21-year-old RIT student lost life in car accident in November

Benjamin Kirby

ALBION – A new scholarship has been created in memory of Benjamin Kirby of Albion, an Eagle Scout who was a student at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Kirby tragically lost his life in a car accident on Nov. 6 on Route 531 in the Town of Gates.

He was an active student at Albion, playing soccer and tennis and was involved in the marching band and drama program. He was in his senior year at RIT studying software development.

The new scholarship will be administered through the Albion Alumni Foundation and will start with an annual $500 award. Kirby’s family would like to make it two annual scholarships of $500 in the future.

“Everyone has been so kind and generous supporting our family through this terrible time and we want to give something back to the community and continue to remember and honor our Ben,” said his mother, Wendy Kirby.

The scholarship is to be given to a student nominated by one or more of the teachers in the Albion High School. It is intended for someone who is a “good kid” who may not be a Scout, but best exemplifies the characteristics of the Scout Law that Ben lived by: A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.

Ben followed the motto of his friend, Nick Kovaleski, in that he “Lived With Purpose.” Ben was self motivated and challenged himself to do his best: graduating in the top 10 of his class, a member of the National Honor Society, a Scholar Athlete participating in many sports, All-County Band, All-State Chorus and Drama Club.

Ben was a Boy Scout, working hard to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. He contributed to his church family and his community. Ben was a kind and caring person, always willing to help someone out and his friends spanned many generations, his family said in the scholarship packet.

There will be a wine-tasting booth at next month’s Strawberry Festival (south lawn of First Presbyterian Church along East State Street). All proceeds will go to Ben’s scholarship fund.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Marti’s on Main, a fine arts gallery in Albion, kicked off a new season of art shows on Friday. The gallery is run by Kim Martillotta Muscarella, who is pictured with a painting she did of herons.

She took a season off last year, but is back for an eighth year of showcasing artists from the gallery at her home, 229 North Main St. Muscarella coordinated art shows at Marti’s on Main from 2009 to 2015. In 2016, the art shows shifted to the Cobblestone Museum. Muscarella wanted to bring the art back to Main Street in Albion.

“I couldn’t live without it,” she said on Friday evening. “It’s giving together with my pals.”

Muscarella will feature different artists each month through November. There is a “First Friday” opening each month.

Local artists Connie Mosher of Albion and Tom Zangerle of Medina attended the season-opening art exhibit at Marti’s. Mosher will be featured in a show in August and Zangerle’s work will be highlighted in November.

This month’s show features work by Muscarella and Tony Barry, a retired Holley art teacher. Barry did this painting of “Robb’s Farm.” Other Barry paintings include local scenes and spots in Europe.

Muscarella is shown in front of her home, where half of the house is used for the gallery. Muscarella has created several mosaic columns in front and in back of her house.

The gallery hosts reception the first Friday each month from 6-9 p.m. and will be open on weekends in the summer. Muscarella said people are welcome to stop by at other times when she is home.

Muscarella likes making unconventional art, including the mosaic columns.

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ALBION – The Village Board has approved a $6,695,655 budget for 2018-19 that reduces the tax rate from $17.76 to $17.73 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The rate came down partly due to a boost in the village’s tax base. The taxable value of the village increased 3.0 percent or by $4,374,492 – from $144.1 million to $148.5 million.

Mayor Eileen Banker also said the Village Board and department heads were diligent in trying to reduce the tax rate.

“The board worked together many hours and evenings to cut expenses where we felt would not cut or disrupt services,” Banker said. “Our department heads know their limitations with funding and they worked with us to plan projects that are needed for the village in a fiscally responsible way. We were able to stay within the tax cap and we were actually able to reduce our tax rate by .03. Our work is not done – we will continue to look for ways to reduce spending without the reduction of needed services.”

Although the tax rate is going down, the village will be collecting more in taxes. The tax levy is up 2.86 percent or by $73,236 – from $2,559,333 to $2,632,569.

The budget, which was adopted on Monday, includes $3,791,527 in the General Fund, $1,627,104 in the Water Fund, and $1,277,023 in the Sewer Fund.

The village is planning several projects, including a new amphitheater in Bullard Park and the installation of a sewer line at the park in preparation for a new spray park. The village is also putting a new water line on West Academy Street, south of Route 31, and is working to resolve a water pressure issue on Allen Road. A new array of solar panels will also be installed by the sewer plant at Densmore Street.

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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced more than $100 million in state funding to repave and enhance roadways impacted by the harsh weather this past winter.

One of the projects is in Orleans County and includes $1.0 million to resurface Route 31 in the Village of Albion.

The state funding will support 84 projects and the renewal of nearly 1,000 lane miles of pavement across the state, including at least one project in every county and New York City, according to the governor’s announcement.

The new funding, awarded through the Harsh Winter Paving Initiative, is in addition to nearly $300 million previously committed for projects that repave approximately 1,600 lane miles of road across New York State. The unprecedented infrastructure investment will make state highways safer and more efficient, while encouraging local commerce and tourism. The projects will take place throughout the summer and into fall, and will be completed this year, Cuomo said.

“These investments are critical to our transportation system and essential for community growth and regional economic competitiveness,” the governor said. “By infusing more than $100 million in state funds to revitalize our roads, we are enhancing the quality of life for all New Yorkers while ensuring every traveler remains safe throughout the Empire State.”

The State Budget included $65 million in Extreme Weather Recovery funds for locally-owned roadways, and this additional $100 million investment will support the renewal of state-owned roadways. This critical funding is supported through the New York State Department of Transportation’s five-year capital plan and is in addition to the $743 million provided in this year’s budget in direct state aid to local governments for road and bridge repair and modernization.

Orleans County is in the Finger Lakes Region, where the state approved $12.3 million to pave 155 lane miles of the roads in Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston, Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Yates, Seneca counties. The projects in the Finger Lakes include:

• $1.1 million to resurface Route 89 from Canoga to Routes 5 and 20 in Seneca County.

• $1.0 million to resurface Route 31 in the Village of Albion in Orleans County.

• $1.0 million to resurface Route 36 from Route 31 to Route 531 in Monroe County.

• $430,000 to resurface Route 65 from Erie Canal to Route 31 in Monroe County.

• $957,000 to resurface Route 20 from Route 36 to Route 5 in Livingston County.

• $1.5 million to resurface Route 89 from Route 31 to Route 104 in Wayne County.

• $1.5 million to resurface Route 245 from Route 247 to Route 14A in Ontario County.

• $1.0 million to resurface Route 19 from Randall Road to Route 33 in Genesee County.

• $1.0 million to resurface Route 78 from Route 19 to Route 362 in Wyoming County.

• $763,000 to resurface Route 260 from Route 104 to Route 18 in Monroe County.

• $1.3 million to resurface Route 15 from Spring Water to County Route 71 in Livingston County.

• $652,000 to resurface on Routes 414, 79 and 54 in Schuyler and Yates counties.

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Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Albion seventh-graders Tommy Fox, left, and Bryce Wilson help plant a tree – a maple red autumn blaze – at Mount Albion Cemetery on Friday as part of an Arbor Day celebration, the first in many years at Albion. Other students in back include, from left: Ashleigh Mowatt, Jillian Ray, Dallas Ecker and Lauren Brooks.

The Village of Albion is planting seven new trees in the cemetery this week as part of Arbor Day.

The village is taking steps to become a Tree City USA Community. Albion received a $950 grant from the NYS Urban Forestry Council. The matching funds will help the village get started on becoming an official Tree City. The village also has established a Tree Advisory Board to help plan tree plantings in the future.

The students are pictured with the teacher, Tim Archer, who leads the service learning class for seventh graders.

Ashleigh Mowatt discusses the history of Mount Albion Cemetery, which opened in 1843. The cemetery is home to numerous varieties of trees. The site has been maintained with a park-like setting over the years and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The students shared reflections on the value of trees and the history of Arbor Day.

Albion Mayor Eileen Banker said the village is making a commitment to plant more trees in the community in the coming years, with a goal of becoming a Tree City USA.

County Historian Matt Ballard praised Albion and the students for planting trees on Arbor Day.

“Each tree is unique, crafted by Mother Nature as an individual like no other, just as each of us standing here today,” Ballard said. “A tree’s natural beauty is derived from the shape of its leaves, the colors they show, the texture of their bark, the arrangement of their branches, the way in which their roots creep across the earth, the knots on their trunk, and the rings that show their age.”

Ballard quoted from Theodore Roosevelt, the former U.S. president who was a determined conservationist: “To exist as a nation, to prosper as a State, and to live as a people, we must have trees.”

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Photos courtesy of Marlene Seielstad

CLEVELAND – About 60 members of the Albion Marching Band played the National Anthem on Friday at Progressive Field before the start of Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Indians. Playing the anthem was among the highlights of the band trip. The students and their chaperones left Friday and returned this evening.

The Indians are the long-time favorite team of Michael Thaine, Albion’s high school band director.

Some of the Cleveland Indians players join Slider the mascot in observing the anthem.

In addition to playing the National Anthem and seeing the Indians win 6-5, the band played in the cold at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday. They also toured the site and met Gene Simmons, star of the band Kiss, and were able to say hello to Jarvis Landry, the new coveted wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns.

Students also visited the Cleveland Zoo and went on a dinner cruise.

Cassie Serafin, left, Kaitlin Zwifka and the band walk off the field after playing the anthem.

Noah Wadhams plays the sousaphone for the marching band.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Pastor Rich Allis, right, of the Light of Victory Church on Brown Street in Albion says a prayer on Saturday morning before a group of runners and walkers ventured out on a 5K. The church has organized the event the past seven years and proceeds go towards community baskets.

Kathy Jurs was the first woman to hit the finish line. She is cheered on by Cyndi Mardino, the race organizer. Evan Valentine, 15, of Holley was the overall winner. Some of the Run for God participants, who meet at the Free Methodist Church, ran the race on Saturday.

Steve LaLonde of Albion nears the finish. The runners and walkers were hit with hard rain in the race.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Melissa Ostrom of Holley smiles after receiving a miniature log cabin created by Al Capurso of Gaines in appreciation for her book, The Beloved Wild, which focuses on pioneer residents to Orleans County and Western New York.

(The large group photo between Capurso and Ostrom shows a colorized version of a picture from the 1860s of pioneer residents in Orleans County.)

Ostrom discussed her book and signed copies of The Beloved Wild on Thursday evening at the Hoag Library. Capurso, president of the Orleans County Historical Association, has created several of the log cabin scenes in honor of pioneer residents. He made the cabin for Ostrom in the style of the home made by Gideon, one of the book’s main characters who settled in the Town of Gaines. His sister Harriet and her beau, Daniel Long, assisted in building the log cabin.

The Beloved Wild was published last month by Macmillan and highlights the courage of pioneers, who were typically only teen-agers when they settled in WNY.

This is a debut young adult fiction novel by Ostrom, a former Kendall High School English teacher who stepped back from that role to focus on writing.

Harriet Submit Winter is the main character in the book. She is expected to stay home in New England and cook and tend to her younger siblings. She refuses. She disguises herself as a boy and joins her brother on the epic trip to the Wild West – the Town of Gaines.

Ostrom discussed how the Genesee Valley and WNY were considered an “Eden” for many New Englanders. The pioneers travelled for weeks by wagon, through dense forests and across the powerful Genesee River, to get to Orleans County. There wasn’t a map. The pioneers followed markings on trees as they made their way west.

The pioneer settlers were incredibly resourceful in taming the land, building homes and farms in the frontier. The obstacles were many – sickness, uninvited strangers, alcoholism, abuse. There typically weren’t mills nearby and the pioneers often would distill their crops to make alcohol.

Melissa Ostrom signs a book for Debbie Martillotta and her granddaughter Avery Gaines.

Doug Farley, director of Cobblestone Museum, checks out The Beloved Wild.

Thursday’s event was sponsored by the Cobblestone Society and Museum, Hoag Library, the Orleans Chapter DAR, and the Orleans County Historical Association.

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Photo by Tom Rivers: Neil Newton, a member of the Orleans County Sportsmen Federation and NYS Conservation Council, speaks at an Orleans County Legislature meeting in December 2016. Newton urged legislators to allow rifles for hunting deer and bears, which was passed and went into effect this past hunting season.

An Albion man will be inducted into the New York State Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame on Saturday during a banquet at Theodore’s Restaurant in Canastota. Neil Newton’s plaque will be displayed at the Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame Museum in Vail Mills, NY.

Newton is one of 10 new inductees in the Hall of Fame. The NYSOHOF is an organization dedicated to honoring those individuals who have spent many years preserving outdoor heritage, working for conservation, or enhancing our outdoor sports for future generations.

Newton has been past president and a member of the Finger Lakes Conservation Council for 35 years. He has been active in St. Mary’s Archery Club, Black North Rod & Gun Club, and a member of Region 8 Fish & Wildlife Management Board for 20 years.

Newton also has been active in Orleans County Federation of Sportsmen for 63 years and represented it in the NYS Conservation Council for 35 years. He also took the lead in getting centerfire rifle hunting allowed in Orleans County.

He has been a hunter safety instructor and served on the Hunter Education Committee of the NYS Conservation Council for many years. Newton was a co-founder of the DEC Walleye Cooperator rearing project and made arrangements necessary for the project including the essential permits and was a driving force in getting improvements to the boat ramp at Lake Alice which was required for the project. In addition to being involved with rearing and stocking the walleye fry or fingerlings, he worked with the DEC to secure use and upgrades to the pond for raising the walleye fingerlings.

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