Photo by Tom Rivers: This home on West State Street, behind the Post Office, is one of 43 houses in the Village of Albion considered a “zombie” property.

ALBION – The Village of Albion has been awarded a $75,000 state grant to address “zombie homes” – abandoned homes that are not maintained during prolonged foreclosure proceedings.

Albion has identified 43 zombie homes in the village, Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti said today.

“We want them to be assets,” Vendetti said. “We will do anything we can to get people in these houses.”

The state funding will help Albion implement a plan for researching which bank owns the vacant houses, market the sites to prospective homeowners, provide financial counseling for potential homeowners, and pay for legal work to possibly acquire the houses through Albion’s local development corporation (LDC) and then seek requests for proposals (RFPs) for the sites.

“We are going to develop a template for how to deal with this,” Vendetti said.

The zombie houses have troubled Albion and communities in New York for nearly a decade.

State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced grants for $12.6 million to help  76 cities, towns, and villages across the state with “zombie homes.” The grants were awarded under the Zombie Remediation and Prevention Initiative, which the Office of the Attorney General established in July with funds drawn from the $3.2 billion settlement agreement with Morgan Stanley.

“Too many homeowners across New York are still struggling to rebuild their communities in the wake of the housing crisis caused by major banks,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “I’m proud that the funding obtained by my office’s settlement with Morgan Stanley will now help cities and towns across the state reverse the proliferation of zombie properties, which invite crime and threaten the value of surrounding homes. These grants will help rebuild, revitalize, and stabilize communities across the state.”

The money will address housing vacancy and blight by bolstering municipalities’ capacity for housing code enforcement, for tracking and monitoring vacant properties, and for legal enforcement capacity to ensure banks and mortgage companies comply with local and state law.

The initiative coincides with the June 2016 passage of the Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act, a bill that the Attorney General wrote.

Among other provisions, that law requires banks to register any properties abandoned by their owners with the Department of Financial Services and to maintain those properties during the foreclosure process, and not just once the process has been completed. Banks face significant fines for non-compliance.

The state will share the registry with localities and will run a toll-free hotline for individuals to report such properties. While accurate numbers have been hard to come by, Schneiderman’s office said it has been estimated, based on data released by Realty Trac in 2015, that there are some 16,000 zombie homes across the state.

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ALBION – “Mrs. Rosa the Scarecrow” is attached to a light pole on Main Street in Albion by the downtown clock.

Organizers of a first-time Scarecrow Fest in downtown Albion weren’t sure what to expect on Saturday when the the event kicked off. Kim Remley of Energize Albion and one of the event coordinators hoped for at least six scarecrows.

There are more than a dozen so far and participants can still enter by Oct. 15.

This scarecrow is decorated to highlight breast cancer awareness month.

Three dancing scarecrows are set up by the First Presbyterian Church of Albion.

Prizes will be awarded for cutest, scariest, funniest and most traditional scarecrows. Contest ballots will be available throughout the downtown shops. Ballot boxes will be located at Krantz Furniture and the Downtown Browsery.

Only one vote per person is permitted. The last day for voting is Oct. 26. Winners will be announced at “Beggar’s Night” on Oct. 28.

Kelsey and Ella Froman created this scarecrow.

This scarecrow is attached to the light pole in front of the Main Street lift bridge.

This scarecrow, named “Marge Simpson,” sits by Gurney’s Olde Coach Inn.

“Mateo” is a pleasant personality in the downtown.

Xpress Fitness made a scarecrow in workout clothes.

This pirate scarecrow is outside the Uptown Browsery and Pratt Works.

Grace and Casey Thompson made this scarecrow for the the contest.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – This witch scarecrow was created by Matt Hand of United Structural LLC. It is hanging sideways from a light pole on Main Street in Albion. It is one of the entries in a Scarecrow Fest put on by the Albion Merchants Association and the Energize Albion group.

The competition is open to Albion businesses and other community members, who are urged to display scarecrows on Main Street from Route 31 to the canal, and also on Bank Street.

Kelsey Froman (right), 10, and her sister Ella, 8, work on a scarecrow at the village parking lot on Main Street by the Presbyterian Church.

Scarecrows need to be at least 5 feet tall. Businesses and other community members are welcome to enter the contest by Oct. 15.

Prizes will be awarded for cutest, scariest, funniest and most traditional scarecrows. Contest ballots will be available throughout the downtown shops. Ballot boxes will be located at Krantz Furniture and the Downtown Browsery. Only one vote per person is permitted. The last day for voting is Oct. 26. Winners will be announced at “Beggar’s Night” on Oct. 28.

Village Trustee Stan Farone, one of the leaders of Energize Albion, is pictured through a scarecrow cutout.

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Photo by Cheryl Wertman

ALBION – Members of the Albion football team are pictured with long-time coach Wayne Wadhams (behind No. 7 to the right) before the kickoff of tonight’s game vs. Akron. Both teams are 1-4 and are playing each other for the first time since 1990.

Wadhams is retiring as a high school technology education teacher, effective Feb. 28, 2017. He has served more than 30 years as a football coach at Albion. He played on the school’s 1979 team that won Albion’s first Sectional title.

Wadhams and the senior football players were honored tonight during the last home game of the season for the Purple Eagles.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Travis Crowley, coordinator of the furniture program at the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern, puts a temporary GOMOC sign on a moving truck.

The Ministry of Concern’s previous truck, a 2004 GMC Savana van, had about 160,000 miles, and needed another engine and other repairs totaling $8,000. The Ministry of Concern was given a good deal on a 2000 GMC box truck with only 12,000 miles. That truck was owned by the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray Volunteer Fire Company.

The truck will get professional detailing with the GOMOC name on Oct. 26. Crowley and the Ministry of Concern wanted a temporary sign until then. The truck is expected on the road soon. GOMOC is waiting on the title to be sent from Albany.

Laverne Bates, Ministry of Concern executive director, said the title is expected any day. As soon as it arrives, GOMOC will head to the Department of Motor Vehicles to have the truck on the road.

He thanked the community for stepping forward and donating towards the truck.

“We’re very grateful from the wonderful response,” Bates said today. “It was overwhelming. It was inspiration when we needed it.”

The Ministry of Concern picks up used appliances and furniture and matches them with people in need in Orleans and Genesee counties. There are about 100 people on a waiting list for furniture and appliances – refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers.

Two part-time employees run the furniture program, which on average makes deliveries to 23 families each month or nearly 300 a year.

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ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association and the Energize Albion group are kicking off a first-time Scarecrow Fest this Saturday.

The competition is open to Albion businesses, which are urged to display scarecrows on Main Street from Route 31 to the canal, and also on Bank Street. The competition is also open to the community, with some scarecrows to be displayed on light poles in the downtown.

Some Albion businesses will have recycled clothing and parts to make scarecrows, with assembly available from noon to 4 p.m. this Saturday by U-Need-O Burrito at the village parking lot. (here will be donated hay and wood at the assembly site.)

Scarecrows need to be at least 5 feet tall. Businesses and other community members are welcome to enter the contest by Oct. 15. (They can work on the scarecrows at home or offsite if this Saturday is too busy.)

“We don’t expect extravagance the first year,” said Kim Remley, a member of Energize Albion.

The committee working on the Scarecrow Fest hopes it will become an annual fall tradition in Albion, promoting the downtown and community, Remley said.

Prizes will be awarded for cutest, scariest, funniest and most traditional scarecrows. Contest ballots will be available throughout the downtown shops. Ballot boxes will be located at Krantz Furniture and the Downtown Browsery.

Only one vote per person is permitted. The last day for voting is Oct. 26. Winners will be announced at “Beggar’s Night” on Oct. 28.

“We are all hopeful that this will prove to be a fun event for families and have tried to create it in a way that encourages visits to local businesses,” said Adam Johnson, the Merchants Association president.

There is no fee to participate, but the committee welcomes donations to help offset advertising and supplies cost.

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Dan Monacelli says he’s thankful for career in hometown

Photos by Tom Rivers: This photo from October 2014 shows Monacelli portraying “Forgetful Frank,” a character in a mystery where students tried to determine who robbed the Pig E. Bank. It was an exercise to help students with Common Core tests, making them observe, have deductive reasoning and make a compelling case in their writing.

ALBION – Dan Monacelli has announced he will retire after this school year, ending a decade as principal at the Albion Middle School. Monacelli started his career in the building as a health teacher.

He served as a vice principal for a year at the Niagara Academy for the Orleans/Niagara BOCES in Sanborn for his first job in school administration. Then he served six years as a vice principal, athletic director and football coach for Pembroke.

He was hired back to Albion to serve as high school principal. He was in that role for four years before returning to the middle school in 2007. He said serving as principal for grades 6-8 has been “a dream job.”

“Middle School kids are fun,” he said. “They’re also at a point where you can change them. They’re on the fence. You can put programs in place to help them make the right decisions.”

Monacelli notified the board last month of his intention to retire. He wanted to give the school district plenty of time to find his successor.

Dan Monacelli, left, chats with Wayne Wadhams during the modified football game in Albion on Wednesday when seventh- and eighth-graders from Albion played a team from Cheektowaga.

He said he is grateful he had the opportunity to teach in Albion and then serve as principal. Monacelli grew up in Albion and continues to live in the village.

He was a star for Albion’s football team. In 1979, he was named first team all-state and was player of the year.

His wife Joyce is a teacher in the elementary school.

“I’m very thankful to Albion,” Monacelli said. “Everything I have I owe to the community.”

Other teachers have notified the district of their intentions to retire, including Wayne Wadhams, high school technology education teacher, effective Feb. 28, 2017; Janet Husung, elementary classroom teacher, effective June 30, 2017; Irene Henion, Latin teacher, effective June 30, 2017; Keith Piccirilli, middle school social studies teacher, effective June 30, 2017;

Kimberly Toombs, middle school family and consumer science teacher, effective June 30, 2018; Ralph Englert, middle school teacher, effective June 30, 2018; Douglas Mergler, middle school technology teacher, effective June 30, 2018;

Carlos Burroughs, middle school physical education teacher, effective June 30, 2019; Judy Azzolino, elementary school AIS teacher, effective June 30, 2019; Randy Knaak, athletic director, effective July 1, 2019;

Elizabeth Werner, elementary teacher, effective June 30, 2020; and Mary Ann Jablonski, sixth grade teacher, effective June 30, 2020.

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Provided photo: National Grid donated $500 to United Way of Orleans County/Albion Christ Community Kitchen. Pictured, from left: Larry Martin, business manager, National Grid; Faith Smith, director for Christ Church Community Kitchen; and Jessica Downey, executive director of United Way of Orleans County.

National Grid donated $12,500 towards hunger relief efforts throughout Western New York during September, which was Hunger Action Month.

The company donated to 10 food banks and hunger relief organizations throughout the eight counties of Western New York. One of the donations included $500 for the Community Kitchen at Christ Church in Albion.

Other recipients include: Food Bank of Western New York, Friends of the Night People (Buffalo), Buffalo City Mission, St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy (Buffalo), Heart Love and Soul Food Pantry (Niagara Falls), North Tonawanda Inter-Church Food Pantry, Rural Ministries “Friendly Kitchen” (Dunkirk), Community Action (Salamanca) and United Way of Genesee County.

“There are too many in our local community who worry where their next meal will come from,” said Kenneth Kujawa, regional manager for National Grid. “While the fight against hunger is year round, September’s Hunger Action Month provides an opportunity to bring the issue top of mind and encourage donations and assistance to help food banks and pantries prior to the holiday season. Every little bit helps and National Grid is proud to play a role in local hunger relief efforts.”

Last year, National Grid launched a companywide campaign to support Hunger Action Month. Locally, a total of 343 pounds of food, enough to feed 285 families, was collected and donated to the Food Bank of Western New York.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Members of the Albion varsity boys soccer team line up for the national anthem before today’s game vs. Byron-Bergen at home.

The Albion team wore pink socks today and also will for the Oct. 11 home finale vs. Medina. The team will also be selling pink ribbons and cookies on Oct. 11 with proceeds donated to the Knights-Kaderli Memorial Fund that assists cancer patients and their families in Orleans County.

Keith Akers, the team’s coach and a high school health teacher, said the Albion players  wanted to raise money and awareness about breast cancer after three Albion teachers recently fought the disease. He urged the crowd on Oct. 11 to wear pink for the Albion-Medina game.

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