Photo by Tom Rivers – Village Hall, at right, on East Bank Street is part of a historic downtown business district. Village officials say they want to see the Albion Main Street Alliance continue efforts for downtown revitalization.

ALBION – Before Mayor Dean Theodorakos and the Village Board commit more money to the Albion Main Street Alliance, they want assurances the organization will be viable now that it doesn’t have a paid director.

Before AMSA can give those guarantees, it would like a funding commitment from the village, so AMSA can then reach out to other private investors in the organization.

“The past has been good,” Theodorakos told AMSA board president Maarit Vaga and former president Michael Bonafede on Wednesday. “Now, what about the future?”

The two AMSA leaders said the organization’s fate, and its ability to push for downtown revitalization, may hinge on the village’s level of support. The village designated $10,000 a year to AMSA the past four years, but hasn’t set aside money for the group in the 2013-14 budget, a spending plan that needs to be approved by the end of the month. The village also contributes $5,000 annually with in-kind services.

“Whether the village will support us is critical to our survival,” Vaga told the board.

Katelin Olson, the group’s executive director for three years, resigned on April 1 because AMSA didn’t have money to keep paying her. She has offered to stay on as a volunteer interim director, and work to close out a $477,000 state grant for downtown building and street-scape improvements.

AMSA could continue as a volunteer-only organization, but that would significantly limit the group’s impact and ability to implement a four-point approach for downtown, Vaga said. AMSA was formed after Albion was picked a “Main Street” community in late 2008 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Theodorakos said he strongly backs the National Trust model for revitalizing Main Street through organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring.

AMSA has been working to implement the four-point plan, and those changes haven’t always been well received by some in the community, Bonafede acknowledged.

“Change can be difficult and we’ve brought in a lot of change,” he said.

The community is seeing the fruits of AMSA’s labor with the downtown improvements and an organization of dedicated community stakeholders, including many business owners and residents, Bonafede said. AMSA counted 6,050 volunteer hours in 2012, and 20,000 since the group formed in late 2008.

He asked what more AMSA could do to win financial support, and good will from the board.

“What is the standard we’re judged by?” he asked. “In our minds there is nothing more that we could have done.”

Village officials, including Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti, said “politics” has hurt AMSA’s reputation.

But Bonafede said that was “rubbish.” Community leaders and public officials who sometimes don’t get along often get past that and become friends not long after.

“Personality clashes” shouldn’t get in the way of working for the community, Vaga said.

Vendetti wants AMSA to continue, but he said the group needs to work closer with the village.

Vaga urged the board to be a “cheerleader” for AMSA, to counter some of the naysayers and “misinformation” in the community. And she asked the board to give AMSA some money, which will help the group have more credibility to then seek private funding and other grants for community projects.

AMSA has been hurt by the public funding cuts. The town had been giving $10,000 annually to AMSA but stopped in 2013. The organization also received $10,000 a year its first three years – 2009 through 2011 – from the local development corporation of the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

Albion is one of about 3,000 “Main Street” communities in the U.S. Many of them receive their municipal funding from their local village or city, Bonafede said.

Vaga said the group wants to continue to work for community good.

“We all believe in what could happen in Albion and what Albion could be,” Vaga said. “That is what we’re chasing.”

The mayor said an AMSA funding request will be considered by the board before the budget vote later this month.

30 jobs expected at site owned by Orleans EDA since 2002

Photo by Tom Rivers

A warehouse on McKinstry Street in Albion, which has sat mostly vacant the past 11 years, will be upgraded and turned into a site for electronics recycling. The company expects to add 30 jobs in the next three years.

ALBION – A Canadian company is working to acquire a long-vacant warehouse on McKinstry Street with plans to upgrade the property and turn it into a base for recycling electronics.

The company, BOMET Recycling, Inc., intends to hire 30 people for the site within three years. The company is led by Zhan “Bo” Zhang of Cambridge, Ontario. BOMET recovers metals from electronics and other recyclable materials and reported a $25 million revenue for its operation based in Canada, according to a report from the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

The Orleans EDA owns the property at 152 McKinstry St. The agency’s board today accepted a $176,000 offer from BOMET to buy the 52,000-square-foot property.

The company will spend about $700,000 in addition to the purchase price by replacing the roof, making other building upgrades and buying equipment for the Albion operation.

The EDA board also approved tax incentives that will save the company $94,347 over 10 years. The company will pay $61,034 in local taxes over the next decade as part of the tax agreement approved today.

The site currently isn’t generating any property tax for the village, town, school or county because the EDA has owned the property.

The EDA board approved a 10-year phase-in for property taxes. The company will have the full $13,563 abated the first year. Each year after that it will then pay 10 percent more of the taxes on a $300,000 assessed building until it’s at the full 100 percent.

BOMET also was approved for an $18,000 sales tax break and $1,750 abatement from the mortgage tax.

The change in building ownership will take a burden off the EDA. The agency purchased the warehouse and adjoining parking lot for $527,000 in February 2002.

At that time Washington Mutual was in expansion mode in Albion. The company needed lots of parking, and some local officials hoped WaMu would quickly run out of space at the former Dime Bank complex on East Avenue.

The EDA saw an opportunity next to WaMu with the warehouse and the agency bought it.

The parking lot has proven a need for WaMu, and its successor, JP Morgan Chase. But the big warehouse has been an albatross for the EDA, consuming about $25,000 to $30,000 in annual interest payments plus another $10,000 in utilities, lawn care, sprinkler inspections and other costs, said Jim Whipple, the EDA chief executive officer.

BOMET will have access to 15 of the parking spaces as part of the deal with the EDA. Whipple said he expects the deal to close soon with work starting on the building in the summer.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Village of Albion officials filed a court order on Wednesday for Dan Dunn, owner of sandstone building at 125 Liberty St., to take the structure down within 30 days.

The sandstone building from 1840 was once a base for constructing carriages.

The 5,000-square-foot building has a collapsed roof and floors.

ALBION – A sandstone building that has been a dominant presence along the Erie Canal since 1840 needs to come down in 30 days, Village Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti told the owner on Wednesday.

Vendetti said the building, once used to manufacture carriages more than a century ago, is a “dangerous building.” The 5,000-square-foot building was last used as a furniture warehouse about a half century ago. The roof and floors have collapsed in the building, which is missing several windows.

Dan Dunn, owner of a salvaging company in Medina, owns the building. He said he is working to bring down the dilapidated structure. He will try to preserve and resell as much of the stone as possible.

“I’ll try to get it done and make everybody happy,” Dunn said.

The Albion Historic Preservation Commission approved a hardship case for Dunn in January and voted in support of the building’s demolition.

Dunn said he has been delayed because of the costs of asbestos removal. Certified asbestos removal contractors say removing that from the roof and floors will cost $16,000 to $20,000. When he purchased the building last year, he thought he could remove the asbestos himself.

Dunn has made a career out of reclaiming materials that would otherwise be trashed. He didn’t want to see that fate for the old building, which borders the Erie Canal at 125 Liberty St.

“These days they’re so quick to demolish things and send them to a landfill,” he said. “I like that stone and that building has an awful lot of history.”

Dunn said he will try to recoup as much of the demolition and asbestos removal costs as possible with the resale of the sandstone. He doubts he’ll be able to recover his costs. Village officials say the land at 125 Liberty St. is coveted by the state Canal Corporation, which has a complex next door.

Mayor Dean Theodorakos said he would like to see the land be redeveloped.

“It’s great location along the Erie Canal,” Theodorakos said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

A Wednesday afternoon fire in Albion left 10 people homeless. The fire at 112 Beaver St. started in an upstairs bedroom, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said. An investigation is continuing. There are no injuries. The Red Cross is assisting people in finding temporary shelter. The house is owned by Loretta Lewandowski. Albion, Carlton and Holley firefighters responded to the call.

ALBION – Registered sex offenders will be allowed to attend school events, but they will not serve as official school volunteers or chaperones.

The Board of Education made that decision on Monday following two months of review of district policy.

The district will not ban parents and students’ family members who are registered sex offenders from attending school events that are open to the public.

However, if they are registered as a Level 1, 2, or 3 sex offender, they will not be supervising students or providing care for them.

Volunteers and chaperones also will need to complete applications that will be reviewed by district staff. The applicants need to state whether they are a registered sex offender. Those answers will be verified by the district, which has access to a state sex offender database.

School officials have been debating the issue the past two months. A parent to an Albion elementary student showed up at a field trip in October, meeting the class for a tour of a local farm. The parent was a Level 2 sexual offender.

In January, other parents realized that a sex offender was at the school trip in October. The issue became fodder for a Rochester radio station, and the district was questioned about its policy.

The district can’t outright ban sex offenders from the school grounds when those people are trying to attend a school function involving their own children, said Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent.

“We’ve done everything we can within the law and addressed the parents’ concerns,” said Margy Brown, president of the Board of Education.

Board also urged to prohibit smoking on all town property

ALBION Citing “confusion” in a resolution from a month ago about the state’s new gun control laws, the Albion Town Board weighed in on the issue again on Monday.

This time the board mustered three votes to formally go on the record against the SAFE Act, which has been opposed by most counties in upstate New York.

At last month’s meeting, Town Board members Dan Poprawski and Jake Olles voted against the SAFE Act while Tim Neilans and Matt Passarell abstained from a vote. Town Supervisor Dennis Stirk voted against opposing the SAFE Act.

After the meeting, Stirk realized by casting a negative vote, which he thought was opposing the act, he actually voted in support of the gun control measure.

“I accidently opposed it,” he said, acknowledging the mistake.

He put the issue on the agenda again on Monday, and this time the board secured three votes opposing the SAFE Act with Neilans and Passarell again abstaining.

Passarell said the resolution is symbolic. He noted the Orleans County Legislature already voiced its opposition to the state legislation.

“It really should be done at the county level,” he said about the resolution. Nearly all upstate New York counties, including Orleans, have gone on the record opposing provisions of the SAFE Act and the lack of public input in the legislation.

The legislation has been criticized for being open to interpretation, for requiring seven-magazine rounds when few currently exist in New York, and for requiring documentation of all ammunition sales in the state – “a significant unfunded mandate on business,” according to the resolution.

Another topic from last month’s meeting – the town’s smoking policy – was also debated again on Monday.

Kevin Keenan, program coordinator of Smoke Free NOW, asked the Town Board to reinstate a smoking policy that banned smoking inside town vehicles, and on town property, including the outside grounds and parking lot.

Stirk believes that policy would be impossible to enforce, especially when people come to the Town Hall for court. Many of them often take smoke breaks inside their vehicles.

Keenan said the policy could be tailored to allow for smoking inside private vehicles. Town Highway Superintendent Jed Standish last month said he should be allowed to smoke inside his town-issued highway truck.

But Keenan urged the board to not allow smoking in a publicly owned vehicle. Standish could have passengers or another town employee may someday drive that truck, Kennan said.

Neilans, Passarell and Town Councilman Dan Poprawski voted to support reinstating the full smoking ban last month, but Stirk then tabled the vote for more study of the issue.

He postponed a vote on the matter again on Monday, wanting one more month to consider Keenan’s information.

Keenan noted there is a baseball field behind the town building and an elementary school playground across the street. If town employees were allowed to smoke outside on town property, they may be visible to children, Keenan said.

“It’s a social modeling issue,” Keenan said. “There’s an image you’re trying to project.”

He praised the Village Board for banning smoking about two years ago at all village-owned parks. He urged the Town Board to take a similar no-tolerance policy.

“You’re taking a step backwards,” he said about the current policy, which allows smoking outside on town property. “You’re going in the wrong direction.”

District also plans to cut 5 positions

ALBION – The school district is planning to raise taxes by 1.5 percent in a proposed $33.3 million budget that also would cut five jobs.

The Board of Education on Monday approved the spending plan that will go before district voters on May 21. Voting is from noon to 8 p.m. at the elementary school’s conference room A.

Albion hasn’t raised taxes since the 2006-07 budget. The proposed tax levy, at $8,446,946, is up $124,484. It remains down compared to the $9,094,194 levy in 2006-07.

The district is budgeting for a $226,080 increase in state aid.  The board intends to continue “right-sizing” the staff, making cuts as the student enrollment drops. The student enrollment has shrunk from 2,750 in 2000 to a projected 1,971 next year. Albion forecasts 1,864 students in five years.

The district, with the five cuts planned for next school year, will have eliminated 21.5 jobs since the 2011-12 school year. Three of the cuts next school year will come from attrition with two layoffs planned.

The budget preserves all school programs, without exceeding a property tax cap of about 2 percent. The state Legislature established that cap on local governments about two years ago.

“We recognize the constant obligationto balance the programmatic needs of our students with the ability of our taxpayers to pay for the programs that we offer,” said Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent.

The budget increases overall spending by 0.6 percent or $202,799 to $33,349,049.

When residents vote May 21, they will also be asked to approve a school bus reserve proposition that would create a reserve for buses not to exceed $4,821,000. The district would like to take $440,000 from the reserve to go towards new buses. The state pays 94 percent of the bus costs.

Residents will also vote on whether $654,000 can be collected to support operations at Hoag Library.

There also will be a Board of Education election. Residents have until April 22 to submit petitions to the district office to run for the volunteer position.

ALBION – Two years as the leader of the town government in Albion is enough for Dennis Stirk. The former town justice isn’t planning to run for another two-year term as town supervisor.

“I’m 62 and I want to enjoy life,” Stirk said Monday after the Town Board meeting.

He wants to free up his schedule so he can go camping more often and spend his winters in Florida.

Stirk was elected in November 2011. He beat the incumbent, Judith Koehler, who at that point stopped campaigning. Koehler had moved to cut the pay for Highway Superintendent Jed Standish and Town Clerk Sarah Basinait. When the two won Republican primaries and were then cross-endorsed by Democrats, Koehler asked voters not to support her in the election.

Stirk and two Town Board members, Dan Poprawski and Jake Olles, have backed Standish and Basinait, giving them raises. Two holdovers from the previous board, Tim Neilans and Matt Passarell, are often at odds with the Stirk-led board.

Passarell is seeking the Republican endorsement for town supervisor. The Republican Committee is interviewing candidates today. Olles also is interested in the job.

Passarell said the town needs a strong leader. An Iraq War veteran and VFW commander, Passarell works as quality supervisor for Baxter in Medina. Olles works as a correctional officer.

Dawn Allen, the Albion GOP committee chairwoman, said the group expects to endorse candidates on April 16.

Stirk said the town has moved along several projects since he took office. He noted the construction of Water District No. 9 as a significant accomplishment.

Stirk retired in August 2010 after 22 years as an Albion judge. He also worked 31 years as a gas fitter with New York State Electric and Gas.

Olson will stay on as volunteer interim director

ALBION – The executive director of the Albion Main Street Alliance resigned from the paid position because the organization faces too much funding uncertainty.

Katelin Olson submitted her letter of resignation on April 1. She agreed to stay on in an unpaid role and complete administration of a $477,000 Main Street grant approved by the state in December 2011. That grant gave AMSA and the town of Albion two years to implement building improvements and $50,000 worth of street-scape enhancements.

Olson wrote the grant that was awarded state funding, and provided leadership to teams of volunteers with several community projects. Maarit Vaga, the AMSA board president, said the organization welcomes volunteers to keep working towards a mission of a more vibrant community.

She said Olson deserves “profound thanks for her hard work, perseverance, dedication and outstanding achievements.”

Albion Mayor Dean Theodorakos commended Olson for making an impact on the village and the historic downtown.

“They did a lot of good things,” Theodorakos said on Sunday. “The Main Street grant is a huge and tangible accomplishment and they can point to it as a success.”

Theodorakos served on AMSA’s board in the first two years after the group started in 2009. He supports National Trust’s “four-point” approach for revitalizing Main Street – organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring.

“I’m all for that model,” Theodorakos said. “But how can we make it work?”

He wants to see AMSA continue, and draw in more merchants, building owners and other community volunteers.

AMSA has several initiatives in the works for 2013, including the completion of the building and street-scape projects. The organization will be highlighted at two national conferences – in San Francsico and New Orleans – this month for its partnership with Albion Central School.

Olson is in a doctoral program Cornell University. Many of her fellow students, learning about historic preservation and community development, will be in Albion April 18-21 working on local projects.

The organization started four years ago and received $30,000 in municipal funding each of the first three years with $10,000 each coming from the village, town and the local development corporation of the Orleans Economic Development Agency. The EDA pledged $10,000 for the first three years as part of Albion’s application to become a Main Street community that would adopt principles by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The EDA stated from the start it planned to make a three-year commitment to the program. The Town Board last year in a 3-2 vote eliminated its funding to AMSA, with some town officials saying the organization was too focused on the downtown and not the overall community.

The Village Board continued its $10,000 commitment for a fourth year, but hasn’t included money for AMSA in the 2013-14 budget. The board is looking at all expenses in a tight budget, Theodorakos said. The board also wasn’t sure about AMSA’s direction for the coming year.

Vaga said AMSA is at a “crossroads,” but she sees momentum with several downtown projects. She urged more community members to join AMSA to help advance projects, including waterfront development, more downtown work and other community events that bring visitors to Albion.

“The possibility of a vibrant and thriving Albion still lies before us but that promise can only be achieved through cooperation, committed support and shared vision,” Vaga said.

Editor’s note: Tom Rivers is the Design chairman for AMSA.

Photo by Tom Rivers – William Grimble plays the Beast in the musical that includes pyrotechnics and some flying performers, including a Beast who is transformed back into a prince.

ALBION – Nine years ago Albion High School was one of the first schools to perform Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”

Albion put the show on again March 22-23, but this time it deployed an array of pyrotechnics and “flying people,” performers who sailed above stage on strings. The cast of 34 also had 24 performers with individual microphones, far more than the show in 2004.

“The technology has really advanced,” said Gary Simboli, the musical director. “There are flying sequences and pyrotechnics.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – Nathanial Trembley, left, plays the role of Gaston, who is preparing to go fight the Beast. Elijah Martin, right, plays Monsieur D’Arque.

Simboli tries to pick shows that are suited to the strengths of his cast. This year’s spring musical has several soloists.

“We were looking for an ensemble show,” he said. “It has many wonderful featured characters.”

Mary Martin plays Belle, a bookworm who is constantly fending off the affections of the conceited Gaston, played by Nathaniel Trembley. When Belle’s father Maurice (Michael Karcz) gets lost in the woods, he seeks shelter at the Beast’s castle.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Mary Martin stars as Belle in “Beauty in the Beast,” performed by Albion students on March 22-23.

The Beast refuses to let him go until Belle agrees to stay in his place. She, at first, is repulsed by the Beast with his hideous appearance and foul temper.

But a gentler Beast emerges, winning Belle over with a library and acts of kindness.

“The main moral of the story is to look at the beauty within a person,” Martin said. “Belle saw with her heart and not her eyes.”

Martin, a senior, sees other powerful story lines in the show as well. She likes how Belle is an independent spirit, relishing reading despite scorn from Gaston and other townspeople. Her father also is an eccentric inventor who follows that passion.

Belle commits the ultimate sacrifice, offering her life in exchange for her father’s freedom, Martin noted.

Grimble wears a long wig, horns, a prosthetic on his face, lots of makeup and claw feet to look the part of the Beast. The greatest challenge: the strain on his voice.

“You go from speaking in a gruff voice to switching for singing,” he said. “You’re constantly assaulting your voice.”

Grimble, a senior, was able to preserve his voice by drinking green tea, taking herbal throat drops and gargling a mix of water, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice, which he called “an incredibly revolting concoction.”

About 80 students were part of the show in either the cast, stage crew, set design or orchestra.

“Everyone works so hard to make the show the best it can be,” Grimble said.

Ingredients: layers of makeup, a prosthetic and a wig

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – When Melinda Grimble saw her son for the first time in full costume as the Beast, she couldn’t tell who was under the layers of makeup.

William Grimble, one of the stars in Albion High School’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” on March 22-23, was transformed into the menacing character. He wore claw feet, a long wig, horns, and a prosthetic on his face.

“When he was in full makeup and hair, I didn’t recognize him,” Mrs. Grimble said.

William Grimble smiles before undergoing a makeover to become the Beast. He has some facial glue on his nose.

William’s costume was months in the making. Gary Simboli, the musical director, fused two wigs together, using hot glue to join a blond haired wig with a black one. The blond wig matched the color of the Ben Kirby’s hair. He plays the prince before William was turned into the hideous creature.

“With the black wig, I needed to darken up his hair,” Simboli said.

The long black tresses add to sinister mood with the Beast.

Albion performed Beauty and the Beast nine years ago. Back then, the Beast had a simpler costume. Simboli added a prosthetic with horns and a nose to the costume this time. Instead of having William do a quick costume change near the end of the show, when he is transformed back into the prince, Simboli had Kirby reappear as the prince.

That meant Simboli could develop a better costume for William, who wouldn’t have to wipe off the makeup and beast-wear for the musical’s final act.

Simboli and Grimble agreed to let a photographer show the process of turning the high school senior into the Beast.

It was a Saturday morning, the second day of the show, on March 23. William arrived in the chorus room at about 10 a.m., two hours before the curtains opened at noon. He was freshly showered after the previous night’s performance.

Step 1: Apply spirit gum, a facial glue on William’s nose. That will help hold down the rubber mask that includes the nose, wrinkled forehead, horns and hair.

Step 2: Apply a cream base makeup. It “even outs the skin tone,” Simboli said.

By the end of the show, many of the students are tired, and would otherwise have dark circles under their eyes. “The makeup makes them look fresh and vibrant,” Simboli said.

Step 3: Apply the mask and wig. William presses the mask to his nose, trying to get it to stick to his skin.

“Suddenly it’s quite warmer in here,” he said once the mask is on his head.

Step 4: Simboli uses several bobby pins to secure the mask and wig to William’s hair. They forgot the bobby pins the previous night, and were relieved the mask and wig stayed on during the fighting scene with Gaston.

Step 5: Simboli uses liner pencils to “enhance the natural features in a distorted way” on William’s face. The students that play older characters have lines drawn on their faces. Simboli wants them to look older. He tries to follow the natural contours on the students’ faces. That’s tricky with teen-agers.

“They’re so young they don’t have wrinkles,” Simboli said.

He has an image of William as the Beast from the previous night. It’s on a cell phone. Simboli liked how the Beast turned out, and he uses that image as a guide on March 23.

Gary Simboli, the high school musical director, helps William Grimble with his makeup before a performance of Beauty and the Beast on March 23.

William Grimble, in full costume, performs as the Beast in Albion’s production of Beauty and the Beast.

Simboli adds reddish-orange and yellow lines to William’s face, in addition to brown and white. The reddish-orange and yellow match the prosthetic. The brown shows recesses and shadows. The white: “It pops on stage.”

Simboli took a makeup class at Geneseo State College, where he was a music major three decades ago. He has a makeup book opened in the chorus room. He refers to the book while working on the Beast and some of the other characters.

It takes Simboli about 20 minutes to turn William into the Beast. Simboli’s last touch: a dark flesh-tone of lipstick. That will make the Beast’s lips more distinctive on stage.

Simboli is pleased with the makeover.

“It’s Disney,” he declared. “It has to be larger than life.”

William isn’t quite done. He is sent to Val Pettit, the choreographer who is helping with makeup. She puts powder on William’s face to help the makeup set and not be so shiny. Then she shoots his face with Barrier Spray, which seals the makeup and helps prevent it from running. The school rents many of the costumes. The spray helps protect the costumes from running makeup.

Pettit said there is bound to be some drips.

“These kids sweat a lot,” she said. “They work hard on stage.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – Jeremiah Knight of Albion opened Knight’s Pride, a custom carpentry shop with fine arts, last month at 120 North Main Street. Knight is pictured with a “hall tree,” a bench with hooks to hang coats.

ALBION – Six years ago Jeremiah Knight spotted some cedar in a house that had been demolished. The wood and the pile of debris were headed to a landfill.

But Knight wondered if he could make something from the cedar. He fished the wood from the pile of ruins, took it home and made a toy box. He tried more projects, always using wood that was doomed for either a landfill or a burn pile.

Knight in six years has made cabinets, benches, chests, beds, wine racks, rustic shelves, tables and lots of toy boxes – all from discarded wood, sometimes more than a century old.

“It was all headed to the dump,” he said Thursday about the old wood.

Knight, 31, gave up a good-paying construction job in Rochester to open Knight’s Pride, a custom cabinetry business, on March 20 on 120 North Main St. The site also sells and displays fine arts from local artists. Knight’s mother, Kim Muscarella, runs an art gallery in Albion. Many of her paintings and creations are on display in her son’s shop.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Jeremiah Knight sits on a one of the hall trees he made from reclaimed wood from an Albion home that was knocked down. Knight left a construction job to open his custom cabinetry business on Main Street.

“I’m building a customer base and I know more good things are going to happen,” he said. “I want to be part of the optimism in Albion. I want to support my community.”

Knight doesn’t like to see good material go to waste. He feels the same about gasoline and time. He didn’t like expending those resources in the long drives for his construction job.

He touts the benefits of his business. “Number one, it’s American made,” said the Army veteran. “It’s custom-made, and it’s made from reclaimed materials. It’s becoming highly sought after with the whole green movement.”

Photos by Tom Rivers – William Grimble, in full costume, performs as the Beast in Albion’s production of Beauty and the Beast.

ALBION – When Melinda Grimble saw her son for the first time in full costume as the Beast, she couldn’t tell who was under the layers of makeup.

William Grimble, one of the stars in Albion High School’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” on March 22-23, was transformed into the menacing character. He wore claw feet, a long wig, horns, and a prosthetic on his face.

“When he was in full makeup and hair, I didn’t recognize him,” Mrs. Grimble said.

William’s costume was months in the making. Gary Simboli, the musical director, fused two wigs together, using hot glue to join a blond haired wig with a black one. The blond wig matched the color of the Ben Kirby’s hair. He plays the prince before William was turned into the hideous creature.

“With the black wig, I needed to darken up his hair,” Simboli said.

The long black tresses add to sinister mood with the Beast.

Albion performed Beauty and the Beast nine years ago. Back then, the Beast had a simpler costume. Simboli added a prosthetic with horns and a nose to the costume this time. Instead of having William do a quick costume change near the end of the show, when he is transformed back into the prince, Simboli had Kirby reappear as the prince.

That meant Simboli could develop a better costume for William, who wouldn’t have to wipe off the makeup and beast-wear for the musical’s final act.

Simboli and Grimble agreed to let a photographer show the process of turning the high school senior into the Beast.

It was a Saturday morning, the second day of the show, on March 23. William arrived in the chorus room at about 10 a.m., two hours before the curtains opened at noon. He was freshly showered after the previous night’s performance.

Step 1: Apply spirit gum, a facial glue on William’s nose. That will help hold down the rubber mask that includes the nose, wrinkled forehead, horns and hair.

Step 2: Apply a cream base makeup. It “even outs the skin tone,” Simboli said.

By the end of the show, many of the students are tired, and would otherwise have dark circles under their eyes. “The makeup makes them look fresh and vibrant,” Simboli said.

Step 3: Apply the mask and wig. William presses the mask to his nose, trying to get it to stick to his skin.

“Suddenly it’s quite warmer in here,” he said once the mask is on his head.

Step 4: Simboli uses several bobby pins to secure the mask and wig to William’s hair. They forgot the bobby pins the previous night, and were relieved the mask and wig stayed on during the fighting scene with Gaston.

Step 5: Simboli uses liner pencils to “enhance the natural features in a distorted way” on William’s face. The students that play older characters have lines drawn on their faces. Simboli wants them to look older. He tries to follow the natural contours on the students’ faces. That’s tricky with teen-agers.

“They’re so young they don’t have wrinkles,” Simboli said.

He has an image of William as the Beast from the previous night. It’s on a cell phone. Simboli liked how the Beast turned out, and he uses that image as a guide on March 23.

Gary Simboli, the high school musical director, helps William Grimble with his makeup before a performance of Beauty and the Beast on March 23.

Simboli adds reddish-orange and yellow lines to William’s face, in addition to brown and white. The reddish-orange and yellow match the prosthetic. The brown shows recesses and shadows. The white: “It pops on stage.”

Simboli took a makeup class at Geneseo State College, where he was a music major three decades ago. He has a makeup book opened in the chorus room. He refers to the book while working on the Beast and some of the other characters.

It takes Simboli about 20 minutes to turn William into the Beast. Simboli’s last touch: a dark flesh-tone of lipstick. That will make the Beast’s lips more distinctive on stage.
Simboli is pleased with the makeover.

“It’s Disney,” he declared. “It has to be larger than life.”

William isn’t quite done. He is sent to Val Pettit, the choreographer who is helping with makeup. She puts powder on William’s face to help the makeup set and not be so shiny. Then she shoots his face with Barrier Spray, which seals the makeup and helps prevent it from running. The school rents many of the costumes. The spray helps protect the costumes from running makeup.

Pettit said there is bound to be some drips.

“These kids sweat a lot,” she said. “They work hard on stage.”

ALBION – When the Albion Main Street Alliance needs help with a community project, whether its crunching numbers from a survey of residents or fixing planter boxes for downtown flowers, the organization can count on Albion high schoolers.AMSA often turns to students to help with projects, a partnership that is drawing national attention among “Main Street” designated communities. Albion in 2008 adopted the Main Street program through the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Students have worked on several initiatives, including building and fixing planters through a technology class, using a CAD program to design a sign along the canal directing visitors to local services, and completing a parking study in the downtown. Many of the drama students each fall also portray famous Albionites in Mount Albion Cemetery as part of annual “Ghost Walk.” Proceeds from that event have been used for some AMSA projects.

AMSA director Katelin Olson and Sue Starkweather Miller, Albion’s grants manager, will discuss the AMSA-school partnership in New Orleans as part of a national “Main Street” conference on April 14. They shared the Albion successes in October 2011, during a national preservation conference in Buffalo.

Starkweather Miller said students are enthused about the Albion projects. They don’t want to just be asked to clean up after an event.

“One of things that is helpful when you are looking to connect students to their community is to make it meaningful service,” she said.

The Ghost Walks and other heritage projects have taught students about local history, including some of the prominent Albion residents from more than a century ago who shaped the town. Starkweather Miller said those residents, and their ambitions and service, inspire the teen-agers today.

“It is very meaningful history to them,” she said. “It builds pride and a sense of place.”
Olson and Starkweather Miller both said it’s unusual from a school district to connect so well with a community organization. Other districts and “Main Street” groups want to hear about the success in Albion.

Olson said the key is for the adults to trust the students with work “that is important and engaging.”

Her main advice: “Don’t just ask them to clean up after an event.”

Olson also will be presenting at the Urban Affairs Conference in San Francisco on April 6. She will be sharing the benefits of the “Main Street” program compared to a Business Improvement District. Olson said a Main Street program spreads into the whole community, focusing on more than a downtown. She sees a BID as very business-focused.

“We’re a civic-engagement organization,” she said.