Photo by Tom Rivers – Ed Salvatore, president of the Albion Exempts Club, serves up a plate of spaghetti during a dinner at the Exempts today. Salvatore volunteers as manager and cook at the site.

ALBION – Ed Salvatore, Albion’s mayor for eight years from 1998 to 2006, won’t seek the position in the upcoming March village election. Nor will he run for village trustee.

“I’m done with politics,” Salvatore said today. “I’m going to hang my political hat up.”

Salvatore the past two months considered another run for Village Board. The mayor’s position and three trustee seats are all up for election.

But Salvatore, 83, said a spot on the Village Board would force him to cut back at the Albion Exempts Club, a social organization of the Albion Fire Department. Salvatore spends about 25 hours a week at the Exempts, managing the site at 143 South Clinton St.

“I don’t want to give that up,” said Salvatore, who has been a member of the Fire Department for more than 60 years, including a stint as fire chief.

Salvatore enjoys volunteering at the Albion Exempts Club, including Thursday spaghetti dinners.

He is president of the Exempts Club and volunteers as a cook for the club’s Thursday spaghetti dinners, which are open to the public. He has filled the Exempts Club with historical photos and artifacts from the fire department.

Salvatore also has served as chairman of the Albion Republican Committee, but he no longer is on the committee.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties will pick their village candidates during caucuses later this month.

Salvatore is spending some of his free time working on the restoration of a boat. He hopes to have it ready for the summer.

“The only sign I’m putting out in my front yard is ‘Gone Fishin’,” he said.

Photos by Tom Rivers – A new year brings a new team to the Albion Town Board, led by Matt Passarell, center, the new town supervisor. The board held its organizational meeting tonight. The group includes, from left: Councilman Dan Poprawski, Councilman Richard Remley, Passarell, Deputy Town Supervisor Jake Olles, Councilman Todd Sargent and Town Clerk Sarah Basinait, in front. Remley and Sargent are both new to the board.

ALBION – A new administration has officially begun in Albion Town Hall with former Town Councilman Matt Pasarell now the town’s top elected official as town supervisor. He is joined by two other newcomers on the Town Board: Richard Remley and Todd Sargent.

Two holdovers on the board – councilmen Dan Poprawski and Jake Olles – both have completed two years on the board. Previous Town Supervisor Dennis Stirk did not seek re-election, nor did Councilman Tim Neilans.

Matt Passarell takes the oath of office as town supervisor with the oath adminstered by Town Justice Kevin Howard.

Passarell and Olles both ran for town supervisor and Passarell emerged as the victor in a very close race, 503 to 495. Passarell named Olles the deputy town supervisor tonight, a resolution supported by the full board.

Passarell said he wanted to extend the olive branch to Olles, and also recognize that Olles, a sergeant at Attica Correctional Facility, nearly won the election.

“We’ve had a lot of disagreements over the years but I think this is a good way to reach out,” said Passarell, who works in the quality department at Baxter Healthcare in Medina. Passarell, 34, also served in the Iraq War and is a past post commander for the VFW in Albion.

Todd Sargent takes the oath with Town Justice Kevin Howard administering.

At tonight’s organizational meeting, when officials approve a list of appointments, it was smooth sailing except for the appointment of the town attorney. Passarell and Remley both favored bringing back John Gavenda, who served as town attorney until the Stirk-led board approved Robert Roberson of Lockport two years ago.

Roberson was paid $36,000 a year. Gavenda of Albion said he would do the job for $25,000. Poprawski, Olles and Sargent all said they wouldn’t support Gavenda in the position.

Remley and Passarell said they backed Gavenda but would be open to another attorney in Orleans County. Passarell tabled the resolution.

Richard Remley is sworn in as town councilman.

“The cost was excessively high (with Roberson),” Passarell said. “We have plenty of options that are within the county.”

The board set the pay for elected officials with Highway Superintendent Jed Standish paid $53,740 plus $20,908 as water superintendent; Town Clerk Sarah Basinait will be paid $34,920 in that role plus $7,679 as water/sewer clerk and $3,000 as registrar of vital records; Town Justices Gary Moore and Kevin Howard will each be paid $16,480; the four town councilmen will be paid $3,704 with Passarell receiving $5,750 as town supervisor.

Some of the appointments include:

Cheryl Staines as historian, $450 a year; Phil McKenna as constable at $150 a year; Sarah Stirk as deputy town clerk at an hourly salary of $14.21; The Daily News of Batavia as official newspaper with the Lake Country Pennysaver of Albion as a supplement to publish town notices; First Niagara is the official depository of town funds; Todd Sargent will serve as fair housing officer; and employees will be reimbursed 56 cents a mile when using their own vehicles for town business.

The Town Planning Board members will be paid $600 a year with the chairman paid $1,000; The Zoning Board of Appeals members will be paid $250 a year with the chairman paid $350; Board of Assessment Review members shall be paid $175 for the year with the chairman getting $300.

The board’s regular monthly meetings will be the second Monday at 7 p.m.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Firefighters were on the scene in Barre for several hours in frigid temperatures last night.

BARRE The conditions at last night’s fire in Barre, temperatures at 2 degrees below zero, were brutal on local firefighters, who arrived at the scene at about 8 p.m. and didn’t leave until 1 a.m., Barre Fire Chief Jesse Babcock said.

“The firefighters did a heck of a job for the conditions,” Babcock said this morning.

The ground was slippery from the water on the road. Firefighters also had to keep water moving through the hoses so the lines wouldn’t freeze. Firefighters fought off the cold by trying to stay in constant motion.

The fire left a farmhouse at a total loss at 14665 East Barre Rd. Babcock said the fire started in the back corner of the house. The fire remains under investigation. A cause has not been declared yet.

Police and fire officials have not released the names of the house’s owner or the occupants. The Red Cross is assisting the family.

Barre was assisted by fire companies from Albion, Town of Batavia, Carlton, Clarendon, East Shelby, Elba, Fancher-Hulberton-Murray, Holley, Oakfield and Shelby.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Brandon Bias, left, and his friend Jacob Rausch, both 15, made a rink on the frozen Erie Canal just east of the Ingersoll Street bridge today. The two, who both play for the Brockport Eagles hockey team, played together for more than two hours today on the canal.

Bias of Hilton was visiting his father in Albion. He helped shovel a spot for the makeshift rink. Rausch lives in Le Roy.

The canal was busy today, even though it closed for the boating season about two months ago. At about 1 p.m. today, several snowmobilers, three cross country skiers and and a jogger all passed the hockey players.

Many fire companies turn out in sub-zero cold

Photos by Tom Rivers

BARRE Firefighters from several departments put out a house fire on East Barre Road late Friday night in sub-zero temperatures.

The fire destroyed a farmhouse at 14665 East Barre Rd. The Red Cross was on the scene to assist the family.

Orleans Hub should have more on the fire Saturday.

Dede family lost house, possessions in blaze

BARRE A late Friday night fire in bitter cold destroyed the Dede family’s home on East Barre Road and killed their two labs, Raven and Remy.

Linda Dede lived in the house with her son Thadeus, 20, and daughter Elizabeth, 16. The family is staying in a motel until Monday and is looking for an apartment in the village of Albion, said family friend David Krug.

He and other members of New York Revolution have rallied to help the family with clothes and basic necessities. They also are working to get them beds and appliances.

“They have been devastated and they’re down to absolutely nothing,” said Krug.

The family wasn’t injured in the blaze that broke out around 8 p.m. at 14665 East Barre Rd. The fire remains under investigation. The house has been declared a total loss.

“Nobody got hurt – that’s the main thing,” Krug said.

ALBION – One of the front-runners to be the next Albion mayor won’t be seeking the position because of the federal Hatch Act, which prevents a federal employee from running in a partisan election.

Kevin Sheehan, the current Albion deputy mayor and a village trustee the past eight years, wanted to run for the village’s top elected position in March. He was recently hired as a maintenance mechanic for the VA in Batavia. As a federal employee, he can’t run in the village election.

Sheehan can complete his term as trustee, which expires March 31. But he can’t run for another term as trustee, either.

“I’m really saddened about it because I really wanted to stay,” Sheehan said this morning. “I have to pick between the two jobs I love and I picked the one with benefits.”

Sheehan said he will remain active in the Albion community. He is currently vice president of the board of directors for Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance. He said he would be willing to serve on a village committee. He can be appointed to a village position.

“This really stinks because it wasn’t my decisions or the voters’ decision,” Sheehan said about the Hatch Act and its role in the local election.

The 1939 law prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity, including running for office in a village election.

The Republican and Democratic parties in Albion are working to find candidates for the March 18 election. Both parties will have their caucuses between Jan. 21 and 28.

The Republican Party wanted to have non-partisan elections in the village with all candidates running under independent lines. But the Democratic Party didn’t support that for this election. So candidates again will run through the two major political parties.

Former Mayor Ed Salvatore, a past Republican Party chairman, is weighing a run for office. He may seek mayor or trustee.

“I’m still undecided, but I’m leaning towards running,” Salvatore said this morning. “There are still some things I can do. To be mayor you have to be interested and dedicated to it. I would be dedicated because I have all the time in the world.”

Dean Theodorakos isn’t seeking re-election for mayor. The seats for Eileen Banker, Fred Miller and Sheehan are all up for election. Sheehan said he worries about a lot of turnover on the board, especially with several projects in the community, including a replacement of the Clarendon Street bridge perhaps the most notable.

Sheehan said the village has tackled many projects in his eight years on the board, with significant repairs to the sewer lines and sewer plant one of the biggest accomplishments. The village was under a consent order by the state Department of Conservation to upgrade its sewer system and reduce infiltration into Sandy Creek. The projects have improved the system, and the consent order was lifted by the DEC.

“I wanted to stay because there was a lot of unfinished business,” he said.

Joe Allen

LOUISVILLE, Ky. An Albion native was killed early Saturday morning after he was hit by a taxi cab while walking down the side of the road.

Joseph Allen, 26, graduated from Albion in 2005 and then joined the military, serving four years with the Navy before returning to Albion in 2009.

He was killed just before 1:30 a.m. on Dixie Highway just north of Katherine Station Road in Louisville.

“Of course we haven’t ruled out any factors at this point,” Louisville Metro Police Department spokesman Dwight Mitchell told WLKY in Louisville. “Our investigators are investigating. Hopefully we’ll have more information once the investigation is complete.”

Allen of West Point, Ky., was pronounced dead at the scene. He is the son of Dave Allen, a former reporter for The Journal-Register and a lawyer in Medina. Allen is now a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and lives in Fort Knox, Ky.

Joe’s mother, Carmela Allen, lives in Waterport and his sister, Patricia McDonald, is in Medina.

Mr. Allen, in a Facebook message this morning, said his son visited him in March and liked the area and decided to stay. He was working in maintenance at a local factory.

The family will receive friends at the Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes, Inc., 21 W. Ave., Albion, on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m., where prayers will be said Saturday at 9:30 a.m. followed by his Mass of Christian Burial at Holy Family Parish/St. Joseph’s Church at 10 a.m. Burial will be in St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Veterans Outreach Center, 459 South Ave., Rochester NY 14620.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Seamus Kenney, a 1993 Albion graduate, returned home for the holidays and also to put on a concert tonight at the Cabaret at Studio B at Gotta Dance by Miss Amy.

Kenney, a professional musician the past 13 years, lives in Durham, North Carolina, where he teaches middle school band. For a decade he traveled and performed with the band SNMNMNM.

Photo by Tom Rivers

His niece, Shannon Vanderlaan, opened the concert. Vanderlaan is also an Albion native. She is currently a junior at The College at St. Rose in Albany, where she is majoring in oboe. Her mother and Seamus’s sister Karen Conn also sang during the concert tonight.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Shannon Vanderlaan

ALBION – Residents are invited to bring their Christmas trees to a bonfire Jan. 17 at Bullard Park as part of a fire and ice festival.

The festival will include a fire performer, pulled pork sandwiches from the Crooked Door, hot cocoa and hopefully night sledding if there is enough snow on the big hill.

Village officials, incuding Program Coordinator Sid Beatty, are working on more details for the event. They encouraged people to hang on to their trees until the bonfire rather than leaving them at the curb for the garbage trucks to grab.

Photo by Tom Rivers – McDonalds is open today in Albion from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. A few other businesses are open as well.

A rare sight at the Walmart Supercenter today: no cars in the parking lot. The store in Albion is usually open 24-7, but took today off.

ALBION – I thought just about all businesses shut down on Christmas. But there are a few stores open in Albion today: the gas stations, Rite Aid and McDonalds.

McDonalds has been advertising on its sign for about a month that it would be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.

Rite Aid didn’t make a big splash about its Christmas hours, but the store is open from 9 to 5 today.

If you’re a last-second shopping procrastinator or if you want a quick bite to eat on the road, I guess you have some options.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Joe Sacco has done it every Christmas morning for at least 20 years: He sings Christmas carols from the choir loft at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, now the Holy Family Parish.

He is shown singing “Birthday of the King.” He also sang “Ave Maria,” “Hark the Herald Angel Sings,” and “Oh Come Let Us Aodre Him.”

Sacco also was the featured soloist during a Christmas Mass at the church, singing several Christmas songs, including “O Holy Night.” He was joined by Harriette Greaser, who played the organ for the carols and at Mass.

St. Joseph’s is a stunning church made of local Medina sandstone. The church has numerous stained-glass windows and a big pipe organ.

Provided photo – Diesel, a pit bull at the Orleans County Animal Shelter, gets in the holiday spirit.

BARRE – In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Joette McHugh encourages local residents to not forget about homeless pets in animal shelters.

She will be spending part of Christmas at the Orleans County Animal Shelter, where she is the lead volunteer. She welcomes the community to stop in between 10 a.m. and noon to play with the dogs and cats that are waiting to be adopted.

Three years ago the shelter opened on Christmas for the community to stop by. McHugh said about 30 people visited last Dec. 25, bringing treats and spending time with the animals.

“That’s the magic of Christmas when people show up and give a pet a hug,” she said.

There are six dogs and 11 cats at the shelter. In the last three weeks, 12 dogs and seven cats have been adopted out.

In the past five years, volunteers and the animal control officer have adopted out 1,200 animals from the shelter, the former Starrview Kennels at the corner of routes 98 and 31A.

The volunteers will have Christmas cookies for anyone who wants to stop by and see the animals on Christmas.

Photos by Tom Rivers

Village of Albion Department of Public Works employees – Todd Sargent at left and Jay Pahura at right – remove fallen limbs from East Park Street this morning.

Local DPW and highway crews are out cleaning up after the ice storm on Sunday littered the landscape with fallen tree limbs.