be counted on every day to make announcements, give classroom reminders about the collection, and make the rounds picking up change from classrooms.
Victoria Ramos Perez, a second grade student, reached out to the community for support. With her mother by her side, she stood outside Save-A-Lot and asked for donations in memory of her grandfather, who passed away from cancer. Victoria said, “I want to find a cure for cancer and saw this as a way to help.” Victoria surpassed her $100 goal and raised almost $120 thanks to the generosity of our community.
Photo and information courtesy of Albion Central School
ALBION – The elementary school band room today was filled with students, teachers and family members as they watched the top fourth grade spellers compete in the annual spelling bee.
The bee lasted for almost an hour as spellers went several rounds before whittling down to the final four.
The top spellers were, from left: Ava Woolston, Meadow Smith, Lily Brigham and Erika Hess (alternate).
They received a dictionary compliments of the Albion Elementary School PTA. The winners will move on to the Niagara Region PTA Spelling Bee. It will take place at 10 a.m. on May 18 at the Lyndonville Central School District. The community is invited to attend.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 April 2019 at 8:13 am
Hoag Library posted this copy of the letter written in May 1784 from George Washington to Jacob Morris, who delivered a package for the general to Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer who fought with Washington in the American Revolutionary War.
ALBION – Hoag Library continues to sift through historical files, finding treasures. On Tuesday, local history librarian Dee Robinson found a letter from George Washington.
It was written in May 1784, about five years before he started serving as the first president of the United States. The letter from Washington was written to Jacob Morris, thanking him for taking care of a gift package sent to Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He led American troops in several battles, including Yorktown.
The letter acknowledges correspondence from Morris in regard to the package of Lafayette, and Washington offers to pay the cost of the delivery, and also extends his compliments to Mrs. Morris. Jacob Morris was the son of Lewis Morris, who signed the Declaration of Independence.
The Journal-Register in Medina on April 19, 1967 wrote about the letter from Washington, which was being put on display briefly at Swan Library. The Journal-Register reported then that a family in Westchester County owned the letter for about 90 years. Thomas Bell then owned it and presented it to Noah Davis, a justice for the State Supreme Court who was from Albion. (Davis was the judge in the trial that brought down New York City Tammany Hall ringmaster William M. “Boss” Tweed. Judge Davis presided over Tweed’s trials on charges of conspiracy, perjury and larceny.)
After his death, Davis’s wife sent the letter to Emma Swan, the founder of the library with her husband William. Mrs. Swan gave the letter to the library. According the JR article, the letter’s authenticity was established by the Historical Society of New York City and by the Astor Library.
The article from 1967 reports the Washington letter is ordinarily kept in bank vault and only seen by a few people.
Robinson last month was searching through library files and found a 1903 letter from Susan B. Anthony, written to the then Swan Library. (The new Hoag Library opened in July 2012.) Anthony, the women’s rights activist, was a pivotal leader for women’s suffrage. She wrote to the library to encourage Swan to buy four volumes of the History of Woman Suffrage and also two volumes about the Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony.
The library has been in the news recently for a public discussion about what to do with a Civil War flag for a Colored Troops regiment. That flag had largely been kept out of public view for a century. The flag is deteriorating. The library’s board voted on March 13 to have the flag sold through an auctioneer in Dallas, Texas. The flag hasn’t been sent away yet and will stay with the library through at least April. It has been brought out for Civil War programs this month.
Public domain: This painting from 1906 by John Ward Dunmore shows George Washington and Marquis de Lafayette during winter at Valley Forge.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 April 2019 at 5:12 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Orleans Correctional Facility celebrated the third graduation today for a canine training program. Five dogs – Danielle, Jared, Champ, Conrad and Spot – completed the 12-week program. Nine inmates served as handlers for the dogs, which stayed in one of the dorms.
The top photo shows Conrad, one of the dogs, showing his skills. The dogs and inmates are all screened to participate in the program.
The animals are rescue dogs from a shelter in Tennessee, which then sends them to the Genesee County Animal Shelter in Batavia.
Tom Ryan, a dog trainer from Batavia, visited the Orleans prison once or twice a week to teach obedience classes. He praised the handlers for their commitment to the animals, teaching the dogs socialization and obedience.
R. Monroe (center), an inmate at the Orleans Correctional Facility, worked with Champ during the program. Champ is a friendly dog that greets the corrections officers and other staff. Three of the five dogs at today’s graduation have already been adopted by their “forever families.”
One of the dogs settles on an inmate’s lap during the graduation program this afternoon at the prison. R. Allen, left, spoke during the ceremony.
“We’ve put everything we have into it,” Allen told the crowd. “We’ve given it our all every day.”
Allen said the program taught the inmates “humility.”
“It makes you feel great to give back,” he said. “Over the years I’ve just taken, taken and taken.”
He said the dogs filled a void in the dorm for the inmates.
“Waking up in the morning that dog is there for you,” he said.
R. Paro tries to get Danielle to sit and stay while demonstrating some of the skills the dog has learned.
The first canine class graduated on Oct. 10 with three dogs. The second class had six dogs and five completed the program today. A new group of dogs is expected in early May.
The Albion Correctional Facility, a women’s prison, also had a graduation today for two dogs that were the first to complete the program at that facility. The Albion Correctional Facility has a partnership with the Orleans County Animal Shelter for training dogs.
Karen Crowley, the OCF superintendent, pushed to have the program in the local men’s prison. She visited other prisons with similar programs and found the dogs improved the culture in a prison, with better-behaved inmates. The inmates also proved to be attentive and dedicated to helping train the dogs.
She praised the inmates for their dedication.
“You’ve all grown so much,” she said during the graduation program.
The dogs stay under control during today’s canine graduation program at the Orleans Correctional Facility.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Melissa Barnosky, a senior at Albion, made it to the state finals for the American Legion Oratorical Contest on three occasions, winning the title in 2018 and 2019. She competed at nationals twice.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 April 2019 at 10:30 am
ALBION – An Albion student has set a new standard among local participants in the annual American Legion Oratorical Contest.
Melissa Barnosky in 2018 was the first Albion student to win the state title in the contest, and she represented New York at the national competition in Indianapolis, which is the headquarters for the American Legion. Barnosky repeated that feat this year after again winning at the school, county, district and zone levels, before going to Albany and claiming the state title.
Barnosky acknowledged she might seem an unlikely winner in the oratorical contest. She is introverted and many consider her to be shy. She said she needs to overcome “terrible stage fright.”
But with the competitions, she is transformed and focused on delivering the speech. She has honed the skill to make the speech, which is full of dense material, to also be engaging. She uses facial expressions, gestures, “even the way I walk onto the stage,” she said.
She also has learned to project her voice, without yelling.
She needed to research, prepare and deliver an 8- to 10-minute speech about the Constitution and the role of citizens. She titled her prepared speech, “Civic knowledge, the key to our vigilance.”
She also needed to prepare four other speeches that were 3 to 5 minutes. The four other topics were assigned at random at the district, zone, state and national competitions.
Photo by Sue Starkweather Miller, Albion Central School: Melissa Barnosky is pictured on March 2 in Albany with Anthony Paternostro, chairman of the American Legion’s oratorical contest. Barnosky won the competition for the second straight year.
Twice in competitions this year she was asked to speak about the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. At the state and national competitions, she was assigned the 4th Amendment, which protects Americans from unreasonable searches and seizures.
“It’s not for everyone,” Barnosky, 17, said about the competition. “It’s a lot of work. You have to write the speech, and practice over and over.”
She was in Indianapolis on April 6 at nationals, competing with 52 other state champs. In addition to the winners from all 50 states, there is a champion from Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Department of France for American students from about a dozen countries in Europe.
Those 53 are separated into the quarterfinals with nine groups of five or six students. Barnosky came in second out of six in her group and didn’t advance to the finals. The Wisconsin state champ advanced out of her group. The 82nd annual competition was won by Patrick Junker of Iowa. His winning prepared oration was titled, “The Spread of Constitutional Apathy and how to Quarantine it.”
Barnosky ends the competition with $21,500 in scholarships, which she will use for her college expenses. She is heading to Brockport State College to major in political science.
She is thankful for the American Legion for sponsoring the contest at the local, regional, state and national levels.
“I feel like the American Legion hasn’t given up on the youth,” she said Monday during an interview at the school.
The competition has her more confident as a public speaker. She also has developed the ability to research a topic and present that information, which can feel complicated and arcane, in a way that people can more easily understand.
She also is more aware of the critical role of citizens, who need to know the Constitution and keep watch on their elected officials, to make sure their decisions aren’t unconstitutional.
She would like to help other students compete in the oratorical contest. Her first pupil will be her younger brother, William, who is an eighth-grader. He attended many of his sister’s competitions.
Barnosky urges more students to try the event, to prepare the speech and deliver it. They will be better citizens for the effort.
“I’m grateful to have earned money and made it to nationals,” she said. “I was honored to represent my state.”
Photos courtesy of Sue Starkweather Miller, Albion Central School: New inductees are pictured in the front row (l-r): Hailey Warren, Hady Beltran Roblero, Jacqueline Santiago Garcia, Julia Fuller, Lucy Rivers, S'koi Sanders-Smith, Gina Sidari, Jason Anstey and Jonah Karnyski. Back row: Finnegan McCue, Alison Gibson, Kelsey Froman, Dylan Narburgh, Maia Pate, Danielle Wyant, Kayla Burgio, Mia Olles, Ella Papponetti, Meganne Moore, Sarah Thom, Jett Conn and Abigail Mancuso.
Posted 14 April 2019 at 9:38 pm
ALBION – The National Junior Honor Society welcomed 22 seventh graders as new members on Wednesday and recognized current eighth grade students in the NHS.
Mrs. Castricone, the NJHS advisor, commended current members for their commitment to service. In total, NJHS members performed 470 hours of service in school and their community. They rang bells for Salvation Army, participated in Christmas caroling, tutored elementary school students and provided service in local churches.
Several current members were recognized with service pins. To receive a service pin a member must perform 25 or more hours of community service and turn in signed reports by their supervisor. These students are: Nicholas Andrews, Natalie Bertsch, Clara Bolton, Hailey Crawford, Dallas Ecker, Amari Jones, Javon Jones, Vincent Molisani, Audrey Pask, Corleone Plain and Andrew Uderitz.
Sixth grade English teacher, Mrs. Bonnie Baldwin, was the guest speaker. She congratulated the students on their hard work and dedication. She told them every person has a story to tell and the potential to make their mark on others.
New members S’koi Sanders-Smith and Jacqueline Santiago Garcia sign the registry book as current member Clara Bolton looks on.
Maia Pate is congratulated by Principal Brad Pritchard and Mrs. Baldwin.
New inductees stand and recite the NJHS pledge.
Current NJHS members are pictured in the front row (l-r): Christopher Sacco, Logan Graham, Caleb Fox, Nicholas Harling, Vincent Molisani, Dallas Ecker, Thomas Fox and Corleone Plain. Back row: Natalie Baron, Hailey Crawford, Lauren Brooks, Natalie Bertsch, Clara Bolton, Seth Janus, Audrey Pask, Maya Knaak, Ashleigh Mowatt, Austin Narburgh, Andrew Uderitz, Caroline DeLaura, Nicholas Andrews, Keyonna Hamilton and Jillian Ray.
