By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 October 2022 at 5:54 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Taco Bell has submitted a plan for a new restaurant in Albion at 118 West Ave., next to McDonalds.
The new building would go on a vacant lot owned by Landsman Development in Rochester.
The Orleans County Planning Board at 7 p.m. on Thursday will review the site plan for the project. The Village of Albion will need to make an amendment to its zoning map and approve a variance for the project to go forward as submitted.
That meeting is at the Orleans County Administration Building in the legislative chambers.
The project is proposed for a vacant lot along Route 31 next to McDonalds and across from Freeze Dry.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 October 2022 at 9:57 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Chris Kinter and his son Jack serve up pulled pork dinners with fresh cut fries on Friday in a fundraiser for the Brennan Moody Memorial Scholarship given out to two Albion seniors.
Trellis Pore, pictured in window, also helped with the dinner on Friday in the parking lot of the Cone Zone in Albion. The Kinters used the Hot Spot’s food trailer to prepare the meals.
The scholarship is in honor of Brennan Moody, a member of the Class of 2019 who was killed in a car accident on June 18, 2019.
The $500 scholarship is awarded to two students who are active in the school’s music program and also show genuine kindness to everyone they encounter.
Photos by Tom Rivers: David Snell is pictured at 107 Main St. in Albion, outside the offices for Snell Realtors.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 October 2022 at 10:05 am
ALBION – When David Snell was in college at Baldwin-Wallace University in Ohio, he majored in health and physical education. He was expecting to become a coach and lead teams in athletics.
Snell played fullback for Baldwin-Wallace football team. He enjoyed playing that role for a team that was nationally ranked and won its conference championship.
Snell also spent a lot of time with his father, Peter Snell, in Albion. The elder Snell started a real estate business in 1958. When he was a senior in college in 1978, contemplating his next move after Baldwin-Wallace, David decided to get his real estate license and return to Albion and work with his dad. His mother Irene also was in the business as the administrator of the office, and David’s siblings – Peter, John and Sue – all worked there too. (Sue recently retired.)
David has stayed in real estate in Albion for 44 years now. He has fulfilled his goal of building a successful team.
“I have a very excellent staff,” Snell said. “They are very bright and conscientious of their work. They are very involved in the community.”
The Snell Realtors staff has grown to about a dozen real estate agents, doubling in size in the past five years after Snell expanded next door in the former Fischer’s News Room.
The Chamber of Commerce is honoring Snell with a “Lifetime Achievement” award this evening during the Chamber’s annual awards celebration.
Darlene Hartway, the Chamber director, said Snell deserves recognition for running a business for 44 years now on Main Street, and for putting together a successful and committed staff.
“It’s really a team effort,” Hartway said about Snell Realtors. “The realtors pitch in for each other. He has fostered a team approach. The common thread among the staff is they’re all vested in the community.”
Snell has grown his staff and expanded next door without seeking any fanfare.
David Snell is shown with a photo of his father, the late Peter Snell who started in real estate in Albion in 1958. The elder Snell ran a real estate business with John Paganelli, before it became Peter Snell Real Estate. The business is now known as Snell Realtors.
Snell joined his father in the business at a time when Albion was at a difficult crossroads. Lipton’s close din 1980 and interest rates were at 16 to 17 percent.
Peter Snell told his son houses would still sell, especially with so many people leaving the area to find other jobs.
“My dad said everyone needs a roof over their head,” David said.
His father passed away in 2000. Peter was known to be very talkative while David is more reserved.
But Hartway said David has shown a clear commitment to Albion and Orleans County.
David said he feels very blessed in his career, especially the many years he was able to work so closely with his parents and siblings.
“The older I get I realize how fortunate I am,” he said. “My father was my mentor.”
Snell said he could have sold real estate elsewhere, and made more money. But he doesn’t regret staying in Albion.
“There are bigger prices in other areas,” he said. “But working with my clients in Orleans County means more to me than working in another area with a higher average sale price.”
Snell called his team of agents “an All Star team.” He also has contacts with many mortgage representatives, lenders, surveyors, attorneys, title examiners, home inspectors and septic contractors.
Cindy Burnside has worked 25 years for Snell as a real estate salesperson and more recently as the office administrator. She praised Snell for fostering a team environment where the real estate agents help each other rather than compete with others on staff. If one agent needs help with a showing, meeting a home inspector or having signs picked up, others will gladly lend a hand.
“No one is trying to outdo someone else,” Burnside said. “They’re just trying to do their job and help others, too. It’s not every man for himself. David has cultivated at atmosphere of a team effort. Everyone takes care of each other.”
Snell brings a passion for real estate – and for people, Burnside said.
“He is extremely fair and honest,” she said. “It’s a family atmosphere that we have here. It’s a great team.”
Karen Conn has worked four years with Snell after 17 years with another real estate broker. Conn, an Albion school teacher, said Snell is very accommodating to her full-time job while giving her and the other agents the staff development and support they need.
“This kind of business it’s all about relationships,” Conn said. “David has been the best person to work with. He is so even keeled and so knowledgeable. He goes in everyday with the best intentions. He is not out there grandstanding at all. He would rather us all be successful.”
When Snell played football at Baldwin-Wallace, he was an undersized fullback at 180 pounds.
“I learned a lot about teamwork, hard work and competing against athletes who are bigger and faster than I was,” Snell said.
Snell Realtors is smaller than many others in the region. But the Snell staff continues to find a way to grow and serve their customers.
“Our strength is our team,” Snell said. “It’s not about me. It’s about us.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 October 2022 at 1:00 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Gates Keystone Club (Police Pipes and Drums) lead a procession into the Holy Family Parish in Albion on Sunday for the annual Blue Mass to honor and seek blessings on first responders in Orleans County.
This is the seventh year the parish held a Mass to honor and pray for law enforcement officers, corrections officers, coroners, firefighters and medics.
The Gates Keystone Club formed in 1998 to “for the purpose of honoring our fallen brothers and sisters and to participate at official ceremonial events.”
Knights of Columbus members Casimer Pruski, right, and Mike Rich get the American flag ready to be carried into the church sanctuary.
The Knights of Columbus has been leading the Blue Mass since 2016.
A blue wreath symbolized first responders killed in the line of duty, including Bruce Baldwin, Albion Fire Department; Richard Buongiorne, Kendall Fire Department; Lewis Grimes, Albion Fire Department; Matthew Phillips, Albion Fire Department; Martin VanWcyke, Carlton Fire Department; and David Whittier, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.
Father Richard Csizmar, pastor of Holy Family, also acknowledged the death in the line of duty of Rochester police officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz, who was killed on July 21. His partner, officer Sino Seng, also was wounded that day by a shooter.
About a dozen first responders attended the Mass, including Mike Fuller (left) of the East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company and State Trooper Doug Rich, right.
Jeff Johnson of Lyndonville, center, is a member of the Gates Keystone Club. Lieutenant Steven Fox of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, left, and State Trooper Steven Papponetti of Albion were among the first responders at the Mass.
Peter Sidari, an Albion firefighter, greets the attendees for the special Mass on Sunday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2022 at 3:04 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Caleb Hughson, an Albion fifth-grader, makes it through a smoke simulator as part of Fire Prevention Week at the school.
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.”
Students pretend to call 911 at outside the fire safety trailer. A person inside pretended to be a 911 dispatcher. Firefighters also encouraged students to develop a fire escape plan with their families.
Ben Mathes of the Barre Volunteer Fire Company helps Annie Curfman, a fourth-grader, spray water at targets. Barre brought a small fire hose it uses for brush and grass fires. That hose was more manageable for the students to use today.
Mathes said he was willing to help teach students about fire prevention, and also hoped they would consider joining a local fire department when they are older, or encourage their parents to get the training and become a firefighter.
“We desperately need people” Mathes said. “It’s community service and there’s camaraderie.”
James Fisher, an EMT with COVA, talks with students about the ambulance and some of the medical supplies inside, including a stretcher.
Colton Moreland, a fourth-grader, handles the deck gun on Carlton’s rescue boat.
Firefighters were outside the school from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today, showing about 800 students some of the equipment used by local emergency services.
Angie Wolfe, an elementary teacher and fire prevention week coordinator, said students enjoyed how interactive the event was, with an opportunity to go inside a fire truck, go on the rescue boat, spray water at targets and crawl through the foggy safety trailer.
Students can make a project – a poster, song, book, a diorama – and a winner from each grade level from Pre-K to 5 will get a ride to school in a fire truck.
Nathan Bloom, an Albion firefighter, shows students an Albion fire truck. Students were able to climb inside the truck.
Barre firefighter Mark Farone also worked the station where students could spray water at targets. He is assisting Eli Patten, a fourth-grader.
Rachel Lundmark, a fifth grade teacher, makes her way through the foggy safety trailer.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 October 2022 at 9:27 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Oak Orchard Health cuts the ribbon on a new mobile dental unit that will be going to the five school districts in Orleans County – Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina.
The unit is currently based at Oak Orchard’s Albion site on Route 31.
Pictured from left include: Assemblyman Steve Hawley; Karen Watt, chairwoman of the board for Oak Orchard; Karen Kinter, interim CEO for Oak Orchard; Rachel Nozzi, chief of dentistry for Oak Orchard; John Craik, program officer for the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation (which provided $650,000 for the project); and Erica Wenner, director of constituent services for State Sen. Rob Ortt.
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation reached out to Oak Orchard about funding the new unit because the organization wanted to target dental services for children in a rural area, Craik said. The $650,000 more than covered the cost of the new unit and some of those funds will go towards staffing.
“New York State has been lagging behind in oral health, especially in the rural areas,” Craik said.
Craik commended the Oak Orchard staff for running the program and providing the service.
“You guys are the real heroes who are doing the work,” he said during the ribbon-cutting.
Denise Beardsley stands inside the new mobile unit, which replaces one from 2005. Beardsley has been coordinator of the program since it started 17 years ago.
The mobile unit hasn’t been to a local school since March 2020, when the Covid pandemic hit. Beardsley said the last day the unit was in action was March 13, 2020.
The mobile unit includes two treatment rooms (operatories), an X-ray station and a wheelchair lift. Children will be able to get teeth cleaned and get fillings. If there are many cavities, they will likely be referred to a pediatric dentist.
Karen Kinter, interim CEO for Oak Orchard, said Oak Orchard is grateful for the new mobile dental unit and looks forward to bringing the service back to local school districts. Albion will be the first stop in late October. In the past the site has been at Albion for about two months before going to the next district. The schedule for all five isn’t set, and depends on the demand at each district.
Oak Orchard will distributing flyers to students in the elementary school at Albion with consent forms for parents and guardians.
The cost is typically covered through Child Health Plus, Medicaid or other health insurance. A sliding-scale payment plan also is available for adults who may have access to the mobile unit in the summers or through the new dental office opening next month in Albion. Oak Orchard has taken over the former All Smiles site at the corner of South Main Street and Allen Road.
Denise Beardsley, left, gives a tour of the new mobile unit to Kevin Watson, a principal at Kendall Central School, and Sharon Smith, superintendent of Lyndonville Central School.
The new unit is also drive-able where the previous one had to be towed to each site. The unit will be parked outside the elementary schools at the local school districts.
Brian Bartalo, Holley school superintendent, is pleased to have the program return this school year.
“We’re excited to have it back,” he said. “We excited for the partnership.”
Nick Picardo, Kendall school superintendent, also is thankful Oak Orchard is bringing the service right to the school districts so families don’t have to travel for dental care.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 October 2022 at 6:47 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: COVA heads out for an ambulance call in November 2020.
ALBION – COVA has announced it is working on an agreement with Mercy Flight EMS to have that agency provide ambulance services in central Orleans County.
Mercy Flight EMS is based in Batavia provides ambulance services in Genesee County, Niagara County, the Village of Springville and the Town of Concord as well as mutual aid in the surrounding areas.
Mercy Flight EMS responds to about 6,000 calls for service a year. COVA responds to about 2,000 calls annually.
COVA started 43 years ago. In recent years it has been operating at about a $150,000 to $200,000 deficit. The organization has sought local municipal support but has been unable to line up a commitment in funding.
The COVA board of directors and administrative staff issued the following press release and declined to make any other comments:
“At this time, COVA would like to publicly thank all of its supporters and every single person that has made a donation to our agency. It has been an honor to provide ambulance service to this amazing community.
“The outpouring of support that we have received through the petitions demonstrates that the residents want to keep their ambulance service. Unfortunately, despite all of our efforts, it appears this will not be the case.
“The time has come for the COVA Board of Directors along with the administrative staff to pursue a different path. Our goal is to recommend a plan that ensures continued service and employment for our 44 EMTs and Paramedics.
“We would like to publicly announce that COVA has a desire to invite Mercy Flight EMS to step in for us and continue to offer a nonprofit, community-based ambulance service to our constituents.
“This concept is one which we hope our elected officials will consider and embrace so the residents of Central Orleans County will continue receive the service which they have become accustomed to.
“Our proposed arrangement with Mercy Flight would allow a nonprofit, community-based ambulance to remain servicing the central parts of Orleans County.
“If it was not for your continued support and donations, COVA would not have had the privilege to service this community for the past 43 years and for that, we thank you!” – COVA Board of Directors & Administrative Staff
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 October 2022 at 11:29 am
3-story site from 1890 home to assemblyman’s office, Orleans EDA, Ministry of Concern
Photos by Tom Rivers: The Village of Albion has owned 121 North Main St. since 2002. The village finished off a renovation project for the building that is called the Albion Visitor’s Center.
ALBION – The Albion Village Board is talking about possibly selling the Albion Visitor’s Center, which is an office building at 121 North Main St.
The building has been appraised for $249,900 by David Snell of Snell Realty in Albion. The building has three tenants that pay about $4,000 combined each month.
Some Albion artifacts, including a fire hose cart and a wooden waterline, are on display in the foyer of the building.
The village pays about $1,000 in utilities a month for the building. Mayor Angel Javier Jr. said the building is break-even or maybe even a loss for the village when the time from the village Department of Public Works staff is factored in.
If the building was sold it would be on the tax rolls, generating tax revenue for the village, town, school district and county, he said.
The village has owned the 8,061-square-foot building since 2002. It took over the building that was in the midst of a big construction project. The former Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce was approved for a $585,000 grant from the federal Housing and Urban Development for the renovation. That grant didn’t cover all the costs and the village stepped in to finish the project.
The building from 1890 was in major disrepair before the Chamber and village took on the project. The Visitor’s Center current tenants include Assemblyman Steve Hawley on the first floor, the Orleans Economic Development Agency on the second floor and the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern on the third floor.
There is space on the first floor available from two previous tenants – Bernie Baldwin with MetLife and Crossroads Abstract.
Snell put the value of the property at just shy of $250,000. He compared that to 10 North Main St. in Albion, a residential, business and office building that sold for $240,000 in May 2021. It was listed at $249,900. That 12,540-square-foot building has fewer parking spaces than the 13 for the Visitor’s Center.
Snell also highlighted an 8,887-square-foot building in Medina at 415 West Ave. That one sold for $225,000 in August 2022. It was listed for $259,900. That property has at least 20 parking spots.
Snell said the Visitor’s Center is in good condition and already has three tenants with the chance for at least two more. The building has a working elevator and a prominent location on Main Street.
“This property has a lot of character,” Snell said during last week’s Village Board meeting. “It’s a nice-looking building.”
If the building was listed for sale, Snell estimated it could take a year to sell it. The two buildings he used as comparables were on the market for an average of 366 days.
Mayor Javier said the board is gathering information right now and no decision has been made to try to sell the site.
The three-story building includes an elevator. There are currently two available offices for rent in the building following the retirement of Bernie Baldwin as a MetLife agent and ending of the lease by Crossroads Abstract.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Michael Bonafede facilitates a meeting last week among Albion community members, brainstorming ideas and events to promote Albion while the Main Street bridge is closed. They meeting was at Hoag Library.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 October 2022 at 2:04 pm
ALBION – A group looking for ways to promote the Albion downtown and community has identified projects and activities to bring foot traffic and people to Albion.
However, those programs and events need organizers and volunteers, and many local organizations and residents already active working on events are stretched thin.
The Main Street bridge is scheduled to close Oct. 17 and is expected to be closed to traffic for at least 18 months for a major rehabilitation.
A 24-7 video that shows the bridge and construction progress was listed as the top idea during a Sept. 12 meeting, when participants were asked to vote on their five favorite ideas or projects among a list of about a dozen different things.
Michael Bonafede, facilitator for the group and owner of three downtown buildings, believes the construction will be a spectacle of wide interest, especially when a crane is brought in and the bridge is temporarily moved from over the canal to land next door owned by the Canal Corp.
Cameras showing the construction site could be mounted on buildings by the canal with footage shown 24-7 through a YouTube channel.
The second most popular idea was a tie with block parties and the canal concerts moved to a closed part of Main Street, between Beaver Alley and Bank Street.
There was also several votes for a Christmas Tree festival, temporary ice skating rink, New Year’s Eve ball drop, and designated spots for food trucks with fees waived.
Mayor Angel Javier Jr. said the Christmas Tree festival could include bringing in a tall tree about 50 feet high for the event.
Bonafede said the people and organizations who usually are the planners and organizers need more partners to pull off more events and projects.
The groups doing events also don’t often know what other entities are planning. The groups need to communicate with each other, and perhaps join forces on some of the projects, Bonafede said after hearing from some of the group.
The group discussing ideas for Albion while the bridge is closed will next meet at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 10 at Hoag Library. People don’t need to own a downtown business or building to be part of the discussion or to work on a project.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 October 2022 at 9:31 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – This colorful scarecrow is one of 32 that was created on Saturday during a fall festival organized by the Albion Merchants Association.
There were also several food and craft vendors at the festival.
Stan Farone ties scarecrows to a light pole on Bank Street. Farone was assisted a group of high school students in the task.
These high schoolers helped during the activity. All of the supplies were used up, with scarecrows made non-stop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pictured from left include Abby Mancuso, Micky Stowell and Skyler Draper.
This Purple Eagle themed scarecrow is on Main Street. The scarecrows will be judged during most of October in four different categories. Ballots will be at the Downtown Browsery and Krantz Furniture.
People walk by the scarecrows that were created on Saturday.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Anna Tower, treasurer for COVA, speaks during an EMS Task Force on Thursday evening in Albion. She said the ambulance provider needs help to continue serving the community. She is joined by Aaron MacKenzie, left, and Dan Conrad, both representatives for COVA.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 September 2022 at 9:34 am
ALBION – Monroe Ambulance, which is the primary ambulance provider in eastern Orleans County, said it could serve central Orleans County if COVA closes.
John Caufield, chief operating officer for Monroe Ambulance, spoke during an EMS Task Force meeting on Thursday. Those meetings have been going on since February.
Caufield said Monroe wasn’t trying to knock out COVA, but Monroe could expand into central Orleans. If that happened, Monroe would serve a block of seven Orleans towns – Barre, Albion, Gaines and Carlton in the central part and Clarendon, Murray and Kendall on the east side.
John Caufield, chief operating officer for Monroe Ambulance, says Monroe would likely keep two ambulances in Orleans, and maybe three if it served a block of seven towns.
“We see value in the consortium of seven towns,” Caufield said. “There is an opportunity for better service if we serve the area as a block of seven towns.”
Monroe would likely have two ambulances stationed in the county – one in Albion and the other likely in Holley or Kendall – and possibly a third when there is a higher call volume. Monroe also could draw from ambulances it has based in Brockport and Greece if there was higher demand in Orleans, Caufield said.
Monroe has 26 ambulances and six fly cars for northwest Monroe County, eastern Orleans and Wyoming County. Monroe currently doesn’t base in ambulance in Orleans because the call volume in eastern Orleans – about 1,200 calls a year – doesn’t financially justify keeping in ambulance on the east side, Caufield said.
But including central Orleans, where he said there are about 2,200 ambulance calls annually, would be enough for Monroe to likely dedicate two ambulances throughout the day, with a third during peak call volumes.
Monroe would also have a supervisor and dedicated crews for Orleans if Monroe became the primary provider for the seven towns, Caufield said.
COVA has been the central Orleans provider for 43 years. The agency is in a financial crisis and has been seeking support from the four central towns, either with a contract or in a taxing district.
Anna Tower, the COVA treasurer, said COVA needs $150,000 to $200,000 annually from the towns to cover a deficit. COVA used to make a profit each year and the extra funds would go towards purchasing a new ambulance.
But COVA has been operating a deficit in recent years – $161,000 in 2019 and $172,000 in 2020. The agency received federal PPP funds in 2021 to stay about even that year, Tower said. But this year has been another deficit. COVA has used up its reserves and accumulated $70,000 in unpaid bills, while struggling to make payroll. The organization has cut expenses by $40,000 to try to stay open.
Tower said a big factor in COVA’s profitability has been an increase in patients on Medicare and Medicaid, which offers COVA a low reimbursement. A decade ago, about 60 percent of patients were on Medicaid or Medicare with others on private insurance that pays at a higher rate. About 85 to 89 percent of patients are now Medicare or Medicaid, Tower said, and those rates don’t cover COVA’s costs.
“We are definitely in trouble,” she said at the EMS Task Force meeting. “”We need the help from the towns and possibly the village.”
The four towns have met with COVA but haven’t reached an agreement on how much to give them. County legislators John Fitzak and Skip Draper said COVA’s numbers have shifted, creating some uneasiness among the town leaders.
Fitzak said last month COVA leaders were seeking a $13,000 a month subsidy. But on Wednesday, in a meeting with the Albion Village Board, COVA said it would need a $16,000 subsidy.
The Village Board is considering the $16,000 a month to have a COVA ambulance primarily dedicated to the village.
Fitzak and Draper also said COVA has presented the deficit as about $150,000 a year, but in a presentation last month, a COVA official sought $50 per household from central Orleans that would be about $379,000 a year.
“You have to have a good handle on your business before we can figure out how to help you,” Draper said during the task force meeting.
Fitzak also said COVA and the four towns need to have a metric that is fair for covering the subsidy, whether by assessed value in each town or call volume per municipality to determine how much each of the four towns would contribute. Or maybe the four just evenly split the cost.
Tower, the COVA treasurer, said the organization would provide a precise number.
Ultimately, Draper said the issue needs to be worked out between the four towns and COVA. The four town supervisors also met with Monroe Ambulance last week to discuss ambulance service in the four towns.
Caufield said Monroe could step in but it would need some time to ramp up its service in the county. Monroe currently doesn’t get a municipal stipend in its service area and is funded as a billed service.
He acknowledged it is a challenging business to provide ambulance service. He said there are 25 fewer ambulances in Monroe County compared to eight years ago and 10 fewer agencies.
“The economic model is upside down,” he said.
Richard Remley, the Albion town supervisor, said he expects more clarity in the next month on ambulance service in central Orleans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2022 at 4:58 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Ron Albertson, president of the Albion Lions Club, presents a check for $2,000 to Jennifer Stilwell, president of the COVA board of directors.
The Lions Club donated to COVA and urged other services clubs, business and residents to give to the ambulance provider which is in a financial crisis. COVA has ceased overtime paid staff and is trying to cut other costs, hoping it can secure funding from the central Orleans towns of Albion, Barre, Carlton and Gaines.
Others in the photo include, in back from left: Lions Club members Kevin Howard and Mark Johnson, COVA treasurer Anna Tower, COVA EMT and chief financial officer Brandi Fisher; Jill Albertson; COVA board member and Lions Club member Dan Conrad; and Laurie Schwab, COVA’s chief operations officer.
COVA also is urging central Orleans residents to sign a petition in support of a taxing district which COVA officials said would average $43 per $100,000 of assessed property in the four towns.
Those petitions are available at:
COVA Base – 239 S. Main St., Albion
Olde Dogge Inn – 14472 Ridge Road W., Albion
Toyz N’ Kandy – 28 E. Bank Street, Albion
Gilligan’s Galley – 928 Point Breeze Road, Point Breeze
Donations can also be made to COVA through the organization’s website. Click here for more information.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2022 at 2:24 pm
1,100 trees stand at historic cemetery on Route 31
Photo by Tom Rivers: Mount Albion Cemetery is shown on Oct. 29, 2019 at the peak of the fall foliage season.
ALBION – Mount Albion Cemetery, one of the area’s most striking sites with its rolling hills and towering trees, has been accredited as an arboretum.
Tim Archer, a seventh-grade teacher at Albion, pursued the designation for the cemetery through ArbNet and The Morton Arboretum.
“It’s a treasure we have here,” Archer said about the cemetery during Wednesday’s Village Board meeting. He presented the accreditation certificate to board.
The cemetery covers about 100 acres and is home to more than 1,100 trees and an array of flowers and bushes.
There are 65 varieties of trees, ranging from alder to beech, butternut to basswood, oak to spruce, hemlock to dogwood, pine to cedar and chestnut, according to the listing by ArbNet and The Morton Arboretum. Click here to see the listing.
“But what dominates the landscape is New York State’s official tree – the Sugar Maple,” the group stated. “It’s brilliant fall colors dance across the landscape like a kaleidoscope of calm.”
Archer and his students are working on a 50-page book about the cemetery. The booklets will be distributed in the spring to local libraries, schools and government offices. He said the local DAR chapter is paying for the cost of printing.
Anna Gillette, one of the seventh-grade students, said the class also would like to identify and label some of the trees on the main walking trails.
Archer and the students thanked Jason Zicari, the cemetery superintendent, and the other cemetery employees for their care and work at Mount Albion.
Provided photo: Two Albion students – Omer Fugate and Anna Gillette – are pictured with Albion Village board members on Wednesday evening when the students presented the board with a certificate showing the arboretum accreditation for Mount Albion Cemetery. Pictured from left include village trustees Chris Barry and Joyce Riley, Omer Fugate, Anna Gillette, Mayor Angel Javier Jr., and trustees Zack Burgess and Tim McMurray.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2022 at 11:30 am
Albion native was University of Rochester’s first Black student
Photograph of Henry Spencer courtesy of the University of Rochester
ALBION – A historical marker is expected to be erected in the next few weeks honoring Henry A. Spencer, an Albion native who was the first African-American student at the University of Rochester.
The marker will go by the childhood home of Spencer on Chamberlain Street. Spencer was a pall bearer for Frederick Douglass’s funeral, a member of Frederick Douglass Memorial Committee, and secretary for the NYS Assembly.
The $1,500 cost for the marker is being paid for by the Pomeroy Foundation. The effort is led by Tim Archer’s seventh-grade service learning class at Albion Middle School. Archer and his students will work with the Albion Department of Public Works on the installation.
“Because of his remarkable legacy, our classes petitioned for, and were granted, a NYS historical marker,” seventh-grader Omer Fugate old the Village Board during Wednesday’s board meeting. “These are hard to get, but with the proper documentation we were able to receive the $1,500 grant.”
Archer said the marker was recommended by former County Historian Matt Ballard. He wrote about Spencer in one of his columns when he was county historian.
Spencer’s father came to Western New York with local Union army officers at the conclusion of the Civil War. The father, Henry Spencer, arrived in Orleans County with Lt. Hiram Sickels of the 17th New York Light Independent Artillery sometime around 1866, and then brought his wife and children to the area, Ballard wrote in a column published on Feb. 22, 2020.
One of Spencer’s sons, Henry Austin, worked as an errand boy as a teen-ager and also attended local schools, but only for about three months out of the year. He would then attend a boarding school in Philadelphia and then the Brockport Normal School where he graduated in 1880 as the Gamma Sigma orator, an honor that earned him a full scholarship to the University of Rochester.
After the U of R, he studied law under the Hon. George H. Smith of Rochester. Spencer would then be appointed to a position in Albany in the speaker’s room thanks to a former University of Rochester classmate, Hon. James M. E. O’Grady, according to Ballard’s research.
When S. Fred Nixon assumed the role as speaker of the State Assembly, Spencer was appointed as Nixon’s confidential clerk, a position which he continued to hold through the tenure of the Hon. James Wadsworth, Jr.
“Upon his retirement in 1929, he had served in government for over 30 years and worked for a period of time under Governor Alfred E. Smith and other prominent state officials,” Ballard wrote. “At the time of his death on September 25, 1935 in Rochester, he was one of the area’s more prominent African-American citizens. He was a past grand master of the New York State Colored Masons, an organization which consisted of over 2,000 members across New York.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2022 at 8:21 am
Village sets public hearing for Oct. 26; COVA officials say they are running out of money
Photo by Tom Rivers: COVA treasurer Anna Tower, right, and Brandi Fisher, COVA’s chief financial officer and an EMT, speak at Wednesday’s Village Board meeting about the financial challenges facing the agency.
ALBION – The Albion Village Board wants to direct some of its federal ARPA money to keep COVA afloat as a local ambulance provider.
The village has $172,000 left in in its allotment for federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and village department heads have all submitted proposals for spending that money.
But the board is putting off those department heads proposals while COVA is struggling and near closing.
COVA said it has been operating a deficit in recent years – $161,000 in 2019 and $172,000 in 2020. It has used up its reserves and accumulated $70,000 in unpaid bills, while struggling to make payroll.
Trustee Chris Barry suggested the village use $16,000 a month for COVA from the ARPA funds to help the ambulance provider while a longer-term funding arrangement can be worked out. COVA has suggested a taxing district or ambulance service contracts with the towns of Albion, Barre, Gaines and Carlton, COVA’s direct service area.
The village couldn’t just approve the $16,000 on Wednesday, Village Attorney John Gavenda advised. The board needs to give notice of a public hearing about the issue so residents can provide input about the new ambulance contract that would give at least one ambulance priority for village residents. The hearing was set for 6 p.m. on Oct. 26 at the Village Office.
The Village Board has stayed out of the issue because village residents are either in the towns of Albion and Gaines and the Village Board said the village residents would be “double taxed” if the village paid money to COVA and then village residents paid again through the towns.
But an agreement hasn’t been reached with the towns, and COVA said it is nearing closure. It no longer has overnight staffing.
Village Trustee Joyce Riley said she was concerned about the village funding being used without a solid plan to keep COVA going strong long into the future.
“The ARPA money isn’t a permanent solution,” she said. “It’s a temporary fix.”
COVA leaders spoke at the Village Board meeting. They said COVA has seen a rise in patients on Medicaid or Medicare and those reimbursement rates are far below COVA’s costs. The agency has seen its expenses rise with the costs of fuel, medications and equipment.
Brandi Fisher, COVA’s chief financial officer, said COVA has tried for four years to make the local government leaders aware of the fiscal challenges of the agency. COVA has pushed for a contract or taxing district with the central Orleans towns. If those four towns contributed $200,000 a year in a contract that would keep COVA viable, Fisher said.
Laurie Schwab, COVA’s chief operations officer, said COVA hasn’t received any of the federal Covid relief money that went to local governments even though COVA medics and staff were on the front lines of the Covid pandemic, going inside houses and helping people who were sick.
“We were your response,” Schwab said. “We saved lives.”
COVA leaders thanked the Village Board for working towards a contract, but they said they were worried they were running out of time.
