By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 April 2018 at 3:50 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – The fishing community at Point Breeze welcomed more than 100,000 fish today. The Department of Environmental Conservation delivered Steelhead and Chinook salmon from the Altmar Hatchery.
The top photo shows volunteers working with the DEC to release 106,500 Chinook salmon into pens by Ernst’s Lake Breeze Marina.
There also were 21,000 steelhead released into the Oak Orchard River at the Bridges near Captain’s Cove and Narby’s Superette and Tackle.
The 106,500 Chinook salmon were released into pens, where they will spend the next 3 to 3 ½ weeks. The extra time in the pens will allow the fish to double in size and also imprint on the Oak Orchard, making it far more likely they will return to the Oak Orchard when they are mature in about 3 to 4 years.
Right now the fish are only about 2 inches long. When they are mature, they should be 25 to 30 pounds – or bigger.
The team of charter boat captains and other Point Breeze stakeholders started the pen-rearing project in 1998. Bob Songin, center, led the effort. He passed the leaderships reins about three years ago but continues to help with the pen rearing.
Since the pen rearing, charter boat captains say they noticed a big change with more fish in the Oak Orchard and in Lake Ontario near Orleans County.
“It’s made a huge difference,” said Mike Lavender, a charter boat captain locally for 25 years. “The return rate has definitely increased.”
Daniel Wik, left, and Mike Lavander, owner of Intimidator Sportfishing, move one of the pens to a different dock. The fish will be fed often while in the pens. The pens keep the fish safe from predators while the Chinook grow in the next month.
Volunteers assist the DEC in releasing the fish this afternoon.
Mary Duckworth offered to help with the fish stocking today. She and her husband enjoy fishing and they wanted to provide some assistance.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 March 2018 at 6:32 pm
Employee drove dump truck into garage with box in upright position
Photo by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – One of the bays in the Carlton highway garage was damaged today when an employee made a mistake and drove into the space with the box of a dump truck in the upright position.
That took out about six rows of cement blocks above the door, the steel-beam header and also damaged the door, Highway Superintendent Kurt Van Wycke said.
“The big thing is no one got hurt,” he said.
The employee is a long-time motor equipment operator for the town. Van Wycke said the employee is a hard worker and asset to the highway department.
The employee had the box in the upright position to wash out salt from the winter plowing season. The employee then went to put the truck back in the garage but forgot to lower the box.
“He is a veteran employee who was just thinking about the next thing to do,” Van Wycke said.
The open space has been boarded up and the insurance company will be on site on Wednesday. Van Wycke said the damage will be repaired.
The dump truck only has some cosmetic damage and still works just fine, he said.
Press Release, Orleans County Department of Planning and Development
CARLTON – As part of the ongoing effort to effectively plan for the waterfront, the Towns of Kendall, Carlton and Yates are undertaking the amendment of a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. Additionally, the Village of Lyndonville has opted to participate in the program.
To introduce this project to the public, residents of the forenamed municipalities along with other interested parties are invited to attend a public information meeting. Those in attendance at this meeting are encouraged to offer their input on what they feel is important for the future of the waterfront area, and to help the Project Planning Team identify important issues and opportunities in this area.
The Public Information Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 11, 2018 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Carlton Fire Recreation Hall, 1813 Oak Orchard Road. Doors will open a half hour early to allow the public time to review maps of existing conditions for the area. Comments will be accepted electronically for those who cannot attend by clicking here.
A Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) is an extension of the New York State Coastal Management Program. Having a local program enables waterfront communities to evaluate land use and waterfront resources and develop a comprehensive strategy to effectively manage and protect these resources.
By applying a local focus on land use management and the maintenance, improvement and enhancement of important resources and features in the waterfront area, an LWRP strengthens the State’s program and provides the participating communities with a roadmap to guide growth and recognize opportunities. It also provides more local control over decisions made along its waterfront. The goal is to develop a local program that properly manages land use and future development along the waterfront and effectively protects important coastal resources.
The Orleans County Department of Planning and Development was awarded a grant from New York State for the amendment of the LWRP. The County entered into a contract for the provision of professional services with Wendel and WWS Planning in April 2017 to assist with this project. Wendel and WWS Planning have been working with a community-based steering group – the Waterfront Advisory Committee – to collect and review information on existing waterfront conditions, including land use and community character, economic development, public access and recreation, flooding and erosion, historic preservation, scenic resources, environmental resources and water quality. To complement this information, the Waterfront Advisory Committee is asking local citizens to assist in identifying important issues, opportunities, desires and concerns to help establish a clear vision for the waterfront.
The information gathered at the Public Information Meeting will be useful for revising the State’s coastal management policies to better reflect issues and opportunities of local importance. This information will also help to determine where projects could be undertaken for improving the use and enjoyment of the waterfront.
As the LWRP project progresses, progress reports and draft materials will be made available to the public for review and additional input. Ultimately, the governing Board of each participating community must take action to adopt the amended LWRP; therefore, public involvement is critical to ensure that this project can result in a waterfront program that protects and improves the waterfront.
For additional information on these meetings or the LWRP project, contact Wendy Salvati, WWS Planning, (716) 870-2724 or the Director of Orleans County Department of Planning and Development, Jim Bensley, (585) 589-3189.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Andy Young, right, is acquiring Ricci Meadows from Dan and Sarah Ricci, the owners since 1992. Mr. Ricci’s father, Peter, bought the golf course in 1978.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 March 2018 at 1:39 pm
CARLTON – A business that has been owned by the Ricci family for 40 years is in the process of being sold.
Dan and Sarah Ricci are selling Ricci Meadows to Andy Young, who used to run a roofing company in Albion. Young retired from the roof work in 2015. He has been eager to get involved in another business.
Dan and Sarah Ricci said they appreciate the many friends they have made through the years with the business. They are pictured today on the 18-hole golf course on Route 98.
He was considering farming. In fact, he was eyeing the golf course on Route 98 for farmland. But he said the Riccis worked very hard on the property since they became the owners in 1978.
“I see decades of hard work out there,” Young said the golf course today.
He was joined today in the clubhouse by Dan and Sarah Ricci. Dan’s father Peter bought the business in 1978 as a 9-hole course. Dan became the owner in 1992.
The Riccis expanded the course to 18 holes in 1986 and added a clubhouse, maintenance shop and numerous other improvements over the years.
They serve dinners and alcohol in the clubhouse, as well as selling Quick Draw lottery tickets.
Young will change the name of the golf course to Carlton Meadows.
“It has a nice ring to it,” Mr. Ricci said.
“And it lets people know where it is,” Young said.
Mrs. Ricci intends to stay on this year helping to run the clubhouse. Mr. Ricci also will be available to help Young with the transition.
Young has already purchased new mowers and tractors, and will have 20 new golf carts available for the upcoming season.
Mr. Ricci said he is pleased the site will remain a golf course. It opened as a 9-hole course in 1953.
Photos courtesy of Dan Ricci: Dan Ricci, center, is pictured with his father Peter and Dan’s son Pete in this photo from 1978, the first year the family owned the golf course.
“It’s a fun business,” Mr. Ricci said. “I hope Andy has as much fun as we did.”
Before joining his father at the golf course, Mr. Ricci sold tires and worked on cars at Ricci Tire. He did that for 10 years. Many of the customers in that business were grumpy because there were problems with their car. Some had been in accidents.
But at the golf course, people are in a good mood. Occasionally, he would find discarded golf clubs on the course when people reacted to a bad shot. But a bad shot is often followed up with a good shot, and those shots can improve a mood.
“People come here for a fun time,” he said.
Young has his first day today as operator of the site. He also had his first golfers of the year today with temperatures in the mid-40s and the sun shining.
The site has customers throughout the year. Snowmobilers stop by during the winter, and the clubhouse also is used for dinners, receptions and parties.
Mrs. Ricci planned much of the landscaping and gardening on the property over the years, picking different types of trees and also putting in many planted beds.
She said she met so many friendly people through the years at Ricci Meadows.
“This has been our life,” Dan said.
“We’ve made so many friends,” Sarah said.
This photo from 2016 also shows three generations of Riccis in the clubhouse: Charlie, Dan’s grandson; Pete, Dan’s son, and Dan.
File photo: The bridge on Route 18 over Oak Orchard Creek is shown in this photo from October 2015.
Press Release, NYS Department of Transportation
The New York State Department of Transportation announced it will close the two-lane bridge over Oak Orchard Creek along Route 18 in the Town of Carlton beginning Monday, March 19. The closure is anticipated to last two to four weeks.
Work on the bridge will consist of repairing concrete, replacing a joint header, and installing a new layer of concrete on the bridge deck to maintain a smooth riding surface.
The Lake Ontario State Parkway between Route 98 and Lakeside Beach State Park will re-open temporarily to accommodate traffic as a detour during the bridge repairs. Commercial vehicles will use the same detour.
Repairs to the Route 18 bridge over Oak Orchard Creek are being made well ahead of the busy summer tourism season. The bridge is currently posted at 28 tons.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 March 2018 at 12:10 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: A Carlton town sign notes the community is the “Ultimate Fishing Town.” The town received a $25,000 grant for winning that contest. The state comptroller said expenses from that $25,000 award weren’t audited and presented to the Town Board for approval.
CARLTON – An audit from the State Comptroller’s Office is critical of Carlton Town Supervisor Gayle Ashbery for her handling of the town’s finances.
The comptroller says Ashbery did not ensure accounting records were accurate and did not have deposit receipts in a timely manner.
“We found that 93 percent of receipts reviewed totaling $1.47 million were deposited, on average, 35 days after receipt,” according to the audit. (Click here to see the report.)
The town’s annual budget is $2.5 million. A five-member Town Board governs the town and is led by Ashbery, the town supervisor.
“We appreciate the issues raised by the NYS Comptroller in its audit,” Ashbery wrote to the comptroller’s office on Feb. 7. “It has helped us recognize areas where we can improve. We believe we have addressed many of them and we will continue to address other issues that small municipalities likes ours face.”
The comptroller’s office reviewed town finances from Jan. 1, 2015 to Oct. 2, 2017.
• Some of the specific concerns identified by the comptroller include a $25,000 award from the World Fishing Network after Point Breeze won the Ultimate Fish Town contest.
The comptroller said the town supervisor did not properly account for and report cash receipts and disbursements relating to the $25,000.
The Supervisor deposited the money in its own separate bank account and made 34 disbursements totaling $19,619 from the account during the period September 1, 2013 through August 31, 2017, the comptroller said.
However, the supervisor did not have the bookkeeping firm record the receipt or disbursements in the town’s accounting records and did not report the activity to the Town Board.
The comptroller reviewed the bank statements and cancelled check images, and discussed the payments with town officials and found the payments were appropriate, although they weren’t audited or approved by the board.
• The comptroller also highlighted a 2015 mortgage tax payment of $18,733 from Orleans County that was not deposited or recorded in Town records until April 2016. That resulted in the revenue being recorded in the wrong fiscal year for which it was intended.
“Had the Supervisor been performing an appropriate review of the monthly financial reports and budget to actual comparisons, it would have been apparent the Town had not received its mortgage tax payment as budgeted,” the audit states.
• The Supervisor also misplaced two checks totaling $2,015 from the town justices, who remitted the April 2016 collections of fines and fees to the Supervisor on May 2, 2016. The justices had to reissue the checks several months later because the town supervisor never deposited the original checks.
• The comptroller also faulted the town supervisor for not submitting an annual accounting to the Town Board for fiscal years 2015 and 2016, and not providing the public accountant hired to audit the books and records with adequate information. “As a result, the 2015 and 2016 annual audits have not been performed.”
• The comptroller recommended Carlton maintain complete and accurate accounting records and deposit all money in a timely manner. The town supervisor also needs to submit annual financial reports to the Town Board and cooperate with the public accountant hired to audit the books and records.
In her response to the Comptroller’s Office on Feb. 7, Ashbery acknowledged the audit is “highly critical of the fiscal oversight” for the audit period from Jan. 1, 2015 to Oct. 2, 2017.
“We also understand that we are a small municipality where elected officials are part-time,” she wrote. “We have made changes during this audit period by engaging professional services that will supplement our ability to be available to meet our fiscal responsibilities and to ensure that accounting records are accurate and complete.”
Ashbery also said the town is depositing receipts in a timely manner and has engaged a CPA firm to audit the town books.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 January 2018 at 4:21 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Lake Ontario State Parkway in Orleans County has suffered from deteriorating road conditions in recent years, which has deterred some motorists from using the road. A study is looking at the future of the Parkway.
An Orleans County legislator believes keeping the Lake Ontario State Parkway in its current form as a four-lane divided highway offers the best benefit for the Orleans County and likely makes the most sense for the state financially.
Ken DeRoller, a county legislator and member of the board of directors for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, is part of a committee looking at the future of the Parkway in Orleans County.
The Genesee Transportation Council in Rochester and the county are studying the future of the Parkway, looking at possible alternatives for the westernmost 12.7 miles of the Parkway that runs along the lake through Kendall and part of Carlton.
One idea was to close the northern side, currently the western lanes, and have the Parkway be a regular two-lane state road on the south side. That could free up the northern side for possible housing development. Except, DeRoller said, there wouldn’t be enough room to accommodate new development because the road is too close to the lake.
DeRoller said the idea of lakefront housing by the northern lanes of the parkway “is a fallacy.”
“There is not enough room to build on the north side,” DeRoller told the EDA board on Friday.
The Transportation Council also is considering closing off either the north or south sides to traffic and designating one side for cyclists and snowmobiles. But DeRoller said snow doesn’t seem to “stick” too well on the Parkway surface.
And the state would need to modify the interchanges if traffic was allowed on only one side. The cost of redoing the interchanges might negate any maintenance savings from closing off one side to traffic, DeRoller said.
The committee looking at the Parkway also is considering a reduced speed of 40 miles per hour for the Parkway, or perhaps an elevated speed limit to make the road faster for motorists.
DeRoller told the EDA board he favors more maintenance and paving in the current Parkway setup. He thinks the roadway should be better marketed as a connector to popular state parks at Lakeside Beach in Carlton and Hamlin Beach. Those two state parks together draw 443,000 visitors annually, DeRoller said. They each have about 250 camp sites.
The state Department of Transportation last year resurfaced the Parkway from Route 19 in Hamlin to Payne Beach Road in Parma. This year the resurfacing will continue west from Route 19 in Hamlin to Route 237 in Kendall in 2018. Altogether, the DOT is spending about $14 million on the paving projects.
DeRoller sees the road – when it’s in good shape – as an asset for the county, leading to the state park in Carlton, sites at Point Breeze, and a revamped marina and other businesses in Kendall.
“It’s very important to our southshore and tourism,” DeRoller said about the Parkway.
To complete a survey about the future of the Parkway, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 December 2017 at 9:11 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – A GoFundMe fundraiser has been established to support Dan and Rose Mawn, the owner of a house that burned to the ground on Sunday evening.
“This has been their home for over 15 years and they lost everything,” their son, Daniel Mawn, writes on GoFundMe. “The house is a total loss. Thankfully everyone is safe including their dog.”
Mawn said he is assisting his parents as they work with their insurance company.
The house was located on Route 18 at the eastern end of Carlton, right next to the Kendall town line.
“They will need to rebuild from nothing,” Mawn said. “100% of funds raised will go directly to the affected family and will be used to replace everything that they have lost.”
The Mawns need to replace clothing, household goods and supplies, furniture – “everything that you see when you look around your own home right at this moment!” Mawn said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 December 2017 at 10:18 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – The house owned by Dan and Rose Mawn is consumed by flames on Sunday evening. The house is located on Route 18 near the Carlton-Kendall townline.
The extensive damage of the site has made it unsafe for fire investigators to go inside and try to identify the cause of the blaze, said Dale Banker, director of Orleans County’s Emergency Management Office.
The Mawns’ insurance company will be sending out investigators and Banker said the county fire investigators will likely work with them to determine a cause. The county investigators took photos of the scene and did an outside assessment.
Eleven of the 12 fire companies in the county responded to the fire on Sunday evening, with most of those fire companies bringing tankers full of water to the scene.
Firefighters were dispatched back to the scene this morning at about 5:30 a.m. after the fire rekindled.
Firefighters set up a dump tank for water. That water was then sucked into a pumper fire truck. Hoses were connected to the pumper so the water could be sprayed by firefighters onto the house.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 December 2017 at 7:05 pm
Many fire departments battle blaze
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – A house owned by Dan and Rose Mawn is engulfed in flames this evening on Route 18. The address is near the townline for Carlton and Kendall, between Carr Road and Petersmith Road.
Numerous fire departments are at the scene. They were dispatched there at 5:24 p.m.
There isn’t public water at the site so firefighters can’t hook into fire hydrants. Many fire departments are using tankers to haul water to the location.
The Mawns were able to safely get out of the house, along with their dog.
The house was damaged in the March windstorm when a tree fell on the structure. Friends of the Mawns said renovations had been approved by the Mawns’ insurance company but the work has been held up by a bank. The Mawns were frustrated with the delays, the friends said.
Firefighters get water on the back of the house. The entire building was engulfed in flames.
Provided photo: Pat Haines of Waterport is pictured with a truck and driver from Mobile Air Transport which will take 20 boxes of donated clothes that are headed to Puerto Rico. The boxes will be flown to San Juan, and taken to the community of Moca, a town on the western side of Puerto Rico.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 December 2017 at 10:52 am
WATERPORT – The community donated numerous shirts, pants and other clothing items during an Oct. 29 fundraiser for a town in Puerto Rico.
Those clothing items were packaged in 20 boxes and on Monday they were picked up by a truck and driver from Mobile Air Transport. The boxes were flown from Rochester to JFK in New York City and then to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
From there, they will reach their final destination in the town of Moca in western Puerto Rico. The company, REI, is shipping the boxes at cost – $50 each.
Orchestrating the shipment of the boxes has been a hurdle in a local effort to assist a town that remains without electricity after Hurricane Maria hit the island in September.
The Carlton United Methodist Church hosted a fundraiser on Oct. 29 for a community in Puerto Rico, home of Betty Garcia Mathewson’s relatives. Garcia Mathewson lives in Albion and attends a yoga class led by Pat Haines. Haines also attends the Carlton United Methodst Church.
The church and yoga class put on the fundraiser that has raised $5,500. That money has paid for 80 solar powered emergency lights and 20 water filtration systems and extra filters, the $1,000 needed to ship the boxes of clothes, and $1,500 that was sent to a church to provide a Thanksgiving meal for the Moca community.
“It’s really impacting peoples’ lives,” Haines said this morning. “We far exceeded my expectations. It’s amazing what small group can do.”
The Centro Cristiano Nueva Vision – the New Vision Christian Center in Moca – is the distribution point for the donations. Garcia Mathewson’s cousin is a leader in that congregation.
People are still welcome to send checks to the Carlton United Methodist Church, 1196 Archbald Road, Waterport, NY 14571. If someone sends a check to the church, they should note “PR Fundraiser.” The church will then wire the funds to the New Vision Christian Center in Moca. Donors also are welcome to sponsor a box for $50.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 October 2017 at 4:28 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON — Laurie Frederick works on a table full of baskets that will be raffled off on Sunday as part of a fundraiser for the community of Moca in Puerto Rico.
The Carlton United United Methodist Church is hosting the fundraiser from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. More than 100 baskets will be raffled off.
The church and a yoga class led by Pat Haines are leading the fundraiser on Sunday. Betty Garcia Mathewson of Albion is in the yoga class. Her cousin and other family live in Moca on the western side of Puerto Rico.
Betty shared with the yoga class the initial difficulty of contacting family to make sure they were OK after the hurricane hit the island.
Pat Haines bakes cookies at the church today for Sunday’s fundraiser. People who drop often clothing will receive a raffle ticket on Sunday.
Haines said the community has stepped up with many donations so far.
“People have been eager to help,” Haines said. “It restores your faith in humanity.”
The money raised on Sunday will be wired from the Carlton United Methodist Church to the Centro Cristiano Nueva Vision – the New Vision Christian Center in Moca.
Garcia Mathewson said much of the humanitarian relief is focused on San Juan and the more populated areas in Puerto Rico. She worries especially for the small towns that don’t get much media or political attention.
Cindy Chaplin bakes cookies for Sunday’s event.
The church is located at 1196 Archbald Rd., Waterport.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 October 2017 at 2:47 pm
CARLTON – The former Barbary Coast restaurant at Point Breeze, most recently the home for Gene and Joette Haines, will find a new use as The Lakeland, a banquet facility.
The late Mr. and Mrs. Haines used the site at 14361 Ontario St. as their residence. They also were generous in allowing the site to be used for community events.
Kevin Pilon of Holley is proposing to use the site as a banquet facility.
The Orleans County Planning Board met on Thursday and approved the site plan for the project. The board also recommended the Town of Carlton approve a special use permit for Pilon to operate the banquet facility in a Waterfront Development District.
The Lakeland will be managed by Kevin and Elizabeth Pilon, and Francis and Evana Daniels.
The site will have catered meals and a bar, and will be available for wedding receptions, bridal showers, baby showers, parties and other events. The Lakeland could be open by the end of the year, according to the company’s business plan which was submitted to the Planning Board.
Mr. Pilon has worked the past 23 years with Pilon Construction. His wife works at Strong Memorial Hospital. Mr. Daniels is a retired supervisor from the 3M corporation. Mrs. Daniels had her own floral business for 27 years and also was the development director for Hospice of Orleans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 October 2017 at 4:04 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
WATERPORT – The St. Mary’s Archery Club on the Oak Orchard River has welcomed about 50 participants in the club’s annual fly fishing tournament from today through Friday.
The fishermen include Joe Harkay, front, who made a 400-mile trip from New Jersey to fish in the tournament. Harkay, 79, is a past champ of the event.
He has been a regular at the Oak Orchard River the past decade. He used to go to the Salmon River at Pulaski, but Harkay said the crowds are big and it’s much more costly to fish up there.
“They’re all gentlemen here,” he said about the fishermen. “This is pure fishing.”
The Oak Orchard is deeper than usual and that has made it tougher to catch fish because they are harder to see in the water and they are more elusive. Harkay likes the challenge.
“The fish have a better chance,” he said. “At the (Waterport) Dam the fish are corralled. The fishermen there are meat hunters.”
The Archery Club runs a catch-and-release tournament with prizes for the biggest Chinook salmon, brown trout, Atlantic salmon and steelhead.
Out-of-state participants have come from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Maine, Connecticut and two from South Korea.
It is a beautiful day to be on the river with the sun shining and high temperatures at about 70.
The Oak Orchard River is a popular spot in the fall with anglers trying to catch big salmon and trout.
Ben Smith, 12, peers into the water, trying to see a salmon. Ben was fishing with his father and two younger brothers. They traveled about 300 miles from near Harrisburg, Pa.
Shane Smith, right, fishes with his youngest son, Beckett, 7. Shane is the father of Ben Smith, in the above photo. Ben’s other brother, Brayden, is 10. The three brothers had a friendly rivalry to see who could catch the biggest fish.
Shane has been fishing at the Oak Orchard for nearly 30 years, first going with his father. Now it’s a three-generation trip for the family.
Duane Putnam, a member of the Archery Club, has a batch of French fries ready for the fishermen. Jeff Holler, in back, checks on chicken. The Archery Club is serving breakfast and lunch daily through Veterans’ Day on Nov. 11. There is a cost for the meals, and a $10 fee to park at the club to go fishing.
The club last year built a new pavilion to extend the kitchen. Putnam and Holler said the extra space has made it much easier to have food ready for the fishermen.
