Provided photo – The Moore family in Albion was in New York City this morning and appeared briefly on the Today Show. Meganne Moore, 8, is behind her sign about having an emergency appendectomy. Her mother Sara is directly behind her while Meganne’s brother Andrew (hat on backwards) holds the “Hello Orleans County” sign. Their father Mark is next to Andrew in back at right.

A week ago 8-year-old Meganne Moore had an appendectomy. This morning she was on the Today Show, standing with her parents Mark and Sara and her brothers Andrew, 14, and Zach, 13.

They all got camera time except for Zach, who gave up his spot for a smaller kid.
In between segments, one of the TV hosts Willie Giest chatted with Meganne, inquiring about her surgery. She held a big sign that said her emergency appendectomy wouldn’t keep her from the Today Show.

The Moores took their first family vacation in years and went to New York City. Mrs. Moore went to Fashion Institute of Technology at NYC and loved the city. She and her husband both work as nurses. They also have a small farm on Route 98 in Albion.

Mrs. Moore and her two sons are going to Lima, Peru, in February for a mission trip with the Albion Free Methodist Church. She wanted her sons to have some big-city experiences before they went to Peru.

The family was up at 4 this morning and was outside the Today studios at 5:15 a.m. They were on TV around 8 a.m.

“It was very exciting,” Mrs. Moore said.

Press release, Orleans County Sheriff Scott Hess

BARRE – Four men escaped serious injury this morning after they became trapped in a hopper containing a mixture of sand and gravel at a commercial business in the Town of Barre.

The incident occurred at about 10:45 a.m. at Frontier Sand & Gravel in the 4700 block of Eagle Harbor Road. A large hopper was being loaded with material when it became over-loaded & blocked. Jacob E. Vick, 20, of Albion entered the hopper along with his brother Lawrence Vick, 22, of Albion; Devin Taylor, 19, of Medina; and Richard Miller, 61, of Albion. Their intent was to shovel the excess material and free-up the blockage.

At some point Miller sank to an opening in the bottom of the hopper that leads to a conveyor belt, and consequently he became totally covered in material. During the efforts of the other three men to rescue him, Jacob Vick sank to the lower level as well and became partially covered in material.

All four men were finally able to extricate themselves, assisted by Barre firefighters. All four sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene by fire department EMS and Central Orleans Vol. Ambulance personnel. None of the victims were transported.

The incident was investigated by Lieutenant Chris Bourke. There will be a follow-up investigation by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Holy Family Parish welcomed the community for its annual Lawn Fete this afternoon, serving up lots of grilled and deep fried food, and offering lots of prizes for many carnival-like games.

In the top photo, Gina Sidari, 7, and Myleigh Miller, 10, show off their face painting designs.

Jim Fiegel manned the booth where people could win prizes for popping balloons with darts. Fiegel was assisted by Falisha Fleisher who took time to sample an ice cream dessert.

Corey Metz, left, and his father Greg Metz grill some Italian sausage at the pavilion outside the Elk’s Club on West State Street.

Eileen Banker tries to land a ring around one of the wine bottles. Justin Sheehan ran the game for the annual Holy Family Lawn Fete.

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association put on its first wine-tasting event this afternoon and about 200 people tried wines at several spots on Main Street and in the downtown.

In the top photo, Jim Knights is dressed in a toga while sipping wine and serving as the greeter outside the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion, one of the stops on the wine tasting.

Each person on the tour received a souvenir glass with a picture of the Orleans County Courthouse. Some extras of the glass will be for sale at select Albion businesses.

Dave Licata of the Winery at Marjim Manor in Appleton serves up wine tastings to Jessica Downey, right, and her friends, Wilian and Elizabeth Penafiel, and Meghan Doherty. They are inside the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church.

Wesley Bedford drinks some wine inside Morrison Realty while attending the “Sip and Stroll Through History” event today. He is standing next to his brother-in-law Zack Burgess. Peggy Theodorakos serves as host for the event at Morrison, which is owned by her husband Jim.

Ryan Smith serves some watermelon beer at Krantz Furniture to from left: Molly Moyle, Arica Burns and Lindsey Colonna.

Fischer’s News Room served wine freeze pops made by Lake Effect Artisan Ice Cream in Lockport. These Albionites gave the wine freeze pops a good review. They include, from left: Tom O’Hearn, Dusty DeCarlo, Theresa O’Hearn and Nicole DeCarlo.

Scott Sackett of Batavia, one of the vendors at the Downtown Browsery, pours Blanc d’Orleans from Leonard Oakes Estate Winery.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Kit Lyman was back in her hometown today signing copies of her debut novel at Bindings Bookstore.

Here she greets Pat and Brad Shelp of Albion during a book-signing today at Bindings Bookstore. Lyman attended the First Presbyterian Church with the Shelps. In back, Pete Toenniessen of Albion waits to have his book signed. He was a Girl Scout volunteer when Lyman was active in Girl Scouts.

Several of Lyman’s friends and former teachers stopped by the book-signing to reconnect with Lyman, who lives in Texas.

Lyman has sold more than 1,000 copies so far of her psychological thriller, “Satan’s Garden.” She also was in Albion on Monday to lead a writing workshop at Hoag Library.

Provided photos
ALBION – Michelle Watt, the children’s librarian, lets out butterflies that emerged from caterpillars over about a month at the Hoag Library.

Charlie Warren lets a butterfly rest on his finger on Thursday at the Hoag Library when butterflies were released after spending a month inside the library. They arrived as caterpillars in mid-July and hatched on Aug. 2.

Gianna Hyde has a butterfly on her head.

File Photo

Press Release, Hoag Library

ALBION – The trustees of the Hoag Library of the Swan Library Association have announced the selection of Jeffrey Davignon as the sixth Library Director. The appointment was made at a special meeting of the trustees this morning. Davignon is currently the Director of the Walworth-Seely Public Library in Wayne County, and will begin his tenure in Albion at the end of August. He had previously been the Childrens’ Director at the Seymour Library in Brockport.

According to Library Board President Kevin Doherty, “We had a number of excellent candidates respond to the posting. A nine-member search committee, which included sitting trustees, the Interim Library Administrator, two current employees, a retired school librarian and a retired trustee, interviewed nine of the 20 candidates and recommended three for a final interview with the full board. Each of the finalists was well-qualified, but Jeff was the unanimous choice because his vision and professional vitality met the goal of upgrading the library’s services and programming to match the spectacular new building that our community has built.”

Jeffrey Davignon and his family live in Brockport. He holds degrees from Canisius College and the University at Buffalo. The Walworth Library has a service area which includes about 8,800 people and an annual budget of about $310,000. The Hoag Library service area includes about 16,000 and has an annual budget of slightly over $685,000.

Press release, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni

ALBION – The Albion Police Department conducted “Operation Safe Crossing” today. This law enforcement operation focused on pedestrian safety while crossing streets in marked crosswalks.

An undercover police officer dressed in bright visible clothing walked in marked crosswalks. If motorists failed to yield to the officer, which is required under section 1151 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, they were stopped and issued uniform traffic tickets.

Police issued 48 tickets to drivers who failed to yield during this three-hour detail. Only motorists who blatantly failed to yield were stopped and ticketed. The officer was inside a clearly marked crosswalk in the roadway crossing when the violations occurred.

The detail focused on the cross walks in the Village of Albion at the intersection of South Main Street at Park Street, and West Avenue at Hamilton Street. Both of these intersections are where pedestrians have been struck and killed by motor vehicles in the past.

The Albion Police Department has received numerous complaints from citizens regarding motorists failing to yield to pedestrians walking in crosswalks. The Police Department uses many tools, including the issuance of traffic tickets, in an attempt to make motorists aware of their obligation to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

The Albion Police Department is focused and dedicated to making our highways and streets safer for all who use them. We will continue to use operations similar this Operation Safe Crossing as well as other measures to make our community as safe as it can be.

The Albion Police Department was assisted in the operation by the New York State Police.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Carolyn Ricker, left, and Debbie Grimm have been working hard on Albion’s “Sip and Stroll Through History,” a wine-tasting event on Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. A VIP reception begins at 2 p.m. at Hoag Library.

ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association hopes wine and heritage will bring people to several Main Street and downtown stops this Saturday for the first “Sip and Stroll Through History.”

There will be about a dozen stops for people to try taste wine from 11 different wineries. The wine-tasting event begins at Hoag Library and includes write-ups on the history of each location and as well as profiles of the current operators.

“We decided to add history because everyone is interested in that,” said Debbie Grimm, coordinator of the event and a vendor at the Hazy Jade Gift Shop. “We want to showcase our businesses.”

Tickets for the wine-tasting are $15 with a VIP pass for $22. The Merchants have been working on more events to promote the business district with help from the village.

That includes a new Thursday evening concert series, as well as a fresh brochure listing the amenities in the downtown as well as on routes 31 and 98.

The poster for the event includes images of historic Albion buildings.

The Merchants Association has seen the success of the wine-tasting events in other communities, including the one in Medina that sells out with 750 tickets in February. (Medina has added a “Sweets in Summer” event this Saturday.)

“You can go at your own pace,” Carolyn Ricker, president of the Merchants Association and owner of Bindings Bookstore, said about the wine tastings. “It’s a nice event to do with a friend.”

The wine-tasting will include a souvenir glass, two farms selling produce, a photo booth and also is a chance to see some of the recent street-scape improvements, including 10 benches painted in heritage themes.

Ricker said the downtown has a cluster of businesses with available storefronts for more entrepreneurs.

“If you want to attract more businesses you have to support the ones that you have,” Ricker said. “That makes more people want to come here.”

For more information about Sip and Stroll, call Bindings Bookstore at 283-4498. The following businesses are selling tickets: Bindings, Hazy Jade, Xpress Fitness and Tanning and Fischer’s News Room. Tickets are also available on-line by clicking here.

Provided photos – “Satan’s Garden” was written by Kit Lyman and has received a positive response from her hometown of Albion.

Kit Lyman’s debut novel gets good reviews

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

ALBION – Kit Lyman is coming home to Albion this week to lead a writing workshop and also sign copies of her debut novel, a self-published psychological thriller “Satan’s Garden.”

Lyman will be returning to Albion from Texas to visit the community that has helped make her a success. She has sold about 1,100 copies of her book and earned some strong reviews.

“It’s been the Top Rated Kidnapping Thriller on Amazon for the past three months now, and I’ve also received top ratings from renowned reviewers, such as Amazon Top 500 Reviewers, IndieReader, and Readers’ Favorite,” Lyman said. “I’m currently a finalist for two categories in Readers’ Favorite’s 2014 Book Awards Contest, and the winners will be announced in September.”

The Huffington Post also took an interest in Lyman’s novel. Nina Sankovitch, Huffington Post reviewer and author of two best-selling books, was approached by Lyman’s sister Laura Sidari. Laura convinced Nina to review the book on her Huffington Post blog.

In July, Lyman traveled to Chicago for a book talk at City Lit Books, an independent bookstore. Albion grad Tara Garcia Mathewson approached City Lit’s events coordinator about hosting Lyman. Two months after that, Lyman was welcomed as the featured event.

“It was a very surreal experience,” said Lyman. “I owe so much to the readers and friends who speak up about the book and vouch for it. Pursuing a full-blown book tour is challenging as a self-published author, so events tend to evolve on their own and come about when there is public interest.”

Kit Lyman

On Monday, Lyman will be at the Hoag Library for a writers’ workshop event, beginning at 9 a.m. Della Morales, the Albion High School Media Specialist, had originally asked Lyman to speak to high school students. As the community began to hear about the event on the Authors at Albion Facebook page, interest grew to the point that the event was opened to the public.

“I’m thrilled about the event,” Lyman said about the program at the library. “I think high school is such a defining time, and I feel privileged to have this opportunity. A good portion of my book focused on high school pressures and the coming-of-age struggles that we all go through. I would love to talk at other high schools in the future, and I think Albion is the perfect place to start.”

Lyman plans to begin the event as a book discussion and Q&A focusing on what she has learned in the last five years. The workshop portion will revolve around the style, substance and structure of story.

“I have found that there are basic foundations and building blocks to all types of storytelling,” she said. “Inspiration is largely about unveiling those secrets and finding ways to use that knowledge to your advantage.”

Lyman will also be at Bindings Bookstore for a book-signing at 3 p.m. on Saturday. That event will be at 28 West Bank St. and is timed to coincide with the Sip and Stroll wine-tasting in Albion. She plans to have a more informal meet-and-greet during that time. She is excited to talk individually to readers and answer more specific questions about her book.

“Having that kind of opportunity is so important because it allows me to learn more about what is working and what isn’t,” she said. “It also gives me a chance to address any unanswered questions people may have about the book.”

Bindings Bookstore will have copies available during the Hoag workshop or the book can be requested for the Sip and Stroll event by calling the bookstore at (585) 283-4498.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Kim Martillotta Muscarella of Albion painted this bench to look like a piano. The bench was added to the downtown this afternoon. It’s in front of the Uptown Browsery and Knight’s Pride. Muscarella’s son, Jeremiah Knight, owns Knight’s Pride, a custom woodworking business.

The Albion Department of Public Works also installed a new 5-foot-wide interpretive panel about historic downtown Albion. The panel is in Waterman’s Park next to Conrad Cropsey’s law office.

The downtown now has 10 benches that have been painted in heritage or historical themes. The piano bench is in front of the Pratt Opera House. Michael Bonafede and his wife Judith Koehler are working to restore that third-floor site. The benches were paid for a Main Street grant through the state. The Albion Rotary Club paid the artist fee for the piano-themed bench.

The interpretive panel provides information about the history of downtown Albion and highlights some of the architectural features in the buildings. The panel also notes the Albion area is home to four other nationally recognized districts: Mount Albion Cemetery, Courthouse Square, the Cobblestone Society Museum and the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor.

The panel was paid for by the Main Street grant. The staff at the Lake Country Pennysaver designed the panel, which has been placed next to a mural celebrating the quarrymen.

Joyce LaLonde spends 6 weeks in Africa

Provided photos – Joyce LaLonde talks to a Primary School about the construction and importance of pit latrines as part of a sanitation and hygiene campaign.

ALBION – Joyce LaLonde spent six weeks this summer in Africa, digging holes for latrines, giving presentations to Ugandan women about family planning, and connecting with local officials and other humanitarian organizations.

LaLonde is only 18 and just finished her freshman year at Syracuse University, where she is double majoring in international relations and broadcast and digital journalism. She led a group of 13 other Syracuse students on the project through the Nourish International humanitarian organization based in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Syracuse University students, including LaLonde in front row at left, are pictured on the last day of work with half the group wearing Nourish International shirts, and others wearing Global Health Network of Uganda shirts.

The work in Uganda convinced LaLonde that she wants to be involved in international service work.

“This is definitely what I see myself doing,” she said. “This is something I’ve always been passionate about, seeing everyone around the globe as sisters and brothers.”

Her team from Syracuse worked with local Ugandan residents and the Global Health Network of Uganda. LaLonde said the Syracuse students were focused on doing sustainable projects that would be maintained long after the students left. (To see a 5-minute video about what they did, click here.)

They worked with residents to build three latrines for families with disabled members. They dug 20 -foot holes for the bathrooms. LaLonde and the team made small structures of concrete and bricks.

Students work hand-in-hand with community members to build a latrine.

The team made drying racks after using machetes to cut bamboo. They made washing stations and garbage pits.

The Syracuse team included 13 young women and only one man. LaLonde has experience in humanitarian projects. She went on a church mission trip in April 2013 for 10 days in Peru. She went with her youth group at the First Presbyterian Church in Albion for another project in Michigan.

The trip to Uganda was much longer, and LaLonde said the six-week commitment is a minimum to build relationships and trust with the local residents.

“You definitely need time to make a sustainable impact,” she said.

Nourish International members lead family planning education with women in Aber Village, Uganda.

The Syracuse group made a two-year commitment to the community in the Oyam District of northern Uganda. LaLonde and her team will be back next summer.

A group of Syracuse students last fall pushed to start a Nourish International chapter. They moved quickly to arrange and organize the trip to Uganda, partnering with the Global Health Network Uganda. Nourish International is not affiliated with a church.

“It’s service work,” LaLonde said. “It’s putting others before yourself.”

A representative from University of Southern California, Syracuse University (Joyce LaLonde – third from left), local government members, and GHN(U) executive director cut ribbon to officially begin partnership.

The students wanted to work in Africa. LaLonde said the culture has always fascinated her.

She was in charge of recruiting and training students for the trip. The group also raised $7,000 for its supplies in building the latrines and other projects. Each student also had to raise the money to cover their airfare and expenses. LaLonde said many in the Albion community helped her with those costs.

besides the physical projects in Uganda, students also led sessions with the Ugandans about sanitation and hygiene, financial literacy, sexual and reproductive health, and business education for women’s groups.

LaLonde was impressed by the sense of community in Uganda. The students were there during prime farming season. Ugandans got up early to work on their farms at 6 a.m. After working with their crops, they then pitched in to dig the latrine holes and complete other physically challenging projects.

The Syracuse group arrived on May 25 and stayed until July 6.

“I had a great team and we met a lot of incredible people,” LaLonde said.

One of the beneficiaries of the project accepts a bucket from Joyce LaLonde at the closing ceremony of the partnership.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Joe Szalay sings for the band, Creekside Classic Country, during tonight’s concert in downtown Albion on East Bank Street.

The band members include, from right to left: Dave Nolan on guitar, Rebecca DeBoard on vocals, and Joe and Cindy Szalay.

There are two more concerts in the series: the Fauxtones with Zero opening at 6 p.m. on Aug. 7, and the Triple Play Band with Painted Silence opening at 6 p.m. on Aug. 14.

Photos by Sue Cook – Chris Keller watches the game while middle school librarian Jodi Brady has Claire Squicciarini and Logan Conlon roll the dice to pick their next books.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

ALBION – The Fizz, Boom, Read summer reading program continues in the Hoag Library. The program is designed to encourage reading through the opportunity to earn prizes, but Albion has a little extra incentive to draw in students.

Albion students that participate in the summer reading program earn the opportunity for extra credit toward their September English class.

Wednesday nights from 5 to 8 p.m. English Department Chair Chris Keller, along with Albion teachers and the middle school librarian, gather in the teen room at Hoag. Students are welcome to come play a monopoly-like board game which helps guide book choices or independently pick their own reading material. After completing a book, students earn tickets based on their goals to enter into drawings for prizes.

Goals are diverse and offer options for kids to be able to freely pick almost anything they would like to read. Sample goals include reading a newspaper or a book from a series.

“Our goal is to get kids to read,” said Keller. “We want this to be flexible and offer choices in a game atmosphere. The idea was to partner with the local library, raise the kids’ awareness, and turn up the volume on reading.”

The colored spaces offer kids a chance to read a book in the genre listed such as mythology (non-fiction), biography, science fiction or horror for two tickets. Players can also choose to ignore the space and pick a book outside the genre for one ticket instead.

“I love libraries,” Keller added. “I always say I grew up in the library. I am a relatively successful person and I attribute a lot of my success to my public library. It really was a great resource and helped me develop my love of reading.”

Besides just a refresher in reading, the program’s tie into Fizz, Boom, Read means that science and math are incorporated into the program as well. Students that play the board game are quizzed on the periodic table of elements, but also can answer questions about the Latin origin of the words, the history of the elements and the people who discovered them. Correct answers can lead to more prize tickets.

The library also offers opportunities to come in during the regular summer reading program hours on Mondays and Thursdays from 2 to 7 p.m. This gives more flexibility to parents who may not be able to bring their children during the Wednesday hours.

The program is a collaboration between the school and library, which is targeted mostly toward sixth through ninth graders, although any child in the middle or high school is encouraged to participate. Donated prizes to help entice young readers include Kindles, tablets, ice cream party and pizza party supplies, school supplies and gift cards.

The English credit that students earn is factored as extra credit into their Common Core grades. For students that may be struggling, this program could be the difference between pass and fail.

Keller explained that kids lose information over the summer. Reading helps to retain some of the information and can close the gap between children that have a socio-economic advantage over others. Students that have participated in the summer reading programs have shown better scores and overall reading ability when they return to regular classes.

“We knew we had to close the gap, but we also had to fight the summer drop-off,” said Keller.

“We need to get back into the idea that reading is a necessity,” he said, commenting that some homes don’t even have books in them. “Our students leave high school now and are not prepared for college.”

Students can join the reading program at any time. There are still a few weeks left to participate to receive credit toward English class and earn prize tickets. Even a student that only attends a couple of sessions can benefit greatly from the program.

Younger readers and adults can also take part in the library’s regular reading program. The entire program will conclude on Aug. 21 with an ice cream social for all participants.