Photo by Ginny Kropf: Kim Remley and Robert Golden are members of the Community Coalition for Justice, which is sponsoring a talk on “Our Democracy/Republic, Where Does it Stand?” June 14 at Hoag Library.

ALBION – A professor at Brockport State College will be the featured speaker at an evening on democracy June 14 at Hoag Library, sponsored by the Community Coalition for Justice.

Steven Jurek, chair of the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Brockport, will address “U.S. Democracy/Republic” appropriately on Flag Day, said Robert Golden, chair of the Community Coalition for Justice. The discussion, which begins at 6:30 p.m., will address the state of our democracy and the challenges it currently faces.

Included in his talk will be the definition of democracy, its strengths and weaknesses and how they are measured; American democracy in a comparative context; 21st century technology’s impact on democracy (24/7 news, the Internet and social media); the challenges of information literacy; and the road ahead.

Jurek has a masters and PhD in political science from the University of Buffalo.

A question and answer period will follow the presentation. Light refreshments will be served. For more information Golden may be contacted at (585) 682-4821 or goldenjazz59@gmail.com.

The Community Coalition for Justice includes members from Hoag Library, Albion Betterment Committee, Pullman Universalist Church, People Embracing Diversity (a joint committee of local church members) and the Social Justice Committee.

Provided photos: Chrissy, left, and Janet both were trained over eight weeks at the Albion Correctional Facility.

ALBION – Two more dogs are being trained by incarcerated women at the Albion Correctional Facility. That brings the total to 14 dogs who have been trained to be adopted out by families.

Albion Correctional partnered with a new community volunteer trainer, Dawn Spencer, who has over 25 years of experience in dog training.  She is the owner of Eye of Oden K9 Training in Kent.

The program is in collaboration with PAWS Animal Shelter in Albion. Janet and Chrissy, 5-month-old border collie sisters, started in the program on April 21. Janet and Chrissy will go through an 8-week training program.

This team is training two border collies through a partnership at Albion Correctional, PAWS Animal Shelter and Dawn Spencer, a dog trainer.

During the eight weeks, two teams of three incarcerated individuals will serve as handlers for the dogs. Spencer will visit the facility once a week to put the puppies through the AKC S.T.A.R Puppy Program.

S.T.A.R. stands for Socialization, Training, Activity, and Responsible owner – the pillars of getting puppies off to a good start. Spencer will instruct the incarcerated individuals on what skills to work on each week.

The graduation of Janet and Chrissy is tentatively scheduled for June 13 and the dogs will be ready to go to their forever homes.

For information on adopting Janet or Chrissy, applications are available at paws14411.com.

Provided photo

ALBION – Albion students in Albion’s AP biology and chemistry classes continued an annual tradition where students fill planters with flowers. They are shown outside at the DPW. The AP students have been providing this community service for several years. The flowers will be in Albion’s downtown.

Students study the importance of plants as well as structure and biological properties.

Pictured in front include Samantha Hand, Shelby Hagen, Audrey Pask, Ashton Preston, Aidan Smith, Ulises Ledesma, Belen Rosario Soto,  and Mrs. Borner, the AP chemistry teacher.

This may be the last time the classes do this with no AP science classes planned for next school year.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Pastor Trellis Pore of the Shiloh Church prays over Albion graduate Sawyer Braley during the annual Baccalaureate service on Sunday evening at the First Presbyterian Church in Albion. The service is optional for seniors and half of the class attended the event organized by the Albion Ministerium.

The Rev. Susan Thaine speaks during the Baccalaurate service on Sunday evening.

ALBION – The soon-to-be graduates in Albion’s Class of 2022 were prayed over on Sunday evening by local church pastors, given a blessing and asked to be “counter cultural” by bringing love and kindness in a world that is quick to anger, quick to judgement and slow to forgive.

The Rev. Susan Thaine, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Albion, gave the keynote message and told the seniors they live in very “important and interesting times” where they are critically needed.

“Do not lose heart – the times are hard and dangerous, but trust me God has placed within you the power for you to choose to live God’s way and change the world for good,” said Thaine, an Albion graduate.

She urged they to act for justice and “live in life-honoring mutuality.” She encouraged them to follow the example of Jesus with mercy and compassion at a time “when division, hatred and intolerance is everywhere.”

“No matter what the next chapter of your life looks like, what matters most is the kind of person you choose to be in the world,” she said. “In the grand scheme of things, who you are is far more important than what you do to make a living, what status symbols or accolades you achieve or what your financial portfolio looks like.”

Russell Kingdollar lights a candle with some assistance from Rose English of The Lord’s House in Waterport. Each graduate lit a candle to signify God’s love and light.

Aurora Serafin reads the Scripture from Colossians 3:12-14.

About 50 students or half the Class of 2022 attended the service, which is optional and organized by pastors in the Albion Ministerium. The 2020 Baccalaurate was cancelled due to Covid. Last year the service was limited to the students and up to two guests per senior.

This year everyone was welcome and Thaine said she was pleased to see a bigger crowd in the sanctuary.

Participating pastors in the service included David Beach of the Gaines Carlton Community Church, Tim Lindsay of Harvest Christian Fellowship, Jim Heiler of the West Barre United Methodist Church, Susan Boring of the Eagle Harbor United Methodist Church, Trellis Pore of the Shiloh Church, Eddie English of The Lord’s House, Susan Thaine of the First Presbyterian Church of Albion, Randy LeBaron of Go Scatter Ministries and Jason Tarnowski of the Albion Free Methodist Church.

The pastors presented each graduate with a cross necklace and prayed with them individually.

Pastor Eddie English of The Lord’s House gives the invocation. He asked God for “powerful protection” over the graduates and asked God “to guard them from all evil.”

Faith Bennett sings “Memory” during the service inside the First Presbyterian Church. Other students sang solos including “You Say” by Zoe Cusson and “Standchen” by Leah Kania.

The High School Clarinet Choir also performed “St. Anthony Chorale” and the High School Choir sang “O Love.”

The seniors are lined up outside on the sidewalk before the service in this photo taken looking though one of the stained-glass windows.

David Beach, pastor of the Gaines Carlton Community Church on Route 104, prays with his grandson, James Beach.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – A giant banner went up today on the Day and Pratt building in downtown Albion. The Strawberry Festival Committee is trying something new this year to promote the festival and recognize key sponsors of the event on June 10-11.

In the top left in the window, D.J. Button holds a wire to secure the banner. In the lift are Michael Bonafede, building co-owner, and Tim McMurray, a village trustee and festival committee member.

The two-day festival is back for the 34^th time after being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Albion Middle School students hold flower-themed designs that will be used when students paint a mural on the former bathroom building at Bullard Park. Pictured form left include Makenzie Cook, sixth grade; Neveya Barnes, eighth grade; and Shayla Higgins, seventh grade.

ALBION – Middle School students will transform the appearance of the former bathroom building at Bullard Park, painting flowers and bright colors to a drab structure.

The students are planning to paint a mural on the building from June 15 to June 17. The district will supply the paint and paint brushes.

The Village of Albion is working to put a tongue-and-groove wood exterior on the concrete-block building. That wood will match the look of the new utility building and bathrooms in the center of the park. That was added as part of $800,000 in upgrades at Bullard, which included new playground equipment, a splash park and amphitheater.

Albion art teachers Kamie Feder and Tina Burgett will work with about a dozen students in creating the mural. The teachers and three of the students – Makenzie Cook, Neveya Barnes and Shayla Higgins – met with the Village Board last week to get permission for the project.

The board gave it the OK and said it would push to have the new wood in place in time for the project.

The painting will be 8 feet high and stretch 36 feet, Feder said. Besides flowers, strawberries and some playground equipment will be painted in the mural to give it a park feel.

In other action from last week’s meeting, the board:

• Accepted the retirement of Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Mary Delamarter, effective June 22.

• Made a motion to start advertising to fill a part-time police officer position. This officer won’t have a regular shift but will fill spot when other officers are out sick or unavailable.

• Appointed Janet Salvatore as an alternate on the Orleans County Planning Board, representing the village of Albion.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Kevin Sheehan, standing, shares his concerns about St. Joseph’s Park staying open all night on Clinton Street. Sheehan, the village’s code enforcement officer, lives next to the park.

ALBION – The Village Board was told by some neighbors of two parks, St. Joseph’s and Lafayette, to keep those sites locked at night or else neighbors will be disturbed at night and the sites will attract illicit activity.

The board last month voted to take the locks off the gates of the two parks on the west side of the village. Both parks are on residential streets with houses close by.

Neighbors attended this past Wednesday’s board meeting and said they have heard people having sex at night at Lafayette and people hanging out very late.

The neighbors said they support keeping the parks open during the day, but should be locked up at night.

“I don’t understand the pros of keeping the parks open at night,” said Lynn Burgess, who has lived next to Lafayette for 34 years. “We shouldn’t have to be woken up at night.”

Village Trustees Tim McMurray and Joyce Riley voted to keep the locks off the parks and they continue to support that. They said more police patrols can help keep the parks safe at night. They urged residents to call the police if there are people in the parks at night.

The village is proposing a parks and recreation code that calls for the parks to be open from 8 a.m. to dusk. People in any of the parks after dusk could be ticketed for trespassing.

Some of the neighbors of Lafayette Park, which has entrances on State and Park streets, asked that the park be locked at night because some of the park users are loud at night disturbing residents.

The other parks don’t have gates that can be locked. Vets Park on Linwood Avenue and Carosol on Ingersoll have low fences without a gate. People could easily hop those fences anyway if gates were locked, trustees said. Bullard Park on Route 31 is wide open and would be impractical to put in fencing with an entrance gate, trustees said.

Chris Barry, one of the village trustees, said Lafayette and St. Joseph’s have the locking devices. He supports locking those parks at night. Lafayette is unusual in that it has entrances from two streets. It’s a “thoroughfare” allowing people to cross from one street to the other, Burgess said.

Mayor Angel Javier, who voted to not locks the parks at night, said there will be incident reports of the local parks that will be posted and made available to the public “so people know what is happening at the parks.”

Kevin Sheehan, the village’s code enforcement officer and a former village trustee, lives next to St. Joseph’s Park on Clinton Street. He said that park has playground equipment in front by the entrance. The park then extends far back away from the road, away from any street lights. That makes it easy for people to congregate at night somewhat undetected and disturb neighbors.

Sheehan said the parks are for kids and should be open during the day, but not at night.

“I love hearing the kids play there,” he said. “It’s like music, but the park should be locked at night.”

Burgess, the Lafayette neighbor, said a lock at night is an easy deterrent “to people who shouldn’t be there at night.”

Trustee Tim McMurray said the parks can be a safe place after hours for kids in unstable homes. Some kids go there after hours and don’t cause trouble.

Trustee Barry said he was one of those kids, however, who went there in the dark and destroyed things.

Susan Oschmann, a member of the Albion Recreation Committee, raised the issue last month of the locked St. Joseph’s Park. She lives close to the park and tried to take her grandchildren there in 2018 and was surprised to see the front gate locked.

The village used to have the police department unlock the gate in the morning and then at dusk, but it didn’t always happen if the police had other calls.

Sheehan was given a key to the gate and he often unlocked and locked St. Joe’s. But Oschmann said it seemed the park was often locked up, even during the summer, despite nice playground equipment and a picnic area.

The village will be putting in brighter lights at Lafayette and security cameras at Bullard to help deter any vandalism.

The village is proposing local parks law that sets the hours of operation from 8 a.m. to dusk. The proposal, which should be voted on next month, also doesn’t allow disruptive behavior – disorderly conduct, harassment or loitering. No person will be allowed to carry or discharge a firearm, slingshot or bow and arrow, and no stone throwing will be allowed.

The code also doesn’t allow any excavating or digging up of plants. No pets are allowed but the village may set aside space for dogs in a fenced in area in the future.

There also shouldn’t be any selling or soliciting in the parks, and no posting of advertisements.

Press Release, Albion Central School

Provided photo: Emily Harling holds her diploma after the GCC graduation on May 21.

ALBION – Emily Harling, an Albion high senior who graduates next month, donned her cap and gown earlier than her fellow Purple Eagle classmates as she earned her associate’s degree in liberal arts and science general studies from Genesee Community College on May 21.

Harling started taking college-level and AP classes during her freshman year and realized an associate’s degree could be attainable with some hard work. She then enrolled in more GCC classes during the summer and reached all the requirements to earn a college degree before receiving her high school diploma.

“It was definitely a lot of extra work,” Harling said. “I’m really happy I did it, and I think I’ll be even happier when I’m in school next year.”

She will already be a step ahead of her fellow high school graduates when she steps on the campus of Duquesne University this fall. Knowing that her GCC credits would transfer into her college of choice was an important consideration when looking at schools.

“Having two years done gave me a lot more flexibility with where I could go because I saved a ton of money,” she said. “And I have all my prerequisites done so I can pretty much get right into major-specific classes. I want to go to law school, so it’s nice that I will not be in school forever.”

Harling took the initiative on herself to get enrolled in college classes while in high school and made sure to ask and look into what opportunities were available. She had help along the way, but also showed an individual personal drive to accomplish the goal.

“In high school you don’t get a lot of cool points for going out and doing this,” added Harling. “But I mostly did it for myself. My parents didn’t pressure me or anything, they were supportive, but they didn’t force me into it.”

For upcoming high school students, Harling advised to talk to the counseling staff and make sure to do your own research to see what scholarship and grant opportunities are available.

On June 24, she will once again put on a cap and gown, this time with her fellow high school senior classmates. For upcoming high school students, she offered this bit of advice:

“Just do what you’re going to look back and be proud of yourself for.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The tugboat Edna A., which is owned by the New York State Marine Highway Transportation Company of Troy, pushes away from the Erie Canal bank just east of the Gaines Basin Road bridge.

It is pushes a barge carrying a condenser for a nuclear submarine. The condenser was trucked in on an oversize load weighing just under 400,000 pounds. The condenser itself weighed about 200,000 pounds. The unit was manufactured by Graham Corp. in Batavia.

The condenser travelled by truck from Batavia this morning and reached the canal in about 2 ½ hours. It went up Route 98, to 31A in Barre, then down Gaines Basin Road before turning right on Albion-Eagle Harbor Road.

A massive crane lifts the condenser from the truck.

Ken Printup of Shelby brought binoculars to watch the heavy-duty operation. He is in the parking lot for the Sheret American Legion Post on Gaines Basin Road.

The heavy equipment was then set on the barge in the Erie Canal.

The process drew a crowd of onlookers along the north side of the canal. Many said they had never seen such big cranes and equipment before.

The Edna A. pushes the barge down the canal. It will go to Albany, then down the Hudson River to New York Harbor. From there it will be moved to an ocean-going-barge for the trip to the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.

The tug and barge approach the Main Street lift bridge in Albion at about 1:30 p.m.