By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – About 100 people are sipping wine and having a good time this evening at Holy Family Parish’s first-ever wine-tasting fundraiser.
Eagle Crest Vineyards form Conesus is providing the wine. Deborah Lill, an employee with the Finger Lakes winery, serves up a glass of wine inside the Lyceum, the former St. Joseph’s School on Main Street.
The wine-tasting is a fundraiser for the parish through the Parish Life Committee, which is headed by Jim Adduci. He is pictured waiting to address the crowd. Adduci is also the Parish Council president.
Eagle Crest supplies the church with wine for communion through its O-Neh-Da Vineyard. It supplies many of the Catholic churches in the state with wine. The wine company did its first parish wine-tasting in 2011 after a church was flooded in Binghamton.
That event proved a successful fundraiser for that parish. Eagle Crest has offered to do similar events for other Catholic churches and now does about 25 wine-tastings for churches in the state. The winery will be in Albany on Sunday for a wine-tasting.
“It’s a great way to bring the community together,” said Lisa Woodhams, one of the leaders of the winery.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Last week an Albion company took down a warehouse that ran along the railroad tracks from Main to Platt streets.
Most of the wreckage has been hauled away in the past week. These photos were taken around noon today. The Environmental Construction Group of Albion has been lead contractor on the project.
The warehouse was taken down to make way for a new 2,000-square-foot Dunkin’ Donuts. The new store is planned to have 30 seats inside, 46 parking spaces, a 230-square-foot freezer next to the building, and a drive-through lane that could accommodate 10 vehicles. The property will have exits on both Main and Platt streets.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 April 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Two Albion police officers arrived at a fire on Washington Street last night and assisted the occupants in getting out of the building, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said.
Sergeant William Scribner and Officer Robert Wagner helped an intoxicated individual out of the house, and also woke up a woman sleeping on the first floor and assisted her out of the building. The officers were on scene at about 2 a.m. after getting a call about smoke coming from the house, Nenni said.
The Albion Fire Department knocked the fire down and limited the damage to the second floor of 231 Washington St. There were no injuries, Nenni said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Pastor Jack Laskowski and his wife Debbie cook spaghetti for a dinner at the First United Methodist Church of Albion this evening. The church promoted the meal as “Pastor Jack’s Famous Spaghetti.”
The church has several dinners that are open to the community each year, with spaghetti, chicken barbecue and lasagna on the menu. Laskowski is also the pastor of the United Methodist Church in Holley.
Susan Fancher – By Marsha Rivers, Eastman at Albion
ALBION When world-class saxophonist Susan Fancher thinks back on her growing-up years in “lil’ old Albion,” she attributes her early success to encouraging teachers, excellent peers, and two highly motivating factors in the life of any kid: Praise and attention.
Albion school music teachers Mike Snyder, Bill Furioso, Sid Bolton and Mike Grammatico “just gave me so much encouragement and confidence,” Fancher recalls. “It goes to show that being a music teacher is more than just teaching an instrument it’s grabbing onto the interest you see in your students and nurturing it.”
Albion Central School announced last week that it is being recognized for the seventh straight year among the “Best Communities for Music Education” by the North American Music Merchants.
Not only did Fancher’s teachers keep her motivated. So did her fellow students several of whom also pursued music careers and her church and community. She gave some her first performances for the congregation of the Barre Center Presbyterian Church and at the Orleans County nursing home.
Fancher also credits her parents, Judy Fancher of Barre and the late Laverne Fancher, for their tremendous support. And she cites her sister Sandy Fancher Bastedo as “one of the most important fellow musicians of my childhood. I grew up listening to her beautiful piano playing and had the good fortune of having her as my accompanist.”
Many of Fancher’s family and friends will be present Sunday to enjoy a decades-more sophisticated performance at the First Presbyterian Church, 29 East State St., starting at 3 p.m.
Fancher will team with fellow saxophonist and Eastman professor Chien-Kwan Lin in the final installment of this year’s Eastman at Albion Courthouse Square Concert Series. Lin’s wife Pi-Lin Ni, who also teaches at Eastman, will collaborate with the sax players on piano.
“I’m really looking forward to coming back and performing for the hometown crowd,” Fancher said. “And Chien-Kwan and I we’re part of this tight-knit group of ‘sax geeks’ from around the world. We’ve talked about playing together for years, and now the stars have aligned for this to happen. It’s going to be so much fun.”
Fancher’s path to professional musicianship took some global twists and turns. Mike Grammatico, who became her main teacher in Albion, accompanied her to the All-State Music Festival her senior year. While she was in rehearsals, he inquired of other New York music teachers about the best colleges for studying saxophone. She applied and got accepted to all four recommendations but landed at Northwestern University in Chicago, mainly because of the excellent financial aid package they offered her.
Chien-Kwan Lin
Fancher jokes that she was “Miss Practicality” and didn’t plan to rely on her music to pay her bills. She started out as a music education major, so she would be prepared to teach, but her love of mathematics led to her first “twist.” After feeling challenged and invigorated by an invitation-only honors calculus course her freshman year, she decided by sophomore year to pursue math even more rigorously, while still studying and performing on sax.
Graduating three years later with a dual degree in music performance (not education) and math, Fancher faced the next “turn”: An invitation to study sax in Bordeaux, France, which did and loved for a year. There, she met Mark Engebretson, who was to become her partner in life and music. After a brief time putting her math degree to work at a major health insurance company in Chicago and not loving it Fancher returned to Northwestern as Ph.D. math student. A year later, another opportunity found Fancher and Engebretson returning to Europe as husband and wife and musical collaborators.
After two years in Stockholm followed by three years in Vienna, Fancher says she and her husband “finally felt secure in their desire to be professional musicians.”
She laughs about how difficult it was to make peace with that possibility. “We talked about how we didn’t want that freelance life,” she says, “with no money, no security we thought it would be too scary.”
But they lived it and loved it and, Fancher says, “wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Back to the States. Both earned their doctoral degrees in music and now teach Mark, music composition at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Susan, saxophone at Duke Univeristy. The couple has a daughter, Eva, and both spouses play in the Red Clay Saxophone Quartet, named for the distinctive soil in the area where they live.
Though fully committed to the musical life, Fancher admits she sometimes gets discouragedabout the lack of pay, the long hours of practice, the odd hours of performance.
“But it gives me so much joy to play for people when they enjoy it so much and when it provides therapy for them.”
Fancher recounts a time when a social services worker approached her after Rollin’ Phones sax quartet concert in Sweden. The woman had obviously been weeping and she told Fancher how much she had gleaned from the performance.
“I had a horrible day,” she said. “I had to remove a child from her home and it was awful. I wasn’t going to come tonight. I wasn’t feeling up to it. But I’m so glad I did. The music meant so much to me.”
“When things like that happen,” Fancher affirms, “it’s worth it. Music shows there is still beauty and kindness in the world in a way nothing else can.”
For more information on Sunday’s “Sax Appeal” concert, visit EastmanatAlbion.com. Tickets are available for purchase in Albion at Bindings Bookstore, 28 W. Bank St.; Blooms Flower Shop, 139 S. Main St.; Fischer’s Newsroom, 105 N. Main St, and in Medina at a lily and a sparrow, 510 Main St., and in Batavia at Roxy’s Music Store, 228 W. Main St. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Albion Alumni Foundation Scholarships. The church is handicapped accessible.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 April 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Law enforcement arrested 16 people today following a six-month investigation into the sale and distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, prescription narcotics and marijuana in the village of Albion, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force reported.The Task Force, Albion Police Department, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed six search warrants in the village of Albion and one in the town of Carlton.
As a result, police arrested 16 people on multiple sale and possession charges and seized powder cocaine, crack cocaine, prescription narcotics and marijuana.
The following were arrested:
Hardy
J.W. Hardy Jr., 56, of 262 East Bank St., Albion, who was charged with three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance (CSCS) in the third degree, four counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance (CPCS) in the third degree, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, three counts of criminal nuisance in the first degree, and four counts of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree.
Hardy was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Gary Moore. He remanded Hardy to county jail on no bail to his previous criminal history.
Julie A. Hardy, 46, of 262 East Bank St., Albion, who was charged with one count of CPCS in the third degree, one count of CPCS in the fifth degree, and four counts of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree.
Hardy was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Moore, and committed to the county jail on $10,000 cash or bond. She is to appear in Town Court on April 4 at 10 a.m.
James
Joseph B. James, 33, of 2 Garden Park Apts., Apt. No. 2. in Albion, who was charged with four counts of CSCS in the third degree, four of CPCS in the third degree, one count of criminal nuisance in the first degree, one count of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree, and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana.
James was arraigned in the Town of Gaines Justice Court by Judge Bruce Schmidt, who sent James to the Orleans County Jail on $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond. He is due back in court at 10 a.m. on April 7.
Warren
Melissa A. Warren, 28, of 2 Garden Park Apartments., Apt. No. 2, Albion, who was charged with 3 counts of CSCS in the third degree, four counts of CPCS in the third degree, six counts of criminal nuisance in the first degree, and one count of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree.
Warren was also arraigned by Judge Schmidt and remanded to county jail on $10,000 cash or bond. She is due back in court on April 7 at 10 a.m.
Ingram
Charles G. Ingram, 58, 175 North Main St., Room No. 20, Albion, who was charged with three counts of CSCS in the third degree, three counts of CPCS in the third degree, four counts of criminal nuisance in the first degree, and one count of CPCS in the seventh degree.
Ingram was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Moore. He remanded Ingram to county jail on no bail to his previous criminal history.
Miles
Stephen W. Miles, 51, of 175 North Main St., Room No. 12, Albion, who was charged with one count of CSCS in the third degree, one count of CPCS in the third degree, one count of CSCS in the fourth degree, one count of CSCS in the fifth degree, two counts of CPCS in the fifth degree, two counts of criminal nuisance in the first degree, one count of CPCS in the seventh degree.
Miles was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Moore. He remanded Miles to county jail on no bail to his previous criminal history.
Read
Dawn M. Read, 42, of 35 North Main St., Room No. 10, Albion, who was charged with one count of CSCS in the fifth degree, one count of CPCS
in the fifth degree, and one count of criminal diversion of prescription medication in the fourth degree.
Read was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Moore. He remanded Read to county jail on no bail to her previous criminal history.
Taylor
Freddie Taylor, 45, of 510 Mt. Read Blvd., Rochester, who was charged with one count of CSCS in the third degree, one count of CPCS in the third degree, one count of CSCS in the fourth degree, one count of CPCS in the fifth degree.
Taylor was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Moore, who sent Taylor to county jail on no bail to his previous criminal history.
Poole
Cheryl A. Poole, 51, of 13475 Gaines Rd., Carlton, who was charged with two counts of CSCS in the fifth degree, and two counts of CPCS in the fifth degree.
Poole was arraigned in the Town of Carlton Justice Court by Justice Patricia Russell.
Poole was committed to the county jail with no bail due to her previous criminal history. Poole is to return back to Carlton court on Friday at 3 p.m.
Taylor
Katherine O. Taylor, 22, of 13475 Gaines Rd. in Carlton, who was charged with three counts of CSCS in the third degree and three counts of CPCS in the third degree.
Taylor was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Moore, and committed to the county jail on $10,000 cash or bond. She is to appear in Town Court on April 4 at 10 a.m.
Forrester
Christine A. Forrester, 43, of 14 Erie St., Albion, who was charged with four counts of CSCS in the fifth degree and four counts of CPCS in the fifth degree.
Forrester was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Moore, and sent to the county jail on $10,000 cash or bond. She is to appear in Town Court on April 4 at 10 a.m.
Saddler
Christopher A. Saddler, 30, of 304 West State St., Albion, who was charged with one count of CSCS in the fifth degree, four counts of CSCS in the fifth degree, five counts of CPCS in the fifth degree, one count of criminal sale of marijuana in the fourth degree, one count of criminal possession of marijuana in the third degree, one count of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree, five counts of criminal nuisance in the first degree, and one count of criminal diversion of prescription medication in the fourth degree.
Saddler was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Moore, who sent sent him to the county jail on $10,000 cash or bond. He is to appear in Town Court on April 4 at 10 a.m.
Saddler
Jessica K. Saddler, 22, of 304 West State St., Albion, who was charged with one count of CSCS in the fifth degree, one count of CPCS in the fifth degree, four counts of criminal nuisance in the second degree, one count of criminal sale of marijuana in the fourth degree, one count of criminal possession of marijuana in the third degree, and one count of unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree.
Saddler was arraigned in Albion Town Court by Justice Moore, who sent sent her to the county jail on $10,000 cash or bond. She is to appear in Town Court on April 4 at 10 a.m.
Thompson
Tony Thompson, 47, of 29 Dale St., Rochester, who was charged with CSCS in the fifth degree and CPCS in the fifth degree.
He was arraigned in Albion court by Justice Moore and remanded to county jail on $10,000 cash or bond. He is to return to court at 10 a.m. on April 4.
Gaddis
Felicia A. Gaddis, 45, of 13475 Gaines Rd. in Carlton, who was charged with one count of CPCS in the seventh degree.
Gaddis was issued an appearance ticket for Carlton Town Court on April 24.
Muscarella
Wade M. Muscarella, 59, of 13475 Gaines Rd. in Carlton, who was charged with one count of CPCS in the third degree.
Muscarella was issued an appearance ticket for Carlton Town Court on April 24.
Law enforcement officers were assisted in the search warrant executions by K-9 units from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, Medina Police Department and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department.
This investigation is still ongoing and further charges and arrests are pending, Task Force Supervising Officer Joe Sacco said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Art Buongiorne, 87, impresses with work ethic
Photo by Tom Rivers – Art Buongiorne of Albion works as a security officer and also does some administrative work for CRFS. He is pictured with Jodi Gaines, the CRFS chief executive officer.
ALBION – He is a friendly face at the entrance for Claims Recovery Financial Services at its East Avenue complex, the former Chase site.
Art Buongiorne is also an inspiration to the staff of 600 workers, a testament to a hard work ethic and a good heart.
Buongiorne works weekends as a security officer for CRFS. He also works during the week at the business, doing administrative work such as printing copies, sorting, collating and other tasks.
Buongiorne is 87. He said he’s been blessed with good health. He credits that to vitamin supplements, exercise and his Christian faith, as well as cutting back on sugar and carbs.
“It’s staying healthy and doing it God’s way,” said Buongiorne, who puts in 40-plus hours each week at CRFS.
He is a Holley native and a World War II veteran. He and Mary, his wife of 65 years, raised six children.
Buongiorne, a former carpenter, was working in security for a Rochester bank until he was 83. He was laid off. He wanted to keep working and was hired about two years ago by G4S, a company contracted for security by CRFS.
Buongiorne works Fridays and Saturdays for that company. He impressed the CRFS staff with his dedication and outgoing personality.
Jodi Gaines, the company CEO, found duties for Buongiorne so he could increase his pay.
“I’m really blessed by it,” he said. “They’ve created a job for me.”
Buongiorne has written three books, and is trying to get them published. In one of his writings, “Faith Builders,” he writes about the power of God. He credits his Christian faith for helping him break away from alcoholism when he was a young man.
Buongiorne also writes about Italians who settled in the Holley area and became very successful as entrepreneurs and public servants. Buongiorne includes Jodi Gaines, the former Jodi Penna, in that book he has titled, “The Italians and Why They Came.”
“Art has been a great addition,” Gaines said. “He is hard-working and dedicated.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Four of the Pinewood Derby cars zoom down the track on Saturday as 25 Scouts in Pack 164 competed in their annual Pinewood Derby at St. Joseph’s Lyceum.
The cars near the finish line and several Scouts are into the action, including James Michael Beach (left in back), Jacob Foote (back center in blue Scout uniform), Declan McCue and Jonathan Judd (right). Judd was the overall winner. Parents include Brian McCue (left), Jason Foote (in red) and Jeff Baron.
Eric Brown, right, and his son Harrison were starters at the derby. Harrison’s brother Jeffrey was one of the competitors and made it to the finals.
Several parents were stationed near the finish line to help determine the winners.
Scouts who took home trophies and awards include, front row, from left: Aaron Flanagan, best in den for Tigers; Xavier Penafiel, best in den for Wolves; Austin Narbugh, best in den for Bears. Back row: Donavan Braley, second overall winner; Jacob Foote, third place overall; Jonathan Judd, first place overall, Cubmatser Mike Beach (in back); Jeffrey Brown, most original car; and Sawyer Braley, best in den for Webelos.
Press release
Albion Police Chief Roland D. Nenni III
ALBION – Lynnette A. Schumacher, who was listed Friday morning as a missing person from the village of Albion, was located in the city of Rochester today shortly before 1 p.m.
Schumacher was located when she called the Monroe County 911 center to inquire as to if she was a wanted person. The Rochester Police Department responded and located Schumacher in the 500 block of Broad Street.
The investigation by the Albion Police Department revealed that Schumacher had taken a car from an acquaintance in the village of Albion and then disposed of the car in Rochester because of narcotics activity she was involved in.
Schumacher was taken into custody by the Rochester Police Department and then turned over to the Albion Police Department. Schumacher was charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle 2nd and Grand Larceny 4th. She was arraigned in the Town of Albion Court where bail was set at $1,000. Schumacher in currently being held in the Orleans County Jail and is to return to Town Court on Tuesday.
The vehicle stolen by Schumacher has not been recovered and is believed to still be in Rochester. The stolen vehicle is as follows: 2006 Suzuki Frenza 4 door color Black with NYS Registration FCE-2528.
The investigation was aided by several reports from civilians providing information based on the media reports they had seen. The Albion Police would like to thank the media and the public for their assistance.
If anyone has additional information as to Schumacher’s activity over the past several days or the whereabouts of the stolen vehicle, please contact your local 911 center or the Albion Police at 585-589-5627.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
During the Empty Bowls event on Thursday, these Albion seventh graders – Evan Allen (left), Connor McQuillan (center) and Alex Rustay – dressed up to send a message about local hunger.
Albion seventh-graders have been doing the “Empty Bowls” project for six years. Students research local hunger and visit Food Link in Rochester. They learned that one of of four people have an insecure food supply locally.
They also each create a bowl in art class, learning pottery from teacher Kamie Feder.
The bowls were sold for $5 each on Thursday with the proceeds going to Community Action of Orleans and Genesee. The fund-raiser usually raises about $1,000 for Community Action.
Students made about 170 bowls. Each student wrote a note about hunger that was placed on each bowl.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
A long warehouse that stretched along the railroad tracks from Main to Platt street in Albion has been reduced to piles of debris. The top photos were taken at about 3 this afternoon.
The Environmental Construction Group of Albion worked on the project this week with a lot of physical changes at the site in the past two days.
JFJ Holdings of North Andover, Mass., plans to build a new 2,000-square-foot Dunkin’ Donuts at the site, right next to Tim Hortons. The new store would have 30 seats inside, 46 parking spaces, a 230-square-foot freezer next to the building, and a drive-through lane that could accommodate 10 vehicles.
The property will have exits on both Main and Platt streets.
The photo directly above shows how the property looked last year before the demolition crews arrived.
The two photos directly above show the site this morning at about 9:30 when big sections of the warehouse were still standing. The photos are from Platt Street looking west toward Main.
ALBION – The Albion Police Department is currently investigating a missing person case involving Lynnette Schumacher, who was last seen on Wednesday evening at about 10 p.m.
She left 128 Day St. in the village and police believe she then headed to the “REZ” in Genesee County. Police believe she left the Albion area operating a black Suzuki 4-door car with an unknown license plate number. The vehicle is said to have a sticker in the rear window that says, “Princess On Board.”
Schumacher has a history of mental health issues. Information was given to the Albion Police that Schumacher may have been in the Interstate 490 / Brown Street in the City of Rochester on Thursday afternoon needing gas money.
Schumacher is described as follows:
Age: 24
White Female (light skin tone)
Brown Hair
Brown Eyes
5’09” Tall
225 lbs
Numerous Tattoos
Last Seen Wearing: Black sweatshirt, Pajama Pants with Skulls on them.
If anyone has information as to Schumacher’s location, please contact your local 911 center or the Albion Police at 585-589-5627.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Provided photo
ALBION – Two village leaders were treated to a cake and fanfare on Wednesday when both Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheehan, left, and Mayor Dean Theodorakos attended their last board meeting as current elected village officials.
Sheehan served as a village trustee for eight years. He was unable to run for re-election because of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from running in partisan elections. Sheehan was recently hired as a maintenance mechanic for the VA in Batavia.
Theodorakos was the village mayor the past five years. He chose to not seek re-election citing the demands of a full-time job in Rochester as a senior accountant for Kodak. He also wants more time with his grandchildren.
The mayor and deputy mayor both said the village has made progress updating old infrastructure. The village has upgraded its sewer plant, sanitary and storm sewers, and overhauled some roads, most notably at Meadowbrook Drive, McKinistry Street, East State Street and Crimson Drive.
Theodorakos said the village has experienced a lot of recent investment, including in the downtown, and along routes 31 and 98. Some local merchants have invested in the village, and some national chains – Kentucky Fried Chicken, Advance Auto Parts and soon Dunkin’ Donuts – have picked Albion for businesses.
Dean London, Albion’s former police chief, will become mayor effective Tuesday. Two other new trustees – Stan Farone and Gary Katsanis – also will join the board. Farone will take Sheehan’s spot while Katsanis fills the vacancy created when Fred Miller became a county legislator on Jan. 1.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Says she battled with board over budget
Susan Rudnicky
ALBION – Susan Rudnicky was back in Hoag Library on Thursday, first using the site as a patron. Later in the day, she attended a session about Depression glass. That was a fund-raiser for Friends of the Library, where Rudnicky volunteers as a member.
“You don’t put your heart and soul into an institution for 16 years and then let go just like that,” Rudnicky said about her connection to the library.
On March 11 she was dismissed as director of the library by the board of trustees. She served as director for 16 years, and helped get the new library built, writing grants that secured $800,000 toward the project. The new site more than doubled the space from a historic structure on Main Street.
The new library has seen circulation jump about 50 percent from the old site. Total circulation topped 100,000 for the first time in 2013, reaching about 120,000. At Swan, circulation typically was about 80,000 annually.
“I’m proud of this building,” Rudnicky said. “They had been talking about it since I don’t know when.”
Board President Kevin Doherty said last week during a board meeting that Rudnicky didn’t follow board directives. That was why she was dismissed. She didn’t do anything illegal, Doherty said.
He didn’t specify the directives that were not followed, but said Rudnicky and the board often were at odds, going back for years.
Rudnicky said there was tension between her and the board over the library budget. She didn’t think the board approved a budget that fully covered the library’s operational needs.
The new library is open eight more hours a week than the former Swan Library, and it’s open nine more Saturdays and four more holidays – Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Good Friday and Columbus Day. Swan had 9.5 full-time equivalents for staff and that has dropped to 8 FTEs at the new site.
“It was hard to bring the staffing under budget,” Rudnicky said. “The pressure was trying to man that desk. It takes a certain number of people.”
Rudnicky would have liked more time on the job rather than her hasty exit on March 11 when she was escorted out of the building during business hours.
“It was the least graceful way, but I’m not going to let it get me down,” she said.
At 64, she is back on the job market, sending out resumes. She said it will be difficult to find a comparable job locally. She would like to keep working until she’s 70.
For now she remains committed to serving as president of the Cobblestone Society Museum. If she can find a job in the area she would like to stay involved with Friends of the Library.
She urged the community to continue to support the library, and honor their fund-raising pledges.
“The new building was the realization of a dream for me, along with a bunch of other people,” she said. “I just hope that people of good will take that dream forward.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 March 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Judy Manley, right, shows Cheryl Mowatt some of the Depression glass for sale at the Hoag Library. The sale continues until 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Depression glass was distributed by many food manufacturers during the Great Depression. The glass was included in boxes of food as an incentive for purchase. It has become a popular collectible.
Library patrons look over some of the Depression glass for sale at the Hoag Library. July Manley, Bill Lattin, and René Schasel discussed the history of Depression glass on Thursday at the library. The Friends of the Library is selling more than 100 pieces of the glass that were donated to the Friends to raise money for the library.
