By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 March 2022 at 1:21 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers: This photo from March 7, 2020 is from the last Albion Sip N’ Stroll. About 350 people attended the event, about a week before the Covid-19 lockdown. The photo shows Jennifer Mateo and her husband Erik Mateo trying wines from Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina. Sarah Geer served the wine at Red Check Rustic in the Pratt Opera House building. Geer was joined by her husband Peter in serving the wine for Leonard Oakes.
ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association is looking forward to the return of the Sip N’ Stroll wine walk. The event will be March 12 and has an expanded route from the downtown to include Dubby’s Tailgate on Platt Street and the Arnold Gregory Office Complex on South Main Street.
There will also be a limo bus taking people to the locations. That is sponsored by The Drink Shoppe and Susie’s Boat-tique.
The Sip N’ Stroll will include wineries, distilleries and breweries. The Merchants had the biggest Sip N’ Stroll two years ago with 350 participants. They have 500 souvenir wine glasses made for the March 12 event from 4 to 7 p.m.
The tickets are available on line (click here) or at The Coffee Joint, Arnold’s Auto Parts/NAPA Auto Parts, Bloom’s Flower Shop, Dubby’s Tailgate and The Downtown Browsery.
The Merchants are also working on doing another mural. They did one in 2020 showcasing Albion as the home of the Santa Claus School. That mural is on the north side of the Lake Country Pennysaver building.
Justin Suarez of “Aerosol Kingdom” made the Santa School mural and the Merchants want to have him paint a Purple Eagle themed mural on the side of Arnold’s Auto Parts on West Bank Street. There is a GoFundMe (click here) set up to raise money for the project.
The Merchants also are planning a return of the food truck rodeo. It will be in July instead of June. Last year about 400 people attended the food truck rodeo which helped the void of the Starwberry Festival which was cancelled. That event will be back June 10-11.
The group also is expecting a return of the fall festival and Hometown Christmas.
The group’s officers this year include President Natasha Wasuck of The Lockstone and Tinsel, Vice President Rebecca Alexander of Dubby’s Wood Fired and Dubby’s Tailgate, Secretary Tara Thom of Town and Country Quilter, and Treasurer Anita Finley of Oak Orchard Canoe Kayak Experts.
Wasuck also has reached out to the Canal Corp. about having a retired tugboat set up on display near the canal.
This photo from June 2018 shows the Tugboat DeWitt Clinton in Albion. The vessel hasn’t been operational for about three years. The Albion Merchants Association would like to have a retired tugboat on display on land in Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 March 2022 at 8:04 am
This screenshot from a video of the candidate forum on Tuesday evening shows moderator Michael Bonafede welcoming the crowd of about 60 people and going over rules for the 2-hour forum.
ALBION – The YouTube video of the Albion candidate forum on Tuesday evening is now available. Click here to see the video on the Orleans Hub YouTube channel.
The video includes the seven candidates running for the Village Board in the March 15 election.
The forum was hosted by The Lockstone and sponsored by Lake Country Media, which includes the Lake Country Pennysaver and Orleans Hub.
The candidates include three people running for mayor: Angel Javier Jr., running on the Republican and independent “Better Together Albion Strong” lines; Vickie Elsenheimer on the Democratic and independent “Move Albion Forward” lines; and Kevin Graham on the independent “Albion Pride, Working Together.”
Four people are seeking two trustee positions on the Village Board. Tim McMurray and Dan Conrad are on the Republican line. Sandra Walter and Joyce Riley are under the Democratic line and the independent “Move Albion Forward.”
Photos by Tom Rivers: Michael Bonafede, moderator for a candidate forum, goes over the rules of the forum on Tuesday evening at The Lockstone. Behind him are the candidates, from left: Vickie Elsenheimer, Kevin Graham, Angel Javier Jr., Joyce Riley, Dan Conrad, Sandra Walter and Tim McMurray. About 60 people attended the forum.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 March 2022 at 10:24 am
ALBION – The seven candidates for the Albion Village Board shared their goals for the village and why voters should consider them when they go to the polls on March 15. The candidates spoke for two hours during a forum on Tuesday evening at The Lockstone on North Main Street. About 60 people attended the forum.
The candidates all see a strength in Albion’s people. All seven support maintaining the police department and not “defunding” it.
The candidates say more residents need to be an active part of a community revitalization in the business districts and in the neighborhoods.
Vickie Elsenheimer
Vickie Elsenheimer is the Democratic Party candidate for mayor, and Joyce Riley and Sandra Walter are the Democrats running for trustee. All three also are running together on the independent “Move Albion Forward” line.
Elsenheimer retired in March 2021 as an executive assistant to the vice president in the Division of Advancement at Brockport State College. She worked 22 years at Brockport, and 13 years prior to that at Albion Correctional Facility. She also served 17 years in the U.S. Army Reserves, retiring as a sergeant.
She said she has the time to be a full-time mayor and give the village government the attention it needs. She said Albion is struggling and she would make the downtown business district a focus by filling empty buildings. The downtown will need even more consideration from local leaders with the impending closing of the Main Street lift bridge, which could be shut down for two years for extensive repairs.
In her job at Brockport she helped with fundraising and “friend-raising,” and she said Albion needs that approach, bringing more grants and resources to the community, and more allies from other local and state government. She helped Brockport raise $26 million in a campaign for the college.
The downtown needs to a priority because many local residents and prospective businesses judge the community on the looks and energy of the downtown. Right now, the downtown “looks like an abandoned area,” she said. She would push to make rents affordable and pursue grants to help with buildings and beautify the business district.
Albion should better capitalize on being the county seat, she said.
Joyce Riley
“We need to build on that,” she said. “We need to develop community feel of neighbors caring about each other. We need to be at the top of our game and we’re not there right now.”
Joyce Riley is a retired nursing supervisor. She is currently a trustee for Hoag Library and the Cobblestone Museum. She has twice served on the Albion Board of Education.
Riley said Albion can’t keep moving sideways but must move forward. She said the village needs to develop a plan for upgrading all facets of the community, from water and sewer infrastructure, to parks, to the business districts and the neighborhood. She sees the water and sewer plants as a great asset for Albion attracting more businesses. She was adamant that taxes not go any higher.
“We need to be action-oriented,” Riley said. “Don’t only assess and determine a plan of action, but we actually need to go out and do it.”
Sandra Walter
Sandra Walter is retired from CRFS, Dime Bank, Anchor Bank and Kodak. She is the chairperson of the Albion Democratic Party Committee.
Walter said she has run for the Village Board four times now. She said she is determined to make a bigger difference for the village.
She said Albion has faced a steady erosion over the years, with a declining population and limited job prospects.
“I applaud the efforts of revitalization, but there is still a long ways to go,” she said. “We need to all step up together as a community to make Albion a busy and vibrant village.”
Walter said she would support moving the village election to June, like in Holley and Brockport. She said it was be easier for residents to get to know the candidates with the election a few months later in warmer weather.
Angel Javier Jr. has the Republican line for mayor and also is on the independent “Better Together Albion Strong.” Dan Conrad and Tim McMurray also are running with the Republican backing.
Angel Javier Jr.
Javier has he won’t take the mayor’s salary, which is almost $10,000 a year. He owns the former Family Hardware building in downtown Albion and works at Rochester Gas & Electric as a pipefitter apprentice. He is on the Strawberry Festival Committee and a subcommittee of the Planning Board looking for strategies for the downtown buildings.
His first action steps would be talking with local businesses throughout the community to survey their needs and how the village could best help them. He wants a better village website that would promote local businesses, and break down village expenses.
“We need to grow throughout the village, not just downtown, but along the Avenue, at Arnold Gregory and the canal,” Javier said. “There is a perception that Albion is anti-business and we need to change that.”
Javier, who served in the Marine Corps, said he brings a “can-do” attitude and positivity.
“Tell the community we are open of business,” he said.
Dan Conrad
Dan Conrad said he is well connected in the community through his role as president of the Albion Lions Club, a toy and candy business he owns on East Bank Street, and other volunteerism, including serving as a current member of COVA’s board of directors. He also organizes an annual youth fishing derby.
He said he would be a “team player” in working with village employees to make sure the village is run efficiently and providing quality services to residents and businesses.
He said he has experience working with budgets through COVA and also when he was a trustee on the Hoag Library board.
Tim McMurray
“It’s not just the board,” Conrad said about the village trustees and mayor. “It takes business owners, the community, it takes everybody to come together to make the village better.”
Tim McMurray said he would make youth services a focus and would like to see a year-round recreation program, even if it’s a couple Saturdays a month during the winter. McMurray has been a youth football coach for 12 years as well as serving as co-commissioner and on executive board of the youth football league. He is part of the Strawberry Festival Committee and helped with the lighted parade in Albion in December. He most recently worked with Sanzo Beverages as a merchandizer stocking beer.
Like the other candidates, he also supports giving the police department the resources it needs for training to protect the community. He is on a committee trying to put new basketball courts in at Bullard Park.
“I’m not a politician,” he said. “I have no aspirations to ever be one.” He urged residents to be more involved in the community and “be the change.”
Kevin Graham
Kevin Graham is running under the independent “Albion Pride, Working Together.” Graham has worked as a certified public accountant for 23 years and currently is in the finance department at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He previously was the chief financial officer at the Arc of Genesee & Orleans, an organization with a $23 million budget. He said he would bring a financial management expertise to the village’s $7 million budget.
He has been active with Hospice of Orleans, the Arc of Genesee & Orleans, the Special Olympics and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
“Fiscal constraints are our greatest challenge,” he said. “With the rising costs of inflation we need to look every place to try to find efficiencies.”
He said he would connect with other local officials to look for partnerships in providing services. He said he is a true independent, willing to work with everyone, regardless of their political affiliation.
The winners of the March 15 election start their four-year terms on April 1. The village budget needs to be completed by the end of April.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 March 2022 at 8:22 am
‘Keep an open mind. Reach out to people. Don’t think you know everything’
File photos by Tom Rivers: Members of the Rebuild Bullard Park Committee, Albion Village Board members and other park supporters celebrated the opening of the amphitheater on June 19, 2021. Pictured from left in front include Jack Burris, Chris Barry, Zack Burgess, Mayor Eileen Banker with scissors, Bernie Baldwin, John Grillo, Stan Farone, Kim Remley and Gary Katsanis. The amphitheater is part of major upgrades at Bullard including a splash pad, new utility building and walking trail.
ALBION – The Village Board will have three new members on April 1 with Mayor Eileen Banker and trustees Gary Katsanis and Stan Farone not coming back for another term.
Banker has been mayor the past four years and a board member for 12 years. Katsanis has six years on the board and Farone, eight years.
Albion Mayor Eileen Banker talks with Gary Katsanis, left, and Stan Farone when the three were endorsed by the Republican Party during a caucus on Jan. 30, 2018.
They leave at a time when the village will see the retirement of Linda Babcock as village clerk/treasurer next month. Katsanis called Babcock “the pulse of the village office.”
The three new board members will join Trustee Chris Barry, who has been on the board two years, and Zack Burgess, who was elected a year ago.
Banker, Katsanis and Farone were interviewed on Feb. 19 in the village office. They highlighted big projects with upgrades to Bullard Park, and the water and sewer plants.
They are pleased with agreements with Elba and Holley, where village personnel run the sewer plants in those villages.
Albion also worked out an arrangement with the Albion school district to have an Albion officer assigned to the district as a school resource officer.
Banker said she doesn’t micro-manage the department heads but pays close attention to their reports. She works as the chief of staff for Assemblyman Steve Hawley. She said her relationships with other local, state and federal officials has helped Albion secure grant funding for Bullard Park and village infrastructure.
Farone is retired after a 33-year career from Kodak. He has been an active firefighter for 50 years, with Albion and Holley, and also as a volunteer with COVA.
Katsanis is retired as a medical data analyst for Strong and then Blue Cross. He managed a staff that stretched from Buffalo to Utica.
The trio said they try to empower the department heads and heap praise on the village employees. The village has about 50 employees and a $7 million budget that includes the general fund, water and sewer.
Gary Katsanis, a trustee on the Albion Village Board, applies stain on Albion’s new utility building at Bullard Park in this photo from July 23, 2020. Katsanis, Trustee Stan Farone and Mayor Eileen Banker volunteered to put two coats of stain and then polyurethane on the cedar siding and wood on the building, which has bathrooms, storage, equipment and infrastructure for the spray park.
The tax rate the past three budgets includes $17.80 per thousand dollars of assessed property in 2019-20 and 2020-21 and then $17.85 in 2021-22.
The new board starts April 1 and budget needs to be adopted by the end of April. The new board also will need to negotiate a contract with the DPW union.
The mayor is paid $9,723 a year with the trustees’ salary at $6,572. Katsanis tracked his hours and estimated it translates into about $2 an hour during busier months.
Question: What were you advice be for the new members of the Village Board?
Stan Farone: For the new people coming in my advice is if you have any questions, I’m available. I know Eileen and Gary would be available to sit down or give us a call. I did sit down with one of the person’s running for trustee. I’m here to help. I’ll sit down with anybody at any time to keep the village going in the right direction.
Gary Katsanis: My advice to people coming on is if you work as hard as you possibly can you may in fact do an adequate job. Speaking for myself I think I’ve worked hard for the village and I think I did, by and large, an adequate job. All of our positions here are just to pass the baton to the next group of people.
Eileen Banker: My advice is to keep an open mind. Reach out to people. Don’t think you know everything because there is a lot to learn. I’ve been on the board 12 years and I’m still learning. There are new things that you learn because things come up that are not in the book, that you don’t know, that’s not black and white. It’s not written down. There is no guide book to this. There are so many things that could happen that have happened. We’ve always as a board been able to move forward with it.
My husband also says not to look at Facebook. I’ve gotten so aggravated with the stuff on Facebook and taken it to heart. You (Tom Rivers) would put an article on the Orleans Hub, it would be about something positive, and it automatically was bashing and people saying the village is no good.
Stan Farone, right, of Albion is shown on July 12, 2021 in Albion on the Cycling the Erie Canal event, an 8-day journey covering about 400 miles from Buffalo to Albany. Farone did the ride for the fourth time. He said he has made friends with many of the cyclists who come back year after year.
Stan Farone: They also have to know there are going to be times when you get into discussions where you don’t agree with each other. There are times when Eileen and I disagreed over something and it seemed like we were going to cut each other’s heads off. But then we’d walk out that door and I’d go put my sneakers on and we’d go for a walk together.
So once you walk out that door you have to learn to leave everything there.
Eileen Banker: And the mayor does not control the decision making of the board members. You’re individuals. You are individual people who are elected by the village people. You’re not controlled by the mayor. Most of the time I’ll sit up and wait until everybody else votes.
Gary Katsanis: Yeah, the mayor is not supposed to be initiating action.
Mayor Eileen Banker is on a lift and is pictured with a banner of her late father, John Pahura, in June 2020. The banners are 2 ½ feet by 5 feet. Banker coordinated the effort which included 69 banners in 2020 and then 23 more in 2021.
Eileen Banker: I don’t initiate. It’s everybody else voting first. Then if I need to vote, I vote. I usually vote.
Question: Are you concerned about the lack of Village Board experience with the candidates and also with the village clerk retiring?
Stan Farone: I’m very concerned. They do have the qualifications but they don’t have the experience and to me experience is a big thing. I don’t have anything against the two board members who are staying (Chris Barry and Zack Burgess). They are two good people, but they are fairly new. They have only been on two years.
You are going to end up with a new mayor and two new board members, and a new clerk. Like I said there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that they don’t realize.
Like I said in one of my tweets, the trustees are not here to train the mayor. The mayor is here to guide the trustees. I don’t see that happening with a new board coming on.
Eileen Banker: There is also a lot of municipal law you have to be familiar with. There is stuff within the budget. You can’t mix money – the water and sewer funds you can’t mix with the general fund. You have to be really careful because when an auditor comes through and there are things in your books that are not done correctly, the answer “Oh I’m new I didn’t know” doesn’t cut it.
Question: What are some of the things you are proud of during your time on the board?
Stan Farone: There’s a lot we can be proud of for accomplishments. I’m not going to say individually because we work as a board. So the improvements at Bullard Park, the water plant, I’m just proud to be a trustee in the village and seeing it go as far as it has. Being a trustee I’m proud to sit there and make decisions and help the village. We worked on grants, we worked on Bullard Park, basic public relations with employees. It gave me the opportunity to work on some of these other committees like the Scarecrow Committee and just being involved with the village as a whole. I’ve tried to get the people to come downtown and make it better as whole for the village.
Gary Katsanis: We’ve been fiscally responsible and that’s important to me.
Eileen Banker: We did the banners (of veterans) which I’m proud of. But again, fiscally responsible, I think that is important. We’ve tried to hold the line. If we did have to increase taxes it’s because of no fault of our own. It’s because of the increase in retirement of healthcare. You want to have something you can give the employees because you’re down to bare bones in each department so you want the best qualified person. You need to entice them with what we can give them.
There are times we had to raise (the tax rate) by 2, 3, 4, or 5 cents. It’s a minimum increase – would we have still liked to decrease it? Absolutely – but I think we’ve done well. We got, like I said, great department heads and I’m very proud of all of them and all of our employees. We have a lot of new employees and they say this is the best place to work. People have no idea how much they get and how well they are taken care of working for the village.
The banners were probably one of my proudest moments because of what they stand for. It’s the military, it’s my father, it’s father-in-law, it’s my neighbor. I’m very thrilled with the banner program and I hope it continues.
The photos we’ve put in here (village office and main meeting room). I love the photos and I think more should be done. We had a great photographer (Peggy Barringer) who did those for us.
The Village of Albion was able to use a $300,000 state grant to pay most of the cost of a $380,000 new vacuum truck from the Vactor that can be used when there are waterline breaks, plugged sewers and other work on the water and sewer lines. Jay Pahura, Albion’s superintendent of the Department of Public Works, shows the new truck to Mayor Eileen Banker, State Sen. Robert Ortt and one of Ortt’s staff members in this photo from Dec. 11, 2019. Banker said connecting with other local, state and federal officials should be part of the job for mayor, trying to bring in resources for the village. The $300,000 grant came through Ortt’s office.
Question: Stan, I know you do that Cycling the Canal bike ride every year and even rode the bike in the Metro 10 in Albion.
Stan Farone: I do the canal ride every year. I did the Metro 10 and I still do a lot of 5ks. I’m planning on doing a 6-hour walk and run in Buffalo. I put it on Facebook and to try to encourage people to walk around and come out in the village and look around. I had about 6-7 people come down and we talked about the book, I think it’s The Boy from the Four Corners. It was written about downtown Albion. We talked about downtown Albion and we looked up where you can basically see the dates on the buildings. Just to get people downtown where they can see what’s going on makes me feel good.
Candidate forum this evening at Lockstone
There will be a candidate forum today from 6 to 8 p.m. with the seven candidates running for the Village Board in the March 15 election. The Lockstone is hosting the event at 160 North Main St. The event is sponsored by The Lake Country Pennysaver and Orleans Hub.
The candidates include three people for mayor: Angel Javier Jr., running on the Republican and independent “Better Together Albion Strong” lines; Vickie Elsenheimer on the Democratic and independent “Move Albion Forward” lines; and Kevin Graham on the independent “Albion Pride, Working Together.”
Four people are seeking two trustee positions on the Village Board. Tim McMurray and Dan Conrad are on the Republican line. Sandra Walter and Joyce Riley are under the Democratic line and the independent “Move Albion Forward.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 February 2022 at 10:37 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Caleb, Leah and Eli Prior of Hilton present a check for $511 to Patty Coffee, director of the PAWS Animal Shelter on Gaines Basin Road in Albion. Coffee is holding a Chihuahua named Sky.
The three children are the great-grandkids of the late Judy Grabowski who passed away about a year ago. Grabowski was known as “Mema” to the great-grandchildren. She was a Holley resident who donated often to PAWS in memory of friends who passed away, and as memorials for pets in the family that also passed.
“The kids chose PAWS because it was her favorite charity,” said her daughter, Elizabeth Pera of Hamlin. “She loved animals.”
Grabowski’s family did a Super Bowl Square fundraiser and gave the proceeds to PAWS in her memory.
Besides the three great-grandchildren this morning the donation was presented by Grabowski’s daughters, Pat Fredendall of Holley and Elizabeth Pera of Hamlin, and Grabowski’s granddaughter, Karen Prior of Hilton.
Coffee, the PAWS director, said the shelter currently has seven cats and eight dogs available for adoption.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 February 2022 at 9:29 pm
ALBION – In October 2020, David Hill opened Orleans Storage with 107 units at three buildings on West Countyhouse Road in Albion, just east of Route 98.
Business has been good, and Hill only has six units available.
He has proposed an expansion with three more buildings that would bring the total units to about 240.
The Orleans County Planning Board this evening voted in favor of the project which includes two buildings that would be 30 feet wide by 230 feet long, plus another building that would be 20 feet long by 225 feet.
“There is a definite demand,” he told the Planning Board this evening.
Dan Strong, the town’s code enforcement officer, said it’s a “low-key” business that is quiet with little traffic.
The board recommended the Town of Albion approve the site plan and permit for the project.
In other action:
• The board recommended the Town of Clarendon approve a permit for a diesel repair shop to be operated by Erich Hoak at 5267 Countyline Rd.
• The board re-elected Brian Napoli of Ridgeway as the board chairman and Paul Hendel of Murray as the vice chairman.
• Corey Winters, a planner with the County Planning and Development Department, announced the department was notified that $41,000 in state funding will be coming to Orleans for snowmobile trail maintenance and signage.
• Winters also notified the board that the household hazardous waste collection event will be back in August with expanded hours after last year’s event quickly filled up and some residents had to be turned away.
ALBION – Albion Elks Lodge prides itself in doing what we can to help our local community.
No doubt we have all felt the pain caused by the pandemic in one way or another. We decided to reach out to The Grand Lodge of Elks and apply for what is known as the Spotlight Grant valued at $2,000. The grant is one of many that local lodges can apply for to offer assistance in their community.
In previous years our Lodge has donated to several different organizations: Hospice, COVA Ambulance, Orleans Hope and Recovery, and the Angel Program through Community Action, just to name a few.
We thought hard about where we could impact the most in our community and the decision was the Genesee-Orleans County Ministry of Concern. The Ministry of Concern is a local non-profit organization that assists in helping low-income families and elderly individuals to overcome difficult circumstances when no other help is available.
It is with heartfelt expression that we at Albion Elks Lodge 1006 are proud to be able to support our community.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 February 2022 at 12:46 pm
ALBION – Village residents can hear directly today from the seven candidates running for the Village Board in the March 15 election.
There will be a forum on March 1 starting at 6 p.m. at The Lockstone, 160 North Main St. The event is sponsored by The Lake Country Pennysaver and Orleans Hub.
The event is set up as a forum and not a debate. Candidates will give opening and closing statements, and will respond to questions submitted by the audience. People unable to attend the forum in person can call (585) 623-0688 during the forum between 6:15 and 7:45 p.m.
The candidates include three people running for mayor: Angel Javier Jr., running on the Republican and independent “Better Together Albion Strong” lines; Vickie Elsenheimer on the Democratic and independent “Move Albion Forward” lines; and Kevin Graham on the independent “Albion Pride, Working Together.”
Four people are seeking two trustee positions on the Village Board. Tim McMurray and Dan Conrad are on the Republican line. Sandra Walter and Joyce Riley are under the Democratic line and the independent “Move Albion Forward.”
The forum is expected to be posted on the Orleans Hub YouTube page.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 February 2022 at 9:06 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION — Khabir Hillary of Albion speaks during a People Embracing Diversity event on Monday evening at Hoag Library. Hillary took to the podium after the speaker scheduled for the evening, Karima Amin of Buffalo, was unable to attend.
Amin was going to share a program about storytelling. When she was unable to be in Albion, several of the people in the crowd decided to offer their own personal stories.
Hillary spoke about the power of reading. He has always loved a book. He encouraged the crowd of about 50 people to inspire people to read.
“With a book you can go anywhere you want to,” he said.
Hillary also shared about many inventors who were Black, people who had an idea and brought it to the masses.
Sheila McCullough, chaplain at the Wyoming Correctional Facility in Attica, stepped in as an emcee to encourage people to share their stories.
McCullough talked about when she was a kid and saved up to buy her grandmother a new Bible. Her grandmother didn’t want a new one. She preferred the well used Bible that was full of her personal marks, highlighting important verses.
Her grandmother instilled in McCullough a passion “to read, read, and read.”
Joyce Riley of Albion, a past president of the Hoag Library board of directors, said she is one of 10 kids in her family. She said it’s an amazing how human kindness can lift a person. In her nursing career that has taken her to many countries and later in public service, Riley said she has learned to be “fearless.” And that fearless includes the courage to make mistakes and learn from them.
Riley said hearing stories from community members filled her with hope.
Henry Smith shared about being one of 24 kids in his family. He was born in South Carolina and moved to Rochester. He worked 32 years at Kodak, earned a master’s degree, and later served on the Gaines Town Board and Orleans County Legislature, as well as running a driving school.
Smith said his father didn’t have a degree, but was the smartest man Smith ever knew. Through it all, Smith said the greatest lesson he knows is “to treat your fellow man with respect.”
Malika Hill recalled her mother, who didn’t stay in school after second grade because she had to work on a farm. Her mother would hold up produce with her bare hands in a grocery store, and could tell you the weight to the exact ounce.
“Education goes way beyond books,” Hill said.
Kae Wilbert, one of the leaders of People Embracing Diversity, urged more community members to be part of the group. People Embracing Diversity has been meeting about five years with a goal of sharing stories and helping people to connect and get to know each other.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 February 2022 at 7:57 pm
File photo by Tom Rivers: The basketball hoop at Bullard Park is pictured in this photo from Aug. 4, 2015. A group is pushing for two new basketball courts at Bullard.
ALBION – A group of community volunteers, including former Kendall and Syracuse University great Roosevelt Bouie, are pushing for two new basketball courts at Bullard park.
Bouie said he learned the game playing as a kid at Bullard, often against tough competition from Albion, Brockport, Batavia and Medina.
Bouie also worked during the summer at Bullard as a park supervisor. It was his first job.
“I owe quite a bit to Bullard park,” Bouie said on Friday during a Zoom call with others working on the project. “It used to be the mecca of basketball.”
The current court was described as decrepit without any upgrades in at least 30 years. The surface is cracked and heaves in places. The same basketball pole and hoops “have been there forever” and the hoops are tipped, said Tim McMurray, one of the volunteers working on the new courts.
McMurray said the current court has too much heaving and is in too rough of shape to be patched up.
Bouie and the community volunteers want to have two new courts and they would be in an area close to Route 31 at a former skating rink and skateboard area, the part of a parking lot with blue paint. Their plan includes an 8-foot-high perimeter fence. There would also be “breakaway rims” that flex back up when there is a slam dunk.
The project could be about $100,000, McMurray said. The group has the Village Board’s blessing to look into grants and support from foundations.
“I think it would be great,” Mayor Eileen Banker said today.
The board has already said it would support having new courts near the front of the park by Route 31.
The village and the community group have Orleans County United Way grantwriter Matt Holland looking into funding options for the project.
The local group also is planning fundraisers. One includes having Bouie, who is nearly 7 feet tall, shoot hoops with people during the Albion Strawberry Festival in June.
File photo: Roosevelt Bouie attended a charity basketball in Kendall in March 2015 when Holley and Kendall teachers played each other.
Bouie said he could see Bullard again becoming a big basketball venue, especially for 3-on-3 tournaments and those events could raise funding for ongoing maintenance of the courts.
Bullard has recently received about $800,000 in upgrades with a splash park, playground equipment, amphitheater, and utility building with bathrooms.
The basketball court hasn’t been touched in more than a generation. That space could be used for parking, especially for events at the amphitheater, the committee said.
The group stressed that the Albion community lacks outdoor courts. There aren’t any at the school campus.
The community group wants to have an engineer assess the old rink and skate park to see if that surface can be salvaged for a basketball court or if it needs to be torn out and a new surface put down.
Susan Oschmann, one of Bouie’s Kendall classmates, recently moved to Albion and is pushing the new courts. She noticed the lack of courts in Albion especially when the parks were closed for several months in 2020 in the earlier days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“All I hear is complaints about the youth,” Oschmann said. “But as adults and taxpayers it is our responsibility to put in the effort to give them something to do.”
She wants to see more recreational opportunities for children and residents in Albion. She is surprised there are so few outdoor courts in the community.
Others besides McMurray, Bouie and Oschmann in the effort so far include Steve Mowers, CRFS president; John Grillo, recreation director; and Holland, the grant writer.
Bouie is in the Syracuse University Hall of Fame and his number 50 has been retired by the Orange. He led the team to a record of 100-18 from 1977 to 1980. Bouie was a first-team All-BIG EAST Conference selection in 1979-80. He was picked in the second round of the 1980 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Bouie instead chose to play professionally in Europe for 13 seasons.
He has moved back to Kendall. The school retired his jersey in June 2012, the first one picked by Kendall with the recognition.
Bouie was a force for Kendall in the mid-1970s when the school won five straight sectional titles. Kendall had a record of 65-1 during his sophomore, junior and senior years, including 55 straight wins during one stretch.
Bouie said he traces his basketball origins to playing at Bullard.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 February 2022 at 5:41 pm
Photos courtesy of Jamie Traxler
ALBION – Cooper Traxler, 7, is pictured with seven sheets of pizza from Mark’s Pizzeria that he shared today with the second-grade class at the Ronald L. Sodoma Elementary School in Albion. Cooper bought each class a sheet pizza and juice bags.
Cooper Traxler sold cider and doughnuts for three days in October.
He raised the money in October by selling apple cider and doughnuts from his grandmother’s front yard on South Main Street. His second-grade teacher was among his customers.
Cooper wanted to provide the pizza as a way to push back against bullying. He was being teased by some kids at school over his long hair.
Cooper likes to keep his hair long like some of his favorite dirt bike racers.
Some of the kids at school told him he was a girl because of his shoulder-length hair. Cooper tells them he is boy – with long hair.
When Cooper sold cider and doughnuts many of the customers shared stories about how they had been bullied when they were kids.
“There was a lot of community support,” Cooper’s mother Jamie said this afternoon. “He felt very blessed and that he wasn’t alone.”
Cooper has some money left over from the cider and doughnut sales that he wants to use for other acts of kindness, his mother said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 February 2022 at 5:25 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers: Volunteers and staff at Community Action of Orleans County distribute food on Monday morning at the parking lot for the Main Street Store. A long line of people in cars and trunks showed up for the event in 10-degree weather.
The schedule is in place for pop-up food distributions through June in Orleans County.
The events tend to be three times a month in the Village of Albion, the west end of the Town of Albion at Fairgrounds and in Lyndonville.
The food is delivered by Foodlink and is available for free to residents.
The upcoming food distributions include:
Albion Main Street Store, 131 Main St.
March 21 (Monday) at 9 a.m.
April 18 (Monday) at 9 a.m.
May 16 (Monday) at 9 a.m.
June 13 (Monday) at 9 a.m.
Community partner: Community Action of Orleans & Genesee
Lyndonville Presbyterian Church, 107 North Main St.
Feb. 25 (Friday) at 9 a.m.
March 11 (Friday) at 9 a.m.
April 1 (Friday) ay 9 a.m.
April 29 (Friday) at 9 a.m.
May 13 (Friday) at 9 a.m.
Community partner: Lyndonville Presbyterian Church
Orleans County Fairgrounds, 12690 Route 31, Albion address but close to Knowlesville
Feb. 28 (Monday) at noon
March 28 (Monday) at noon
April 25 (Monday) at noon
May 23 (Monday) at noon
June 27 (Monday) at noon
Community partner: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County
Note from organizer: Upon arrival you may check in with staff who will be in the Trolley Building, or staff will greet you at your car in the parking lot to give you a pass for a specific time slot.
A variety of food was given away on Monday outside the Main Street Store in Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 February 2022 at 12:25 pm
Provided photos
ALBION – Mark Tillman, center, is pictured with Community Action employees Ernie Gursslin an Katrina Chaffee last week after Tillman’s Village Inn donated $1,500 of food to the agency.
The pasta, sauce, vegetables, crackers, ketchup and other food will go the Community Action’s center in Holley, where meals and lunches are served each weekday.
The Village Inn closed on Dec. 30 after the Tillman family operated the restaurant and bar for 70 years.
Some of the food items are shown that were donated last Thursday and Friday by Tillman’s Village Inn.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 February 2022 at 11:28 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Staff and volunteers for Community Action of Orleans & Genesee were out this morning in about 10-degree weather during a pop-up food distribution at the Main Street Thrift Store’s parking lot, 131 South Main St.
Dana Jessmer of Albion works quickly to unload food from boxes. A team put produce and other food in trunks of vehicles. Jessmer is the daughter of Community Action human resources director Susan Jessmer.
The food distributions will continue to at least June. Orleans Hub is trying to get a schedule of the upcoming distributions. Foodlink delivered the food in a program funded through the state’s Nourish New York program.
About 100 to 130 vehicles have been attending the recent distributions, with the food given away on a first come, first served basis.
Jackie Gardner, Community Action’s chief operating officer and director of operations, was part of the team unpacking food and putting it in cars and trucks this morning. She enjoyed the camaraderie with her co-workers and volunteers.
Greg Gilman, a Community Action employee, cuts open a box. He has worked at most of food distributions in Albion for nearly two years. He is retiring for the second time on Feb. 25.
Dan Healy had the day off from his job and was happy to help with the food distribution.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2022 at 10:09 am
ALBION – No sledding or snowboarding is allowed at Mount Albion Cemetery, Mayor Eileen Banker said.
She and village officials are concerned that many people have been snowboarding and sledding on the east side of the cemetery, where the oldest tombstones are located.
That section of the cemetery isn’t plowed regularly. Some people have been using the hills and even tombstones for their sleds and snowboards. Ramps have been built on some of the old stones, Banker said.
“It’s a historic cemetery and we don’t need damage to the stones,” Banker said. “It is sacred ground.”
The Albion Police Department will be increasing patrols at the cemetery, she said.
