Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – This scary character is at the beginning of the Haunted Hallway at The Villages of Orleans, a nursing home on Route 31 in Albion.

For the second year, the activities staff at The Villages has created a “Haunted Hallway” where the community can get a scare, and at the end receive candy and treats from residents of The Villages.

Orly the Ox, the county’s bicentennial mascot, ventured through the creepy hallway. Orly dressed as a nurse. He wanted to support the effort, and meet some of the residents who were passing out candy at the end of the hallway.

The dimly lit indoor hallway has several scary spots. Some Albion students are volunteering during the event which continues today from 6 to 8 p.m. (Watch out for the Silly String from these students.)

The activities department dressed up as characters for the event. From left includes Rhiannon Farrell, Meghan Clark, Orly the Ox and Nancy Donahue.

There is no charge to go through the Haunted Hallway but donations are accepted for the activities department.

Some of the residents passing out candy said they hope to see more kids today going through the hallway.

ALBION – Harry Papponetti has seen a lot of things from local wildlife in his 33 years as animal control officer for the village of Albion.

But Papponetti has never seen squirrels working so furiously to stack pine cones for the upcoming winter. Papponetti has pine trees at his house and he said squirrels are scampering about his property amassing piles of pine cones. He sees it at other residences too in Albion.

He also has received calls from residents about squirrels getting in their attics, and bringing in pine cones.

Papponetti thinks the squirrels know something about the winter, and they are gearing up for extended harsh conditions.

“You’re looking at cold, hard winter coming up,” he told the Village Board during its meeting this evening.

Papponetti said he received many calls about squirrels and skunks on the move recently. He said the wildlife has been active as they get ready for winter.

File photos by Tom Rivers: A hallway at The Villages of Orleans was decorated last Oct. 26 for the first “Haunted Hallway” where residents and staff dressed up and passed out treats. The community is welcome to Haunted Hallway on Oct. 24-25.

ALBION – The “Haunted Hallway” will be back at The Villages of Orleans. Staff and residents will be decorating a hallway and welcoming the community to pass through and be scared.

The second annual Haunted Hallway returns Oct. 24-25 from 6 to 8 p.m. The community is welcome to dress up, too, as they venture down a scary hallway. There will treats waiting at the end.

Donations are accepted but not required for those who head down the Haunted Hallway. Those donations will go towards the Activities Department at The Villages, a nursing home at 14012 Route 31 in Albion.

Residents pass out candy to some of the children and their families who made it through last year’s Haunted Hallway. The residents said they enjoyed seeing kids dressed in their costumes.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Jacob Ivison stands outside his business, Homestead Pest Control, at 109 East Bank St., Albion. Homestead is the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s New Business of the Year.

ALBION – Jacob Ivision couldn’t be more thrilled about his recent honor of being named New Business of the Year by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.

“I started my company in January 2024 and to be recognized that early on is very humbling,” Ivison said.

Ivison’s introduction to the world of pest control came while he was working as a delivery driver for an agricultural chemical facility during the Covid pandemic.

“I was delivering products to the owner of a pest control business in Middleport, when we started talking about the nature of his business,” Ivison said. “I’d been spraying our house for bugs with my father since I was a tyke. The guy said I should think about getting into the industry.”

Ivison said he got busier with his delivery job, but three years later when his son was born, a light switch flipped.

“I knew I had to do something that would give him the best life I could,” Ivison said.

He started hitting the books and testing in preparation of opening his own pest control business. He already had a basic license and he added categories to it and got his full license in 2020. During all this time, he said his wife Kara was very supportive of his efforts.

“I could not have done it without her,” he said.

He began doing pest control in homes and commercial facilities to rid them of bugs and rodents.

“There is no shortage of pests,” he said.

When he was ready to open his own business, he discovered his landlord had a vacant store on Bank Street in Albion. It turned out to be the perfect place for Ivison to expand his new business.

 He soon realized he needed an addition to his business, and he hired Matthew Zaffran as office manager.

“Having someone here all the time to answer the phone has resulted in a lot of business for us,” Ivison said. “So many people call another exterminator and get an answering machine, so they call us.”

Ivison said the most challenging job thus far was eliminating an infestation of yellow jackets from a chimney 60 feet in the air on a school roof.

When the gentleman in Middleport who convinced Ivison to pursue the pest control business lost his one employee, he contracted with Ivison to take care of his customers.

“Learning from somebody with 50 years’ experience in the business is more than the knowledge he has shared, it is the confidence he has instilled in me that I can fix my customers’ problems.”

Ivison and his family live in his family’s 1800s homestead on Ivison Road in Byron, where the road named for his ancestors.

Homestead Pest Control can be reached by calling (585) 460-4663 or e-mailing protectyourhomestead@gmail.com.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Dan DeCarlo, shown inside Arnold’s Auto Parts in Albion, has been recognized as the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year.

ALBION – Dan DeCarlo has been involved in the family business ever since his father purchased Arnold’s Auto Parts in 1968, back when Dan was eight years old.

After taking over the business when his father retired 10 years ago, he became a big supporter of the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministry. His business ethics and support of community have earned him the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s honor as Business Person of the Year.

Dan admits he is a low-key guy and doesn’t like to be in the spotlight.

“But it’s nice the Chamber gave me this award,” he said. “I was not expecting it.”

He and his wife Lisa first became supporters of the Royal Body Shop’s Outreach Ministry when the pastor came to town and asked if he could hold Friday night services in their parking lot.

Since then, the DeCarlos have allowed use of their property for various church functions and also agreed to have a refrigerator placed outside their door, which the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministry keeps stocked with food, free to anyone who needs it.

In addition, the DeCarlos have supported the Easter Egg Hunt, Wine Walk and car shows, among other events.

“The community has been good to us and we want to be good to the community in return,” Dan said.

Arnold’s is a full-service auto parts store, and recently started carrying marine parts, Dan said.

They are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday.

The store is located at 116 North Liberty St.

This photo is from March 2022 when community fridge was dedicated at Arnold’s Auto Parts. Village trustee at the time Stan Farone, left, participates in the ribbon cutting with Pastor Albert Wilson and his wife Ykeeta, center, Dan DeCarlo from Arnold’s Auto Parts and other volunteers including Kevin Lemcke and Jack Burris of Hands 4 Hope.

Provided photos: Pictured from left include Roger Ettinger, Sue Starkweather Miller, Stephen Hastings, Legion Commander Brad Rouse holding a painting of the Sheret brothers, Rick Ebbs, Tim Archer and David Polisoto. The fundraising campaign has topped $200,000 towards a $225,000 goal to put a new slate roof on the chapel and address other issues.

Press Release, “Save our Chapel”

ALBION – The American Legion family of organizations donated $1,500 to the “Save Our Chapel” campaign at Mt. Albion Cemetery.  The Sons of the American Legion, Auxiliary, Legion Riders and the general membership groups collectively contributed.

Save our Chapel organizers Sue Starkweather Miller and Tim Archer met with members to thank them for supporting the chapel restoration project with their generous donation and to give them a tour of the chapel and view the progress that is being made.

A painting of Sergeant James A. Sheret and his brother, Private Egbert Sheret is on permanent display in the American Legion Sheret Post #35 building.

Sheret Post #35 is the oldest American Legion in Western New York. It was founded in 1919 under the direction of Judge Bernard Ryan in honor of Sergeant James A. Sheret who was killed in action on September 29, 1918 near Ronssoy, France while charging the Hindenburg Line. Sheret was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery and was considered “one of the hundred heroes of WWI” by General Pershing.

His brother, Pvt. Egbert Sheret was also killed that day. Their younger brother Andrew, the company’s bugler, was seriously injured but survived. All three brothers were part of the 27th Division of the American Expeditionary Forces, containing the 108th Infantry Regiment and Company F.  The 108th and Company F were the only men to break the Hindenburg Line that day.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The gravesites for Sergeant James A. Sheret and Private Egbert Sheret are located in Mt. Albion Cemetery.  This photo is from Dec. 14, 2024 during Wreaths Across America.

Photo courtesy of Tim Archer, Albion Interact Club advisor

ALBION – The Albion Interact Club had a special visit from Orleans County Sheriff’s K( Odin and his handler, Deputy Jeff Cole.

They were joined by Deputy Ashleigh Stornelli who is the district’s school resource officer this year.

Odin is a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois that has been with the Sheriff’s Office for about a year. Before that, Cole worked as a handler with K9 Otto for eight years.

“The visit was part of the student club’s ongoing monthly series of presentations by community leaders,” said Tim Archer, the Interact Club advisor. “The Interact Club does numerous community service projects throughout the school year.”

Photos courtesy of Tim Archer

ALBION – A group of Albion Middle School enrichment students recently joined Craig Lane, the Orleans County DPW Commissioner, at the cemetery for the Orleans County Alms House.

Lane is also a member of the Holley Rotary Club which donated a new flag pole for the cemetery. The Alms House was a place for the poor, indigent and infirmed from 1833 to 1960. It is located at 14064 W. County House Rd., behind the Emergency Management buildings.

The cemetery contains the graves of about 250 people, and many of the sites are marked by simple numbers or have no marker at all. The site was reclaimed and restored beginning in 2010 through projects led by Albion Middle School students and the county.

Lane is shown with student Elizabeth Colmenaro, Oliver Beyrle, Elliot Pettit, Colton Moreland and Maelynn Taylor.

The DPW installed the new flag pole which replaced one that was worn, said Tim Archer, who assists with the enrichment program and spearheaded several of the projects at the Alms House Cemetery.

Students look over some of the gravesites at the cemetery which is visible from Route 31A near Keeler Construction.

Archer was working as a service learning teacher at Albion in 2010 when his seventh-grade students became interested in the site. Bill Lattin, the county historian at the time, was speaking in Archer’s class about how there used to be the Alms or “Poor House” on County House Road from 1833 to 1960. The Alms House closed in 1960 when the county nursing home opened on Route 31 in Albion.

The Alms House was torn down and now the site is the Orleans County Emergency Management Office with a fire training tower.

Maelynn Taylor and Elizabeth Colmenaro visit the gravesite for Daniel Walterhouse, a Civil War soldier buried at the cemetery.

Walterhouse lived at the Orleans County Alms House or Poor House for about 15 years until his death in 1910.

The new headstone was unveiled during a ceremony at the cemetery on May 18, 2025. Two Albion eight-graders – Kendall Peruzzini and Mary McCormick – secured the 230-pound Civil War era headstone from the Veterans Affairs office in Washington, DC. The stone was installed by the DPW.

Students go through smoke simulator, spray water from fire hose

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Barre firefighters, Dylan Parker at left and Barry Flansburg at right, assist fourth-graders in spraying water from a fire hose at targets. It was part of a Fire Prevention Week at the school.

Albion, Barre and Carlton firefighters let students see and try some of the equipment used by firefighters today to cap off the week.

During the week firefighters spent about 20 minutes with each classroom from grades PreK to 5, going over fire prevention tips.

Students make their way through a smoke simulator inside a fire safety training trailer was outside the school today. That trailer, owned by the Orleans County’s Emergency Management Office, has a fog machine to simulate smoky rooms.

Students were urged to “Stay Low and Go.”

Outside the trailer also was designated meeting area and a phone to call 911.

Brianna Caldwell, an Albion firefighter, simulates being a dispatcher and takes a 911 call.

Ryan Woolston, a Carlton firefighter, shows students a rescue boat. Woolston also let students see some of the equipment on the boat including a dry suit that firefighters use for water rescues.

Fred Piano of Albion shows students the fire safety trailer. Piano and about 20 firefighters volunteered throughout the school day, showing students the different fire apparatus and prevention exercises.

Barry Flansburg of Barre helps Emma Cary while she directs the hose at targets.

Provided photos: The Genesee Orleans Ministry of Concern has started a food and personal care pantry at Albion Central School in the middle and high schools. This photo from February includes, from left, Rose Friedl, youth coordinator for GOMOC; Jami Allport, executive director for GOMOC; and Brittany Barleben, middle and high school social worker.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Jami Allport is director of Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern, which will be recognized with the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s Community Service Award Oct. 23 at White Birch Golf Course.

ALBION – The organization known for years as “The Agency of Last Resort” will be honored by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce with the Community Service Award.

The Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern and other honorees will be recognized at the 27th annual awards ceremony on Oct. 23 at White Birch Golf Course in Lyndonville.

Jami Allport, director of Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern, said the organization is very excited about receiving that honor.

GOMOC began in 1955 as the Migrant Ministry, when Medina teacher Arden McAllister and Sister Marian Adrian started it to support migrant farmworkers in Orleans County. Sister Marian would eventually serve as director from 1991 until her retirement in 2006.

The agency focused on meeting the basic needs of migrant families who were vital to the local economy, but often lacked access to stable housing, transportation and essential services.

Over time, the GOMOC mission was expanded to serve all individuals and families in crisis in Orleans and Genesee counties. Today, according to Allport, GOMOC operates a wide range of critical community programs which address immediate needs, while helping families work toward stability.

This includes a furniture program coordinated by Staci Palmer with truck drivers James Shoeberlein Jr. and Kyle Woolston; Emergency Assistance Program, overseen by the office staff as a whole; Homeless Outreach Program, overseen by Steven Trembley; Youth and Family Empowerment Program, led by Rosie Friedl; the Mary Grace Room, overseen by high school intern Abby Kincaid; and Rental Assistance Program, run by Office Manager Carol Whalin.

Through these efforts, COMOC continues to be a lifeline for residents who have nowhere else to turn, Allport said. The organization operates on the belief that every individual deserves respect, dignity and access to resources, regardless of their circumstances.

For many years, the agency had officers on Main Street, until being offered space in the First Presbyterian Church, where they moved in March 2024.

“We are deeply honored to receive this award from the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce,” Allport said. “This recognition reflects not just the work of our staff, but the incredible support of our entire community. Together, we make a difference in the lives of people who need it most.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: Albion village trustee Tim McMurray and Jami Allport, executive director of the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern, on Jan. 25, 2024 walk along the railroad tracks in Albion between Main Street and West Academy Street. They were among several agency and government leaders out that day trying the measure the homeless population in the community. Allport offered gift cards to Tops, as well as snacks, blankets and gloves. GOMOC for the past year has made backpacks with supplies available to the local unhoused population. The backpacks were purchased with a grant from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Carrie O’Neill, a member of the Orleans County Youth Board, waits for a kid to select a board game after visiting many of the booths and trying the games and activities.

Free board games were offered when kids completed their passport by trying the different activities at Family Game Night.

This was the 11^th annual event and the third time it was hosted by Dubby’s Tailgate in Albion. Dubby’s served up two slices of pizza for each person.

Many of the county government departments and agencies in the community had booths with activities and prizes. The event was organized by the Orleans County Youth Bureau and County Legislature.

The mascots from McDonald’s, Grimace and Hamburglar, greeted kids inside Dubby’s. There were 472 people registered, and the total attendance was likely even closer to 500. That is the most in the 11 years of Family Game Night.

Grimace and Hamburglar meet Charli Wulf, 5, of Holley. Orly the Ox, the county’s bicentennial mascot, also greeted local kids at the event.

Staff from the Probation Department offered a chance to play a cup stacking game and to win prizes. In back from left for probation include secretary Amy Albone, probation assistant Michelle Coots, and probation director Sarah Osborne. They gave away pumpkins donated by Coots’s grandson, 11-year-old Nathan Gray of Nathan’s Produce.

Kat Holland from the Personnel Department did a plate spinning demonstration as part of the Personnel Department’s booth. Katie Harvey, the personnel director, is at left.

Cara Wachob, a home base visitor and Early Head Start advocate, led the booth for Community Action and invited kids and their parents to play different games.

Donations have dropped significantly in recent years

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Kristina Ettinger, left, community services manager at Community Action, hands a Red Kettle to Jami Allport, executive director of the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern. The two agencies will oversee the Red Kettle Drive in Orleans County this holiday season.

ALBION – Two agencies that serve Orleans and Genesee counties are combining their efforts to re-invent the annual Red Kettle drive in Orleans County through the Salvation Army.

The Red Kettle Campaign is a long-standing tradition which not only provides essential resources, such as food, clothing and emergency assistance, but also brings the community together in the spirit of giving, according to Jami Allport, executive director of Ministry of Concern.

This holiday season, the three organizations will work together to raise funds that directly support individuals and families in need throughout Orleans County.

Jami Allport, executive director of Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern, shows the stickers which will be affixed to anything supplied to the needy which was paid for with donations from Red Kettles.

“We have seen a drop in the amount of money being raised since COVID,” said Ann Vail, Service Extension Director of the USA Eastern Territory for the Salvation Army.

“We are excited to collaborate on this critical campaign that supports our community,” said Ryan Lasal, director of Community and Family Program Innovation/Chief Innovation Officer at Community Action of Orleans and Genesee.

“This year we are going to try something new,” said Jami Allport.

Ettinger is Community Services Manager with Community Action of Orleans.

“With our agencies and new ideas, we’re hoping to get donations up where they used to be,” Allport said.

In 2015, Red Kettle donations totaled $26,110, but dropped to $12,320 in 2023 and $6,720 last year.

Only three locations allow bell ringers in Orleans County – Walmart and Tops in Albion and Medina. This year, table top kettles will be utilized, Allport said. They will be placed in multiple strategic locations throughout Orleans County.

“We will be saturating Orleans County with Red Kettles as much as possible,” Allport said.

The Red Kettle Campaign will be a collaborative effort this year between Community Action and Ministry of Concern, Allport said.

“We are going reach out to schools, businesses and other agencies to compete with each other and make it fun,” Allport said. “We want to get youth and schools involved, including Scouts, sports teams and FFA clubs. We will urge schools to compete and make it fun by dressing in costumes or maybe singing as they man a kettle. COVID took a lot from everybody and we want to rebuild as much as we can.”

Allport and Ettinger stressed that all money donated in Orleans County stays in Orleans County. Monies are split between the two agencies to help their clients in need.

Volunteers are needed to man the kettles and can sign up online at Signupgenius.com and search for director@ministryofconcern.org or by calling Allport at (585) 589-9210.

Bell ringers can start at Tops on Nov. 6 until Dec. 24, or at Walmart on Nov. 15 to Dec. 24.

Anything purchased for someone needy will have a Red Kettle sticker affixed to it to let the recipient know the money came from donations to the Red Kettle Campaign.

Andrew London brings bright and welcoming business to his hometown

Photos by Tom Rivers: Andrew London opened Wish and Wonder Tattoo in Albion about two weeks ago at 115 East Bank St. London has worked as a tattoo artist the past 11 years.

ALBION – A new tattoo business in Albion features a hometown tattoo artist who wants to help the downtown business district grow.

Andrew London, 33, has worked as a tattoo artist for 11 years. He started at High Voltage Tattoo in Batavia and worked the past seven years at Canalside Tattoo in Medina.

London has a devoted clientele and he wanted to work in his hometown of Albion.

“I wanted to bring something to Albion that would brighten up the downtown,” said London, whose father Dean is a former Albion mayor and police chief.

About two weeks ago Andrew opened Wish and Wonder Tattoo at 115 East Bank St. He is joined by his wife, Katie, who is an apprentice tattoo artist. Megan “Marge” Furness also runs a body piercing business at Wish and Wonder. Furness has worked as a piercer the past four years.

Wish and Wonder Tattoo includes, from left: Megan “Marge” Furness as a body piercer, Andrew London, the owner and a tattoo artist; and Katie London, an apprentice tattoo artist.

London has a bright atmosphere at Wish and Wonder. He picked a name for the business that he said “feels magical.”

He wanted a well lighted space for the tattoo artists and for the body piercer.

“It’s not dark and scary,” he said. “It’s light and airy.”

London said he has done tens of thousands of tattoos so far in his career.

Tattoos have become far more accepted in the past 10 to 20 years. Many people proudly post them on social media, and receive very positive feedback which encourages their friends to want them.

London said most people keep coming back after getting a tattoo. He does many memorial tattoos, and ones with birth stones and birth flowers that people want to represent their children.

“Tattoos are memories,” he said at Wish and Wonder this morning. “People get one, they like it and then they want more.”

He strives to make people feel comfortable during the process of getting a tattoo.

“They all have a fun time when they are in here,” he said. “That must be why they call it ink therapy.”

Andrew London recently created these tattoos of Frankenstein, Zelda and the American flag.

London and his wife Katie pushed to open Wish and Wonder once their youngest child entered kindergarten last month. That has freed them up to put more focus on their own business.

Katie also is an apprentice tattoo artist. She is starting with smaller tattoos and will be working her way up to larger artwork.

Her husband wanted to be an art teacher when he graduated from high school. He found being a tattoo artist fills his artistic passions. He also likes to connect with his customers, and bring them joy with tattoos that are often very meaningful and personal expressions.

London is a sponsored artist through Empire Inks, which provides inks for gray washes – black and gray tattoos.

Megan “Marge” Furness is a body piercer with a business, Piercings by Marge. She worked as a phlebotomist, collecting blood samples from patients, before getting into body piercing.

She did an apprenticeship at Canalside Tattoo to learn the craft. She does piercings for the ear, nose, eyebrow, lip, tongue and other body parts.

She uses a sterile, hollow needle instead of a piercing gun which she said reduces swelling and is easier for her clients. Furness said she talks through the process, especially with children.

“The best part is giving people a very good piercing experience,” she said.

For more information on Wish and Wonder, call (585) 283-4173 or check their Facebook page.