Site is available for residents of Orleans County

ALBION – The warming center at Christ Episcopal Church in Albion is open tonight for people in Orleans County who need a warm place to stay.

The site is operated by Oak Orchard Health. Anyone that needs access to the warming center/shelter is asked to call (585) 340-1355 to make arrangements prior to going

“Our staff is on standby and ready to help, including providing a warm cup of coffee and a safe place to warm up,” Oak Orchard Health stated on its Facebook page. “Do not stay stranded in the cold. Please call for assistance.”

There are also daytime warming centers that include Hoag Library in Albion at 134 South Main St.; Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina at 620 West Ave.; and the Eastern Orleans Community Center at 75 Public Square in Holley.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Albion First Presbyterian Church Choir sings “Call to Christmas” on Saturday during the annual community Christmas concert hosted by the church.

The event is presented by the Albion Alumni Foundation and the Albion First Presbyterian Church.

Bella Davy, a 2021 Albion grad, holds her son Wyatt while singing “The Christmas Song.” Davy was among many Albion alumni to perform in the concert.

About 200 people attended the concert in the historic church. Here they are listening to Jason Pahura, a 2008 graduate.

Jason Pahura plays the guitar and sings, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Sarah Hill sings, “River.” She has performed as a soloist and in many of the productions by the Lakes Plains Players.

Other performers included Gary Simboli, Lonnie Froman and John Borello, Annalise Steier, Mike Thaine, Alec Sherman, Hannah Brewer, Mollie Radzinski, Ron Albertson, Jason Anstey, Keira Zambito, Susan Thaine, Denise Thomas, Leah Kania, Erin Moody and the community choir.

Provided photos

ALBION – The Orleans Koinonia Kitchen celebrated its annual Christmas event on Thursday and served over 600 meals.

The OK Kitchen also gave gifts and goodie bags to 175 children. Faith Smith, the kitchen’s director, said the OK Kitchen assisted 275 families with food and gifts.

The Community of Hope Church prepared the hot meals, with to-go meals put together by Harvest Christian Fellowship.

The goodie bags for adults were handed out by Rome Santiago. Children received a filled fanny pack, goody bag and a toy that were given out by Annabella Dusharm and Meleana Mengs. Every family received a food box filled with non-perishable foods, eggs, fresh produce, Christmas tree cakes and frozen chicken that were handed out by Michael Smith and Albion Lions member Kevin Howard.

Debbie Coon Barbato set up a holiday craft table for children.  Kelly Follman, a Lyndonville music teacher, and a student played music for the group at the OK Kitchen.

“We were blessed with so many donations from the community,” Smith said. She listed Harvest Christian Fellowship, Community of Hope, The Albion/Medina Lions, Albion Save-A-Lot ,Tops in Albion, Albion Faith Fellowship, Albion Middle School, Albion National Honor Society, Pirate Toys, Frosty & Friends, the Millers Bulk Food & Bakery, and Foodlink.

The kitchen is based at Harvest Christian Fellowship and served about 35,000 meals on Thursdays this year. The kitchen will be closed on Christmas and be back open on Jan. 1.

The OK Kitchen also gave out over 2,300 frozen meals, over 1,700 extra care bags, 1,600 food bags, 900 cleaning/laundry bags and over 750 bags for homeless people.

Faith Smith, the kitchen’s director, said the site is now fully supported by Foodlink.

“We will now be getting food on a regular basis, so we are looking for groups to come cook at the kitchen,” she said. “We will be supplying everything, food included!”

Volunteers are welcome to go to the OK Kitchen website – www.okkitchen.org, click the calendar and date, and send Smith a message.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Members of the U-16 Lady Dukes softball team donated a bunch of toys to the Elks Lodge in Albion. The Elks have since given those 170 toys to be shared with students in the Albion school district.

The U-16 team includes Aubrielle Barry of Albion, whose parents Lisa and Chris Barry are both members of the Elks.

The Lady Dukes play their home games at Niagara-Wheatfield High School. They practice every Wednesday and Sunday, and play in many tournaments with most of their 70 to 75-game season in June and July. Most of the players are from Niagara and Erie counties.

Many of the team members were in Albion last Saturday to drop off the toys. The Lady Dukes they attended the Charles W. Howard Hometown Parade featuring more than 30 lighted floats in Albion.

Pictured in front from left include: Jenna Linderman, Madyson Flint, Madison Miller and Giana Fiorella.

In back include Lynda Standish, secretary of the Elks; Mike Jenks, exalted ruler of the Elks in Albion; Kyle Flint, Lady Dukes coach; Lillyana Dunsworth; Aubrielle Barry; Nicole Miller, assistant coach; Richard Robb, leading knight; and Jen Stephenson, member of the Elks.

The team shopped for the gifts at Target on Niagara Falls Boulevard.

Coach Flint said the players were enthusiastic about picking out toys for kids in the Albion school district.

“It was awesome to see the girls giving back,” he said.

Other team members not in the photo include Addison MacDougal, Ava Fraser, Grace Ortman, Leah Skurzewski, Leighton King and Zoie Downey.

The toys from the Lady Dukes and Elks Lodge were dropped off at the Albion school district. Pictured from left to right include Niccole More, Albion Elementary School social worker; Mike Jenks, Elks Exalted Ruler; Carl Phillips, Elks Trustee; and Angela Conway, Albion Elementary principal.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Josh Mitchell, a funeral director with Mitchell Family Cremations & Funerals, lights candles in honor of loved ones of people who attended a “Service of Remembrance & Hope” on Thursday evening at the First Baptist Church of Albion.

The service was presented by Mitchell Family Cremations & Funerals and the Albion Ministerium.

About 25 people attended. They wrote names of loved ones who were recognized by lighting candles and also by having those names read out loud during the service.

Gary Simboli, a retired music teacher at Albion, performs, “Mary, Did You Know?” during the service.

The Rev. Dr. Brenda Bierdeman, a minister at the Albion Free Methodist Church, reads scripture from Psalm 61:1-4, and Psalm 62: 1-2. “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken,” part of the passage states.

Erin Moody sings “Christmas in Heaven” during the service. He lit a candle in honor of his son Brennan, who passed away from a car accident when he was 17 on June 18, 2019.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Community Action staff and volunteers pose in a room at the Main Street Corner Thrift Store in Albion, which is filled with gifts and food for 131 families. Gifts were distributed on Thursday. From left are Ryan Lasal, director of Community Planning at CAOG; Nicki Targa, Emergency Services assistant; Kristina Ettinger, director of Community Services; and Maria Morgan, a volunteer.

ALBION – Three hundred and forty-one families will enjoy Christmas dinner and celebrate with gifts, thanks to Community Action of Orleans and Genesee counties and generous contributions from the community.

Community Action’s Christmas giveaway has been an ongoing program to assist families struggling financially. This year saw one of the largest (if not the largest) number of requests.

Ryan Lasal, director of Community Programming at Community Action, gives a ham to Filamena Salyer of Albion. In addition to food for Christmas dinner, Salyer received gifts for her young son.

In Albion 131 families received gifts and food for a Christmas dinner, which included a ham. Holley gave out gifts and food to 36 families, while Genesee County filled 174 requests.

Every eligible family who applied received a box of food with a ham or turkey and food for a traditional holiday meal, said Ryan Lasal, director of Community Planning at CAOG. Children filled out a wish list and each child received a gift, Lasal said.

On Tuesday, Lasal and Kristina Ettinger, Community Services organizer, were assisted by Nicki Targa, Emergency Services assistant and volunteers Brittany Knight, her son Teddy and Maria Morgan. Morgan regularly works 21 hours a week volunteering, Lasal said.

Ettinger said by the end of the day on Tuesday, most all of the packages will have been distributed.

The distribution took place at the rear of Community Action’s Main Street Corner Thrift Store, where two rooms were filled with bags and boxes of gifts and food.

One resident who happily picked up his gifts was Dennis Massey of Albion.

“Getting this food means we won’t be hungry on Christmas,” he said. “This is a gift from God.”

Massey said there are four in his family who will now have a Merry Christmas. He said Community Action has helped him before and he was very thankful.

Brittany Knight volunteered to help with her son Teddy, 8.

“Community Action gave to us when we first moved here, and we wanted to give back,” Knight said.

While requests for holiday assistance were up from last year, Lasal said they were able to fill all requests because of the generosity of the community.

“A lot of organizations stepped up and adopted children,” Lasal said. “This is the most prepared we’ve been for the holiday.”

Last year, Community Action served a total of 244 families in both counties.

“When SNAP benefits were canceled, the community really rallied around our agency,” Lasal said. “We saw a big influx of donations and cash.”

He said they worked with Walmart to buy 160 hams and 130 turkeys.

Toys and gifts for children were made possible through donations from the Pirate Toy Fund of Rochester, Toys for Tots and a toy drive by Canalside Tattoo in Medina.

“A lot of community members just came in and dropped off presents, food and cash,” Ettinger said.

Filomena Salyer of Albion was another resident whose family will have a happy holiday because of Community Action.

“Getting food for Christmas and gifts for my son means a lot to me,” Salyer said. “I am very thankful for Community Action. By the grace of God they have been very generous to me. Our Christmas would be pretty bland without their support. I thank God for this place.”

Community Action of Orleans and Genesee gave out Christmas food and gifts to more than 300 families on Tuesday. Here, Dennis Massey of Albion, right, picks up his gifts and Christmas ham from Kristina Ettinger, director of Community Services; Teddy Knight, 8; and Ryan Lasal, director of Community Programming at COAG.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Jon Rissinger and his wife Galina are shown inside Sew-It-Seams Upholstery, which they opened in October at 28 East Bank St.

ALBION – When Jon Rissinger was a kid growing up in Wyoming County, his parents were 4-H leaders. His mother taught him to sew as a kid as part of being in 4-H.

Rissinger, now 66, has turned that hobby into a busy new business in Albion. He opened Sew-It-Seams Upholstery on Oct. 1 at 28 East Bank St.

He works with leather, vinyl, cloth, cutting the materials to size and then sewing them together. Some of the projects have 40 different pieces to sew.

Rissinger likes to work with his customers to give new life to old furniture, and seats for cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles and boats. He also does hemming and zipper replacement.

“What intrigued me most about sewing is you can make whatever you want,” he said. “You connect two pieces together and you got a new product.”

Jon Rissinger creates a pattern for a new cover on a snowmobile seat. He makes new fabric for furniture, car seats, motorcycle seats, boat seat and snowmobiles. He also is skilled a chair caning.

Rissinger has previously worked as a hoof trimmer for the dairy industry for 15 years and he owned a computer repair shop in Castile. He moved to Albion 3 ½ years ago, drawn by a good deal on his house.

He has been doing upholstery projects the past decade and wanted more room for the business. The spot in downtown Albion has been a good fit.

“I’ve been self-employed for 30 years,” he said. “You get to meet a lot of people.”

Rissinger has four sewing machines, a serger, fabric cutter and other  equipment. He is considering offer classes this winter for people who want to learn the sewing craft, upholstering and chair caning.

The business is open from noon to 6 p.m. from Monday through Friday. For more information call (585) 867-1536 or check the business’s Facebook page.

Jon Rissinger opened his business, Sew-It-Seams Upholstery, in Albion on Oct. 1 and he said he has been busy.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Albion was busy on Saturday during its annual Hometown Holiday event. There were many activities in the downtown business district, the library and other locations.

The top photo shows kids making crafts and enjoying hot chocolate at Hoag Library. They also made get well cards for 4-year-old Paisley who is struggling from complications from a small intestine transplant. Paisley, the daughter of Josh Daniels and Ashley Nenni, has been at Mount Sinai in New York City for over a year.

The kids at Hoag were all able to take home a tea cup to give to a family member for Christmas. The activity was organized by Lori Laine, Maureen Bennett, Marilyn Burgoon and Michelle Hughson.

Maureen Bennett, left, and Val Rush as Mrs. Claus greeted people at Hoag Library.

The day started with Coffee with a Cop at the Village Office. Sgt. Robert Wagner, second from left, and officer Sean McElhinny are shown with Kay Ecker, left, and Anita Finley who were leading a crafts activity where people could decorate ornaments.

Ashley Johnson brought her son and two nieces to decorate ornaments.

Hometown Holiday was capped with a parade at 6 p.m. and after-parties at Dubby’s Tailgate and 39 Problems.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Wes Tabor, a Vietnam War veteran, sets wreaths at the graves of veterans at Mount Albion Cemetery on Saturday. Tabor was a frontline medic in the war from 1969 to 1970.

Mount Albion for the second year joined in Wreaths Across America. The first year in 2024, there were 225 wreaths. On Saturday, the total was boosted to 360.

Jenn Thom leads the wreath effort at Mount Albion. She is the director of Operation Honor. She would like to see wreaths for all the veterans buried at Mount Albion – more than 2,000.

Jennifer Hughes, Girl Scout leader for Troop 82094, brought several scouts to Mount Albion to help place the wreaths, including her granddaughter, Evelyn Strickland.

Angie Wolfe and her son Caleb, 13, carry wreaths to be placed at the veterans’ section of the cemetery. Caleb volunteered with the History Club at Albion school.

Jenn Thom, director of Operation Honor, and Wes Tabor set wreaths at Mount Albion with temperatures in the low 20s.

When the volunteers set the wreaths, they were encouraged to say the veteran’s name and thank them for their service.

These Girl Scouts from Medina – Rayne Davis in front, Alaina Fry behind her, and Madison Fry at right – carry wreaths to place at veterans’ graves.

More than 30 parade participants brave 20-degree weather

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Bloom’s Flower Shop took first place in the Charles W. Howard Hometown Parade on Saturday in Albion.

Bloom’s won the $600 first place prize with a float that featured Cousin Eddie from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

Bloom’s passes down Main Street in front of the judge’s stand. There were about 30 floats and other parade entries in the fifth annual lighted parade in Albion.

Eye of Oden, a dog training site in Kent, won second place and $400 for its entry in the parade.

Eye of Oden had several dogs and their handlers in the parade.

The Albion FFA won third place and $200 for a float with a theme from the Toy Story. Toy Story has a message, “You got a friend in me.” The FFA shared its message: “You got a friend in the Albion FFA.”

Orly the Ox, the county’s bicentennial mascot, joined Santa and Mrs. Claus in a float. That float was a decorated boat to celebrate the Erie Canal, which also observed its 200^th anniversary in 2025.

Orly, Mrs. Claus and Santa greet people as they head north on Main Street. The parade started and ended at Dubby’s Tailgate.

Albion’s youth football was in the parade and celebrated its recent undefeated season and championship in the Niagara Orleans Football Association.

ARG Disposal & Transfer, a dumpster rental service in Albion, decorated float for the hometown parade.

Vendi Excavating & Septic of Rochester decorated some of their trucks in lights.

Hearth & Home Real Estate in Albion was the first float in the parade.

Painted Sky Ranch in Brockport brought several horses for the parade.

Luddy’s Equipment Rental of Albion decorated a float for the parade.

Four Seasons Stables in Lanesborough, Mass. brought horses and a float for the parade.

Head Start from Community Action had a large group participating in the parade.

Quill’s Towing in Barre joined in the parade.

Town and Country Quilt Shop created a float.

Some Albion students led by music teacher Karen Conn sang Christmas carols in the parade.