Photo by Tom Rivers – Kyle Heuer is pictured with his father Karl today at a dental practice Karl helped start 38 years ago.

ALBION – In his junior year of college at Notre Dame University, Kyle Heuer knew what he wanted in a dream job.

His fellow accounting majors were relishing careers in Chicago, New York City and other major metros in the country.

But Heuer wanted to come back to Albion and work as a dentist alongside his father, Karl.

The dream came true last month when Kyle started as a dentist in his hometown. He and his father work out of 313 South Main St. Karl has been a dentist in Albion for 38 years. His son joined him in the practice on July 22.

“I definitely wanted to be here,” Kyle said today. “I wanted to be with my family and friends. I still have a lot of close buddies who live in Albion.”

Kyle earned an accounting degree from Notre Dame, and then attended the University at Buffalo Dentistry School. His father is a graduate of both schools. Kyle completed a residency at the VA Medical Center in Buffalo. There he learned the art of pulling teeth, performing root canals and other oral surgery. And this for a kid who fainted at the sight of blood in biology class.

Kyle’s skill at oral surgery has allowed the Heuer dental practice to do more extractions and surgeries. Patients sometimes had to have those procedures done in Lockport, Batavia or Rochester.

“Now we’re doing them all here,” Karl said. “People don’t have to drive out of town anymore.”

Kyle enjoys the science behind dentistry and he said there is an element of art in reshaping a tooth that has a filling. He likes to see patients leave pain-free and often smiling.

It has taken some getting used to, working on the teeth of his former teachers and parents of friends. But Kyle said he is grateful to be home, working in a small town where there is a sense of connectedness.

When his father moved to Albion 38 years ago, Karl said the community was declared an underserved area because there were so few dentists. Karl and his friend A.J. Monacelli worked together at a site on Hazard Parkway. They were there for four years until moving to the site on South Main Street. Monacelli would later start his own practice at the corner on Main Street and Allen Road.

Heuer said the community’s dental health is “drastically better” these days. When he started, he was pulling decayed teeth on people in their 20s. He believes the public is much better educated about dental health, and they brush their teeth and floss, helping to ward off decay. He also credits the vast expansion of public water lines for improving dental health because of the access to fluoridated water.

One other contributor: Sesame Street. Children’s shows often feature kids going to dentists and that has helped children to feel more comfortable sitting in the big dental chairs and having their teeth checked, Heuer said.

Karl has witnessed another major change in his career: dental insurance. Many of his patients used to work at Kodak, Rochester Products and Harrison Radiator, major companies with generous dental insurance coverage.

There are less high-paying jobs for his patients these days, and many companies don’t offer dental insurance, or the insurance only pays a portion of the costs.

Karl and Kyle say there is a shift in dentistry, with more clinics opening where dentists are employees and often the owner of the business is not on site and isn’t known to the public. The clinics often operate multiple sites, given them buying power advantages for equipment and supplies.

“You’ll probably see less and less family dental businesses down the road,” Karl said.

His wife has worked with her husband for years. She is the receptionist. There are four other employees in addition to the Heuers.

Karl six years ago was diagnosed with colon cancer, a disease that kept him out of work for nine months. He praised Sandra Chang, a former dentist at the site, for keeping the practice going during his illness.

Karl said he has no plans to retire anytime soon. Right now the father and son are enjoying work together, and sharing lunch breaks.

“I can’t picture working anywhere else,” Kyle said.

ALBION – I’ve wanted to get a picture of the ice cream truck for years, but never seemed to have time or a camera on me. I was out for a jog this afternoon with my Smart Phone when I heard the truck’s familiar bells.

Bernie Wheater, owner of Scoop’s Ice Cream, pulled right in front of me on Densmore Street and a family soon descended for a frozen treat.

Wheater bought the business from a Holley resident about six years ago. Wheater covers a big territory west of Route 259. He is often in Orleans County, including about three trips a week to Albion.

Congregation expects to stay for several more months while weighing its future

Photos by Tom Rivers – The United Methodist Church in Albion will be abandoned by its congregation and turned over to the conference in the coming months, making the future uncertain for the historic church at the corner of Platt and East State streets.

The church has been using five wooden beams to help support the roof since last December.

ALBION – For several years it has weighed on the minds, wallets and emotions of members of the United Methodist Church in Albion – a roof that was structurally unsound and might take $1 million or more to fix.

Tonight the church congregation voted overwhelmingly to be relieved of a historic building at 19 North Platt St. The building was deemed far too big and costly for a congregation with about 30 active families.

“The way the vote went people want to move forward and this is the only way forward,” said Reid Cole, chairman of the church trustees.

The United Methodists had a special meeting tonight, and members were asked to vote on whether they should abandon the building. There were 47 ballots cast, and 36 supported leaving the site and looking for a different place to worship.

“We are charting a new path,” said Terry Wilbert, administrative council chairman for the church.

The United Methodist Church is part of the Courthouse Square, a district with 35 buildings that are named to the National Register of Historic Places.

Wilbert believes the church is the most beautiful of the eight churches that are part of the Courthouse Square, a district with 35 buildings that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The brick building is loaded with ornate stained glass windows and woodwork. It was built about 150 years ago.

In 1914, the church reoriented the sanctuary. When that happened, some members didn’t like that lower beams that helped support the roof truss system were more visible. The church removed the lower beams. A century later the roof is in danger of collapse from a truss system that needs to be totally rebuilt.

Architects have estimated it could cost $1 million or more to rebuild the roof system. The church last December put in five wooden beams to help support the roof. They have applied for grants to help pay for the costs, and was awarded a $50,000 grant. But that left a big gap to get the project done.

“It’s tough to grow under this burden,” Cole said.

The building will likely be transferred to the Upper New York Annual Conference, which has its main office in Syracuse. Church leaders will meet with the conference within the next month to determine the next steps.

The church has many large stained glass windows and numerous other historical artifacts.

The congregation will remain in the building for a while, but Wilbert said they will be exploring options for the future, perhaps using an existing church, holding services after one of the congregations. Or the United Methodists could use a non-church building, possibly even the library.

The United Methodists will pay to keep the building maintained and covered by insurance in the near future.

Members were asked if the Albion congregation should consider merging with another nearby UM church, but only four out of 47 people supported that.

“We want to stay together as a congregation. That was obvious,” Wilbert said.

The congregation also wants to take as many “usable assets” as possible from the building to wherever the church settles for a meeting place, Wilbert said.

In the meantime, the church plans to keep up with its ministries, including a beef on weck dinner next Thursday from 4:30 to 8 p.m.

Wilbert said the church wants to do more for the community, including possible ministries for camping, youth groups and senior citizens.

“It was a difficult decision,” he said about the vote tonight. “This was built when everyone went to church and they went to the mainline denominational churches. But now there are a lot of large churches with congregations that can no longer support the buildings.”

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – A motorist drove into the light pole on Main Street next to the Presbyterian Church. The incident happened at about 8:30 p.m.

The driver, who hasn’t been identified, was transported by COVA to Medina Memorial Hospital. Albion firefighters were on the scene, cleaning up a lot of broken glass.

Village applies for $500,000 grant for Bullard Park

ALBION – Village trustees Eileen Banker and Pete Sidari went door to door on a recent weekend, trying to convince residents to fill out an income survey to see if the village qualified for a federal grant to replace aging sewers.

Banker and Sidari tried to personally get the surveys after mailings to 83 households went mostly unreturned by those residents. The village needed at least 53 income surveys returned to apply for the grant. But Albion fell far short of that through the mailings and door to door outreach.

The two trustees said they heard good feedback from the few residents who were home and answered the door.

The lack of responses prompted the Village Board to withdraw its plan to seek federal funding for new sewers on portions of Crimson Drive, Caroline Street and East State Street. The board expected it would seek a $600,000 federal grant through the state Consolidated Funding Application process.

To qualify for the funds, the village needed to show that the majority of residents in the target area for the new sewers were low to moderate income.

“We’ll have to try harder next year,” said Mayor Dean Theodorakos. “We’ll try it earlier to get people on board.”

The village submitted one grant application this state grant round. The village is seeking $500,000 from the state for Bullard Park, a project that wasn’t approved last year. Theodorakos believes Albion has a better chance this funding round.

The village spent $20,000 last year upgrading playground equipment at the Pee Wee Park section of Bullard and also has $50,000 in a capitol reserve that could be spent at Bullard. He thinks that shows the village is willing to put some of its own money into the park, and not just rely on state funding.

The village wants to reseed two ball fields, add new playground equipment and carve a 6,400-foot-long hiking trail through the park.

ALBION – It seemed easy and cheap enough back in May when Town Councilman Jake Olles first proposed downtown speakers for the village. Olles wanted music piped into Albion’s downtown and he thought the project could be done for about $1,000.

Olles and the Town Board said they would pay for the project with money out of the town’s parks budget. Olles envisioned 10 speakers in the downtown. Wire would run through existing light poles.

The initiative hasn’t proven so easy or so cheap. The light poles are at capacity for wire. There is no room for more wire in the light poles to accommodate the speakers, village officials said.

They have investigated wireless speakers and a music system, and found they would cost about $9,000. The speakers would be loud enough for music to be heard from the courthouse, down Main and Bank streets and to the Erie Canal.

The speakers could also be used to announce parades and other community events.

Village officials want to bring the music to the downtown. They are going to meet with members of the Town Board to discuss how to pay for the system, which will likely include about $300 a year in licensing fees for the music.

The town and village may split the total costs. That will be discussed in an upcoming meeting with representatives from the two municipalities.

“It would be nice to have especially during the holidays and the Strawberry Festival,” said Village Trustee Pete Sidari.

Press release, Hoag Library

ALBION – Hoag Library has been extremely fortunate to get a new legacy gift in memory of Kathryn Mahany Kerrigan. Her husband, Dr. Edward F. Schlenk, has set up a trust in her memory to provide books on women’s health and mysteries for long into the future.

The Kerrigan Trust will provide $1,000 each year to the library for books. This is in addition to the $10,000 for books and $5,000 for the new building pledged by Mrs. Kerrigan during the Capital Campaign in 2010.

Mrs. Kerrigan had a deep interest in this library and its future, dating from her time as a small child, coming to the library every day while her mother was at work (her father died when she was 3 years old), and then walking home at the end of each day with Lucy Fancher, then library director. Kerrigan and Miss Fancher were neighbors, and became friends during these daily visits. Lucy Fancher was library director from 1941 until 1960.

Mrs. Kerrigan died of ovarian cancer on March 17, 2011.

Press release, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni III

ALBION – The Albion Police Department, using STOP DWI funding, engaged in a focused STOP DWI Check Point Detail in various locations within the village of Albion on Aug. 10.

The checkpoints were done with the assistance and coordination of many law enforcement agencies including the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, State Police, Holley Police Department, Orleans County Probation Department and New York State Parole.

The combined efforts of those involved resulted in two DWI arrests, one DWI drug arrest, three unlawful possession of marijuana arrests, two aggravated unlicensed operation arrests, two warrant suspects arrested from Genesee and Niagara counties, one person listed as missing located and found to be OK, one Probation violation, along with the issuance of several vehicle and traffic violations.

The arrests show the dedication and commitment set forth by the officers of the Albion Police Department and the other law enforcement personnel, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni III said.

“Sadly it also shows the rate of persons driving under the influence and disregarding the laws that are in place for everyone’s safety,” Nenni said. “The Albion Police Department is committed to make the streets safe for all that use them and to focus on taking those persons off the street that violate the law.”

With the assistance of funding provided by The Stop DWI Program and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, the Albion Police Department will be engaging in several focused patrol campaigns on a continual basis.

“We will use every tactic and technique available to us to enforce the law and make for a safer community,” Nenni said.

United Methodists face $1 million roof project

Photos by Tom Rivers – Trustees at the Albion United Methodist Church – Cathy Moore, Reid Cole and Marie Follett – are pictured in the choir loft this morning with the sanctuary in the background. The sanctuary roof is supported by fall timber beams that were installed last December as a temporary reprieve for fixing the roof.

ALBION – Reid Cole knows it would be a shock to the community if people passed by the Albion United Methodist Church building and saw a “For Sale” sign.

But it’s not out of question. He fears a demolition of the historic site also isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

The congregation of about 30 families has a difficult decision to make: to spend $1 million or more replacing the roof and rebuilding trusses on the church, or perhaps walking away from the structure at 19 North Platt St.

“We could be looking at anything from fixing the building to demolishing it,” Cole said after church this morning.

He is chairman of the church trustees. Besides the roof project, the church needs brick work and other minor repairs. The membership will meet this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. to try to reach a consensus on the future of the church building.

The United Methodist church is part of the Courthouse Square, a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Eight Albion churches are part of the historic district.

The pipe organ at the United Methodist is one of several historical wonders inside the church that is part of the Courthouse Square, a district on the National Register of Historic Places. Eight churches are part of that district.

The Presbyterian and Pullman Memorial Universalist churches are also weighing significant repair projects. But none is nearly as costly at the situation at the United Methodist Church.

Last December, five tall timber beams went up inside the sanctuary of the church. They are helping to hold up the roof of the historic church at 19 North Platt St.

The temporary support columns got the church through the winter, and provide some time for the church to determine its next steps. But with winter again around the corner, church members believe they need to settle on a plan for the building.

The trusses are not properly supporting the roof, causing walls to shift and threatening the viability of the structure. The church was built in 1861 with an addition at 1914.

When the sanctuary was reoriented in 1914, church members at the time cut out the bottom support beams for the trusses. That has weakened the trusses, now jeopardizing the support system for the roof. Putting on a new roof with trusses would be $825,000, in the cheapest alternative. The mostly costly choice approaches $2 million, Cole said.

The church is seeking a $500,000 matching grant through the state’s Environmental Facilities Corporation, a grant that requires a local match. The church would also have to front the money and wait to be reimbursed.

Cole said the church meeting Wednesday could include discussion about a capital campaign that would seek funds from the community, including people who don’t attend the church.

“We’d like to have a sense of the direction we need to go,” he said about Wednesday’s meeting.

Marie Follett is a silhouette next to the large stained-glass window in the sanctuary at the Albion First United Methodist Church.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Neal Muscarella, an Albion stone mason, uses a hammer and chisel to face up the top of the base for a new Mount Albion Cemetery sign.

Muscarella has been working on the sign at the entrance of the historic cemetery on Route 31. He put the capstones on yesterday and worked today on some final touches, dressing up the sandstone pieces.

The village of Albion owns the sign and has been working for about eight months to line up stone and contractors to replace the previous sign that was smashed by a driver last December.

Muscarella was able to create a new base for the sign using pieces from the old sign as well as repurposed sandstone curbs that were once in Albion.

Photos by Tom Rivers

Gina Sidari, 6, of Albion introduced a line of fashion tonight at the Cabaret at Studio B in Albion, a new venture run by Gina’s mother Amy Sidari.

Gina designed clothes worn during the fashion show by herself and her friends – Isabelle Gray, Julia Fuller, Emily Mergler, and Avery and Willow Gaines.

Proceeds from the fashion were designated for the Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance.

Julia Fuller of Albion models one of the outfits designed by her friend Gina Sidari.

Kyle Sidari shares a joke as part of a stand-up routine during the fashion show. Carlos Burroughs, left, lets out a chuckle.

Marcy Downey sings “You Make Me Feel So Young” during the Gina Line Fashion Show at the Cabaret at Studio B in Albion, part of Gotta Dance by Miss Amy.

ALBION – The village of Albion is raising the water rates by 8 cents per 1,000 gallons to six towns that buy water from the village for water districts.

The new rate will increase 2.8 percent from $2.86 to $2.94. Albion hasn’t raised the rates to the towns in 11 years, Mayor Dean Theodorakos said.

The increase was intended to take effect Oct. 1, but the town of Barre said that didn’t meet the requirement of providing three months notice before a rate increase. Barre Town Supervisor Mark Chamberlain also asked for a meeting with village officials for an explanation about the rate hike.

“At this time, it does not seem feasible for the town to agree to the rate increase without more information and discussion,” Chamberlain wrote to the Village Board on Aug. 8.

The village faces equipment and facility upgrades at the water plant, which is prompting Albion to raise the rates by a modest amount, Trustee Kevin Sheehan said.

The board agreed to delay the rate increase until Jan. 1 for all of the towns it supplies with water. Theodorakos said the village will try to schedule a meeting with the officials from the towns to provide the village’s rationale for the increase. The village supplies water for districts in Carlton, Gaines, Albion, Barre, Ridgeway and Murray.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Stephen Rutledge of Albion scrapes off old paint this afternoon on one of the doors facing Main Street at the First Presbyterian Church in Albion. Rutledge will also scrape off the paint on the alcove over the door. He will prime and repaint the doors and alcove on the historic church built with Medina sandstone.