By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 October 2023 at 8:38 am
Provided photos
ALBION – Chet Fery speaks in the Albion Middle School Auditorium on Friday when he shared a message about kindness with students in grades 6-8.
Fery, a retired Gates-Chili school administrator, also brought many loaves of bread which he gave away.
Fery is known as “Chet the Bread Man.” He has shared more than 100,000 loaves of bread in the past 20 years.
Fery, a Brockport resident, makes many public appearances and tells “Bread Time Stories” to the crowd. His message: the power of kindness to create a positive and accepting school atmosphere.
He encouraged students to do acts of kindness at school, in the community and at home.
“Kindness amazes me,” Fery said. “Feel it and you want to share it . Share it and you create a ripple of kindness. I believe we return to places we feel kindness. Restaurants, banks, grocery stores, hair salons, libraries and more become something special when we receive a feeling of kindness in addition to good service and value.”
The students were engaged with Fery’s message on Friday.
ALBION – Albion eight grade social studies enrichment class students enjoyed a full morning Friday with Village of Albion Historian Sue Starkweather-Miller at Mt. Albion Cemetery. They learned about many notable personalities and intriguing local history stories as they walked the beautiful grounds with its dazzling fall colors on full display.
They heard tales of politicians, soldiers, artists, judges, children, and merchants – along with personal catastrophes and triumphs.
The day started with a visit inside the chapel and ended with a climb up the historic Soldiers and Sailors Monument, a Civil War Memorial.
Seated from left include Jessie Moore, Shade Downey, Aubrielle Barry and Anna Gillette;
Standing include teacher David Skrip, Omer Fugate, Anakin Bowman, Brayden Lindke, Tyler Sullivan, and Sue Starkweather-Miller.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 October 2023 at 8:02 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – High school boys and girls basketball players cheer after Albion Mayor Angel Javier Jr. and Bounce for Bullard leader Susan Oschmann cut the ribbon for two new full-size basketball courts on Thursday.
Oschmann led a fundraising effort and the push the past two years for the new courts. The previous court was back further in the park and the surface wasn’t level with asphalt heaving in sports. The hoops were missing nets and were seldom used.
Oschmann pushed for the project not long after moving to Albion from Kendall. She wanted kids, including her grandchildren, to have a place to shoot basketballs with friends.
She recruited her friend since childhood, Roosevelt Bouie, to help raise money and build support for the project. Bouie was a big star at Syracuse University and he helped secure $40,000 in funding from the James and Juli Boeheim Foundation.
The village and Bounce for Bullard so far have raised $98,000 for the project with another $10,000 in in-kind services.
The Albion school players were thrilled to try out the new courts on Thursday afternoon before a ribbon-cutting celebration at 5 p.m.
Nyla Gaylord, executive director for the Orleans County United Way, holds a photo of Roosevelt Bouie with the old courts.
Bouie credited Bullard Park for hosting many competitive basketball tournaments when he was a kid, helping to turn him into a formidable player.
Bouie is in the Syracuse University Hall of Fame and his number 50 has been retired by the Orange. He led the team to a record of 100-18 from 1977 to 1980. Bouie was a first-team All-BIG EAST Conference selection in 1979-80. He was picked in the second round of the 1980 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Bouie instead chose to play professionally in Europe for 13 seasons.
He has moved back to Kendall. The school retired his jersey in June 2012, the first one picked by Kendall with the recognition.
Bouie was a force for Kendall in the mid-1970s when the school won five straight sectional titles. Kendall had a record of 65-1 during his sophomore, junior and senior years, including 55 straight wins during one stretch.
Bouie said he traces his basketball origins to playing at Bullard.
“That’s where it all started for me,” he said in a previous interview.
He was part of several fundraisers for the new courts a Bullard with 3-on-3 tournaments and free throw shooting contests through portable hoops.
The Albion basketball players played for more than an hour on the courts on Thursday. The players helped raise money for the project through 3-on-3 tournaments the past two years.
Nyla Gaylord, the United Way executive director, said many in the community contributed to making the courts a success.
The United Way worked with village officials to support a new non-profit entity, the Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events Committee, to pursue grants and donations.
“If we as a community work together, look at what we can do,” Gaylord said. “But one person needs to be that spark.”
She credited Oschmann with being that spark to get the project started and for a continued push to get it done.
Oschmann said there is still more to do – about $50,000 is needed for more fencing as well as benches for spectators in a shaded area and working outdoor lights. But she said she is thrilled to see the courts in place and so many kids having fun playing on them.
Some key supporters for the project and recent improvements at Bullard Park include, from left: Orleans County Court Judge Sanford Church, Kim Remley, Terry Wilbert, Recreation director John Grillo, mayor Angel Javier Jr., Bernie Baldwin, Susan Oschmann, Chuck Nesbitt from Wendel, Nyla Gaylord, Zack Burgess, Jill Albertson and Ron Albertson.
Judge Church donated money to pay for two of the basketball hoops. Wilbert is part of the Albion United Methodist Church which donated $45,000 towards the project. The Wendel engineering firm did designs and renderings for the basketball courts that helped Albion pursue grant funding.
The Albion recreation committee and a Rebuild Bullard committee have been working for about a decade to upgrade the park. The new basketball courts follow a spray park, new amphitheater, pavilion with bathrooms, walking trail and disc golf course at Bullard.
Javier thanked the many volunteers who have been working to improve Bullard over the years.
“This is a very big investment in our community,” Javier said. “It’s amazing where we’re at with all the improvements at Bullard. I want to thank everyone involved. Every year we’re trying to make Bullard Park a little bit better.”
Grillo, the recreation director, said the courts will be used for clinics, leagues and camps.
“I think this is awesome,” Grillo said. “It is a good opportunity for the village recreation program moving forward.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 October 2023 at 11:09 am
Mayor says Save-A-Lot plaza, Hamilton Street are possibilities; Downtown seems off limits due to dispensaries not allowed near churches
ALBION – The Village of Albion Planning Board will take public comments during a hearing at 5 p.m. on Nov. 9 about potential locations for cannabis dispensaries. The hearing village be at the Village Hall, 35 East Bank St.
The Village Board voted on Oct. 21, 2021 to opt in and allow legal marijuana dispensaries. Albion officials at the time said allowing the marijuana sites will make it easier for local residents to get the product in town, instead of driving to other communities and possibly putting others at risk on the roadways.
Village Board members also cited the potential tax benefits for the village. The state will have a 13-cent excise tax per $1 on the marijuana sales, and the village will gets 3 of those cents per dollar.
The state at the time didn’t have regulations in place for those dispensaries. The regulations that have since been approved include buffer zones for the cannabis dispensaries. That keeps a cannabis business no closer than 500 feet of a school, or within 200 feet of a church or house of worship.
Albion Mayor Angel Javier Jr. said there are five churches in the downtown area and that may keep the downtown from having a licensed cannabis dispensary.
Javier said the Save-A-Lot plaza on Route 31 and a site on Hamilton Street could be locations for licensed dispensaries. He said there will be several opportunities for the community to weigh in on where a licensed cannabis retailer could be located in the village.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 October 2023 at 8:44 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Jonathan Doherty walks in Holley’s parade in June 2016 with the Self Advocate All Stars. In 2016 he was named Volunteer of the Year for the western region of the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State.
ALBION – A tree will be planted at Bullard Park in memory of Jonathan Doherty, a much-loved local resident who died at age 38 on May 5, 2022.
Ingrid Lamont of Albion agreed to pay for the tree and a plaque in honor of Doherty. The Village Board approved the offer with Lamont to work with Jay Pahura, the DPW superintendent, on selecting the tree and its location in the park.
Doherty graduated from Albion in 2003. He was an Eagle Scout and active in many civic organizations in his community, selling numerous fundraising tickets for over 20 years. He was part of the Bullard Park restoration, pushing for upgrades at the park along Route 31.
He was a member of the Albion Lion’s Club, an employee of the ARC Cleaning Crew and a substitute cleaner at Albion Central School.
He also was a founder of the Self-Advocacy All Stars for the local Arc, and attended statewide and national meetings on behalf of his differently-abled peers.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 October 2023 at 11:43 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Billy Witherspoon, left, and Gary Kent pose with the bronze statue of Santa in honor of the late Charles W. Howard after they planted small trees and shrubs at Waterman Park this morning.
The statue was dedicated on June 10 in a project by the Albion Betterment Committee.
Kent is a member of the ABC and that group paid to have six dwarf Alberta spruce trees, three burning bushes and one dogwood tree added to Waterman Park on Main Street where the bronze state is located.
The spruce trees should max out at 6 feet tall, Kent said. The Betterment Committee in recent years has planted about 40 dogwood trees in the village.
The new trees and shrubs are mostly on the north side of the lot where there is more sun during the day.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 October 2023 at 4:03 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Employees with Super Seal in Macedon have been a Bullard Park today putting down a colorful coating on the new basketball courts. They are using squeegees to spread about 800 gallons of paint on the new courts.
Super Seal expects to put another coating down, and then add the lines for the basketball court as well as pickleball next week.
The Village Department of Public Works installed the new hoops last week.
The Albion United Methodist Church is paying for two of the new hoops, a final top coat, the painting and lining of the courts, fencing on the south side and concrete barriers to keep vehicles from driving on the courts.
Sanford Church, the Orleans County Court judge, also paid for two of the new hoops.
In June, Keeler Construction put down the first layer for two full-size outdoor basketball courts. That was funded with a $40,000 grant from the James and Juli Boeheim Foundation.
The Greater Albion Recreation and Events, Inc., a non-profit organization, secured the funding with assistance from the Orleans County United Way.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 October 2023 at 2:57 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Fire Department has been testing the fire whistle on top of the Village Office this afternoon. It is expected to go off again at about 3:30 this afternoon after being activated earlier in the day, said Fire Chief Jeremy Graham.
The fire whistle has been inactive for more than a decade after some of the downtown business owners complained the siren was too loud.
The Fire Department would like to make operational again to use only for big emergencies, such as structure fires and other community emergencies, Graham said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 October 2023 at 11:04 am
ALBION – Zack Burgess, one of the youngest elected officials in Orleans County, resigned from the Albion Village Board on Monday after he moved out of the village.
Zack Burgess
Burgess, 34, was elected to a three-year term on the board in March 2021. He leaves about six months left on his term.
Mayor Angel Javier Jr. said the vacancy will be filled by a mayoral appointment, but he isn’t looking to fill the post immediately. He said he expects to fill the position with someone who intends to run for the position in the upcoming March election.
Burgess, in a Facebook post today, said he remains concerned about the vacant buildings in downtown Albion. He favors a law similar to the one in Medina. That village has a vacant building registry, with annual fees assessed for vacant buildings and a plan needed for how to utilize them.
Burgess has been active in the village, serving as co-chairman of the Rock the Park Music Festival at Bullard Park. He works as a sales representative at Bentley Brothers and also performs at many local venues with his band, the Zackstreet Boys.
“I’m grateful for the support over the course of my term as well as during my election campaign,” Burgess said in a Facebook post.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 October 2023 at 10:21 am
Aniyah CM. Hyde, age 14, has not been in contact with her family since running away on Oct. 12.
ALBION – An Albion teen has been reported missing after not being in contact with her family the past five days, the Albion Police Department said this morning.
Aniyah CM. Hyde, 14, is Black with brown eyes and hair. She is 5 foot, 2 inches and about 140 pounds.
The Albion PD said Aniyah’s family reports she ran away at about 9 a.m. on Oct. 12 and has not been in contact with her family since then. It is unknown what Aniyah could be wearing at this time.
Anyone with any information regarding Aniyah’s whereabouts is urged to contact APD at (585) 589-5627, or through the Orleans County Sheriff’s Dispatch at (585) 589-5527 or 911.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2023 at 9:42 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Ryan and Katelyn Pearl are shown with a table full of presents and gift cards during a birthday party this evening at Dubby’s Tailgate for their late son, Maddox Pearl, who would be 6 tomorrow.
Maddox passed away on Sept. 30, 2023 after battling DIPG, a rare brain tumor.
Ryan and Katelyn said they appreciated the community’s support for the past year, and they said they feel thankful for the Albion community’s love and generosity.
“We live in a community where when you ask for help they’re there to help you,” Ryan, 32, said during the gathering this evening at Dubby’s that was attended by more than 100 people.
These gifts will be given to organizations that assist children with serious health issues.
Katelyn, 30, said the family wanted to celebrate Maddox’s birthday, and pay it forward and help the organizations that were there for them. They will give the presents and gift cards to three organizations: Compassion Net, C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association in Rochester, and the Willoughby Foundation that assists children with life-threatening health issues.
Compassion Net sent nurses to provide palliative care for Maddox. That allowed him to be home and not in a hospital. The C.U.R.E. seeks to provide emotional, social, financial and educational support to a child with a chronic sickness.
The Willoughby Foundation provided a tablet to help Maddox communicate and a large mattress for Maddox and his parents to be together in the living room. That foundation will distribute some of the gifts at Maddox’s party to other children in hospitals who are battling serious illnesses.
Dubby’s hosted a benefit for the Pearl family last Nov. 22 with more than 200 gift baffles up for raffle. Other organizations in the past year helped raise money for the family.
Katelyn said Albion is a close-knit community that rallies for people in a crisis. That isn’t the case in many communities, she said, especially in cities and big towns where the people aren’t as well connected to each other.
Katelynn and Ryan say they may make Maddox’s birthday party an annual community event, with presents and gift cards to be collected and given to organizations that help children with serious health challenges.
Many of the gifts given had train themes. Maddox loved trains, especially The Polar Express and Thomas the Train Engine.
“He watched The Polar Express every day, from Christmas to the next Christmas,” his father said.
Ryan and Katelyn are going to spend tomorrow, Maddox’s sixth birthday, on a train at the Arcade and Attica Railroad for a ride in honor of their son.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 October 2023 at 2:52 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Barre firefighter Gary Rowley lets Albion kindergarten Ethan Dona spray water at a target in the elementary schoo, parking lot today to conclude Fire Prevention Week at the school.
Firefighters visited classrooms from prekindergarten to grade 5 earlier in the week. Today about 800 students went to different spots in the parking lot to see fire trucks, a fire rescue boat, and see some of the tools and equipment used by firefighters.
Carter Klips, a kindergartener, checks out the inside of the Albion ladder truck. He is shown some of the gear by Rob Conner, a past fire chief for Albion. Carter was impressed there was a small refrigerator in the truck.
Aubrey Stinson, below, and Amelia Fisher crawl through a room simulated to have smoke. They are third-graders. (This week is also homecoming at Albion and Aubrey has on some face paint.)
The smoke simulator is in a fire safety training trailer owned by the Orleans County’s Emergency Management Office. It has a fog machine to simulate smoky rooms. Students were urged to “Stay Low and Go.”
These third-graders climb on the Carlton rescue boat.
Mark Farone of the Barre Volunteer Fire Company assists Maisyn Stirk with spraying water at a target.
Charlie Monacelli, an Albion firefighter, shows some of the tools used by firefighters. Monacelli took the day off from work today and volunteered to help with fire prevention week. He has a kindergartener at Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 October 2023 at 11:56 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion Rotary Club last week presented a ceremonial check for $4,300 to support transportation and respite programs for the Office for the Aging.
The golf tournament was held on July 20 at Shelridge Country Club in Medina.
Pictured from left include Bill Downey, a member of the Rotary Club; OFA Director Melissa Blanar; Becky Karls, Albion Rotary Club member and OFA employee; and Cindy Perry, Rotary Club member.
Blanar said the funding will help with a transportation program where volunteers take senior citizens to appointments in Orleans County and surrounding counties. There were 432 requests for transportation from Sept. 20, 2022 to Oct. 1, 2023.
The nine volunteer drivers traveled 7,716 miles, Blanar said. They receive mileage reimbursement for the trips which are often to medical appointments, the pharmacy, the bank, hairdresser or to see a loved one in a nursing home.
For more information about the volunteer program, either as a driver or rider, contact the OFA at (585) 589-3191. Drivers can specify if they only want to do trips within Orleans County.
Blanar said some of the funds from the golf tournament will also help with a new respite program being developed by the OFA. That program provides activities for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia and can provide respite for caregivers.
This group of long-time firefighters gathers last week at St. Mary’s Athletic Club on Moore Street for a monthly meeting.
Photos and information courtesy of Chuck Norman
ALBION – Did you know the original four departments of the Albion Fire Department still meet the first Wednesday every month?
Several years ago, Active Hose graciously asked the separate departments to join together for meeting and fellowship. Those departments included Dye Hose, Hart Hose and Hook & Ladder.
The meeting is held at the St. Mary’s Club in Albion and a meal is served to those in attendance. The October meeting meal was a stuffed porkchop with mashed potatoes and green beans, and dessert of ice-cream and a mini-donut. The meal was prepared by local renown chef Theresa Schmackpfeffer.
This month’s meeting was brought to order by Darryl Szklany (Active Hose 1969) and the pledge to the flag was recited. The minutes from the prior meeting were read and accepted. Old business, new business, birthdays and next month’s food committee was elected; motion for adjournment was made and seconded.
Fuzzy Norman of Dye, right, and Ace Caldwell of Dye, left, show their appreciation to Theresa Schmackpfeffer for last week’s meal. All three are 91 years old.
Fuzzy has been a member of the Dye Hose since 1950, while Ace has been a member since 1952.
Other members in attendance at the recent meeting include:
Dennis Stirk – member of Active hose since 1969
Dennis Smith – Active Hose since 1968
Ed Norton – guest – Barre Center 1971
Mike Stirk – Active Hose 1965
Darryl Szklany – Active Hose 1969
Bill Basinait – Active Hose 1974
Micky Pilon – Die Hose 1960
Bert Mathes – Active Hose 2010
Francis Dibley – Active Hose 1971
Missing from the photo, Chuck Norman – Dye Hose 1973; and Willie Culverwell – Active Hose.
Darryl Skzlany, back left, and Bill Basinait listen to the conversation at the meeting.
