Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Becky Karls, director for Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home, presents a check for $1,100 today to Patty Leight, an administrative assistant for Hospice of Orleans.
Karls organized a car show on Sept. 28 with classic cars, food and raffle tickets. The event topped the $1,000 raised a year ago in the debut car show.
“Next year we’ll shoot for even more,” Karls said.
Photos by Tom Rivers
Staff at The Village of Orleans are dressed in many different costumes today including a Raggedy Ann Doll, The Stay Puft Marshmallow, Little Bo Peep, a werewolf and other characters. William Gillick, the nurse home administrator, is dressed as a Yankees fan. He is seating on an original seat from Yankee Stadium.
The group includes, front kneeling or seated, from left: Kelly Daigler, Rachel Drew, Tanya Foster, William Gillick and Nikole Fix.
Back row: Teiona Kemp, Ondrea Pate, Tab Pearce, Paul Parsons, Sandy Webster, Tara Churchfield, Debra Albertson, Deb Donnelly and Sue Williams.
The staff at the Five Star Bank in Albion also kept up a tradition of dressing up for Halloween. They all wore football jerseys today. Jamie Bennett, the assistant manager, is wearing a Brett Favre jersey from when he played for the Atlanta Falcons and Susan Plummer, a teller, is wearing a jersey from LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers.
Any other workplaces with employees dressed up for Halloween can send pictures to news@orleanshub.com.
Provided photo – Rhonda Parker of Albion is pictured by the poster for her film, “Friends Don’t Let Friends – Date Friends”
Press Release, GCC
ALBION – Rhonda Parker has been making films since she was 17 years old, but much of her life is invested in a full-length feature she’s just completed as part of an Honors Program project at Genesee Community College.
The movie, “Friends Don’t Let Friends – Date Friends” will debut Nov. 7 at a VIP dinner and a movie night at the Bald Eagle Bistro, 1033 S. Lakeland Beach Rd. in Kendall. The event starts at 7 p.m. and seating is limited to 50. For more information on that event and other screenings, visit www.friendsdontletfriendsdatefriends.com.
Parker is a paralegal and communications/media arts student at GCC. She expects to graduate in December 2014. Besides being an Honors Program student, she’s been a blogger for the College and also won an essay contest sponsored by The Historical Society of the New York Courts, about which Professor Charles Scruggs said “Her acerbic wit, frequently on display in class, is used to good effect in her written work.”
That wit is evident in “Friends…” which Parker describes as a “highly fictionalized account of actual events.” The main character, played by former GCC student Amelia Favata of Canandaigua, is a version of Parker herself.
“It’s a very timeless story based on people I hung out with in my youth,” Parker said.
Though Parker has written and produced a number of short films, and appeared as a “Walmart mom” in a commercial, this is the first time she held auditions for a movie.
“It broke my heart to turn people away,” she said. Several current and former GCC students appear in the film. They shot the film over seven weekends at locations in and around Parker’s hometown of Albion.
Because it is an Honors Program project, she was able to utilize equipment from GCC including camera, tripod and lights. Her husband, Mark Parker, completed editing the film at their home with Sony Vegas Pro software. “He’s the editor and I’m the editor-in-chief,” Parker explains. “He’s the doer, and I’m the thinker.”
Parker has been thinking a lot about how to get the word out about her film.
“My goal is to have everyone in America see this movie,” she said. Beyond the dinner and a movie debut, she has lined up a number of additional screenings, including Nov. 8 at Pullman Memorial Universalist Church (where a wedding was filmed) and Nov. 9 at GCC in Batavia.
The Honors Program at GCC encourages independent, creative and interdisciplinary study through academic work of depth, originality and quality. Parker is more than pleased with her Honors experience and the film overall.
“It’s like watching your dreams come true right in front of your eyes,” she said. She hopes the film’s success leads to more moviemaking for her.
“That’s exactly what I want to do. I have a lot of scripts in my head.”
Press Release, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley
ALBION – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) is holding a town hall meeting for his constituents at 5:30 p.m. today at Heritage Estates, Lot 95 off Brown Street in Albion.
Hawley invites his constituents to come out and ask questions about any state of local issue that concerns them. Hawley frequently holds town halls across his district to make sure that the people his represents have as much access to him as possible and to give them the opportunity to provide their input of the direction of the area.
“One of my responsibilities as an elected official is to keep my constituents informed on state and local issues that affect them,” Hawley said. “Town halls like these are one way to do that. I invite every one of my constituents to come out and discuss whatever is on their minds. I am here to listen and work with them to make Western New York a great place to live and work.”
Photos by Peggy Barringer
ALBION – Al Capurso and his son Dan, members of the band “Of the Bear,” perform during a reception Saturday at the Marti’s on Main art gallery in Albion.
The two were there during a closing reception for a show by Arthur Barnes’ exhibit, “Musicians in Black, White and Grey.” Barnes said that the closing reception was “a musical celebration of the show” with several musicians dropping by to play on a Saturday afternoon.
Arthur Barnes looks on during Of the Bear’s performance.
Guests enjoy an afternoon of music at the gallery.
Gallery owner Kim Muscarella said that the October exhibit for Arthur Barnes and Jen Scott is being extended through the month of November. Those interested in viewing the artwork may contact her at 585-589-6715 to set up a time to stop by.
Photos by Tom Rivers
Princesses, ghosts, clowns and other creatures walked downtown Albion and Medina on Friday for the annual Beggar’s Night events.
Merchants at both downtowns handed out candy. In the top photo, cousins Maria Bregy, a princess, and Anthony Love, a Power Ranger, walk up East Center Street by Rotary Park. About 700 children participated in Beggar’s Night in Medina.
Eric Kryzdorfer, 12, of Barker dresses as a clown for Beggar’s Night in Medina.
Medina Police Chief Jose Avila directs traffic while the costumed crowd crosses the street.
Dr. Clark Bryant is Batman, handing out treats for Beggar’s Night. Bryant and his wife Donna Bryant last month opened Tea & Couture Atelier at 547 Main St.
Cindy Robinson, owner of The English Rose Tea Shoppe, hands out treats to Brody Hazel (race car driver) and his little brother Bryson Hazel (tiger). They are pictured with their mother, Amy Johnson of Lyndonville. Several of the merchants were in costume for the annual event, where children are invited into the downtown for candy.
Cousins Carson Bader and Leah Pritchard pass out candy for their aunt Laura Gardner, owner of a lily and a sparrow in Medina.
Carrie Ribbeck of Avanti Pizza is dressed as Little Red Riding Hood while passing out candy.
The Albion Merchants Association also put on Beggar’s Night. Karen Appleman, a vendor with the Uptown Browsery, has a bowl of candy for Jack Finley, a robot, to choose from.
Ryan Smith is dressed as the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland while his girlfriend Krysondra Esposito is Alice. They are outside Krantz Furniture and served apple cider and snacks to the kids in costume and their parents.
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A big crowd has turned out for a spaghetti dinner today to raise money for two service dogs for Albion children. In the top photo, Ryan Orr, 8, holds a button with a picture of Kenai, the service dog that will help detect unpredictable seizures for his brother Tyler, who has juvenile diabetes.
Ruth Miller, lower right, fills to-go containers with salad. She is next to Angel Smith, a veterinary technician with Country Lane Veterinary in Barre.
The dinner started at 4:30 p.m. and goes until 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Albion. Organizers have enough food for 600 meals. There are also 80 gift baskets that were donated.
Kristin Ferris is pictured with her daughter Abby, 6, who has epilepsy. The family has a black lab named Molly, which is being trained as a seizure response dog.
Molly will be trained to observe Abby for seizures. If Abby is having one, the dog will be trained to go paw at one of her parents.
“We are very grateful to the community for their support,” Kristin said.
Iva McKenna checks on the meatballs and sauce with Tony Cassidy. McKenna and her family own Country Lane Veterinary Services. They organized the benefit today.
“When you hear kids are having a hard time you want to help out,” she said. “Kids and dogs is a perfect match for us. It’s awesome that animals can do things that machines can’t.”
Jennifer Orr is pictured with her son Ryan. The family is trying to raise money for an alert dog for Tyler, 9. He is feeling sick today and stayed home. Jennifer’s friend Denise Bedford of Lockport is selling raffle tickets.
The Orrs are selling bracelets, pins and buttons. They marveled at the long line when the dinner started.
“The support is overwhelming and very humbling,” Jennifer said. “Everything is huge from this tiny town.”
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion School District made a big effort to promote today’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk at Watt Farms in Albion.
Before the walk at 10 a.m., about 150 students and staff gathered next to the football stadium for a picture. The group is arranged in the shape of the breast cancer awareness ribbon.
Some of the group is pictured walking on East Bacon Road as part of the 5-kilometer course at the farm. Students and staff raised about $6,000 for the American Cancer Society. Nancy Moore, a teacher’s aide, and Jennifer Blanchard, a teacher, pushed the cause throughout the district.
Two teachers have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and several others also were diagnosed with cancer in recent years.
“We’ve had so many people affected by cancer and other tragedies,” Moore said this morning.
File photo by Tom Rivers – Linda Smith and her son Ryan serve up treats and cider from Krantz Furniture in Albion during last year’s Beggar’s Night.
Main Street in Albion and Medina will have several hundred children dressed as super heroes, goblins and other characters on Friday evening.
The business organizations in both communities are putting on their annual Beggar’s Night event, when businesses hand out candy to children dressed in costumes.
In Albion, children 12 and under are invited to meet at the fire hall on Platt Street at 6 p.m. and then tour downtown for treats.
In Medina, Beggar’s Night starts at 5:30 p.m. Children are urged to line up in the East Center Street parking lot between the Medicine Shoppe and The Print Shop. Most of the business owners will participate and many will be wearing costumes, said Cindy Robinson, Medina Business Association president.
“It’s a ‘thank you’ to the people for shopping local,” she said about Beggar’s Night.
Last year, more than 700 children participated and received candy in Medina.
“It’s fun to watch all of the kids in their costumes,” Robinson said. “They’re adorable.”
The races for governor and State Senate are getting lots of attention before the Nov. 4 election. There are also positions on the ballot in two local towns.
Albion will elect two justices on Nov. 4, and two candidates are unopposed.
Incumbent Gary Moore, a retired police officer, is seeking re-election to a four-year term. Kevin Howard has opted against re-election. Joe Fuller, a recently retired Albion police officer, has been cross-endorsed by the Democrats and Republicans for justice. Fuller is also a county coroner. Moore also has the Democratic and Republican Party endorsement.
In Kendall, two candidates are running unopposed. David Gaudioso has the Republican endorsement for town justice. Incumbent Stephen Cliff chose not to run for re-election.
Wayne M. Martin, Jr. also has the GOP endorsement for the Town Board. Martin is running to fill the remainder of a term from Patrick Snook, who resigned last January.
Photo by Kathleen Barleben
Two days after leading the Buffalo Bills to a dramatic last-second victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Bills quarterback Kyle Orton faced a different crowd: a class of preschoolers.
Orton visited the Doodle Bugs class in Orchard Park on Tuesday and read the book, “Bunny Cakes” by Rosemary Wells. Albion native Kathleen Barleben teaches at Doodle Bugs, where Orton’s daughter is a student. She said Orton’s visit was “very cool!”
He appeared at the school as part of Read for the Record, a nationwide literacy event. Barleben is the former Kathleen Adducci. She married Justin Barleben this past summer.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Community Action of Orleans & Genesee celebrated the opening of the Main Street Thrift Store this morning at the former American Legion at 131 South Main St. Pictured, cutting the ribbon, include from left: Brooke Pontillo, president of the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce; Ed Fancher, executive director of Community Action; State Assemblyman Steve Hawley; and Bill Privett, chairman of the board for Community Action.
ALBION – Two years ago Community Action began looking for a new site for its thrift store and job training site. The agency used two downtown storefronts, but they were crowded with merchandise.
Today the agency celebrated the new home for its store. Local officials and many agency leaders in the community turned out for the ribbon-cutting at the former American Legion site at 131 South Main St.
The site boosts the available retail space by 1 ½ times. There is much more parking and improved accessibility for customers.
Community Action worked hard in recent months on the former Legion building, turning the site into a thrift store and donation center.
The site feels more professional, offering a better training ground for residents to learn skills that can transfer to other employers, Community Action officials said.
“Our very mission is to assist low-income people to achieve their potential,” said Bill Privett, chairman of the board for Community Action.
Ed Fancher, agency executive director, said about 50 people complete job training programs annually through the program and find employment.
“The program has been working so let’s do more of it and expand on our success,” Privett said.
Christy Lopez is the cashier at the new Main Street Thrift Store, and Phyllis Conn is the customer.
Proceeds from the sales of the clothing, furniture and other items in the store go back into the program, benefitting residents who are learning job skills, Fancher said.
“People come here to seize the opportunity to change the direction in their lives,” he said about the people running the cash register, cleaning and organizing the merchandise and doing other tasks.
Community Action used 20 gallons of paint to give the interior a fresh new look. The lighting is all new as well.
The Legion will continue to have use of the back bar for another 16 months. After the Legion finds a new location, the bar area may be used by Community Action for receiving and processing donations, Fancher said.
The store has clothing, collectibles, furniture and other items for sale.
Phyllis Conn is a frequent customer at the thrift store. She said the agency puts out good merchandise.
“The other site was lovely, but this is marvelous,” she said in the remodeled location. “This is a class act. It’s more of what you’d find in a city area.”
Conn donates items to the store. She is happy to see the store move to a bigger site.
“This is a great organization and they do so much for the community,” she said.
The store will have later hours at the new location. It will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Saturday, and from 10:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Community Action worked on the building, improving a prominent site in Albion. The photo shows people gathered for a ribbon cutting this morning.
Photos by Tom Rivers – The village will use a recently formed LDC, the Albion Housing and Economic Development Corporation, to help with the removal or clean up of run-down sites, including this house at 136 Liberty St. The village agreed to take ownership of this house and a neighboring vacant building with a goal of demolition and reuse of the sites across from the new Hoag Library.
ALBION – A village agency, once tasked with demolition and renewal, is no more. Residents probably never heard of the Albion Urban Renewal Agency. In fact, current village officials weren’t too familiar with it.
The agency hadn’t done anything – accepted or spent any money – in at least two decades. On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that will eliminate the Albion agency and 35 other urban renewal agencies or industrial development authorities. The groups existed, but hadn’t been active in years.
There is scant information on the Albion Urban Renewal Agency, according to current village officials. They believe it helped facilitate an apartment complex on West Park Street about 40 years ago.
“We have no purpose for it,” said Ron Vendetti, the village code enforcement officer.
He is thankful the Urban Renewal Agency wasn’t more active in Albion. Some of the urban renewal agencies took down grand mansions and historic downtown buildings in other communities in the 1970s.
“Back then they knocked down buildings and ruined some communities,” he said.
Albion still sees a need for an agency or local development corporation to help with some building demolitions and economic development projects.
Albion would like to see this house at 132 Liberty St. demolished and cleared to make way for a new development.
The village has created the Albion Housing and Economic Development Corporation. One of its first projects will be facilitating the removal of two run-down houses at 132 and 136 Liberty streets. The county has forgiven about $60,000 in back taxes for two houses. The Village Board agreed to have the village take ownership of the sites, accepting liability as well.
The houses are across the street from the new Hoag Library. There is a vacant site next door to the south of the two buildings. Vendetti believes the site has potential for redevelopment for housing because of the close proximity to the library and other businesses.
“We think the LDC is much more forward-thinking than the Urban Renewal Agency,” Vendetti said.
Photos by Tom Rivers
BARRE – The Orleans County Highway Department is out clearing a ditch along East Barre Road today. Highway employee Mike Deskins operates the Volvo excavator.
Deskins directs clumps of dirt and grass to a dump truck. The Barre water tower appears in the back in this photo.
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Several hundred elementary students are painting pumpkins, venturing into a corn maze and doing other fall harvest activities today.
In the top photo, Cadence Lujan, a first grader in Mrs. Karen Hobart’s class, paints a pumpkin.
The Albion FFA is putting on the fall harvest celebration today and Tuesday. In this photo, FFA member Katie Mann helps kindergartner Misael write his name on the pumpkin. His teacher, Jennifer Lamont, is pictured in back.
Fourth-grade students in Mr. Bob Epperson’s class learn about a combine from FFA member Aaron Burnside. The combine was on display courtesy of Kenny Haylett, a farmer in Knowlesville.
FFA member Logan London helps fourth-grader Amari Jones make a handprint as part of a craft project today in the fall harvest celebration.
