Rev. Susan Thaine leads church in her hometown

Dick Anderson of Waterport plays the guitar and sings the Rev. Susan Thaine’s favorite hymn during her first Sunday as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Albion.

By Ginny Kropf, correspondent

ALBION – “I see friends I’ve known forever,” the Rev. Susan Thaine said as she began her first Sunday as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Albion.

The Rev. Thaine grew up in Albion, a daughter of Robert and Peggy Collins. She and her husband Mike have lived on Oak Orchard Road since 1999.

Tim McGee, a member of the congregation for 10 years, said it was pretty special to get a new minister who happens to be a hometown native.

“We are blessed to have her and we hope she’ll be here for a long time to come,” McGee said. “She’s ‘home’ now. She’s a very uplifting person and she’s going to change this church.”

The Rev. Thaine grew up on West Academy Street. Both she and her husband graduated from Albion High School in 1986. They were married in 1992 and have a daughter, Abby, and son, Kyle.

Mike is the band director and instrumental teacher at Albion High School.

The Rev. Thaine said she knew at the age of 8 she wanted to go into the ministry after attending the Bible Club at the home of Sid and Etha Bolton and then attending church camp with them.

The congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Albion put on a picnic after worship Sunday to welcome their new pastor, Albion native the Rev. Susan Collins Thaine. She is shown here ready to cut her cake.

“But we attended the Free Methodist Church, and while in theory they accepted female pastors, I never saw any,” she said. “So I made the decision to take a route which was open to me – music.”

She received a master of science in applied voice from Roberts Wesleyan College in 1990 and a master of divinity from Colgate Rochester Divinity School in 2010. She served as pastor of the Penfield Presbyterian Church from the fall of 2010 until this month.

In May, she was appointed moderator of the Presbytery of Genesee Valley.

As she began sharing her ministry with the Albion congregation, the Rev. Thaine said one thing was running through her heart and mind.

“Ada Grabowski, former Albion School Superintendent, once gave my husband this sage advice, ‘Begin as you mean to go on,’” the pastor said. “For me, the way I want to go on is with intention to create meaningful and transformative connections; our individual and corporate connection with God; and our connections with one another and with our neighbors outside the doors of the church. I see a future where this congregation is known as a place of vibrant faith lived out as we strive to become a ‘Good Neighbor Church.’”

The Rev. Thaine said she is excited to get to know each and every one of the congregation, and has scheduled a series of luncheons from now until January, in which she encourages everyone to pick a date and sign up.

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ALBION – An Albion business will celebrate 50 years in the community on Saturday with a car cruise-in that is expected to draw 100 classic cars.

Dan DeCarlo, president and owner of Arnold’s Auto Parts, wanted to celebrate the business’s milestone anniversary by welcoming classic cars. The 4 to 8 p.m. cruise-in will include a wine-tasting from Midnight Run Wine Cellar, food from the Masonic Lodge, and music from the band Black Jack, which will include a special guest appearance by Scott Lonnen, who works at Arnold’s.

The car show will be in the parking lot behind Five Star Bank, across the street from Arnold’s at 116 North Liberty St.

Arnold DeCarlo, Dan’s father, started the business in October 1968. Dan has been working at the business for 41 years, since he was 14.

“It’s nice to wait on people and try to help them,” he said. “We have a lot of good customers who are good people.”

Arnold’s Auto Parts became a NAPA Auto Parts dealer two years ago. Arnold’s also continues to sell ACDelco Auto Parts.

DeCarlo said the business has been growing since it became a NAPA Auto Parts two years ago. NAPA gives Arnold’s access to parts for farm machinery. NAPA also has parts for many old cars, which DeCarlo said are in increasing demand. He said more people are working on older cars and hot rods.

“YouTube has been a game-changer,” he said. “It allows people to do things they normally wouldn’t do. We’re seeing more people working on their own cars.”

Arnold’s continues to sell ACDelco auto parts, and is looking to expand its electronics inventory.

The business has 10 employees, with two on the road making deliveries to auto repair shops and farms between Medina and Hamlin.

The car show on Saturday follows a Christmas in July from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. That event, planned by the Albion Merchants Association, includes sidewalk sales, raffles, a Christmas-themed “kiddie parade” at noon, and many other games and activities.

The day’s events start at 9:30 with a ribbon cutting for the new Santa mural at Waterman Park.

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ALBION – DePaul Properties today secured local approvals for a proposed 40-unit housing project on Liberty Street.

The Village of Albion Planning Board approved the site plan, and the Zoning Board of Appeals approved three variances for the project.

With the local approvals in place, DePaul said it will work to secure final state financing for the project. Construction of the project, including demolition of three vacant houses, is expected to start in October 2019.

DePaul wants to have 36 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units. The one bedroom units can have up to two people and the four-bedroom apartments have room for up to four people.

DePaul will have staff on site to oversee the apartment complex, and also to take residents to appointments with a DePaul van.

“This is to build community housing for people for people who don’t have it right now,” said Gillian J. Conde, vice president for DePaul.

During public hearings by the Zoning Board and Planning Board, residents asked who the project is targeting for tenants.

DePaul is designing the project to support people with disabilities, including senior citizens and veterans. The organization will do extensive background checks for credit, criminal and sex offender history and evictions.

“This is not housing to rehabilitate offenders,” Conde said.

She was asked if the project would hurt local landlords. Conde said she didn’t think it would impact landlords who provide quality housing.

She expects many of the tenants are currently “doubled up” living with friends or family.

DePaul had renderings of how the building would look in Albion, including new sidewalks by the property on Liberty and Beaver streets.

Ron Vendetti, the village’s code enforcement officer, said the project will likely force landlords to improve many of the other apartments in the community.

“If you provide a better product, you’ll get the better people,” Vendetti said, responding to a question.

He said the new apartments would be a significant improvement to the neighborhood on Liberty and Beaver streets. Two of the houses being demolished have been vacant for several years and are covered with brush and vegetation. Another house was recently vacant following the deaths of the long-time residents of the house.

Betty Sue Miller, director of Hoag Library, said she hears from many lower income patrons at the library that many of the apartments in the community are infested with bed bugs and are not appealing.

“I don’t want to see local landlords who do a great job get hurt,” she said about the project. “But there are bad landlords. Some people are living in squalor because that’s all they can afford.”

DePaul will offer the one-bedroom apartments for $675 a month, including utilities, while two-bedroom units are $775 monthly.

Tenants on Section 8 will be eligible to apply for an apartment at DePaul, but Conde said the project isn’t focused on Section 8. She expects veterans, senior citizens and some people needed mental Health and other services to be tenants.

DePaul is proposing to demolish three unoccupied houses on Liberty Street, between the railroad tracks and Beaver Street.

The meeting room at Village Hall was packed for the presentation about the project.

DePaul needs variances for the project. It is proposing 50 parking spaces, when the village code requires 80 (two parking spots for each unit). DePaul is seeking a 5-foot rear setback when the village code requires 25 feet. DePaul also wants a fence to be 8 feet high for a sound wall on the south side of the property, instead of the 7 feet required by the village code. The vinyl fences won’t be white, DePaul officials said.

DePaul anticipates the 50 spaces will be adequate based on the demand at its other apartment buildings because many of the tenants do not have cars.

With the rear setback, DePaul will plant a row of evergreen trees for additional screening. DePaul also wants the taller sound wall to mitigate noise from the neighboring rail line.

The ZBA, led by chairman Richard Tibbits, approved the variances while the Planning Board, led by chairman Matthew Hand, approved the site plan.

The village needs to work out a PILOT with DePaul for how much it will pay the local governments in revenue. Those agreements are typically for at least 10 years.

Linda Smith, a local resident, said the village should have worked out the PILOT before approving the project. Smith owns several apartments in the village.

She didn’t like that her state tax dollars were being used to fund a new project that may result in increased vacancies in her apartments.

“It will be tough to compete against an entity with your tax dollars when they’re not adding to the tax dollars here,” she said.

DePaul officials assured her they would provide local governments with annual payments, and those payments might top the property taxes the site would generate without a PILOT.

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