By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 February 2026 at 10:52 am
ALBION – A business that will be growing cannabis in a 1,000-squarefoot warehouse has the Orleans County Planning Board’s support.
Joe Molisani Jr., owner of Dream orchard LLC, wants to cultivate the cannabis at 13353 Kendrick Rd., Waterport. He then plans to sell it from another business he plans to be opening in downtown Medina, a cannabis dispensary.
Molisani said he won’t be selling any cannabis directly from the Kendrick Road site. If he has any wholesale orders, he will make the deliveries with no customers coming to the site in Carlton.
He needs a special use permit from Carlton to grow the cannabis. The County Planning Board recommended Carlton approve the permit. Some of the Planning Board members didn’t think a special use permit was necessary because Molisani will be doing an allowed use in a residential-agricultural district.
Molisani has his license to grow cannabis as a micro-business through the state’s Office of Cannabis Management.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 1 February 2026 at 2:48 pm
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Narby’s Superette and Tackle will open in the spring under new owners. Jonathan Ross, center, and his partner Tara Webb have purchased the business. They stand here in front of the store at The Bridges with Ross’ son Ryland.
THE BRIDGES – One of the oldest businesses in Orleans County is about to enter its next phase with new owners.
Narby’s Superette & Tackle, located on Route 98 at The Bridges, has been purchased by Jonathan Ross and his partner Tara Webb. They also own Route 18 Tackle near Hamlin and Ross has owned a fishing charter boat at Point Breeze for nearly 20 years.
Ross said he had been eyeing the Superette for several years, and finally made the decision to purchase it following death of Sharon Narburgh last June. Sharon and her husband Bill purchased the store in the mid 1960s. After Bill died in 1992, Sharon continued to run the store and the tackle shop until shortly before her passing.
Ross said with owning a tackle shop a few miles away, he was concerned who his competition might be.
“When the price was right, we made our move to buy it,” Ross said.
Ross has a 15-year-old son Ryland, who he hopes some day will take an interest in the business.
“I plan to teach him the ropes as he grows,” Ross said.
Jonathan Ross, his son Ryland and partner Tara Webb stand outside the tackle shop at Narby’s Superette, which Ross and Webb have recently purchased. Ross and Webb are also partners in Route 18 Tackle near Hamlin.
Ross and Webb have big plans for grocery store and tackle shop. Ross is known for his development of the highly acclaimed Hawk’s custom salmon tackle.
“Last September one of our customers won the LOC Derby with it,” Ross said.
Ross also purchased the Narby’s name, but he is not yet sure how he will incorporate it into naming the new business.
“We plan to get the grocery store stocked back up, along with fuel, and build the tackle shop bigger than it ever was,” Ross said.
The upstairs apartment, where the Narburghs lived, will become an Airbnb for fishermen, Ross said.
Information online from the Orleans County Historian states the first business to open on Narby’s site was a post office in 1877. It became G.D. Fowler’s General Merchandise in 1888. It was also a post office until 1915, with the exception of four years in 1894-97. Several other owners followed prior to the Narburgh’s purchase.
And now the store is about to embark on another new chapter.
“We are planning a grand opening in the spring,” Ross said. “We know we’re going to have longer hours during the busy season. This whole year is going to be a learning year,” Ross said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 December 2025 at 8:27 pm
POINT BREEZE – The Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association is sharing $7,000 in donations to local organizations.
The proceeds are from the OONA summer concert series. OONA donated to the following:
• $1,500 – Community Action of Orleans & Genesee
• $1,000 – Hospice of Orleans
• $1,000 – Orleans Koinonia Kitchen
• $1,000 – Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern
• $1,000 – Carlton Fire Department
• $600 – Oak Orchard Lighthouse
• $500 – Orleans County Veterans Agency
• $400 – 50 Winks (Bowie Foundation)
“The tremendous support and generosity of our community enabled us to donate a total of $7,000 to these very worthy organizations,” said Pat Furlong, OONA treasurer.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 October 2025 at 3:56 pm
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state will be spending $600 million to pave nearly 2,150 lane miles in the 2026 construction season, including $1.4 million to resurface Route 98 in Orleans County from Route 104 in Gaines going north to the Lake Ontario State Parkway in Carlton.
The paving plan also includes $2.8 million to resurface Route 262 from Route 63 to Route 98, and Route 98 from Edgerton Road to the Orleans County line in the towns of Oakfield and Elba, Genesee County
Hochul, in announcing the projects today, called the work an “unprecedented paving investment” that leverages $800 million secured in current state budget.
“As someone who has ridden on virtually every mile of every state road across New York, I know firsthand every curve and every pothole, and next year we will be making an unprecedented investment to improve state roads across New York,” Hochul said. “New Yorkers will be seeing crews out there like never before next year, rejuvenating highways, enhancing the safety of the traveling public, and laying a solid foundation for economic development across the Empire State.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2025 at 4:02 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
WATERPORT – An angler uses a net to help a friend bring in a Chinook salmon this morning at the Oak Orchard River.
The fish was caught by St. Mary’s Archers Club, which lets people park for $10 and gives them access to the river.
The club opens its gate at 5 a.m. every morning for about a month up until Veterans’ Day on Nov. 11. The Archers Club has coffee, doughnuts and bagels ready in the morning, and then serves hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch.
This man is happy to have landed a Chinook salmon. He released it back into the Oak Orchard.
Fishing is the county’s top tourism attraction, generating about $28 million in economic activity in Orleans, according to a report from the state DEC based on 2017 data.
There have been visiting anglers so far from Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Virginia and Michigan. They make the trek for the chance to catch a big brown trout of Chinook salmon.
David Mangold of Cumberland, Maryland holds a small brown trout he caught. He let the fish go. He caught a Chinook salmon, too.
Mangold has been coming to the Oak Orchard the second week of October the past 10 years.
“It’s always a good time,” he said.
Howard Palmer, a member of the Archers Club, is up by 4 a.m. every day to go open the gate at the Archers Club, get the coffee pot brewing and to start a fire.
He has been on early morning duty the past five years or so and he said he’s never missed a day or been late.
Some of the fishermen are ready at 5. They like to claim their spot in the river. They can’t start fishing legally until a half hour before sunrise, or about 6:45 a.m.
Palmer, 80, said the Archers Club can accommodate about 80 parked vehicles. The fishermen like to be spread out. They say it’s not nearly as crowded or hectic as the salmon River up in Pulaski and Altmar.
“I’ve never met a bad fisherman,” Palmer said. “They’re interesting people.”
Tom O’Hearn, president of the Archers Club, cooks hot dogs and hamburgers today. He has a great view of the river from the grill.
O’Hearn has been the club’s president the past 10 years. The parking fees and revenue from breakfast and lunch help maintain the property. The Archers Club has upgraded the cooking area in recent years and extended the pavilion.
The anglers enjoy the great outdoors. It’s an ideal time to be out with colorful fall foliage and the changing of the seasons.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 September 2025 at 12:01 pm
OOL Museum this weekend welcomed family of Emelee Arbuckle
Photos by Tom Rivers: The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum presented a light show on Saturday that honored Emelee Arbuckle, who was 23 when she died in a motorcycle accident in Florida in 2013. Her family has left bricks with her name engraved at about 300 lighthouses around the country. The bricks are typically buried or left in the water close by the lighthouse. Oak Orchard is the fifth lighthouse to find the brick and contact Emelee’s parents.
Ken and Karen Arbuckle of Melbourne Beach, Fla. visited the Oak Orchard Lighthouse on Saturday evening for a special light show as a tribute for their daughter, Emelee. The show was in addition to the nightly 30-minute light show that starts a half hour at sunset. That light show mimics the Northern Lights.
POINT BREEZE – The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum presented a special light show on Saturday in honor of a Florida woman was passed away at age 23 on Dec. 29, 2013 from complications following a motorcycle accident.
Emelee Arbuckle was connected to the water. She was the top coxswain on her high school rowing team. She was also an artist who wanted to teach art to disabled children.
Her parents, Ken and Karen Arbuckle, visited Point Breeze over the weekend. The Arbuckles have left about 300 engraved bricks at lighthouses around the country. They were at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse on Aug. 4, 2024 and buried a brick engraved with their daughter’s name and nickname: Emelee “Bean” Arbuckle.
The Arbuckles typically will bury a brick at the southeast corner of a lighthouse or leave in close to shore in the water.
At the Oak Orchard Lighthouse, a new lighting system was being installed in August to display a light show that would mimic the Aurora Borealis. Lighthouse volunteers worked with A.J. Hetzke of IlluminFx Lighting Systems to install the system which debuted on Aug. 14.
Cheryl Giacherio was digging at the southwest corner on Aug. 7, creating a hole for one of four corner canisters for the lights. The top of the lighthouse has 192 lights for the show.
When Giacherio dug down in the dirt, she found a brick in honor of Emelee “Bean” Arbuckle. An internet search showed the story of Emelee, and helped connect the lighthouse museum to her family.
It was the fifth brick that has been found with Emelee’s name.
The Arbuckles made the trip up from Melbourne Beach, Florida on Friday, and presented a collage with a poem by their daughter that will be on display in the lighthouse.
The lighthouse museum had a special tribute for the family on Saturday night. Hetzke of IlluminFx created a new light show for Emelee.
“Thank you so much for honoring our girl,” Mrs. Arbuckle told a group at the lighthouse on Saturday night. “No one has ever done anything like this for us.”
Emelee Arbuckle is shown at left. Here is the brick that was found last month with her name at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.
Emelee’s mother feels like it was a God-ordained miracle that the brick was discovered at Oak Orchard. Her husband usually buries the bricks in the southeast corner. This time, he put it at the southwest corner, right where a hole would be dug a year later for the light show.
“This was God,” Mrs. Arbuckle said. “He was coordinating this to all come together. You need to recognize these miracles when they happen.”
She thanked Hetzke for the light show, which was set to music.
“With the music, you can feel it in your heart,” Mrs. Arbuckle said.
She and her husband have been to at least 400 lighthouses in the past 12 years, trying to leave a memorial brick or a “handheart” of her and her husband’s hands creating a heart shape. The Arbuckles take a picture of that heart shape with the lighthouse in the background if they can’t get up close in person. Some of the lighthouses are off limits to the public. (They stopped by the Braddock Point Lighthouse in Hilton on Saturday but couldn’t get close enough to leave a brick because it’s on private property.)
The Arbuckles are happy when people find a brick with their daughter’s name, and reach out to her parents.
“It’s about saying Emelee’s name so it isn’t forgotten,” Mr. Arbuckle said.
Here are other photos from the light show on Saturday night.
CARLTON – The New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists that State Route 18 in the Town of Carlton, Orleans County, will be closed to all traffic between Waterport Road and Hard Road beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, September 29, to accommodate a culvert replacement project.
Motorists should follow posted detours using Route 18, Route 63, Route 104 and Route 98. The road is expected to be reopened by mid-October.
Motorists should anticipate travel delays during this time and are advised to seek alternate routes if necessary. Construction activities are weather dependent and subject to change based on conditions.
Motorists are urged to slow down and drive responsibly in work zones. Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver license.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 September 2025 at 10:36 pm
Photos courtesy of Marsha Rivers: This mosaic compass was created by artist Kim Martillotta Muscarella in her Albion studio.
POINT BREEZE – The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum this evening celebrated a new addition to the grounds at Point Breeze by the Oak Orchard Harbor: a mosaic compass.
Kim Martillotta Muscarella created the mosaic piece in a project funded through a Ripple grant from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.
GO Art! also directed another $5,000 grant to the lighthouse for a light show each day for a half hour after sunset. The light show mimics the northern lights. That project and the mosaic compass enhance the grounds, trying to bring more people to see the lighthouse and Point Breeze area.
Kim Martillotta Muscarella stands by the mosaic compass she made for the Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum.
“The creation of a compass rose to complement the lighthouse was part of the original scope of the proposed lighthouse work, but was delayed due to cost,” said Chris Manaseri, the museum president. “The GO Art! grant was a means by which the Lighthouse Board might accomplish competing its original proposal at a lower and indirect cost.”
Manaseri, who is also an artist, approached Muscarella last winter. She is the owner of the Marti’s on Main art gallery. She created the mosaic at her studio at the gallery.
Lighthouse Museum President Chris Manaseri thanks Kim Martillotta Muscarella for her work creating the compass rose mosaic that has been installed in the lighthouse garden.
Photo by Isabella Zasa: Kim Martillotta Muscarella shows Orly the Ox the mosaic when it was in the early stages back on Aug. 1. Orly is the Orleans County mascot for its bicentennial celebration this year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 September 2025 at 8:22 am
Photos courtesy of Melissa Ierlan
CARLTON – A historical marker highlighting the “Ancient Mound” built by the Algonkian Indians in Carlton has been refurbished with fresh paint.
Dave and Dar Krull are shown with the marker at their home on Oak Orchard River Road. They are with niece Kailah, and great-nieces Sidney, Shelby and Rylee Ierlan.
Melissa Ierlan of Clarendon recently stripped the marker down and repainted it. The marker notes Algonkian Indians built this Ancient Mound in the second period or Polished Stone Age. It was excavated in 1932-’33 by Charles Wyman Palmer. The marker was installed by State Education Department in 1932.
Located on Oak Orchard River Road about 1 ½ miles west of The Bridges. It’s at the south end of a long private driveway and not visible from the road.
Ierlan has refurbished about 40 historical markers in recent years.
These photos show some of the marker’s transformation before it received its final coat of blue and yellow paint.
Photo courtesy of Captain’s Cove Motel and Marina and Maverick Sportfishing: From left, Brett Lopresti, Amy Lopresti and Captain Chris Lopresti hold the derby-winning king salmon.
WATERPORT – Amy Lopresti of Rochester landed a 33-pound king salmon on the final day of the 2025 Fall LOC Derby, securing the lead for the $20,000 grand prize.
Lopresti caught the fish Monday while aboard the Maverick on Lake Ontario in Orleans County. She was using a Hawk’s Custom Spoon. The salmon was weighed in at Captain’s Cove in Waterport, officially tipping the scales at 33 pounds, 3 ounces.
“This is exactly the kind of world-class fishing Lake Ontario and Orleans County are known for,” said Ron Bierstine, Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator. “To see a fish of this caliber caught on the final day of the derby adds to the excitement and shows why anglers from all over come here to fish and compete. Get ready for those same open Lake trophies in the tributaries this fall, winter and spring! ”
The LOC Derby, held each spring, summer and fall, attracts anglers from across the region competing for cash prizes and recognition for some of the lake’s biggest salmon and trout.
More leaderboard results for Orleans County salmon and trout entries for the Fall LOC can be viewed by clicking here.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 27 August 2025 at 3:49 pm
Museum embraces light show that mimics Northern Lights
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Professor Michael Richmond showed this photo of an aurora borealis during his talk on auroras at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse’s annual fundraiser at Carlton United Methodist Church.
Chris Manaseri, president of the Oak Orchard Lighthouse board, welcomes guests to a dessert buffet and special program at the Carlton United Methodist Church to benefit the lighthouse.
CARLTON – The Oak Orchard Lighthouse held its annual fundraiser Saturday night at the Carlton United Methodist Church on Archbald Road.
The event featured the usual dessert buffet, as well as guest speaker, Michael Richmond, professor of physics and astronomy at RIT, who also runs the RIT observatory.
Richmond, who has taught at RIT since 1997, earned his bachelor’s degree in astrophysical sciences at Princeton and a Ph.D in astronomy at the University of California at Berkeley. His program was chosen because of the recent installation of aurora-like lights on the lighthouse.
Richmond said most of the continental United States doesn’t see auroras as clearly or often as Point Breeze does. He explained it takes gas, solar wind and a strong magnetic field to create an aurora. He also said earth is not the only planet to have auroras.
He passed out special glasses for the audience to wear to determine the color of gases in an aurora, which then determines the kind of gas it contains.
Lighthouse board president Chris Manaseri welcomed guests and introduced Dave Giacherio, who with his wife Cheryl was instrumental in acquiring a grant for the aurora-like light show recently installed at the lighthouse.
“The aurora over the lighthouse was accomplished by the cooperation of the entire community,” Giacherio said. “Chris negotiated with New York State and helped dig the holes in the stone around the lighthouse.”
He also acknowledged Peg Wiley, who was in attendance, and the late Dick Anderson for their initial efforts to build a lighthouse and for maintaining their support.
Wiley said she was particularly interested in the evening’s program, as her father-in-law Robert S. Wiley once built a spectrograph for Bausch and Lomb, where he worked for 55 years. One of the telescopes he worked on has the largest eschelle ever built up to that time and is in a stellar observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile.
Michael Richmond, professor of physics and astronomy at RIT, shows the audience a device which helps determine the type of gas in an aurora.
Manaseri shared the importance of this fundraising event.
“We still have to pay insurance and upkeep on the property,” he said.
The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum is run by a 10-member board with the help of half a dozen docents, Manseri said. The museum is open from 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and from noon to 3 p.m. Sundays from May to October.
The evening’s dessert buffet prepared by board member Larry Grimes featured ambrosia, chocolate cake, carrot cake, pineapple upside down cake, peach cobbler and blueberry cobbler.
The evening concluded with drawings for centerpieces and a 50/50 drawing.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 August 2025 at 11:48 am
Volunteer finds buried memorial brick for Florida woman, one of 400 around the country
Photos by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – This brick is one of about 400 that are placed at lighthouses around the country in honor of Emelee Arbuckle of Melbourne Beach, Fla., who died at age 23 on Dec. 29, 2013 from complications following a motorcycle accident.
Arbuckle was the top coxswain on her high school rowing team. She was also an artist who wanted to teach art to disabled children.
Arbuckle’s family placed the bricks at lighthouses, putting them near iconic buildings that stand close to the water. They are inscribed with her name and nickname, “Bean.”
At the Oak Orchard Lighthouse, the brick was buried near the southwest corner of the 32-foot structure, where the light is shown in this photo.
On Aug. 7, a group of volunteers were digging four holes in rock hard dirt at the lighthouse. Drought conditions made for difficult digging.
The volunteers dumped some water on the dirt, to try to ease the shoveling. They needed to dig the holes for four cannisters that would be part of a new light show display at the museum.
Cheryl Giacherio was digging at the southwest corner when she found the brick with Arbuckle’s name. Museum volunteer Kim Charron cleaned the stone and did some research online about Arbuckle. One article said about four or five of the bricks have been discovered at lighthouses, including one in the water at New Bedford, Mass.
The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum intends to keep the brick on display inside the museum where there are brochures and merchandise available about the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.
The lighthouse now has a nightly 30-minute light show that starts a half hour at sunset. In addition to the four cannisters on the ground at the corners, the top of the lighthouse has 192 lights for the show.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2025 at 7:47 am
A new light now shines on an iconic site at Point Breeze
Photos by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – The lights changed colors and direction, creating a Northern Lights feeling last night on the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.
Thursday was the debut of a new light show that is expected to be a nightly event well into the future.
About 100 people came out to see the first light show. It started at 8:45 p.m., a half hour after sunset. The light show is set to go every day a half hour after sunset. The show will be for 30 minutes. The 32-foot-high lighthouse, built in 2010, will then be illumined at night with low intensity white light.
“It’s very calming,” said Wendy Young of Kendall. “I think it will be a great draw for the area.”
Marlene Seielstad and her husband Erik were among the crowd gathered to see the light show. The Seielstads brought their own lawn chairs.
“It’s very cool,” Mrs. Seielstad said. “It’s definitely brighter than I thought.”
She said it will be interesting to come back as the weather changes to see how the light reflects off the trees, ground and lighthouse in different conditions.
The Oak Orchard Lighthouse museum received a $5,000 grant through the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council for the project. Museum officials led by volunteer Cheryl Giacherio wanted to create a Northern Lights effect on the lighthouse.
They saw photos of the lighthouse from May 10, 2024 when there was a dazzling display of the Northern Lights. The spectacle in the sky has inspired the lighthouse’s board of directors to pursue a light show on the structure.
The museum touts the new light as “Aurora Over The Lighthouse.” The museum contracted with IlluminFx Lighting Systems in Rochester for the display. That company has created lighting shows for the Alamo, a battleship in Wilmington, NC and the nearby Churchville dam in Monroe County.
Larry Albanese, museum vice president, is very pleased with the result. He expects many lighthouse lovers and other curiosity seekers will make the trek to Point Breeze to see the light show.
“This is the only lighthouse lit up like this,” he said.
There will also be about a dozen other special displays on holidays, including the upcoming Labor Day.
David Giacherio, another museum volunteer, helped dig the holes for the four corner lights. There are also 192 smaller lights on the top part of the lighthouse.
“This will be a benefit to the community,” Giacherio said.
It brings more attention to the lighthouse, shining a new light on an iconic building. He hopes the local businesses see more customers because of the light show.
He credited his wife Cheryl for bringing the energy to bring an idea from about a year ago to reality. Mrs. Giacherio had the idea to light up the lighthouse in multiple moving colors, and she found the company to do it. The museum board rallied behind the project, securing the funding through GO Art!
“The whole thing has been a lot of fun,” Mr. Giacherio said about the year-long effort. “It all came together. I think it’s kind of cool.”
Many people wanted to be part of history and get photos of the debut lights show.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 August 2025 at 8:33 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Oak Orchard Lighthouse is shown on May 10, 2024 during a dazzling display of the Northern Lights. The spectacle in the sky has inspired the lighthouse’s board of directors to pursue a light show on the structure.
POINT BREEZE – The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum will debut a light show tonight that will mimic the Northern Lights.
The “Aurora Over The Lighthouse” show is expected to be dedicated at 8:30 p.m. with the half-hour show to follow.
The museum was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council to install lighting equipment for the show.
The lighthouse museum hired IlluminFx Lighting Systems in Rochester for the display. That company has created lighting shows for the Alamo, a battleship in Wilmington, NC and the nearby Churchville dam in Monroe County.
A.J. Hetzke, owner and general manager of IlluminFx Lighting Systems, programmed a show that will create the swirling green, purple and blue lights of the Aurora Borealis. He also programmed about a dozen other displays for holidays, including a orange-themed one for Halloween, green for St. Patrick’s Day, pink for Valentine’s and several others.
