Photos by Tom Rivers – Al and Andrew Cheverie

ALBION – Some of Andrew Cheverie’s earliest memories are taking a soapy sponge and wiping off the big tires on Albion fire trucks. He often joined his father, Al, in the fire hall.

Andrew, 16, has grown up as a part of the Albion Fire Department. Now, he is a cadet member, a step above the youth explorer program, but not quite a basic firefighter. He can do many of the firefighter duties, but isn’t allowed to go into a house on fire.

“It’s always been a lot of fun, even cleaning the fire trucks,” Andrew said about the fire department. “It’s definitely been exciting having grown up here and to now become a part of it.”

Andrew and Al Cheverie are one of many firefighting families in the department. Some families, such as the Sidaris, have been active volunteers for four or five generations.

Al Cheverie, an AFD volunteer for 23 years, enjoys working alongside his son as firefighters.

“You’re definitely doing something constructive together,” Al said.

Firefighters say the volunteer jobs consume a lot of time with training, work around the fire hall and responding to emergencies. Having family members in the department makes the time away from home more bearable.

Michael and Spencer Misiak

“It’s a camaraderie,” said Michael Misiak, an AFD firefighter the past 12 years. “It brings a father and son closer together.”

His son Spencer, 16, is president of the explorer post, which currently includes four people 14 and older. It’s run through the Boy Scouts of America.

“It’s fun, but it’s a commitment,” Spencer said.

The department started the explorer post in 1974. Tim Irwin was in that initial group. He spent four years as an explorer before become a full member 35 years ago. He now helps run the explorer program. His daughter Allyson, 15, is one of the explorers.

“I put her in a fire truck when she was 2,” Irwin said.

Tim and Allyson Irwin

Allyson has been a frequent presence in the fire hall she was a baby. As an explorer, she has joined firefighters on tasks in the community, including basement pumping. She is eager to gain more skills to help the department.

Bill Francis joined the AFD 26 years ago, following 10 years with the Wallace Fire Department in the Southern Tier, where his father was an assistant chief. His two sons – Will, 22, and Matt, 21 – are active firefighters in Albion.

“I’ve always wanted to be a fireman,” Matt said. “You want to help the community you grew up in.”

Matt works in Rochester as a collision technician. His brother works at CRFS in Albion and wants to be a police officer. Will says firefighting “is a family tradition.”

“I still get excited sitting in the front seat with the lights on, going out on a call,” he said.

Bill Francis is pictured with his sons Will, center, and Matt.

The department has 75 active firefighters, but could use more, especially for the day-time calls when many members have work commitments. Harry Papponetti, a past chief, said there are many roles to help the department, and not just fighting fires and providing EMS. Volunteers are needed for scene support and as drivers.

Papponetti has volunteered with the department for 43 years. Four of his sons have served with the AFD, including John, 38; Jimmy, 35; Scott, 33; and Steven, 20.

John remembers when he was a kid riding his bike up and down Platt Street, pretending he was in a fire truck. When John moved from Albion about a decade ago, he joined the Penfield Fire Company, where he is now a vice president.

“It’s in your blood,” he said about the fire service. “You can’t get away from it.”

The Papponetti family, from left: John, Jimmy, Harry and Steven. Scott is also a member of the AFD but is currently stationed with the military in Montana.

His brother Steven juggles a college course load with volunteerism in the fire department. On weekends, he often hangs out at the fire hall, where he said he enjoys the fellowship.

When Harry Papponetti joined the fire department 43 years ago, he said there were 350 firefighters in Albion. There were a lot of fires back then. These days the AFD responds more to motor vehicle accidents, automatic alarms, gas leaks and smoke and odor investigations. However, the department still battled 24 fires last year.

The department welcomes new members, and they don’t need a pedigree in the AFD. Jodi Genno is an example of a newcomer who sought out the department. She was living in Florida when she moved to Albion in 2004.

“I always wanted to be in the fire service and be an EMT,” she said.

In Fort Lauderdale, where she lived, the department was run by career firefighters.

Genno said the AFD has been welcoming. She helps lead the explorer post, where her son Austin, 14, is one of the four members. Austin enjoys shooting pool with the firefighters and helping around the fire hall.

“I want to make the real firefighters’ jobs easier,” he said.

Jodi Genno and her son Austin

The department will have an open house this Saturday from 10 to 3 p.m. Firefighters will do blood pressure checks, offer fire safety tips, and lead demonstrations on the Hurst tool and a fire extinguisher. The fire hall is on North Platt Street next to the canal.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Clarendon Street bridge in the village of Albion is scheduled to be replaced next year with 95 percent of the costs paid by the state and federal governments.

ALBION – After more than a decade of looking at alternatives for the Clarendon Street bridge, construction of the project is now imminent: next year.

State Department of Transportation officials updated the Albion community on the replacement project on Wednesday. The DOT and engineers at Bergmann Associates in Buffalo are working on the final design for the project.

The state was considering a new bridge that would have been higher than the existing one, which would have required longer approaches, but the new bridge will be the same height, easing some neighborhood disruption with the project. The Falls Road Railroad backed off wanting a higher bridge.

Some residents, including former Mayor Ed Salvatore, told the Village Board and DOT to just dead-end the bridge and not bother with a replacement at an estimated price of $1.8 million.

“This is an enormous cost to the village for a few trains,” he said during a public meeting about the project on Wednesday.

The village has to pay 5 percent of the project, or about $90,000. The state pays 15 percent and the federal government 80 percent. The federal money is already approved.

If the village opted against going forward with the replacement, Albion could be on the hook for the $200,000 that has already been spent on engineering and preliminary costs, plus the village would then have to pay the full share of demolishing the bridge at an estimated $200,000.

“The bottom line to me is it will cost the village more to take it down than to have a new one,” Trustee Pete Sidari told the bridge detractors.

The current bridge has “heavily deteriorated” beams, spalling concrete and other problems, said Kevin Miller, an engineer with Bergmann.

The DOT wants to replace the bridge with a smaller precast concrete structure that will improve sight lines and offer wider travel lanes, shoulders and sidewalks. The DOT and Bergmann looked at fixing the problems at the bridge, instead of doing a replacement, but Miller said that would be a short-term fix.

Salvatore and resident Joe Martillotta were both critical of the cost of the project, and said the village wouldn’t move forward with it if the federals and state governments weren’t shouldering the costs.

Mayor Dean Theodorakos fired back at Salvatore, saying the village needs to go after projects supported by outside grants and funding.

“Are we going to sit here and let things fall down?” Theodorakos said. “Is that what you want? Eventually the village will shut down because the people won’t want to spend money here.”

Clarendon Street can be heavily trafficked, especially during in the morning when school starts and in the afternoon when it lets out. Trustee Eileen Banker said closing Clarendon Street permanently would divert traffic to McKinstry Street, where a lot of students walk to school.

The DOT is working to acquire pieces of five properties between Crimson Drive and Childs Street. The state plans to accept bids for the bridge construction in March 2014. Construction should start the following April and the new bridge should open in November 2014.

Tax rate climbs from $16.37 to $16.86 per $1,000

ALBION – The Village Board approved a $6.3 million budget on Wednesday that will raise taxes 2.6 percent and will allow the village to upgrade some infrastructure.

“We’re still able to do some very nice public works projects with streets and drainage,” Mayor Dean Theordorakos said after the budget was approved tonight.

The board approved taking $300,000 from its reserve fund and pursuing a $100,000 bond to tackle some drainage and road maintenance projects. Trustee Fred Miller cast the lone negative vote for the budget. He didn’t like to see the village borrow for road work.

“You’re pulling out your credit card,” he said.

But the mayor said it’s not uncommon for the village to borrow to get some infrastructure projects done. The biggest project will be milling and repaving West State Street.

“We’re improving our infrastructure to make it more livable,” Theodorakos said.

The village may pursue a bigger state grant for sanitary sewer work on Crimson Drive and East State Street, or it may seek a grant for a sanitary sewer, water main, storm drain and road rebuild on a portion of East State Street.

The village’s overall budget – general, water and sewer funds – totals $6,272,510, which is down from the $6,538,637 in 2012-13. The village will levy $2,419,975 in taxes, which is a 2.6 percent increase or $60,371 more from the $2,359,604 collected in 2012-13.

The budget includes $10,000 for economic development. That money isn’t allocated for a specific project.  The board opted against designating the money for the Albion Main Street Alliance, as it did the previous four years, but Theodorakos said the money could go to the group once a contract is worked out.

The village tax rate will go up 3.0 percent or 49 cents per $1,000 of assessed property. It will increase from $16.37 to $16.86.

The village saw its overall assessed value drop $608,407 to $143.5 million. That is pushing the tax rate higher. The previous year the assessed was down $420,688 to $144.1 million. The tax rate went up 45 cents to $16.37 in 2012-13.

The village of Medina also is struggling with shrinking assessments and a rising tax rate.

Photos by Tom Rivers – A driver smashed the sandstone sign outside Mount Albion Cemetery last December. 

Village officials are trying to find a replacement that matches the historic flavor of Mount Albion, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

ALBION – Jason Zicari sensed something was amiss at Mount Albion Cemetery on Dec. 21. He and the staff at the historic cemetery were working on a burial.

Zicari noticed the large sandstone sign in front of the cemetery had been broken off. A chunk of the wrought-iron fence was also knocked out.

A driver late the previous night smashed into the sign and fence. It has been months of haggling with an insurance company since then.

“Everything is waiting on the insurance,” said Zicari, the cemetery foreman.

Zicari is determined to have the sign be made of sandstone and match the historic character of the cemetery, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He is still trying to find a sandstone piece that is smooth on both sides and about 5 feet by 7 feet.

Zicari has been scouting old sandstone pieces, including former sidewalk panels. But those sidewalk pieces tend to be smooth on the top side and rough on the bottom. And they are a little too small for the cemetery sign.

“We got to get lucky,” Zicari said about finding the right sandstone for the project. “We’re trying to find a match and put it up like it was.”

He also wants the letters to be carved to match the former sign, which was installed in 1985. The cemetery crew painted the letters of the sign black about six weeks before it was destroyed. The paint made the sign stand out more, Zicari said.

With the new sign, the village may include that Mount Albion is owned by the village of Albion.

The sign also will need a new foundation. Zicari said the section of the gate that is missing will be replaced with a combination of old and new metal.

He is hopeful the entire project will be done by July.

“We’ve had to start from scratch with the whole thing,” Zicari said.

ALBION – Albion Town Councilman Matt Passarell said he will run for town supervisor under the Republican Party line by seeking support from the rank-and-file party faithful, rather than relying on the party leaders.

The Albion Republican Committee last week opted against endorsing a candidate for town supervisor. The committee interviewed Passarell and Town Councilman Jake Olles, but decided against formally backing either one.

Passarell said he will pursue the petition process to secure the Republican line. He would need a minimum of 5 percent of the 1,375 registered Republicans in Albion to sign his petitions for town supervisor. That would be a minimum of 69 valid signatures.

“I will be a candidate,” Passarell said.

The state Board of Elections hasn’t established a deadline for those petitions to be due, but they typically need to be filed by mid-July.

Town Supervisor Dennis Stirk, a Democrat, isn’t seeking re-election. Passarell and Olles both are interested in the position.

The Republican committee welcomes other candidates to come forward to interview for the position leading the town government, said Dawn Allen, the GOP chairwoman. Albion has until May 16 to make an endorsement for someone to run under the party line in November.

If the committee bypasses Passarell and endorses someone else, he would set up a September primary if he submits petitions with enough signatures.

The committee did endorse two candidates for Town Board: Richard Remley, a former owner of a printing company in Albion, and Todd Sargent, a village of Albion Department of Public Works employee.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Cornell University students climbed the Civil War memorial at Mount Albion Cemetery this afternoon.

ALBION – I had the pleasure this afternoon of leading a dozen students from Cornell University on a tour of Mount Albion Cemetery, which I consider one of the great marvels of Orleans County.

I talked about the impressive sandstone structures at the cemetery – the arch, the chapel, the office across the street, and the collection of hitching posts and carriage steps. It all culminates with the 68-foot-high tower at the back of the cemetery.

That tower, built in 1876, is a memorial to the 463 soldiers from Orleans County who died in the Civil War.

Thirty-three Cornell students, pursuing graduate degrees in historic preservation and city planning, have been touring Albion sites and working on preservation projects since Thursday.

The students pose on the sandstone steps leading to Mount Albion Tower.

Todd Sargent, Richard Remley backed for Town Board

ALBION – The Albion Republican Committee interviewed two Town Board members, Matt Passarell and Jake Olles, for town supervisor and the committee decided against endorsing either of them.

The committee welcomes other candidates to come forward to interview for the position leading the town government, said Dawn Allen, the GOP chairwoman. Albion has until May 16 to make an endorsement for someone to run under the party line in November.

She wouldn’t talk about why the committee declined to endorse either Passarell or Olles. She did say the committee wants a candidate who can restore harmony in town hall among the full board and town employees.

The board has been split under Town Supervisor Dennis Stirk, with Olles and Dan Poprawski, who were all elected in November 2011, often siding with the supervisor.

Passarell and Tim Neilans, holdovers from when Judith Koehler was town supervisor, have been critical of the Stirk-led board for giving raises to the town clerk and town highway superintendent. The two also opposed hiring Robert Roberson as attorney for the town. Roberson represented Highway Superintendent Jed Standish in a lawsuit against the town when the Koehler-led board tried to make his position part-time.

Passarell is an Iraq War veteran and VFW commander, who works as quality supervisor for Baxter in Medina. Olles works as a correctional officer. Olles was elected previously under the Democrat Party line.

The committee made two endorsements during its meeting on Tuesday night. Richard Remley, the former owner of a printing company in Albion, was backed for a four-year term as town councilman. Remley also was co-leader of the fund-raising campaign for the new Hoag Library.

Todd Sargent, a village of Albion Department of Public Works employee, also was endorsed for a four-year term.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Demolition work of a sandstone building along the Erie Canal in Albion has been suspended until an asbestos removal permit is secured.

ALBION – The demolition of a sandstone building from 1840 has been halted because the owner of the site hasn’t secured an asbestos removal permit from the state Department of Labor, village officials said.

Dan Dunn of Ridgeway started removing the building last Saturday, but worked was stopped later in the day by Ron Vendetti, the village code enforcement officer.

Dunn has contested he needs a certified asbestos removal company for the work. Dunn, owner of salvage company, believes he can handle the job.

The DOL’s Asbestos Control unit was in Albion today and tagged the building as a “suspended action.”

The building, once used to manufacture carriages more than a century ago, is a “dangerous building,” and needs to come down, Vendetti said. However, Dunn needs to secure a permit from the DOL before removing the 5,000-square-foot building that was last used as a furniture warehouse about a half century ago.

Dunn has said he wants to preserve and resell as much of the sandstone as possible.

Agenda: Glazing windows, mortaring and documenting artifacts

Photos by Tom Rivers – Ke Tong applies shellac to a wooden window from the Pratt Opera House in Albion. Tong and 32 other Cornell University graduate students are working on preservation projects in Albion this weekend.

ALBION – Max Taffet was hunched over at a table this morning, writing down dimensions and details from the Grand Army of the Republic room in the historic Pratt and Day complex on Main Street.

Taffet, 25, is a graduate student in Cornell University’s City and Regional Planning Department. This weekend he and 32 other students are getting a hands-on education

in how preservation can help rejuvenate a downtown.

The students arrived in Albion on Thursday evening and toured the business district, the Erie Canal and some of the historic churches.

“It’s beautiful,” Taffet said about the buildings from the 19^th Century. “This strip here is so rich. It’s gorgeous.”

Taffet lives in Boulder, Colo., which he says can’t match Albion in historic assets. He joined a few other students in making an inventory of the GAR room. The spot was used as a fraternal organization of Civil War veterans more than a century ago.  The room still includes GAR symbols on the walls that proclaim “Loyalty, Fraternity and Charity.”

Max Taffet, a graduate student in Cornell’s City and Regional Planning Department, catalogs details from the Grand Army of the Republic room in the Pratt and Day complex on Main Street.

Other Cornell students were working today to clean 100 wooden-framed windows, applying shellac, glaze and fresh paint.

Caitlin Kolb, a Cornell graduate student from Nebraska, said she was in awe of the historic fabric in Albion, a canal boomtown in the 1800s.

“It’s pretty exciting to be here and see this,” she said. “In Nebraska, we don’t have such old buildings.”

She drove past the old freight depot on West Academy Street, a building that has long been vacant. Kolb sees potential in that site and the community.

The Cornell students are also removing loose mortar from the walls of the former Pratt Opera House, and will apply new mortar.

Luis Martinez, a student at Cornell University, removes loose mortar inside the Pratt Opera House today. Martinez and other students will re-mortar the walls over the weekend.

The students removed tin from the back stage of the opera house. That revealed signatures of former stars and stagehands who worked in the building. Those signatures will all be documented.

Building owners Michael Bonafede and Judith Koehler welcomed the students for the annual preservation project by the Cornell program. Every year students go to a community for hands-on work. Last year they went to Lyndhurst, an estate along the Hudson River in Tarrytown, NY.

Gina DiBella of Rochester is doing her master’s thesis on historic theaters the canal. She has toured and researched the former opera houses in both Albion and Medina.

“Their rehabilitation can help revitalize the community,” DiBella said. “There are a lot of hidden treasures in these canal communities.”

The students connected with Albion through Katelin Olson, the Albion Main Street Alliance director who is pursuing a doctorate at Cornell.

Students will be in seminars, learning from local contractors, including Jeremiah Knight, Neal Muscarella, Tom Snyder and Mark Scarborough. Local preservationists also will lead students on tours of the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church, Mount Albion Cemetery, Courthouse Square and the Cobblestone Society Museum.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Lisa and Michael Misiak marked 20 years as professional chiropractors today. They gave away free T-shirts and food to many of their patients at Oak Orchard Family Chiropractic.

ALBION – Twenty years ago Michael and Lisa Misiak graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis. The new professionals would marry and build a business in Albion.

They say they are happy they settled in Orleans County, where they are active community members. Their chiropractic offices are part of the couple’s house at 3912 Oak Orchard Rd. That has been convenient while they have raised three children.

Mr. Misiak grew up in Buffalo and first worked in Amherst, “where there are 100 other chiropractors.”

He came to Albion 18 years ago to fill in for Dr. Richard Shraven. Misiak went to the local diners every day and saw many of his patients. He joined the Albion Fire Department and the Elks Club, where he remains a member.

“I liked the way everybody knew each other,” he said. “It was quite different than in Amherst.”

His wife was working in her hometown in Fairview Heights, Ill. She joined Mr. Misiak in Albion more than 16 years ago. She served recently on the steering committee that helped pick the location for the new Hoag Library.

The couple’s diplomas hang on a wall in the waiting area of Oak Orchard Family Chiropractic. They both graduated on April 17, 1993. On Wednesday they celebrated by handing out T-shirts and food to patients.

Both of the chiropractors said they made the right choice with their profession. They work with patients to have properly aligned spines and nervous systems that are free of interference. They have seen patients debilitated by headaches and musculoskeletal imbalances turn into long-distance runners.

“I see miracles every day,” Mrs. Misiak said. “I love watching the body heal naturally without drugs and surgery.”

Mr. Misiak said the couple strives to help people live as healthy as possible. They also promote nutrition and orthotics when needed.

“We can be an intercessor, helping patients to be healthier,” he said.

The couple is looking forward to marking 20 years in Albion.

“We’ll have an even bigger celebration then,” Mrs. Misiak said.

Photo by Tom Rivers – The state Department of Transportation will meet with the Albion community on April 24 to discuss plans to replace the Clarendon Street bridge.

ALBION – State Department of Transportation officials will update the community next week on plans to replace the Clarendon Street bridge.

The 6 p.m. meeting on April 24 will be at the village office, 35-37 East Bank St. Village officials and the DOT have been discussing the bridge replacement for about a decade. The Village Board voted, 3-2, in January to move ahead with the project.

The project is an estimated at $2 million. The federal government is expected to pay 80 percent, with the state 15 percent and the village the remaining 5 percent. However, the village has to front all the money and wait to be reimbursed.

The 40-year-old bridge was built over the railroad tracks on the Falls Road Railroad, which runs from Lockport to Brockport.

The new bridge will be higher than the current one, which will require longer approaches and some property acquisition. DOT officials are expected to talk about the land acquisition process as well as the design for the new span.

Photos by Tom Rivers – The praise team at the Free Methodist Church in Albion leads the congregation in singing today at the remodelled sanctuary, which includes a platform and two projectors from the ceiling.

ALBION – After holding church services the previous two Sundays at the Hoag Library, the Albion Free Methodist congregation returned home today following extensive remodeling in the sanctuary.

The pews were removed from the church following a service on Oct. 27. The carpet was ripped out. The sanctuary was repainted, new carpet was put down and 220 cushioned seats were added by today.

The sanctuary also changed from facing the east wall to facing north. A platform was built, and a sound booth was created out of a former closet.

The Rev. Randy LeBaron preaches today in the Albion church after the Free Methodists had church the previous two weeks at the Hoag Library. LeBaron led the church in a dedication service for the redone sanctuary.

The church made the changes after the previous setup became crowded. By shifting to the layout and adding individual chairs, rather than pews, the church was able to boost capacity by about 50 people.

Church members did about 90 percent of the work of the remodeling themselves.

The Albion church is historic. It’s the first one in a denomination that has grown to more than 1,000 churches in the United States since its original in Albion more than 150 years ago.

The Free Methodists in Albion have worked on the building over the years, including putting on an addition about 30 years ago.

The Rev. Randy LeBaron is pictured in the church last month before the renovations.

District is only one in GLOW with NAMM recognition

Photo by Tom Rivers – Albion High School students perform Beauty and the Beast in March, one of two full-scale musicals put on by the district. High school musicians put on 60 different performances during the school year with drama, instrumental and vocal concerts.

ALBION – In an era of tight school budgets and packed student schedules, Albion Central School and students from elementary, middle and high school are making music a priority.

The district, for the sixth straight year, has been named a “Best Communities for Music Education,” one of 307 in the country to receive the designation from the North American Music Merchants. About 2,000 districts applied for the honor.

“Our kids commit to the program because they enjoy it,” said Michael Thaine, the high school band teacher.

He leads five different instrumental groups, and advises students who direct four others. In all, Thaine said high school musicians in drama, instrumental and vocal groups perform 60 times during the school year.

“Our philosophy is we need to be out performing,” he said. “That’s how you build performers. It’s not just band and chorus and a musical once a year. In Albion, our kids are performing all the time.”

Thaine and the music teachers also have added a faculty recital to the school’s performing calendar. Thaine, an Albion graduate, said the teachers are committed to the program. Most of them are Albion alumni. If they didn’t graduate from the program, they live in the district.

“We all have a vested interest,” Thaine said.

The high school puts on two musicals a year and two talent shows. There are 126 people in chorus. Students also perform in men’s and women’s select choruses, also well as solo festivals.

“It really is a nice recognition,” Gary Simboli, the musical director and vocal teacher, said about the NAMM honor.

Albion is the only school in the rural GLOW counties – Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming – to receive the award this year. Several nearby suburban districts – Brockport, Hilton, Akron and Clarence – earned the recognition.

NAMM said its Best Communities designation “recognizes collaborative, from-the-ground-up efforts of teachers, administrators, students and parents who continually work to keep comprehensive music education as an integral part of the core curriculum.”

Mary Luehrsen, NAMM Foundation executive director, said there is overwhelming research showing that music education leads to higher overall student performance and success in life.

Simboli said the music program is strong in all Albion school buildings. The middle school puts on a full-scale musical, and its students perform with the marching and jazz bands.

Elementary music teachers also lead students in performances throughout the year. The parents of the elementary musicians deserve praise as well, Thaine said, because the parents drive the students to practices before school.

Photos by Tom Rivers

Gregg Albertson, an Albion graduate, sings during a concert tonight with the Golden Notes, an A Cappella group from the College of Saint Rose in Albany. The group performed in the Albion Middle School auditorium. The Brick City Singers, an all-male A Cappella group from the Rochester Institute of Technology, also performed. That group includes Albion graduates Robbie Stilwell and Geoff Symonds. The concert also included the Albion High School Men’s Select Chorus. In the photo below, Steven Musso, a co-musical director for the Golden Notes, sings a solo. Albertson is at the far right.