Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Canvas prints from photographer Sharon Gavenda of Point Breeze are on display at the Marti’s On Main art gallery in Albion at 20 South Main St.

A new show featuring Gavenda, Judy Wenrich and Tom Rivers opened on Aug. 16. The artwork can be seen by calling Kim Martillotta-Muscarella, gallery owner, at (585) 590-9211.

This is the first show for Sharon Gavenda, a nurse. She has been honing her skills as a photographer the past 15 years. It started with a trip to Maine when she was awestruck by the landscapes.

“It was so beautiful that I found myself taking photos,” she said.

She has many images in the gallery from when she is on early morning jogs and captures the sunrise in the Point Breeze area.

Judy Wenrich of Kendall is pictured with some of her oil pastels of animals. Wenrich, a retired social worker, has been a featured artist at Marti’s for many years, and that often focused on paintings of horses. She has expanded her repertoire for the exhibit at Marti’s.

Wenrich has 13 pieces on display at Marti’s, including some whimsical captions. She likes to give the animals expressions.

“Everyone has their own style,” she said.

Photo by Kim Martillotta-Muscarella: Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers also has about 25 photos in the exhibit. Here I am standing by one in downtown Albion after a fresh snowfall. Two in the back include a fire at a historic home in Holley, and a kayaker on Lake Ontario during a sunset.

These photos include a Black Lives Matter march in Medina, the “Believe” sign during swirling snow in Albion, a Santa during an Albion parade, Albion firefighters during a lighted parade last December, and two from the grease pole competition at the Orleans County 4-H Fair.

There are other local scenes in the exhibit and pictures of people who I miss seeing around town including Brennan Moody, Jonathan Doherty, Angela English and Al Capurso.

The next opening reception at Marti’s will be Sept. 20 from 6 to 9 p.m., featuring oil paintings by Tom Zangerle, and oil and watercolors by Sarah Hyatt.

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – Zyann Pore sings “Praise” with other members of the Shiloh Youth Choir during today’s Gospel Fest at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.

About 500 people attended the event, which included the sale of 200 chicken barbecues dinners. Trellis Pore, pastor of the Shiloh Church in Albion, cooked the chicken dinners which were paired with corn casserole made by his mother, Brenda Gabrielson.

Proceeds from today’s event will go to a building expansion fund for the Shiloh Church.

The Shiloh Youth Choir sings “Lion” during the Gospel Fest.

The “Good News” band performed first, followed by the Shiloh “Littles” who are young children at the church. After the youth choir, the adult choir from Shiloh sang religious and uplifting music.

Trellis Pore, pastor of the church, preaches from the stage. He urged people to “let go and let God.” Pore said people need to get out of a religious routine and instead strive for a relationship with God.

E-YAH-Pah-Hah has 3 other concerts in September, October

Provided photo: E-YAH-Pah-Hah Wind Quintet (Town Crier) includes, from left: Susan Walders, flute; Darren Pully, oboe; Maggie Warren, horn; Kae Wilbert, bassoon; and Scott Horsington, clarinet.

ALBION – A quintet that started last year performing classical Native American music has four upcoming concerts, including 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 at the Albion Town Hall.

E-YAH-Pah-Hah, the “Town Crier,” will do a mini premiere of three of five movements of a new piece, “Postcards of Native America,” by Native American composer Dr. Charles Shadle, Choctaw, who teaches theory and composition at MIT.

Kae Wilbert, a retired Churchville-Chili music teacher, lives in Albion and is a leader in the group as well as a bassoon player. She is a descendant of the Oklahoma Cherokee.

The group started last year, performing for the first time at Camp Asbury in Perry, a United Methodist camp. The musicians wanted to share Native music with youth. That desire has spread to sharing the music with the community.

“People rarely hear Native American classical music,” she said.

The group rehearses at the Disciples United Methodist Church in Clarendon, where Wilbert is a member.

“I’ve always loved woodwind quartets. I wanted to keep playing,” she said.

Besides the concert on Aug. 29 in Albion, E-YAH-Pah-Hah’s performance schedule includes:

• Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at College of Brockport Music Department
• Oct. 5 at 3 p.m. at Cobblestone Church in Gaines
• Oct. 27 at 3 p.m. with Daystar Dance Company, Seneca Art and Culture Center Auditorium at Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor.

“The music is very rewarding,” Wilbert said. “The musicians are quite good and all very focused.”

Four of the musicians have college degrees in music, while the fifth member has a medical degree.

The Aug. 29 concert is also part of a classical music series at Albion that is funded with a grant from GO Art!

Other concerts in that series include the Geneseo Wind Quintet with faculty from SUNY Geneseo Music Department. They will be performing at the Albion Town Hall on Clarendon Road on Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m.

The Music Educators Wind Ensemble will perform Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Albion Middle School Auditorium.

Press Release, Orleans County Historical Association

ALBION – The final summer cemetery tour will be held this Sunday at Mt. Albion Cemetery.  The tour will begin at 6 p.m. in front of the chapel. The tour is approximately 0.7 miles in length on mostly flat surfaces. We will tour behind the chapel and the western section of Mt. Albion.

Retired Orleans County Historian Bill Lattin and Village of Albion Historian Sue Starkweather Miller will lead the tour sharing stories of community-minded people who made a positive difference in Albion.

“One of the stops on the tour will highlight professional animal painter Peter B. West and how a painting of his led me on a journey to learning about George D. Harris, a prolific builder and contractor,” Starkweather Miller said. “Many of us may have heard of his family members, Medal of Honor recipient Charles D. Harris and Lydia Harris, who died in the Main Street bridge collapse on September 28, 1859. But I never knew about George and his accomplishments in Albion. I think people will be interested in his story.”

Donna Strickland Rodden will also be highlighted on the tour. The chapel, built in 1875, was dedicated to her in 1997. Rodden was the first female mayor of Albion, serving from 1973-1983. Her influence and care for preserving local history has made a lasting impact on our community and Mt. Albion.

The summer series of tours is sponsored by the Orleans County Historical Association.  Please go to their website at www.orleanshistory.org for more information on upcoming events including monthly programs at the Gaines Basin Schoolhouse and a chicken barbecue fundraiser on Aug. 31.

Provided photo

ALBION – The appointed treasurer and five commissioners for the Albion Joint Fire District met on Tuesday for the Albion Joint Fire District.

Pictured from left include Victoria Tabor, the treasurer; and commissioners David Buczek, Al Cheverie, Craig Lane, Joe Martillotta and Chris Kinter.

The commissioners picked Cheverie, a former president of the Albion Fire Department, to serve as the group’s chairman. A secretary will be appointed by the commissioners at the next meeting.

The joint fire district was approved in a public referendum on Aug. 6 by voters in the towns of Albion and Gaines.

Buczek was appointed by the Albion Village Board, while Martillotta and Kinter were picked by the Albion Town Board, and Cheverie and Lane by the Gaines Town Board.

The group in the coming months will be working on the 2025 budget for the joint fire district. They also will be developing policies and procedures, and setting up banking and insurance for the district. The commissioners will meet the second and fourth Thursdays.

The five will serve until the end of this year. There will be an election in December for five commissioners in terms of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years, depending on the vote totals for each. The highest vote-getter gets the 5-year term and then the term length goes in descending order of votes. After the December election, the commissioner election should be just one position up for election each year.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Highway 31 had Bullard Park rocking on Wednesday evening during the Village of Albion’s summer concert series.

The band performed on the amphitheater, and played ’90s music, contemporary country and some rock.

The band members include Rich Nolan of Gasport as lead singer, and the guitar trio of Aaron Clark of Holley, Clinton LaPorte of Le Roy, and Clinton’s dad Tim LaPorte Sr. of Batavia. Timmy LaPorte of Elba, Tim’s son and Clinton’s brother, is the drummer for the band.

The guitar trio includes, from left: Aaron Clark, Clinton LaPorte and Tim LaPorte Sr.

Timmy LaPorte pounds the skins as drummer.

Highway 31 always draws a good-size crowd when they perform in Albion.

The summer concert series closes out next Wednesday with Soul Street from the Buffalo area.

The series is funded with state arts money administered by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

Press Release, Albion Central School

ALBION – Albion Central School District will be offering free breakfast and lunch for all students throughout the 2024-25 academic year.

As part of the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, each student grades PreK-12 will be offered a free breakfast and lunch every day.

“We are excited to announce that Albion Central School District will continue to offer all of our students two free meals a day,” said Mickey Edwards, superintendent of Albion Central School. “It’s crucial that our students enter the classroom ready to learn, and that begins with a nutritious breakfast. The more we can prepare them for success, the better their outcomes will be.”

In order to continue this wonderful program for our entire district, it is extremely important that families who meet the income eligibility guidelines complete the Household Income Eligibility Form.

Please return completed forms to:

• Mail: Albion CSD Re: CEP Form 324 East Avenue, Albion, NY 14411
• Fax: 585-589-2059
• Email: kmcgaffick@albionk12.org

We are excited to be able to provide this opportunity to our students and their families. Please contact Katie McGaffick at 585-589-2056 with any questions.

Press Release, Albion Police Chief Dave Mogle

ALBION – On behalf of the Village of Albion and the Albion Central School District, the Village of Albion Police Department would like to remind motorists that the start of the new school year is just over two weeks away, with staff returning to Albion Schools on Tuesday, September 3rd and students returning on Wednesday, September 4th.

As such, the Albion Police Department is asking motorists to take their time and use extra caution while driving through the Village of Albion, especially along Route 31 in front of the school district as there will be an increase in pedestrian and school bus traffic.

With funding from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, the Albion Police Department will have extra patrols on for the start of the new school year to ensure the safety of our School District Staff and Students. We would like to remind motorists that the speed limit in the School Zone on Route 31 is 20 mph from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on all school days.

We would also like to remind motorists of the crosswalk on State Route 31 at McKinstry Street, which is used heavily by our students as they go to and from school, especially between 7:15-7:45 a.m. and 2:15-2:45 p.m. Even more caution will need to be used during this time while passing the schools.

The Albion Police Department is excited to see the return of our students and with your help, we hope to have a fun and safe school year.