Photo by Tom Rivers: Santa is shown riding in a pickup truck last Dec. 19 down Chamberlain Street in Albion. He will be back this Saturday riding through neighborhoods and delivering presents.

ALBION — The Albion Merchants Association is planning its annual Hometown Holiday event on Saturday, Dec. 11, with activities throughout the day.

There will be a petting zoo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on at the Main Street municipal parking lot, a chance to decorate the new “Fat Albert” Christmas tree on the Courthouse Square beginning at 11 a.m. and a chance to see Santa driving through Albion neighborhoods beginning at 4 p.m.

Many of the businesses will be hosting activities including face painting, ornament kits, Christmas crafts, letters to Santa, a scavenger hunt, making reindeer dust, Coffee with Cops, free ice cream and a movie and stories with Santa.

The Hometown Holiday will be capped with the Fête de Nöel, a French-inspired gala at Maison Albion from 6 to 10 p.m.

The route for Santa will be starting on East Bank Street, then go to North Main, to Linwood Avenue then Brown Street, Lydun Drive, back to Brown then Caroline and Ingersoll streets, then East Bank, East State, Platt and East Park, then to McKinistry, Chamberlain, Main and West Bank, then King Street, Washington Street, Clinton, West Park, West Academy, West State and end on Main Street. Anyone who wants to donate presents to be given away by Santa can drop off the new toys at Toyz n Kandy, Studio 11 or the Coffee Joint.

Some Albion community members are also planning a “Santa’s Coming Home” parade of cars and trucks on Dec. 17. The public is welcome to decorate a vehicle and join in ride around the community.

Participants should meet at the Arnold Gregory Office Complex at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 with the procession of vehicles heading out at 6 p.m. This won’t be a parade with floats, but with decorated cars and trucks.

The cover of the booklet features Charles Howard helping one of his students in the finer points of portraying Santa.

ALBION – A group of Albion seventh-graders have been researching and compiling a booklet about Charles Howard, the man who started a Santa Claus School and also developed Christmas Park in Albion.

Students will present the booklet at 10 a.m. on Dec. 10 at Hoag Library. The unveiling includes presentations about Howard and a display of items from the school and Christmas Park.

Howard ran the school from 1937 until his death in 1966. The school continues in his name and is now in Midland, Mich.

The booklet touches on other parts of the Santa School founder’s life.

“Howard was much more than a Santa Claus,” said Tim Archer, an Albion teacher who helped spearhead the project honoring Howard. “Whether in the church, 4-H, or around the world, Howard represented all that is honorable and good. His was a life well lived – a true ambassador of goodwill.”

The community is welcome to attend the event on Dec. 10. Students in Archer’s Service Learning class will read excerpts from the booklet, which will be available for $5. Some of Howard’s family members and former workers at Christmas Park are expected to be in attendance, as well as Ken McPherson, a graduate of the school.

ALBION – The school district has set Dec. 14 for a public vote on a $26.69 million capital project that includes all three schools, as well as the bus garage, the football stadium and a new campus notification system.

Eligible voters 18 and older will cast ballots from noon to 8:30 p.m. at the District Office Conference Room A.

There will be a public information meeting about the project at 6 p.m. on Dec. 2 at the Middle School Auditorium.

District officials say there won’t be an additional tax impact from the project because the local share of $7,195,000 is already in a capital reserve. State funding at $19,495,000 will cover the rest.

“Due to careful project planning, financial implementation and consideration for our taxpayers, this project will have NO TAX IMPACT for district residents and businesses,” the district states on its website.

The scope of the project includes:

Elementary School – $6,300,000

• Security enhancements to include security films, access controls, exterior/interior door replacements/hardware, communication/notification systems
• Refinish main gym floor and replace folding partitions with divider curtains
• Reconfigure entry vestibule and finish renovations to the district office
• Replace plumbing fixtures and domestic hot/cold water, sanitary and storm piping in 1955 building
• Mechanical upgrades, including original building wing unit ventilators
• Integrate carbon monoxide monitoring and upgrade building system controls, panel board and switchgear
• Sidewalk replacements
• East side drop-off loop improvements

Middle School – $9,945,000

• Security enhancements to include security films, access controls, exterior/interior door replacements/hardware, communication/notification systems
• Gymnasium renovations, including gym floor refinishing, lift replacement, new wall pads, ceiling and lighting
• Renovate pool lockers shower areas, including plumbing and lighting
• Replace auditorium air-conditioning
• Provide parallel pool pump and replace hot water heaters and storage tank
• Mechanical upgrades for electrical room/transformer vault
• Integrate carbon monoxide monitoring and upgrade building system controls, panel board and switchgear
• Reconfigure parent drop-off loop
• Renovate playground
• New multi-purpose field surface at soccer/softball complex

High School – $9,795,000

• Security enhancements to include safety films, access controls, exterior/interior door replacements/hardware, communication/notification systems
• Gymnasium renovations, including gym floor replacement, re-surfaced folding partitions, bleacher replacement, ceiling/lighting, ventilation system and new wall-mounted scoreboards
• Renovate locker rooms
• Replace corridor lockers
• Replace hot water heaters, add additional boiler and replace heating line
• Integrate carbon monoxide monitoring and upgrade building system controls, panel board and switchgear
• Improve sidewalks for accessibility
• Tennis court reconstruction
• New multi-purpose field surface at football stadium complex

Bus Garage – $650,000

• Security enhancements to include security films, access controls, exterior/interior door replacements/hardware
• Replace large overhead doors in 1997 maintenance bay addition • Replace roof in 1997 maintenance bay addition
• Integrate carbon monoxide monitoring and upgrade panel board • Extend paving at bus parking and dumpster pad

Campus Notification System

In addition to the renovations being proposed in the capital project referendum, Albion Central School District is planning to install a new public address and visual notification system for the elementary, middle and high schools. This work may be separate from the capital project and would be paid for using $1,995,000 in funding available to our district through the Smart Schools Bond Act of 2014.

A timeline for the project includes:

• Dec. 2: Public Information meeting, 6 p.m. Middle School Auditorium
• Dec. 14: Project vote, noon to 8:30 p.m., District Office Conference Room A
• January 2022 to August 2022: Design Phase
• September 2022 to December 2022: SED Review
• 2023 to 2024: Construction

Press Release, Albion Police Benevolent Association

ALBION – On behalf of the Village of Albion Police Department and the Village of Albion Police Benevolent Association, I would like to invite members of the community to Coffee with Cops.

On Saturday, December 11, from 1 to 4 p.m. members of the Village of Albion Police Department, along with members of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department will be hosting Coffee with Cops at The Coffee Joint at 59 North Main St.

So come join us for coffee and baked goods. All expenses are paid by the Village of Albion Police Benevolent Association. If you have questions, concerns, or requests, feel free to stop in and address them with our officers. Or if you just want to come hang out in a relaxed setting and chat, please don’t hesitate to stop by.

Let’s all take a break from the constant stress of daily life, relax and get to know each other.

We look forward to see you all there.

Thank you,

Daniel Baase, President of Albion Police Benevolent Association

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Albion Rotary Club presented Jessica Capurso with a plaque and pin for her service as president and also named her a Paul Harris Fellow, the highest distinction in the club.

Capurso, right, is shown at Hoag Library on Thursday with incoming president Alex Krebs (left) and Don Bishop, the club’s Rotary Foundation director.

Capurso is moving out of the area. She works as director of Outreach, Education and Marketing at Community Partners for Orleans Community Health.

She was praised for leading the club during a time of Covid restrictions. She helped the Rotary members gear up the club’s 100^th anniversary celebration in 2022. The club is planning more community service projects in 2022 for the centennial celebration, including a return of the Strawberry Festival in June.

The Albion club also donated $1,000 to Rotary International in Capurso’s name in honor of her being a Paul Harris Fellow.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Anna Grillo portrays Iris in the Albion Middle School production of “No Dogs Allowed.” Friday was opening night and there are shows today at noon and 7 p.m. in the Middle School Auditorium. Tickets are $5.

In the show, Iris is a young girl who loves her dog more than anything. She sneaks her dog, El Exigente, on a family trip to a state park, where she finds out no dogs are allowed.

The cast performs the opening number, “Just Bring What You Need,” from the musical. The cast includes, from left: Phoebe Allen as Stella the Shopkeeper, Lily Brigham as Mama, Reagan Flor as El Exigente (the dog), Jillian LeBaron as JoAnne, Anna Grillo as Iris, ChrisJen Winters as Papa, Julia Button as Carmen and Kailee Anstey as Shorty.

The musical represents a chance for the students to perform for a live audience. The performers are wearing clear plastic shields by their mouths as a precaution against the spread of Covid.

Reagan Flor is El Exigente, the family dog that briefly runs away and then is reunited.

ChrisJen Winters is “Papa” who has a knack for fixing things. He has to use those skills when the car breaks down on the ride to the park.

Kailee Anstey is Shorty, an exasperated older sister who predicts the car will break down. She is prone to rolling her eyes in disgust. She is singing, “It Isn’t Easy Always Being Right.”

Betterment Committee pushing to have statue in time for Strawberry Festival in June 2023

Photos by Tom Rivers: This photo from March 24, 2021 shows the directors of the Albion Betterment Committee with sculptor Brian Porter after they signed a contract to have Porter create a bronze statue of Santa Claus in downtown Albion at Waterman Park. Pictured from left include ABC director Joe Gehl, Brian Porter, and ABC directors Gary Derwick and Gary Kent. The Betterment Committee is making a fundraising push for the project, which includes landscaping, mural(s), interpretive panels and lighting.

ALBION – The Albion Betterment Committee is excited about the progress in bringing a bronze statue of Santa Claus to downtown Albion, a project that will honor the legacy of Charles Howard in leading a Santa School that was in Albion from 1937 until his death in 1966.

Howard also operated Christmas Park in Albion and is revered among Santa portrayers even today. The Santa School is now in Midland, Mich., and continues to bear his name. It graduated a new class of Santas last month.

The Betterment Committee has raised $64,000 towards the statue project. It needs about $100,000 total to include lighting, interpretive panels, mural(s) and landscaping for a park on Main Street, a half block south of the Erie Canal. This is the spot where there is a mural showing Santa in flight with a sleigh and reindeer, high above the Courthouse Square and downtown Albion.

“On the 55th anniversary of his passing we have an opportunity to memorialize a man who became a beautiful reflection on our community and a source of pride,” ABC directors Joe Gehl, Gary Derwick and Gary Kent write in a letter seeking support for the project.

Howard is an icon among those who portray Santa. About 200 of the “Santa’s” attended a convention in Albion in 2015. That Santa convention “raised awareness of the community-building potential represented by greater acknowledgement of his place in history,” the ABC directors said.

They have put up new signs in Albion celebrating Howard’s legacy, and also were successful in getting the state to declare part of Route 31 in Albion as the Charles W. Howard Memorial Highway. Those signs went up last December right before Christmas.

Joe Gehl, one of the directors of the Albion Betterment Committee, is interviewed last Dec. 21 by the media in front of the sign declaring Route 31 in Albion as the Charles W. Howard Memorial Highway. There are signs erected on 31 near Transit Road on the eastern end of town and near Wood Road on the western side.

The Albion Merchants Association last year also commissioned a large mural with a Christmas theme on the north side of the Pennysaver building.

Brian Porter has been commissioned to create the statue. He has made several in Western New York, including the bronze statue of a soldier at the Orleans County YMCA, the former Medina Armory.

The Betterment Committee welcomes tax-deductible donations in any amount. They can be sent to the Albion Betterment Committee – Charles Howard Fund, and sent to Joe Gehl at 14487 Baker Rd., Kent, NY 14477.

The statue is an opportunity to honor “a humble, yet visionary, farmer who added to our identity and shed such a positive light on Albion and Orleans County,” the ABC said.

The group is pushing to have the statue in place by the Strawberry Festival in June 2023.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Sawyer Braley, right, and his brother Stryker put a flag in a fire pit at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Albion on Thursday evening. The brothers are members of Troop 164 which held a flag retirement ceremony on Veterans Day.

Scouts retired about 100 flags in the fire pit. Harrison Brown led construction of the fire pit for his Eagle Scout project. It was first used on May 29, 2019.

This was the first flag retirement ceremony by the troop during the Covid pandemic, which started in March 2020.

The troop wants to do the flag retirements more frequently. Anyone with a flag they want to retire can reach out to a troop member.

Donovan Braley, right, puts one of the flags in the fire pit. He is assisted by James Ruiz.

The first flag in the fire pit came from Gates Albert Inc., a machine shop in North Chili. Dan Flanagan, the scoutmaster of Troop 164, works at Gates Albert.

Aaron Flanagan and his mother Sue Flanagan put one of the retired flags in the fire pit. Mrs. Flanagan is the assistant scoutmaster and committee chair for the troop.

Coleson Braley, 10, puts one of the flags in the fire pit.

The troop welcomes more members, and they can join at any time. The troop now welcomes girls as well as boys who are past fifth grade.

The troop meets on Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Albion Sportsmen’s Club on Keitel Road. For more information on troop, contact the Iroquois Trail Council at 585-343-0307.

Last year’s Fête de Nöel raised $5,000; this year’s goal $7,500

Provided photo: Maison Albion at 13800 West County House Rd. will be lavishly decorated for a gala on Dec. 11 to benefit Community Action. Ten Christmas trees will be decorated by local vendors which will display their products (i.e. fresh flowers, handmade goods/ornaments, garland etc.) on each tree and will be set up in each room at Maison Albion.

Press Release, Maison Albion and Community Action of Orleans and Genesee

ALBION – Maison Albion will host its annual Fête de Nöel gala on December 11th benefitting Community Action of Orleans and Genesee.

The black-tie event will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. in the glamorous ballroom and all throughout the mansion at 13800 West County House Rd. Hilltop Catering will serve appetizers and desserts, along with live music, dancing, and entertainment for guests to enjoy. This event is designed to welcome the holiday season and raise money for a good cause.

“We are looking forward to Fête de Nöel as it continues to grow as a holiday gala event,” said Kerri Glover, co-owner of Maison Albion. “It’s the perfect way to welcome the holidays and give back to an organization that does so much for our community.”

Fête de Nöel, Dancing Under Diamonds: A Celestial Christmas, is a French-inspired gala for community members to celebrate the holiday season. Maison Albion will be transformed into a winter wonderland with ten over-the-top Christmas trees and celestial inspired gingerbread houses for guests to enjoy. Guests will dance the night away under the sparkling ballroom chandeliers while enjoying appetizers, refreshments, sweet treats and tours of the historic mansion.

All of the proceeds raised from the event go towards supporting Community Action of Orleans and Genesee. For over 40 years, Community Action has served low-income and disadvantaged individuals in Orleans and Genesee County. Each of the nine programs offered, as well as, family development and emergency food pantry services, are designed to empower individuals to become more self-sufficient.

Maison Albion’s raised $5,000 for Community Action of Orleans and Genesee last year. The goal is to raise $7,500 for Community Action this year. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at www.maisonalbion.com/fete.

Maison Albion is encouraging community members to get into the holiday spirit by creating their own interpretation of Maison Albion. Participants will design their version of Maison Albion and share their edible masterpiece at Fête de Nöel. Attendees will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite gingerbread house. The winner of the gingerbread house competition will receive a complimentary private party for up to ten guests and movie screening in the mansion’s movie theatre.

“Community Action is honored to be a part of Fête de Nöel for the second year in a row,” said Renne Hungerford, Executive Director of Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, “We are looking forward to a fun, fabulous event!”

Maison Albion is committed to the success of local nonprofit organizations and small businesses in the community. Maison Albion hosts ten complimentary nonprofit events each year to local nonprofit organizations in Western New York. To inquire about hosting a future nonprofit event at Maison Albion, please email bonjour@maisonalbion.com.

Event in high school gym was first in-person performance indoors for live audience during pandemic

Photos courtesy of Marsha Rivers

ALBION – High school students in Albion performed a veterans’ concert on Tuesday evening in the high school gym. Mike Thaine is shown leading the concert band.

This was the first time since early March 2020 the band has performed indoors for a live concert in person.

The concert is usually held in the middle school auditorium. The space in the gym allowed the school to spread out the students and crowd. The choir wore masks during the performance.

The program included the National Anthem led by Albion’s Mixed Choir and a recognition of veterans in attendance. The Mixed Choir then performed Shenandoah, Ain’a That Good News, O Love, and I Lift My Lamp. The Concert Band then performed Yankee Fanfare, A Celebration of Taps, and The Avengers. The concert concluded with America The Beautiful by the combined choir and band.

The band is led by Mike Thaine and the choir by Connor Doran.

State officials announced today that six prisons will be closing by March 2022, but none of those are in Albion, which has a women’s prison (Albion Correctional Facility) and a medium-security men’s prison (Orleans Correctional Facility).

The six prisons to close include Ogdensburg Correctional, Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional, Willard Drug Treatment Campus, Southport Correctional, Downstate Correctional and Rochester Correctional.

State officials said the closings are expected to save $142 million, even though no layoffs are expected.

The announcement was condemned by Michael Powers, president of a union representing 21,000 members. The closings will lead to more crowding in prisons, putting corrections officers at risk, Powers said.

“If people have been paying attention to the past decade of poor decisions made by our elected leaders in Albany, today’s news shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone,” Powers said in a statement. “The State’s progressive polices are costly and need to be funded somehow. Sadly it’s at the expense of the hard working men and women of NYSCOPBA. The numbers tell the real story; despite closing over two dozen facilities the past 10 years, violent attacks on our members have doubled and yet nothing is being done to address it. Where is the reinvestment in the facilities to make these prisons safer working environments?”

Powers said the closing of a prison will “upend lives and destroy communities” where the prisons are located.

“My heart goes out to all of the individuals whose lives have been severely impacted by this announcement and know that our organization will hold the department accountable every step of the way,” he said.

State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt also said the closings will make the state less safe from violent criminals.

He issued this statement: “Today’s announced closures of six state correctional facilities by Gov. Hochul is not only a devastating blow to our hardworking correctional workers, but to communities across our state.

“Under the guise of ‘cost-saving measures,’ Democrats have opted to punish men and women who risk their health and safety to protect ours. Between a disturbing increase in attacks and lack of state investment in these facilities, prison staff have been expected to put their health and safety on the line every day. Instead of thanking these public servants, progressive Democrats are jeopardizing their very livelihood.

“Albany politicians refuse to learn from their mistakes or comprehend basic cause-and-effect. They continue to prioritize measures like bail reform, ‘Less is More,’ and other pro-criminal policies that have put more criminals back on the street. Now, more than ever, we must stop rewarding convicted felons and punishing law-abiding New Yorkers and our law enforcement community.

As always, my Senate Republican Conference colleagues and I stand firmly behind our corrections officers. We remain committed to common sense criminal justice policies that protect our families, neighborhoods and law enforcement, not violent felons and career criminals.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The area is at peak foliage with brilliant colors. The top photo shows a group of trees at Bullard Park at the west side near the pavilions by Sandy Creek.

The sunlight makes these leaves stand out in Bullard Park on Saturday. There are a lot of blazing yellow and red in the leaves locally.

There are still lots of leaves on the trees locally.

This spot at Bullard is a near a new walking trail that goes about ¾ mile around the perimeter of the park, giving some up close views of the trees.

I LOVE NY puts out a weekly fall foliage update and reports this week is at peak or near-peak throughout most of the Greater Niagara and Finger Lakes regions.