By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 December 2017 at 11:40 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Karli Henchen of the Albion FFA passes cans of sweet corn this morning when the FFA and community members unloaded 35,000 pounds of food donated by local farmers.
The Albion FFA has been organizing the food drive for about a decade and the 35,000 pounds set a new record.
FFA members were up early today packing up the produce, which was stacked on a tractor trailer owned by Panek Farms.
The food was delivered to Community Action on East State Street. The food was divvied up among eight food pantries in the county.
“This means the world to us,” said Annette Finch, director of community services for the agency. “I don’t have enough words to say what these young people have done for our community.”
Adam Krenning, the Albion FFA advisor, tosses a bag of potatoes to volunteers. Kenning said farmers continue to be generous to the annual drive.
The following donated to the effort:
Triple G Farms – Potatoes
Root Brothers – Cabbage
Kludt Brothers – Squash
Nesbitt Fruit Farm – Apples
Orchard Dale Fruit Farm – Apples
Kreher’s – Eggs
Martin Farms – Squash
Jeff Partyka – Apples
CY Farms – Onions
Starowitz Farms – Cabbage
Torrey Farms – Onions and Potatoes
Panek Family Farm – Green Beans and Corn
Robert Colby/ Colby Farms – Potatoes and Cabbage
Bittner Singer Orchards – Apples
Orleans County Farm Bureau- Hams
Mortellaro and Sons – Onions
Costanzo’s Bakery/ Dale Root – Bread
Adam Kirby – Apples
Navarra’s Greenhouses – Crates
Call Farms – Potatoes
Barry Flansburg, left, assists the FFA this morning. Garrett Derisley, the FFA president (center), passes a box of apples to Emilie Barleben, last year’s president. She is home on break from college and wanted to help this morning.
A line of volunteers, including Assemblyman Steve Hawley, unload the boxes.
Orleans Hub will post more pictures later today of the food drive.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 December 2017 at 9:50 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association has announced the winner of its window decorating contest. Serenity Tan at the corner of Main and East Bank streets won the competition.
Frontier Heating & Cooling came in a close second.
Many of the storefronts are decorated in the downtown, including the former Fischer’s News Stand. The spot was decorated by Snell Realtors.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2017 at 11:36 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – There are many fun activities scheduled today in downtown Albion for the annual Hometown Holidays event organized by the Albion Merchants Association. New this year is “Coffee with a Cop” at the Village Office form 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Albion police officers Daryl Robb, left, and Karol Hughes are shown chatting with Stan Farone, a village trustee. The Albion Dunkin Donuts donated the doughnuts and coffee for the event.
There are many activities on schedule until 4 p.m., with Santa stopping by the former Swan Library from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Arianna McGurn, left, and her friend Logon Conlon are running the selfie photo station at the Village Office. They are both in ninth grade.
Lisa Stratton, owner of the Hazy Jade Gift Shop, is hosting a wine-tasting with Midgard Winery from Corfu. Michael Potoczak has several different wines available for tasting. Midgard will be back on March 3 for Albion’s annual wine tasting event.
Ariana Mateo, 12, and her sister Eva Mateo color in a Christmas-themed design at one of the stations at the Village Office.
Brushstrokes in Medina brought ornaments for children to paint. Kiri Keller, left, and Becca Lusk work on painting ornaments.
ALBION – Albion police officers rang the bell for the Red Kettle today at the Tops Market. Proceeds from the Red Kettle go to Community Action to assist families in Orleans County.
Pictured from left include: Lt. Dave Mogle, Sgt. Brandon Annable, Officer Karol Hughes, Sgt. Gary VanWycke and Officer Daryl Robb.
The officers are members of the Albion Police Benevolent Association. They volunteered their time to assist the Red Kettle Campaign.
“The Albion Police Department and Albion Police P.B.A. hope that in some way they have helped a person in need,” said Roland Nenni, Albion police chief. “The job of police officers is to serve and protect. The term serve to a police officer can have many meanings. The Albion Police P.B.A. feels that to serve goes farther than just enforcing the law.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2017 at 1:33 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
More than a hundred rocks, all decorated with Christmas messages and themes, were delivered today to residents of the Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center in Albion.
Volunteers painted the rocks. Residents have been painting “kindness rocks” for the past six months, leaving them around Albion, hoping to lift the spirits of people who find them. The finders are urged to post photos of the rocks on the Albion NY Rocks Facebook page and then rehide the rocks somewhere else in the community.
Rachel Hefner of Albion holds one of the 37 rocks she painted with a Christmas theme for nursing home residents. She said she has painted 150 rocks since the summer and given them all away.
“I wanted to see somebody smile because I knew it would brighten their day,” she said.
This group delivered kindness rocks and also Christmas cards to residents of The of Villages today. They include, from left: Eli and Carly Gminski. Back row: Renee Ebbs, Rachel Hefner, Faye Smith, Lori Laine, Patti Mitchell and Jenny Gminski.
Gminski and her two children brought 120 cards to give to residents. They have also left about 200 rocks in the Holley area.
Patti Mitchell of Kent estimates she has painted 500 of the rocks since the summer. She also hides many of the rock in the community for other people who paint them.
“I’m the official rock hider,” she said.
She painted about 40 of the Christmas rocks for nursing home residents.
“It’s such an easy thing to do and it makes people so happy,” she said.
One of the rocks included the Grinch.
Lori Laine pushes a stroller full of rocks. Laine has been the lead organizer of the rock-painting effort in Albion.
She wants to keep it going in the winter, and would like to deliver more rocks to nursing homes and the VA.
“I’m just loving this,” she said about the popularity of the kindness rocks.
She handed many of the rocks to nursing home residents today and wished the residents a Merry Christmas.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Lauren Thomas practices for her role as the Sugar Plum Princess in the Nutcracker during a show last Saturday at Gotta Dance by Miss Amy. Lauren will perform a dance this Saturday during the 8th annual Nicholas Kovaleski Hometown Christmas.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 December 2017 at 8:40 pm
ALBION – The 8th annual Nicholas Kovaleski Hometown Christmas returns Saturday for three shows by members of the Albion community. There will be singing, dancing and even comedy.
The show honors the memory of Nicholas Kovaleski, who the inspired the Albion community with his valiant fight against leukemia. He died at age 15 on June 29, 2011. He was a popular student at Albion, excelling at football, swimming and tennis.
There have been seven Hometown Christmas events and they have raised $18,000 towards scholarships given annually to graduating high school seniors who “Live with Purpose.”
Nick’s sister Michayla is among the dancers in Saturday’s shows. Nick’s younger brother Matt normally plays the drums for the Albion band and in the pit orchestra for school musicals. On Saturday he will make his debut as a soloist in singing.
Other community members will perform, including High School Chorus Director Gary Simboli. Two of his students, Riley Seielstad and Kate Krieger, will sing solos.
The Boy Scouts will perform three humorous skits. Jim Salmon, Doug Bower and Jim Babcock also will perform a skit, “Grandma Got Run Over by Reindeer.”
Altogether, there will be about 60 people on stage during the program.
“We just want people to come and have a good time,” said Amy Sidari, event organizer and owner of Gotta Dance by Miss Amy. “I’m humbled by the community with their support and love.”
The shows are at noon, 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Holy Family Parish Lyceum, 106 S. Main St. Coffee and desserts are served and there is a basket auction. There will likely be about 50 baskets up for bid, including jerseys from Buffalo Bills greats Jim Kelly and Andre Reed, who are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There also is a 43-inch television in the auction.
For information about tickets, call Gotta Dance at (585) 354-2320.
Saturday is also the Hometown Holidays event in downtown Albion with events from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Click here for more information.
ALBION – The Albion Police Department Benevolent Association is hosting a “Coffee With A Cop” event on Saturday in conjunction with the Village of Albion Hometown Holidays.
Thanks to the donations from the Albion Dunkin Donuts, which donated the doughnuts and coffee for the event, the public is asked to come meet members of the Albion Police Department and enjoy free coffee and doughnut.
The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Albion Village Office located at 35 East Bank St.
The Hometown Holiday taking place in the Village will also include many other activities for the whole family to enjoy.
The Albion Police Department Benevolent Association, which is the union that represents the members of the Albion Police Department, is committed to serve the citizens of the Village of Albion. This is a great opportunity to meet your local Police Officers and speak with them on an informal basis and get to know them on a personal level.
Doughnuts are a stigma that police officers try to avoid, but in this case we will enjoy it for the spirt of the Holiday Season.
Editor’s Note: Saturday’s Hometown Holiday also includes plenty of opportunities in downtown Albion for shopping, events and family fun.
The Albion Merchants’ Association will have its annual Reindeer Raffle, a selfie photo station, coloring contest, cookie decorating, crafts and cookies with Mrs. Claus, letters to Santa, face painting, make-your-own earrings, a holiday bingo scavenger hunt, a new fun game – “What’s in your bag?” and ornaments with Brushstrokes. Santa will also be stopping by at the end of the day at the former Swan Library.
Photos by Tom Rivers: North Point Chapel on Sunday had the grand opening of the sanctuary at the former United Methodist Church building. The United Methodists now hold services at Christ Church, an Episcopal congregation on Main Street.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 December 2017 at 11:44 am
United Methodists in Albion who left building that was condemned see new congregation in sanctuary
ALBION – Several long-time United Methodists attended a church service on Sunday at the former home of the congregation. The United Methodists moved out of the building two years ago, fearing the building was unsteady and unsafe.
Mike Outten, pastor of North Point Chapel, delivers the sermon on Sunday.
They have since been sharing a building, Christ Church, which is owned by the Episcopalians.
A new church, North Point Chapel, bought the United Methodist site and discovered that the building is structurally sound. Engineers who said the building was in danger of collapse missed two support steel beams in the attic. Those beams were buried in insulation. The beams mean a million-dollar repair isn’t needed after all. The Village of Albion gave North Point a certificate of occupancy to reopen the sanctuary.
United Methodists are happy the building has been spared and is being reused as a church. But there is a sting in knowing they left the site when they didn’t need to go.
“It was heart-breaking,” Cheryl Karcz, a long-time attendee, said about the church leaving the site and putting it up for sale.
Karcz started attending the church with her family about 15 years ago. The church served as a meeting place for her sons’ Boy Scout troop. Some United Methodists attended the church for multi-generations, Karcz said.
The daunting burden of fixing the building “pulled the life out of the church,” she said.
The church’s worship band leads about 75 people in singing on Sunday. Most of the songs were contemporary Christian worship music and well as a traditional hymn, “How Great Thou Art.”
On Sunday, Karcz sat in a pew and was impressed with North Point, which is a Baptist congregation. The church has repainted the sanctuary, removed the wooden support beams, and reconfigured the pulpit by enlarging the platform for a worship band.
“I’m glad it didn’t end up being bulldozed,” she said about the building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sarah Outten, 14, leads in the singing on Sunday. She is the daughter of the church pastor.
Her son David Karcz works with Babcock Construction.
“It’s great to see the building repurposed and saved,” David Karcz said. “There are so many buildings and barns that have fallen down. The biggest thing is someone is still using this building.”
Gail Ebbs also returned to the church with her daughter Renee, their first time back in about two years. They had been regular attendees at the church for about 25 years.
They entered the building and noted the steps still squeaked leading to the sanctuary. They missed many of the familiar faces from over the years. But they noticed North Point has drawn several young families.
“It’s nice to see life in this building again,” Ebbs said. “They have young families and young people. That’s what we need: young people believing in God.”
Ebbs said “it hurts” to be back in the church after the years-long anguish over the building.
“It’s a shame,” she said.
North Point celebrated the reopening of the sanctuary on Sunday.
Mike Outten, pastor of North Point, reflected on the legacy of the United Methodist congregation in Albion. The United Methodists founded a church society in Albion in 1830, built a church in 1860 and a did a significant reconstruction in 1914.
“In the 1800s, the United Methodists were on fire for God,” Outten said on Sunday at the sanctuary of the church.
Mike Outten preaches on Sunday. The church added two display screens for songs and other church announcements.
North Point started about two years ago as a Bible study. It then held services at the Arnold Gregory Office Complex. In April, it acquired the United Methodist Church building and a neighboring building for only $38,000. The properties had been on the market for more than a year and drew little interest.
Outten owned his own construction company. He thought the church was solid. However, he believed the engineering reports were accurate. He didn’t think it needed a million-dollar repair. He thought running rods in the roof, helping to hold the building together and support the roof, would take care of the problem.
Mike Outten and the worship team welcome people to the church on Sunday.
Outten was prepared to have steel cables run up high through the sanctuary, tying them together with a turnbuckle. It would have detracted from the beauty of the sanctuary, but would have provided the needed structural support.
When Outten and his son, who now runs the construction business, made a test hole in the ceiling in late September, they discovered the two steel rods, supporting the roof and walls. That meant a big repair wasn’t needed.
Outten has welcomed the United Methodists to return to their building and be part of the North Point ministry.
“I want nothing more than North Point Chapel to be a shining light in the community,” he said.
North Point has its Sunday services at 10:30 a.m. It also holds “Celebrate Recovery” meetings on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. It is looking to start a Kids’ Club on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. beginning in January and a Friday evening teen ministry in 2018, as well as new Life Groups with Bible study and fellowship. For more on North Point, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 December 2017 at 8:08 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Women’s Select Choir, led by High School Chorus Director Gary Simboli, sings “We Wish You the Merriest” during today’s community Christmas concert at the First Presbyterian Church.
There were several groups and musicians that performed including the The Joyful Good Shepherd Ringers (Bell Choir from the United Methodist Church, directed by Marie Follett); local trio Crandall, Wood & Main (Dean Theodorakos, Joel Allen and Doug Syck); guitarist Bill Pileggi; vocalist Alec Sherman; and Dale Smalley at the organ and piano.
In addition, the high school Trombone Choir, Brass Ensemble, Sax Ensemble, Clarinet Choir, Flute Choir and Men’s Select Choir all performed Christmas music.
The Women’s Select Choir sings its song as part of concert, where proceeds benefit the Albion High School Alumni Foundation for scholarships to local graduates.
The concert concluded with an audience sing-along of “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.” Kim Remley and Doreen Wilson, right, both presented traditional readings, with Remley reading “Christmas Past” by Carice Williams, “Christmas Pie” by George Wither and “Christmas is a Holiday for Friends” by Nicholas Gordon. Wilson read “My Christmas Wish” by Cynthia Holt Cummings and “Merry Christmas from Heaven” by John Mooney. Jan-Mikael Erakare also read “The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus” by Ogden Nash.
File photo by Tom Rivers: Marie Follet leads the Joyful Good Shepherd Ringers during a service on Dec. 24, 2015.
Press Release, Albion Alumni Foundation
ALBION — Albion will gather for its annual Community Christmas Concert on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 29 East State St.
The program includes a mix of local music, classic poetry, and an opportunity to sing some holiday favorites.
In keeping with tradition, the concert features Albion High School instrumental and vocal ensembles, this year joined by “The Joyful Good Shepherd Ringers” (Bell Choir from the United Methodist Church, directed by Marie Follett); local trio Crandall, Wood & Main (Dean Theodorakos, Joel Allen and Doug Syck); guitarist Bill Pileggi; vocalist Alec Sherman; and Dale Smalley at the organ and piano.
Doreen Wilson and Kim Remley will present traditional readings, and Jan-Mikael Erakare will share an entertaining Christmas poem by Ogden Nash. Audience members will be invited to sing along to help ring in the Christmas season.
Tickets cost $5 at the door. Proceeds benefit the Albion High School Alumni Foundation, which provides scholarships to local graduates.
“This concert is intended for our entire community,” said Maarit Vaga, a concert organizer. “Our hope is that this will be a joyous tradition for families, friends, and neighbors for years to come.”
