By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Rich Monacelli of Albion holds his 1-year-old grandson Matthew Schomske while watching today’s Strawberry Festival Parade on Main Street.
The turtle, being driven by Don Bishop, waves to the crowd. Hundreds of plastic turtles will race at 2 p.m. on the canal today.
Dancing Derrick does his thing for the Weed Man in Albion.
It rained during the Strawberry Festival Parade today. Big deal. A crowd turned out to show their support for the marching bands, Little League teams, firefighters and numerous other community organizations.
I’ll have more photos from the parade later today.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Erie Canal Sal, others perform for 400
Photos by Tom Rivers – Gretchen Murray Sepik portrays Erie Canal Sal during the Theatre on Main Street talent showcase tonight in Albion.
ALBION – Gretchen Murray Sepik starred as Erie Canal Sal as part of the Theatre on Main Street production Saturday night to close out the Strawberry Festival.
At least 400 people watched the three-hour show on West Bank Street.
Sepik, an Albion resident, portrays Sal, a cook on canal boat in 1840. She was among the performers. (I’ll have pictures on The Hub soon of some of the other acts.)
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Purple Eagle Band performs in the rain on Main Street this morning.
The Kendall-Holley Marching Band was part of the Strawberry Festival for the first time today.
ALBION – The Albion Purple Eagles Marching Band played for the home crowd today in the Strawberry Festival Parade.
The newly formed Kendall-Holley Marching Band also made its debut in the Albion parade. The Dragons from Pembroke have been mainstays at the parade for many years.
Several other bands performed in the 90-minute parade, including the Hitmen Brass Band, Mighty St. Joes, Mark Time Marchers, Rochester Scottish Pipes & Drums, Kendall Royal Blue, White Sabres Dream Corps and the Alexander Fireman’s Band.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2013 at 12:00 am
State Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, and State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, both issued statements about JP Morgan Chase’s decision to close its mortgage serving facility in Albion. The company will lay off 400 people in the coming 90 days.
Hawley said 150 of the Albion workers will be eligible to seek positions at Chase offices in Rochester.
Maziarz: “The closure of JP Morgan Chase in Albion is a huge disappointment for Orleans County.
“Elected officials and economic development officials have worked extensively with the company, and its predecessors in that location, over the years to maintain good, local jobs. We would have been ready and willing to do so again if the company had reached out to us for helpwhich they chose not to do.
“I was in touch with JP Morgan Chase officials today and I expressed my frustration that this site could not have been repurposed.
“I hope that employees will be able to transition to new career opportunities, but this will certainly be a long and painful process for many. My heart goes out to them, and they should know that my colleagues and I will be more than happy to assist anyone we can who is looking for a fresh start.”
Hawley: “After the lengths the community has gone through to support Chase Bank and keep the jobs at the call center that are critical to so many local residents and families, its closure is nothing short of heartbreaking.
“With the livelihoods of so many Western New Yorkers hanging in the balance, bank management should have taken the time to come to the table with local elected officials and work on a solution. Instead, their unwillingness to partner with their supporters has led us to this point, and my heart goes out to all of the men and women who are now left searching for work in this bleak economy.
“I am committed to working with state and local officials to provide assistance for these residents and to grow businesses that are truly engaged in and committed to this community.”
Congressman Chris Collins released this statement about Chase’s announcement it was closing its site in Albion:
“The news that JP Morgan Chase plans to close its facility in Albion later this year is just another indication of how Albany’s reckless spending and runaway property taxes are costing us jobs in Western New York.€¨
“My office has been in contact with JP Morgan Chase and we will be talking in the coming days to urge them to reconsider this decision and protect these hardworking employees.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion Lions Club members Dan Parker, left, and Kevin Howard cook Italian sausage by the Post Office at lunchtime today. Two other Lions, Lloyd Wright and Don Knapp, work the grill in back. Many food vendors are part of the Strawberry Festival today and Saturday.
Friday, June 7, 2013
11am-9pm Food Court – East Bank Street
11am-9pm Craft Booths
1pm-2pm Albion Middle School Jazz Band – Courthouse Lawn
2pm-4pm Ghost Riders – Courthouse Lawn
3pm-8pm Family Fun Faire
3:30pm-5:30pm Kandi Kiss the Clown- Courthouse Lawn
4pm-6:30pm Chicken BBQ at the First Presbyterian Church & Strawberry Social
4pm-6pm Ryan Klatt Solo Acoustic – Food Court
4:30pm-6:30pm Jazzamatazz – Courthouse Lawn
6:30pm-8:30pm The Triple Play Band – Food Court
7pm-9pm Second Nature Jazz Band – Courthouse Lawn
Carol Vespi, a former Albion resident who now lives in Horseheads, is selling decorative lawn ornaments at the Strawberry Festival. The ornaments are made from tin, cast iron and wrought iron.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
7:30am-10am Pancake Breakfast First Presbyterian Church
8am 23rd Annual 5k/8k Race (Registration 7 – 8 a.m. at the Courthouse Square) Sponsored by Albion Free Methodist Church
9am-3pm Car Show Sponsored by Don Davis of Albion (Registration 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.; Judging 12 – 2 p.m.; Awards 3 p.m.)
10am Parade Albion Purple Eagles, Hitmen Brass Band, Mighty St. Joes, Mark Time Marchers, Rochester Scottish Pipes & Drums, Pembroke Dragons, Kendall Royal Blue, White Sabres Dream Corps, Alexander Fireman’s Band
10am-5pm Craft Booths – Courthouse Square
10am-9pm Food Court – East Bank Street
11am-6pm Family Fun Faire
Noon-2pm Blind Leading the Blind – Courthouse Lawn
Noon-3pm Klutzy Jugglers – Courthouse Lawn
1pm-2:30pm Pratt Pack Community Band & Open Mic – Food Court
2pm-4pm Wegmans Zoomobile – Courthouse Lawn
2pm Turtle Race at the Main Street Canal Bridge
2:30pm-4:30pm Don Newcomb Band – Courthouse Lawn
2pm-3pm Magic and Illusions – Courthouse Lawn
2:30pm-4pm Border Town – Food Court
4pm-5:30pm The Who Dats – Food Court
5pm-7pm Remember the Exodus – Courthouse Lawn
5:30pm-7pm Jonsie and the Cruisers – Food Court
5:15pm-7:15pm Jerry Johnson and Friends – Courthouse Lawn
7pm-10pm Theatre On Main Variety Entertainment Under the Stars for the Entire Family – Theatre On Main
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2013 at 12:00 am
PILOT lasted until 2021, adding 10% more in taxes each year
ALBION – Tax incentives for keeping JP Morgan Chase in Albion were far from expiring.
The County of Orleans Economic Development Agency worked with local municipalities to offer a 10-year tax incentive deal to Chase that started in 2011.
That first year Chase didn’t have to pay any taxes to the local governments. With each following year, the company would pay 10 percent more of a $4,046,000 assessment until the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) expired in 2021. At that point, the company would be paying the full 100 percent of its taxes.
The PILOT was approved as an incentive for Chase to stay in Albion at 231 East Ave. Now that the company has announced it will be closing the Albion site, the PILOT agreement may be voided, and Chase could be billed for the full assessed value, said Jim Whipple, chief executive officer of the Orleans EDA.
The EDA board will discuss the issue. Whipple said he favors canceling the PILOT and having the property fully taxed.
That would be a significant tax boost for the village of Albion, town of Albion, Orleans County and Albion Central School. With a combined tax rate of about $45 per $1,000 of assessed property, Chase’s local property tax bill would be about $180,000. The company paid a tenth of that in 2012 and 20 percent in 2013. The PILOT schedule calls for Chase to pay 30 percent in 2014, with 10 percent more added each successive year.
Chase also hasn’t paid towards the large parking lot by the site. The village created that lot in the mid-1990s when Dime Bank expanded at the site. Dime was later acquired by Washington Mutual, which was bought by Chase in 2008. The village has plowed and maintained the parking lot ever since the Dime days.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Concerned Citizens of Orleans County have a float urging the county to keep the nursing home.
ALBION – One float sends the message, “Keep the Orleans County Nursing Home Public.” Another display is strongly in support of Second Amendment rights.
The floats were both in the Murray-Holley June Fest parade last Saturday. Concerned Citizens of Orleans County debuted with its float during Memorial Day in Medina.
“We just want to call attention to the issue,” said Gary Kent, a member of Concerned Citizens of Orleans County.
The group is opposed to the county’s push to sell the 120-bed nursing home, The Villages of Orleans. The County Legislature created a local development corporation and transferred the nursing home to that entity, and charged the group with finding a buyer for the nursing home. Legislators fear projected deficits that could hit $2 million to $4 million at The Villages.
NY Revolution, a grass roots group that formed after the state passed the SAFE ACT in January, has a float in support of the right to bear arms.
Both floats will be allowed in Saturday’s Albion Strawberry Festival, despite concerns from some members of the Albion Rotary Club. I’m a member of the Rotary Club. I joined about 18 months ago. Rotarians have been the chief organizers of the Strawberry Festival the past three years.
The Rotary Club strives to be apolitical. The group doesn’t want politically charged messages at its meetings or events.
The nursing home and Second Amendment floats are designed to influence public policy. They’re clearly political.
A committee of Rotarians and other community members voted to allow the two floats.
To say no to the groups wouldn’t sit well.
“It’s a First Amendment issue, and they didn’t have a problem with it in Medina, Holley or Lyndonville,” Kent told me. “If they’re uncomfortable with it, then so be it.”
Some of the other local parades are organized by municipalities. The Albion parade is technically a Rotary Club event, and that’s why some Rotarians are uneasy about the floats with political messages.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION -Ryan Klatt of Holley performs on East Bank Street today as part of the 27th annual Strawberry Festival. The festival continues tomorrow with a packed lineup of live music.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Gina Sidari, an Albion first grader, is all smiles at the Seneca Park Zoo today despite the constant rain.
Albion students watch the polar bear at the zoo in Rochester today.
ROCHESTER – Some schools cancelled. Too much rain.
Not the first grade class at Albion. Students, teachers and many of kids’ parents boarded school buses today and spent about two hours at the Seneca Park Zoo. It never stopped raining. Even some of the animals cowered behind their shelters, and didn’t venture into the open.
But first-graders did get to see two elephants, a polar bear, a rhino, seals, wolves and lots of other creatures.
I was able to join the group for the expedition. My daughter is in Mrs. Azzolino’s class.
We all left with soaked feet. I’m glad it wasn’t cancelled.
First-graders in Mrs. Azzolino’s class watch an elephant.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – JP Morgan Chase announced today it will close its Albion facility in September, cutting 400 local jobs.
ALBION – Four hundred people in Albion were told today their jobs will be gone in September.
JP Morgan Chase, which runs a mortgage center on East Avenue, announced it will close the site in about 90 days. The company acquired Washington Mutual about five years ago and the center peaked with nearly 1,000 employees.
Chase has been shrinking the site since then. The company said an improving economy means fewer people are behind on their mortgages, making the site in Albion less needed.
“Fewer homeowners are falling behind on their mortgages, so we need fewer employees to assist those who were struggling,” Chase said in a statement to WGRZ in Buffalo. “This shift is good for homeowners and the economy overall. We will work with affected employees to find openings at Chase or other local companies.”
The announcement is bad news for Albion, which was already stung in February when Claims Recovery Financial Services said it would move the bulk of its operations to Medina, where there is more room for the growing company at the Olde Pickle Factory. CRFS plans to keep about 200 workers in Albion while it grows to about 700 workers in Medina in the next year.
State Assemblyman Steve Hawley said he tried several times to reach Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in recent weeks, to urge the company to stay in Albion. Dimon never returned Hawley’s calls. Hawley was part of a contingent of local, state and federal officials who swayed Chase to stay in Albion after it acquired WaMu.
“I was hopeful they wouldn’t close the Albion site,” Hawley said.
He believes the Chase site and their employees will be attractive for a new employer in Albion.
“It’s a good facility,” Hawley said. “It’s been updated and the employees have marketable skills. They’re hard-working.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 June 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Our Light of Victory now owns St. Mary’s, which was closed by the Catholic Diocese in 2007.
Albion has a reputation, in a good way, for the seven historic churches that are part of the Courthouse Square, a cluster of about 30 buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places.
The former St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Brown Street doesn’t get the same recognition as a historical and community treasure, but the site should be considered on par with the churches by the courthouse.
I think the former St. Mary’s, built by Polish immigrants, may be most striking of all the Albion churches. It opened in 1893, predating some of the churches on the Square.
The Catholic Diocese closed the church in 2007. Our Light of Victory acquired the church and has Sunday services there.
I’d like to see a historic marker prominently placed on the property, honoring the Polish families who sacrificed and gave generously to build this church.
Matt Ballard has developed a wonderful web site, www.albionpolonia.com, that details the history of the church and many of Polish families who were drawn to Albion the late 1800s.
I passed by the church today. I had to stop and take a picture.
