By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Christmas and holiday decorations went up on Main and Bank streets in downtown Albion earlier today. We had some photos in the daylight earlier on Orleans Hub.
I stopped back in the evening and I think the decorations – the banners, wreaths and garlands – are looking good.
I’m glad they’re up a little early, too. I took the top photo from near a parking space on North Main. In the bottom photo, I climbed up the steps to the lift bridge. Unfortunately, there was an obstruction right in front of the bridge. I’ll try to get other pictures of the local downtowns decorated at night in the coming weeks.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The garlands, wreaths and banners went up in downtown Albion today. The Albion Department of Public Works and the Orleans County Highway Department took care of the task.
Wayne Krull (top), a OC highway worker, hangs some of the decorations on West Bank Street using the county’s bucket truck.
The village DPW plans on stringing the lights on a big evergreen tree next to the former Swan Library on Wednesday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Leah Mead, a student with a work study job at Genesee Community College, had the unenviable task of changing the letters to the GCC sign today when the area is under a high winds advisory.
Mead changed the sign for the GCC center in Albion on Route 31. Mead put up a Thanksgiving message that asked passersby, “What are you thankful for?”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Theodorakos
ALBION – The village will have a new mayor on April 1. Dean Theodorakos isn’t seeking re-election in March.
Theodorakos has served as mayor for about five years. He also served as a village trustee and a member of the Planning Board before he was mayor.
Theodorakos and his wife Dele both grew up in Albion. After moving to Rochester for most of their adult lives, they returned to their hometown about a decade ago and both became active in community affairs.
“I’ve enjoyed it and I feel like I made a positive difference,” Theodorakos
said following a Village Board meeting this evening.
Theodorakos continues to work full-time in Rochester as a senior accountant for Kodak. He said the demands of the job, plus a desire to spend more time with his grandchildren, prompted him to not run again for mayor.
“There’s a benefit to having some new players come in and stir things up,” he said.
Theodorakos said the village has been busy with several projects the past five years. It 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.
The mayor drives around the village and sees 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.
Theodorakos is pleased that the former Chase site will soon be the home to Claims Recovery Financial Services. That company started in Albion a decade ago with founder Jodi Gaines. It now has about 600 workers and projects to grow to 750.
“There’s investment being made in the community so people must like what they’re seeing,” Theodorakos said.
The mayor was a volunteer on the campaign to build a new public library in Albion. He sees the Hoag Library as a major asset for the community.
The village had been working on housing rehab projects in a partnership with PathStone. But some of the government funding has dried up. Theodorakos said he hopes the investments in infrastructure and a more vibrant local business scene can stir housing investments.
“Going forward the focus should be on housing,” he said.
Some of the properties in the village sit in foreclosure, and it’s difficult to determine an owner who will take responsibility for the sites, Theodorakos said.
There is the potential for a lot of turnover on the board. Fred Miller will vacate his position after Dec. 31 because he was elected to the Orleans County Legislature. Two of the four other trustee seats – Kevin Sheehan and Eileen Banker – are also up for election in March.
Theodorakos said the village should be in good hands with a new election because of a dedicated team of department heads.
The board and the department heads work together to craft a village budget that will be an immediate task for the new board. The current budget totals $6.3 million. The village has about 50 employees.
Press release, Pullman Memorial Universalist Church
ALBION – The Pullman Memorial Universalist Church will have a free screening at 7 p.m. on Wednesday of a documentary about child slavery and child trafficking.
“Not My Life” is narrated by Glenn Close. Filmed on five continents and in a dozen countries, the film takes viewers into a world where millions of children are exploited every day, including here in the United States, through an astonishing array of practices, including forced labor, domestic servitude, begging, sex tourism and child soldiering.
Challenging as it may be, the film’s message is ultimately one of hope. The viewing is open to the public. A discussion will follow the film.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion agriculture science students Allyson Irwin, left, and Basilia Casanova walk across a corn field today after riding in a combine with Alan Panek from Panek Farms.
ALBION – Six months ago on a warm May 22, Albion students planted their first crop of corn on a 5-acre land lab.
Students have kept a watchful eye on the crop since then, with the ag science class out frequently to measure the plants and count the kernals. Part of the corn was used as a maze for elementary students to explore last month.
Today, on a windy Nov. 18, the crop was harvested. Eighteen students took turns riding in a combine with Alan Panek, an Albion graduate. His brother Phil, another recent grad and Albion FFA alumni member, gave students a ride in a grain cart.
The machines are outfitted with GPS controls that will give measurements on crop yields. Students will compare the yields for different seed varieties and the spacing between the plants and rows.
Alan Panek drives the combine over a 5-acre land lab of corn. Albion student Elizabeth Bentley is in the combine with Panek. Students also rode in a grain cart during today’s harvest. Panek Farms supplied most of the equipment for today’s harvest. New Holland also brought along a demo combine to help with the project.
Panek Farms also is farming 63 acres next to the land lab. The farm harvested that corn today. Panek agreed to turn over any profits from the crop to the school district to support FFA and the ag program.
The farm will share its financial data for growing the crop and its revenue for the 63 acres. Back in May it looked like corn might fetch $6 a bushel. But that price has fallen to just above $4, giving students in education in the commodity price roller-coaster, especially in recent years.
Zach Neilans climbs the ladder and gets ready for his turn in the combine.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Scouts in Albion were out this morning collecting canned and nonperishable food for the pantry at Community Action on East State Street.
After the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts in Troop and Pack 164 collected food from houses in the village, they delivered it to the food pantry and then were given a tour of the site by Annie Skowneski (pictured below), a case manager and food pantry coordinator.
Skowneski said the pantry provides food for 100 families a month.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Provided photo – Charity Garrow, the library systems administrator, is pictured with, from left: Web Pearsall of the DEC Regional 8 Fisheries; and Sportsmen Federation members Neil Newton and Mike Elam.
Coming soon to be checked out at Hoag Library in Albion: fishing poles.
That may seem like an odd offering at the local library, but Hoag said the library is located in an area with abundant fishing resources. However, many residents may not have the money to pay for fishing poles and gear. Or maybe they want to try out fishing before commiting to buying their own equipment.
The library will rent out 12 poles and kits beginning Dec. 1. The state Department of Environmental Conservation donated the 12 fishing poles to Hoag Library . The Orleans County Federation of Sportsmen has volunteered to maintain the equipment and provide kits with bobbers and hooks.
The DEC has donated fishing equipment to a few other libraries in the region, including the pubic library in Le Roy, the only other one besides Albion in the three-county Nioga system with fishing poles.
The fishing poles can be checked out by anyone over age 13. Children under 13 will need a parent’s permission to borrow the fishing gear.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 November 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – The Albion Village Board wants the record to show the current board opposes efforts to reopen a landfill in Albion.
A new landfill would hurt the community in many ways, from heavy truck traffic that would pose safety risks to other motorists and pedestrians to the stigma of having an operating landfill in the community, village officials said.
The recently approved village and town comprehensive plan, a map for the community’s future, opposes an operating landfill in Albion, Mayor Dean Theodorakos said on Wednesday.
Theodorakos is a member of Stop Polluting Orleans County, a citizens group against the landfill.
“I’m very much in favor of preventing further landfilling in the town,” he said.
The Village Board voted to send a letter to the Albion Town Board, urging the town to resist a new landfill. The Village Board may pass a formal resolution in an upcoming meeting, opposing the landfill.
Richard Penfold, a former landfill operator in Erie County, wants to reopen the landfill. Waste Management sought to operate an 80-acre landfill in Albion. It secured a permit from the state on Nov. 20, 2003, but Waste Management never could secure local support or a permit from the Town Board.
Penfold has sought to obtain Waste Management’s permit through an application with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The agency told Penfold in June it wouldn’t transfer Waste Management’s permit. Penfold would have to apply for his own permit to operate at the site.
The Town Board in the mid-1990s passed laws against landfills in the town. Penfold believes the new landfill proposal could be considered an expansion of the existing Orleans Sanitary Landfill, and wouldn’t necessarily be a new landfill. That was how Waste Management’s plan was presented a decade ago.
Penfold would need town and DEC support for the project. All of the current Town Board members, plus the new ones elected last week, all have stated they are against reopening landfills in Albion.
Penfold has promised a host community benefits package for Albion. He also said he would care for the OSL and McKenna landfills at the site between Densmore and Transit roads, which currently aren’t being pumped of leachate.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Karl Heuer and his son Kyle want a new sign in front of their Albion practice to indicate there are two Heuers working as dentists. They also want the address noted on the sign.
ALBION – Karl Heuer would like a new sign in front of his dental practice that notes his son Kyle has joined the practice.
The Heuers would also like the address – 313 South Main St. – listed on the sign. They have been trying since May to get up a new sign.
They had the sign designed. It’s 4.6 feet by 4.8 feet or about 22 square feet. That’s way too big, according to the zoning restrictions for businesses along South Main Street in the residential-commercial district. That area only allows for a 1 foot name plate sign.
However, the Zoning Board of Appeals has routinely approved variances for bigger signs. The ZBA said it would allow a 16 square foot sign for the Heuers.
The Heuers told the Village Board on Wednesday they want the 22 square foot sign so they can fit everything on it.
“We just want a nice-looking sign that people can read,” Karl Heuer told the board.
Kevin Allen, an attorney, told the board it should to change the sign restrictions for the residential-commercial district so the ZBA isn’t forever issuing variances, allowing certain sizes for some businesses and smaller ones for others.
Allen, who is representing the Heuers with the sign dispute, noted another dental practice in the same zoning district has a sign more than double what the Heuer’s are seeking. Plus, the All Smiles Dentistry sign is illuminated at night.
All Smiles Dentistry, at the corner of South Main Street and Allen Road, has a much bigger sign than is allowed in the residential-commercial district.
He suggested the Village Board alter the sign restrictions in the zoning district, allowing an upper level limit of perhaps 24 or 26 square feet.
“You should make it more practical and more realistic,” he said.
Other business districts in the village, without residential properties, have a top threshold of 32 square feet, although the ZBA has been giving variances for bigger signs on Route 31 and Main Street, Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti told the Village Board.
Vendetti agrees the sign regulations need to be changed, to allow for larger signs.
But with the current code, the ZBA is left to its discretion in how big of a variance it wants to approve. In Heuer’s case, a 16-foot sign was allowed.
The Village Board can’t meddle with the ZBA’s decision. The board, however, can change the restrictions for the signs. That would require a public hearing.
Mayor Dean Theodorakos said he supports an update of the sign requirements.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Steve LaLonde, husband of the late Kathy LaLonde, accepts a plaque from Albion Mayor Dean Theodorakos, right, in appreciation of Mrs. LaLonde’s many years of volunteerism with Albion youth programs.
The Village Board announced tonight it will add playground equipment this spring at Pee Wee Park, which is the younger children’s section at Bullard Park. The new equipment will be in memory of LaLonde.
LaLonde was a member of the Albion Recreation Committee. She also spearheaded efforts to develop a long-term master plan for the Bullard Park. LaLonde was 54 when she died on Oct. 6 after fighting cancer.
ALBION – BoMET Holding Inc. – headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada – is making its first expansion into the U.S. marketplace with a site in Albion.
The international non-ferrous scrap metal recycling corporation – with holdings in Canada and China – will diversify its business model into electronics recycling at a 60,000-square-foot facility on McKinistry Street.
BoMET purchased a warehouse for $176,000 from the Orleans Economic Development Agency. The company plans to add 30 jobs at 152 McKinistry St. The Albion operation will be known as BoMET Recovery LLC.
The EDA worked with the company on a tax incentive plan.
“The OEDA offered 152 McKinstry to BoMET at a very competitive price, along with a property tax abatement package and a loan package for the facility’s manufacturing equipment,” said Jim Whipple, Orleans EDA chief executive officer. “The addition of BoMET Recovery in Albion is another example of how we welcome new industry, cut through the red tape and get projects up and running in Orleans County. We have an active local incentive program and excellent relationships with our economic partners at the state level.”
BoMET Recovery will be the main electronics-recycling center for BoMET Holding Inc.
“BoMET’s business model fits perfectly into our industrial setting and we are certainly not new to Canadian businesses,” Whipple said. “Orleans County is already home to four Canadian manufacturers. BoMET will be the fifth and we have another Canadian firm preparing to locate here.”
BoMET CEO Zhan Bo Zhang said the company wanted to diversify into the United States. Albion was attractive because of its close proximity to Cambridge. The company looked at other states and regions of New York.
“It was my dealings with the OEDA that cemented my decision to locate in Orleans County,” he said. “From start to finish, their knowledge, expertise and guidance gave me the confidence that BoMET Recovery would be successful there. Orleans is manufacturing friendly, known for its workforce and how welcoming they are to new business. We are excited about this new operation and, I believe, this is only the start of great relations between us.”
Orleans County is working on other manufacturing and light industrial projects. The EDA recently submitted an application to Empire State Development Corp. for a new shovel-ready site to be named Sandstone Industrial Properties.
The first planned site is the 150-acre Keppler property in the southeast section of Medina. When completed, the EDA’s Sandstone Industrial Properties will be the largest shovel-ready site in Western and Central New York.
The second EDA shovel-ready site will be the nearby Medina Business Park.
Orleans Hub first reported about the BoMET project on April 12. (Click here to see that article.)
U.S. Rep. Chris Collins issued this statement with the news about BoMET this afternoon:
“The announcement of a new electronics recycling operation in Albion is another positive sign for job creation and business development in Orleans County,” Collins said. “The OEDA continues to successfully work with its partners in government to recruit new businesses into existing facilities.I look forward to welcoming BoMET Recovery to Orleans County.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 November 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The fierce wind storm on Nov. 1 took down a tree in front of the DAR House at 249 North Main St. in Albion, a site that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
I took the top photo of the tree on Nov. 2, the day after the storm. I drove by the DAR House today and noticed the fallen tree was cut up and neatly stacked.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 November 2013 at 10:43 am
BARRE — Richard DeCarlo is the winner of a very close race for Barre town justice.
DeCarlo, the Republican, saw his Election Day vote edge narrow from nine to six votes after the absentees were counted today. But he still prevailed over Rick Root, 213-207.
DeCarlo gained 8 absentees and Root, the Democrat, picked up 11. Sean Pogue, a Conservative, also gained 5 absentees for a final tally of 122.
“We had three quality candidates and we all worked very hard,” DeCarlo said. “We just went out and presented ourselves. There was no mudslinging.”
DeCarlo works as a project superintendent for Wegmans in the company’s construction division. He will replace Al Jones, who is retiring.
“It’s something I always wanted to do,” DeCarlo said. “I never try to rush to judgement or prejudge people. As a judge, I know I can make a difference in somebody’s life.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 November 2013 at 12:00 am
ALBION – Absentee ballots were counted this morning to determine the winner of last week’s election for Albion Town Supervisor. After polling finished on Nov. 5, Jake Olles was ahead of Matt Passarell by 1 vote, 476-475. There were 48 absentee ballots still to be opened to determine the winner.
Twenty-eight of the absentee ballots went to Passarell and 19 to Olles. The final count stands at Matt Passarell with 503 votes; Jake Olles with 495 votes.
Both candidates are town councilmen who were vying to replace Dennis Stirk, who did not seek another two-year term. Stirk backed Deputy Town Supervisor Jake Olles, who was endorsed by the Democratic Party. Olles also ran under the independent “No Bull” party. Town Councilman Matt Passarell, campaigned with endorsements from the Republican and Conservative parties.
Passarell will take over as town supervisor on Jan. 1. Olles will be on the board as a Town Councilman. The two are on the town board together and often cast opposing votes. Passarell says he hopes the two can work together to do good for the town and its taxpayers.
“I’ll extend the olive branch out there and go from there,” Passarell said after the final votes were counted. “We’ll always be professional.”
Passarell, at 34, will be the youngest Town Supervisor in the county by about two decades. An Iraq War veteran, Passarell works in the quality department for Baxter International in Medina.
Olles is a sergeant at Attica Correctional Facility.
