Will seek to ‘Spark Some Action’ with focus on customer service from village and better relationships with EDA, neighboring municipalities

Kevin Doherty

ALBION – The election for the next Albion mayor will likely include three candidates. Kevin Doherty, the president of the Hoag Library board of trustees, announced today he will run for mayor under the independent “Spark Some Action.”

Doherty operates a communications maintenance business. He lives on West Park Street. He and his wife Linda have six grown children.

Doherty said the Democratic and Republican parties are backing candidates who won’t push the change that is needed in Albion.

“If re-treading candidates were an effective strategy, would the conversations continue to only be about the deterioration of downtown, property taxes and keeping everything the same? Quoting Ronald Reagan, ‘Here we go again!’”

The Republican Party on Tuesday backed Eileen Banker, a village trustee for eight years, as its mayoral candidate while the Democratic Party picked Joyce Riley. The election is March 20.

Doherty needs a petition signed by at least 100 registered voters in the village to be eligible to be on the ballot. He can start circulating petitions Feb. 6 and they are due in the Village Office by Feb. 13.

“The elected officials of our Village have and have had good hearts and great intentions, but their results have been limited,” Doherty states on his campaign website – kevindohertyformayor. “In this year when there is no incumbent mayor, I offer 40 years of experience highlighted by the building the Hoag Library, to lead the Village of Albion into a future of thoughtful progress through collaborations with all the people, not just the few and faithful Democrats or Republicans.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: Kevin Doherty, president of the Hoag Library board of trustees, speaks during a ribbon-cutting celebration for the new library on July 7, 2012.

Albion is the only village in Orleans County that has candidates run under the two major political party lines.

“Although the backing of a major party organization may still be necessary for election to county-wide and higher office, limiting the pool of candidates to party faithful in a village of 6,000 people is self-defeating,” he said.

Doherty, in his role with Hoag Library, was instrumental in the design and 2012 construction of their new facility on South Main Street. Prior to starting his own business, he was superintendent of Buildings and Grounds for the Albion School District, an industrial electrician at the A&P’s soap manufacturing plant in Brockport, and a field service technician, later Operations Manager, for Ronco Communications’ Rochester branch. He was a member of the Albion School Board for 12 years.

He said there needs to be “purposeful direction by the village leadership” to entice more people to invest in the community.

“We need to separate ourselves from our peers – coming to Albion has to be the best experience for homeowners and business locators,” he said. “The library folks may tire of the mantra, but they, and the village, need to be like Wegman’s. Customer service is so consistently high that you like to shop there. Albion needs to be the place where people want to come!”

Doherty said he would “diligently drill down into the numbers” of the village budget. He was chided during a recent forum on law enforcement efficiency when he suggested the village could reduce some costs in the police budget, which accounts for about half of the village tax rate.

Doherty said “whining” about more state aid and local sales tax revenue won’t lead to results. Albion can better attract people, businesses and investment by creating a community where people want to live.

“Anyone who visits the Village MUST be impressed with our outstanding customer service and willingness to support any effort to improve the tax base,” he writes on his website. “Any Village employee or elected official who leaves a less than exemplary impression, on a vendor, a constituent, another municipal employee or visitor will have to be counseled.”

Other nearby villages – Medina, Holley, Fairport and Mount Morris – are seeing success by working with their local and state economic development officials, and real estate professionals to market their communities, Doherty said.

“We are 30 miles from the Rochester Tech Zone, even closer to the coming Alabama Technology Park in Genesee County,” he writes. “Are we ready to build houses and welcome some of their projected thousands of employees?”

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Photos by Tom Rivers: Joyce Riley, a retired nurse and former Albion Board of Education member, was nominated for Albion mayor during the Democratic Party caucus this evening at Hoag Library.

ALBION – The Democratic Party has three candidates to run for the Albion Village Board during the election on March 20.

The Democrats held the party caucus at the Hoag Library this evening and nominated Joyce Riley for mayor, and Jason Dragon and Sandra Walter for trustees. The positions are all for four years. The election will be from noon to 9 p.m. at the Village Hall, 35-37 E. Bank St.

The Republican Party will have its caucus at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Dean London, the current mayor, has said he isn’t running again.

Riley is a former member of the Albion Board of Education. She worked as a registered nurse and later supervised an ambulatory surgical unit in Washington, D.C., overseeing 200 employees. When she retired, she moved back to Albion in 2015. She lives on Linwood Avenue.

“I think it would be very good for the village to have someone coming in who wouldn’t be an insider, someone who has open eyes,” Riley told 19 Democrats who cast votes at the caucus.

Riley said she worries about the village’s shrinking tax base and declining population. That will make it a challenge to maintain existing services without raising taxes.

“We need to form alliances and work collaboratively with the towns, county and the other villages,” Riley said. “The business owners and residents all have an investment in this community. I believe you can get good ideas from anybody. We’re married to what’s best overall.”

Riley said she would have an open-door policy and would welcome input from “people who want the best for the community.”

Sandra Walter

The Democrats also endorsed Walter and Dragon for village trustees.

Walter ran for the board four years ago and wasn’t elected. Her concerns from four years ago haven’t gone away. She said she worries about the decline in the community. She sees it when she goes for walks around Albion.

Walter retired about two years ago. She worked as a claims processor for CRFS in Albion. Before that she was a supervisor in collections for Dime Bank and North American Mortgage in Albion.

The West Bank Street resident said the village residents are overtaxed, and that has led to some of the decay in the neighborhoods. The high taxes also chase out some residents and businesses.

Jason Dragon

Walter said the Democratic Party candidates will present their platform soon, and will have ideas for reducing the village taxes.

Dragon, an East Avenue resident, works as a software engineer/consultant. He also manages the website for the Orleans County Democrats.

Dragon grew up in Albion, moved away and returned. Despite its challenges, Albion remains an attractive place to live, Dragon said.

“Our goal is to make sure Albion continues to be a good place to live in the next 20, 30 and 40 years,” he said at the caucus.

Dragon said the government may need to change how it provides services to be more efficient and in line with the resources in the community.

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‘The book is a resource for anyone dealing with transitioning students. Teachers and parents can often be bewildered by their 7th grader and changes in attitude.’

John Adriance

Former Albion Middle School students who had John Adriance for 7th grade Social Studies may remember well writing a paragraph about themselves during the first week of the school year.

Adriance taught at Albion from 1979-2006 and recently compiled an e-book with the help of his son Patrick, which features 165 of the paragraphs and is entitled, “There Are a Lot of Things I Could Tell You About Myself, But I’ll Keep It Short: Expectations, Self Perceptions, Aspirations, and Concerns on the Eve of 7th Grade.”

The paragraphs were selected out of over 2,700 which Adriance reviewed. The names of the students who wrote the paragraphs are kept private, he says, and explains that the paragraph writing assignment served a number of purposes.

“I wanted to get to know the students, their likes and dislikes so that I wouldn’t offend them,” Adriance says. “I wanted them to know I was interested in them and that I cared.”

The paragraph also provided Adriance with a sample of the students’ writing, enabling him to assess their grammar and communication skills.

Adriance saved all the paragraphs he collected over his 27 years at Albion and eventually began to consider compiling a book of them.

“The book is a resource for anyone dealing with transitioning students,” Adriance said. “Teachers and parents can often be bewildered by their 7th grader and changes in attitude.”

Seventh grade is a time of great changes for young people as they begin adolescence and move from childhood to adulthood. Young people become more social and their friendships change, Adriance observed, some begin to have boyfriends and girlfriends.

He said the paragraphs reflect the emotional and physical changes 7th graders experience and range from the unusual to the thought-provoking, providing a unique and personal window into the world of young people ages 11 and 12.

Patrick Adriance designed the cover and other illustrations in the book.

“The book helps one to learn what they value and what concerns them,” Adriance said. He added that many of the same issues came up over the nearly 30 years of paragraphs, while other things changed – more students coming from broken families, for example, and less and less use of cursive handwriting.

Adriance worked with his son, Patrick, a 1994 graduate of Spencerport Central High School, to edit and publish the book. Patrick also provided 16 illustrations for the book designed to compliment the thoughts that are conveyed and to create a humorous vision in the reader’s mind.

Patrick, who lives in North Carolina, said he enjoyed working with his dad on the project.

“I was blown away that my dad had saved all of these student passages from his entire career,” Patrick said. “To me, it just shows his dedication and love of teaching.”

Patrick said both he and his dad learned a lot about the process of publishing e-books and found formatting the illustrations proved especially challenging, but he hopes to publish more e-books in the future.

“There Are a Lot of Things I Could Tell You About Myself, But I’ll Keep it Short” was published in December 2017 through Amazon, iBooks, and Barnes and Nobel.  Click here for the Amazon link to the book.

Adriance said his years of teaching at Albion were very rewarding and he enjoyed the 7th grade age group.

“They are a nice group to teach,” he said. “They are still open-minded.”

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Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – Albion High School chorus members perform during a benefit today for Matt Grammatico and his family. Matt’s son Nate, far right, is in the chorus.

Matt, 45, is awaiting a heart and liver transplant.

Matt Grammatico greets some of the many friends and community members who attended the benefit today at the Carlton Rec Hall. The event continues until 7 p.m.

Grammatico, a former truck driver for 17 years for Nabisco in Batavia, opened his own automotive repair business in June in Hamlin.

Richard Flanagan, left, and Jacob Ettinger join other students in the music program in serving up spaghetti dinners today.

Brian Krieger, left, and Patrick Holman both volunteered to cook spaghetti. There was enough food for 1,000 dinners.

Nate Grammatico and his grandfather Mike Grammatico, a retired Albion music teacher, play their saxophones during the benefit.

There were also more than 100 gift baskets to be raffled off.

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Provided photo: Matt Grammatico is pictured with his wife, Rhonda.

CARLTON – A dinner with more than 100 gift baskets and other items up for auction on Saturday will raise money for an Albion man who needs a heart and liver transplant.

Volunteers are prepared to make 1,000 spaghetti dinners on Saturday during a benefit from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Carlton Rec Hall.

Matt Grammatico, 44, is awaiting a heart and liver transplant. He owns an auto repair shop in Hamlin. He opened MPG Automotive last year. His wife Rhonda is a long-time lunchroom monitor at Albion Central School. Their son, Nate, is a junior at Albion and is heavily involved in the music and theater programs.

Many of Nate’s classmates will be performing during the benefit on Saturday.

“The kids have really stepped forward to support Nate and his family,” Seielstad said. “It’s amazing. I’m getting choked up just thinking about it.”

Seielstad said the Grammatico family is very giving, always quick to respond to help others.

“They have touched the lives of people far and wide,” Seielstad said. “They’re the kind of people that when somebody needs something they’re the first to say, ‘How can I help you?’”

Matt is the son of Mike Grammatico, a retired Albion music teacher. Matt grew up in the Barker school district.

Matt was born with a serious heart condition called Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome. He underwent his first operation at 6 weeks old, followed by an open-heart reconstructive surgery when he was 11. Matt also needed multiple procedures and surgeries throughout the next 30 years of his life.

During one of the surgeries as a child, Matt was unknowingly given a Hepatitis C tainted blood transfusion. The virus attacked his liver, undiscovered, for more than 20 years, further complicating his health. He has been diagnosed with end-stage liver disease.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Retired Albion instrumental teacher Mike Grammatico plays in a saxophone duet with his grandson Nate Grammatico during a concert on Jan. 30, 2015. Nate and many of his classmates, as well as music teachers, will be performing during Saturday’s benefit for Nate’s father.

Matt and his doctors in Rochester and at the Cleveland Clinic are working to keep him stable and prepare him for a heart and liver transplant. While Matt waits for the transplant, he is struggling to perform everyday activities and to keep the auto business going. The family faces significant medical expenses as well as the loss of income while Matt is unable to work.

Event organizers are hoping the fundraiser will help sustain the family until Matt receives his transplant.

“We are giving it all we have – the rest is up to a higher power,” Seielstad said.

The benefit on Saturday will give the family funding for trips to Cleveland Clinic for extended stays; costly medicines and medical bills; and some current living expenses because Matt sometimes can’t work due to health issues.

Seielstad said many in the Albion community will be volunteering at the dinner. Matt Moore is heading the cooking effort and Karen Krieger is organizing the team of volunteers.

There are about 100 baskets to be auctioned off, and 10 other items will go to the highest bidder in a silent auction. Some of those items include an iPad Mini, Sabres tickets, golf packages, custom end tables, a kayak and a quilt.

Dinner tickets are available at the door or at Bloom’s Flower Shop and Snell Realtors. Donations can dropped off at Seielstad’s home at 302 W. Park St., Albion, or through Pay Pal (click here).

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Abigail Leverenz, 6, of Albion gets her photo taken with Roscoe, a pig that weighs 1,002 pounds during intermission at Billy Martin’s Cole All-Star Circus.

The circus returned to Albion with the cast performing many daring feats inside the high school gym.

The circus was in Holley on Wednesday. After being in Albion today, Billy Martin’s has two shows (5 and 7:15 p.m.) in Medina on Friday at the middle school, and will be at Kendall 7 p.m. on Jan. 26. Click here to see the full schedule.

Unicycle star Wesley Williams rides a 20-foot-tall unicycle. He is new to the cast this year.

Colleen shows her skills with Hula Hoops. She was able to twirl 20 at once.

Roger Vaila, a long-time performer with Billy Martin’s, does his funny routine on the trampoline. In this scene he thinks he lost one of his legs when he tried to get on the trampoline.

The Diggity Dog Revue was popular with the crowd as many dogs performed feats of balance. Hans and Colleen are holding the rope while one of the dogs balances on its hind legs.

Slinko is back as a crowd favorite.

Cody Smith, left, and his friend Garon Thompson, both sixth-graders at Albion, hold a snake during intermission.

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Facebook: Lorne Adrain of Rhode Island is pictured on Nov. 8 at Shay’s Shamrock in Albion, when he met many of the people who paint rocks with inspirational messages that placed around the community. Adrain rode his bike from Providence to Seattle.

ALBION – The Albion NY Rocks group, which has placed thousands of painted rocks with inspirational messages around the community, was notified on Thursday it won $1,000 for Albion’s Canal Concert series.

Lori Laine, leader of Albion NY Rocks, posted a video on the Community Across America Facebook page on Nov. 28. That video was included in Community Across America’s “Video Clip Competition,” which offered $5,000 in prizes, with $2,000 the top award. Albion NY Rocks won the $1,000 second place prize. (There were also three $500 prizes and five for $100 each.)

Lorne Adrain started the competition. He launched the Community Across America as part of a bike ride from Seattle to Providence. Adrain was riding along the canal towpath when he stopped in Albion on Nov. 8 and met Laine and other volunteers who were painting rocks inside Shay’s Shamrock.

Adrain’s goal with the bike trip was to meet people who are making their communities better.

Laine said the $1,000 will give the village some additional funds for the concert series. She is hoping to have rock-painting parties during the concert series.

“Let’s rock the downtown,” she said.

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ALBION – The Albion Village Board has been asked to approve two tax exemptions for veterans that would reduce property taxes for veterans.

If the exemptions were passed by the Village Board, other residents would see their taxes increase by 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed property, or $18 for a house assessed at $60,000.

Earl Schmidt, director of the Veterans Service Agency in Orleans County, presented the data to the Village Board on Wednesday. Schmidt said all other villages and towns in the county provide tax exemptions for veterans. The Village of Albion is the only one that doesn’t Schmidt said.

He asked that the village pass a veterans’ exemption that would provide about 15 percent off village taxes. Schmidt said there are 179 veterans in the village that would be eligible for the exemption.

He also asked that the village pass an exemption for Cold War era veterans that provides about 10 percent off taxes. There are 13 veterans in the village that would be eligible for that benefit.

With both exemptions, municipalities have the option of deciding maximum exemption levels so the amount of the exemptions can vary.

Schmidt said the exemptions are a way of showing appreciation to veterans for their service and also could be used in marketing the community to attract more veterans as residents.

The village’s $17.76 tax rate is currently the highest in the county. Approving the exemptions would add another 30 cents to the tax rate.

Schmidt said another 30 cents for a $60,000 house is $18. “That’s the price of a large pizza,” he said.

The Village Board didn’t comment publicly on the request.

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