By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – Orleans County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a two-car accident at the corner of Route 18 and Harris Road in the Town of Carlton a little after 5 p.m. today.
There were no injuries in the accident. The ice and slush on many of the roads in the county is making for difficult travel.
A winter weather advisory is in effect until 1 a.m. tonight due to the freezing rain.
Medina and Lyndonville both cancelled after-school activities today due to the hazardous weather.
CARLTON – The State Department of Transportation will again be closing the 2-mile, western portion of the Lake Ontario State Parkway between Lakeside Beach State Park and Route 98 for the rest of the winter effective Friday. The highway will be opened later this spring as weather allows.
The savings in de-icing materials, equipment maintenance, and in repairs to the often damaged pavement come spring is expensive and consumes many hours of manpower. Eliminating excess use of heavy plow equipment would preserve the existing infrastructure including pavement and bridges over Oak Orchard Creek.
About 800 cars travel this section every day and likely even less in the winter. The Parkway already prohibits commercial truck traffic. Motorists will be directed to use Route 18 as a detour route.
The same section has been closed in recent years in November, but this year coordination with unplanned repairs to the Route 18 bridge over Oak Orchard Creek was needed. Bridge repairs, slated to take about two weeks, are scheduled to begin later this month. The road will remain open to traffic throughout the construction with use of an alternating traffic signal.
We appreciate your understanding in advance. If you have any questions, please contact Resident Engineer Pat Reinhold in Batavia, at 343-0502 or via e-mail at patricia.reinhold@dot.ny.gov.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 January 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Firefighters spent several hours on Friday at the scene of a fire in Carlton at 2086 Oak Orchard Rd.
CARLTON – The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office has positively identified George Swartz as the victim of a fatal fire on Friday, Orleans County Sheriff Scott Hess said.
The body of George P. Swartz, 65, was recovered in the remains of a house fire on Friday night. Swartz owned the house and was the sole resident.
The Monroe County Examiner’s Office in Rochester determined Swartz’s cause of death as “Inhalation of Various Combustibles” and the manner of death as “Accidental,” Hess said.
The cause and origin of the fire remains under investigation.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Firefighters work on putting out a fire on Friday afternoon at a house owned by George Swartz.
Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Scott Hess
CARLTON – A man was found dead following a structure fire that started Friday afternoon on Route 98 in the Town of Carlton.
At about 1:40 p.m., Carlton firefighters were dispatched to 2086 Oak Orchard Rd. A Sheriff’s deputy on patrol arrived at the scene within a minute of the call and reported the two-story dwelling fully engulfed in fire.
The owner and sole resident of the home could not immediately be located and it was believed that he might be in the structure. In addition to the Carlton Fire Department, seven other fire departments from within the county were called to the scene. It was several hours before the fire was completely extinguished.
It took several hours for firefighters to put out the blaze in the two-story house.
Once the fire was completely out, a search was initiated and shortly before 10 p.m., an individual was located in the basement of the remaining structure, and pronounced dead by Orleans County Coroner Scott Schmidt.
The body was subsequently removed and transported to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester for autopsy and positive identification.
In addition to the Sheriff’s Office, the incident remains under investigation by the Orleans County Office of Emergency Management, and the NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control. A New York State Police K-9 team assisted with the search for the deceased.
Fire Departments responding to the scene were as follows: Albion, Barre, FHM (Fancher-Hulberton-Murray), Kendall, Lyndonville, Ridgeway and Medina. Fire Departments providing station fill-ins were Elba at Barre and Shelby at Albion.
The dark smoke from the fire could be seen from several miles away.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 January 2015 at 8:20 pm
Route 98 remains blocked off north of Route104
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – Firefighters remain at the scene of a fire in Carlton that destroyed much of a house at 2086 Oak Orchard Rd.
The property is owned by George Swartz and the site was condemned by the town recently as living quarters. Swartz was at the scene earlier today, trying to clean up the property, law enforcement officials said.
Fire investigators are on scene sifting through the rubble, looking a cause and also checking to see if anyone remained inside the house during the fire.
Fire departments from throughout Orleans County responded to the fire, which was first reported at 1:39 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 January 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Members of the Royal Church of God in Christ collected about eight boxes of canned and other nonperishable food on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Rev. William Washington, pastor of the church on Sawyer Road in Kent, delivered the food today to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee in Albion. Rev. Washington is pictured in the top photo with his nephews, Mark Washington (center) and Anthony Washington.
The donations for the food pantry come at a good time, said Nate Varland, director of housing and supportive services for Community Action. The agency sees a surge in donations around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but giving tends to drop after the holidays.
“Post holidays we have a lull in donations,” he said. “Mid-winter is a time when we don’t see a lull in need.”
Nate Varland of Community Action is pictured with Rev. William Morrell Washington, pastor of the Royal Church of God in Christ.
Washington said the church wants to make service a big part of honoring Dr. King every year his holiday is celebrated. About 100 people attend the church, and Washington said the group would like to work with Community Action with other projects during the year.
“This is just a start,” he said about the food donations. “We’d like to see the real needs for Community Action so we can assist them on a regular basis.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 December 2014 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – Dirk Biemans is co-owner of Intergrow Greenhouses, which built its first 15-acre greenhouse in the Town of Gaines in 2003. The company put on another 7.5-acre greenhouse this year, bringing the total space to 55.5 acres.
Two projects in Orleans County were approved for funding in an announcement today by Gov. Andrew Cuomo through the fourth round of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.
Intergrow Greenhouses on Route 98 in Gaines was awarded $600,000 for a facility upgrade that includes adding “grow lights” to the 7.3 acres of the greenhouse complex. Intergrow will also need to upgrade its electric supply with the project.
Intergrow started in Gaines about a decade ago and has completed several expansions, and now has 55.5 acres of greenhouses. The company grows hydroponic tomatoes and employs about 100 workers.
Orleans County also was approved for $81,500 for its Marine Park along the Oak Orchard River on Route 98 in the Town of Carlton.
The funding will help replace the north stairway and walkway, and also provide shore power service. The county will also prepare a feasibility study to explore options to protect public docking facilities from ice damage.
Orleans County is part of the Finger Lakes Region which was named a “top performer” with $80.7 million approved for 100 projects.
For more on the projects approved in the region and state-wide, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – The Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association is playing Santa this holiday season giving out donations to several local organizations.
OONA met with the Carlton Volunteer Fire Company officials tonight to give them a $700 check. The following are pictured, from left: Deanne Borrie, OONA membership secretary; Jeanne Lauta, OONA vice president; Jim Tabor, president of Carlton Fire Company; Andrew Niederhofer, Carlton fire chief; Ed Bellnier, OONA president; Sue Zeppetella, OONA treasurer; and Eileen Wuethrich, OONA member.
Carlton will use the funding to help buy new cold water rescue gear, Tabor said.
The fire company in October mailed letters to town residents and they have responded with about $12,000 in donations, with many from seasonal residents who spend the winters away from Carlton, Tabor said.
OONA wanted to support the fire company “because of what they do in our community,” Bellnier said.
OONA also have given other donations with money coming from its annual concert series, sponsorships and membership fees.
The organization approved $700 for the Oak Orchard Lighthouse Association with $500 of that as a memorial for the late Joette Haines; $200 each for Hospice of Orleans, VALOR (Volunteer Alliance Linking Orleans Resources) and Project LIFE. In addition, OONA donated $173 t0 the Just Friends program through the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 November 2014 at 12:00 am
County plans work on 6 more bridges next 3 years
Photos by Tom Rivers
WATERPORT – Pictured in a ribbon cutting this morning for the reopening of the Waterport Bridge on Route 279 include, from left: Kathy Blackburn, executive director of Orleans County Chamber of Commerce; Gayle Ashbery, Carlton town supervisor; Jackie Tarricone, secretary to county highway superintendent; County Legislator Ken DeRoller; Legislature Chairman David Callard, County Legislator Bill Eick, Highway Superintendent Jerry Gray (with scissors); Legislator John DeFillipps; Legislator Fred Miller; John Papponetti, project manager for LaBella Associates; Chris Bayer, structural engineer with LaBella; Scott Scharping, chief engineer and project manager for Keeler Construction; Tom Keeler, vice president at Keeler Construction; Lucinda Mayer, resident engineer for LaBella; and Tracy Sheffer, project supervisor for Keeler.
The bridge was closed for five months while it received $1.5 million in upgrades, including new railings, repairs to concrete piers, a new deck, asphalt top, two new fascia beams and drainage improvements.
With proper maintenance, the bridge should last another 50 years, said John Papponetti, project manager for Labella Associates, a Rochester engineering firm.
The bridge is the longest county-owned span at 700 feet, crossing Lake Alice and the Oak Orchard River.
“It was inconvenient while it was closed,” said Gayle Ashbery, Carlton town supervisor. “We’re glad it’s back open.”
David Callard (center), chairman of the Orleans County Legislature, praised county employees, Labella Associates and Keeler Construction for their efforts with the project.
The federal government paid 80 percent of the costs, with the state contributing 15 percent and the county the remaining 5 percent. The county opened another bridge last week on Hulberton Road after a new bridge was completed. Federal and state funds paid 95 percent of that project’s cost.
Those state and federal dollars for bridges will be hard to come by for rural counties in the next few years.
The county has opted to borrow $8 million for capital projects, including about $5 million to repair or replace six bridges, with two being tackled annually from 2015 to 2017. The two targeted next year include a bridge from 1934 over Beardsley Creek on Waterport-Carlton Road in Carlton, and a bridge from 1968 in Barre over Manning Muckland Creek on Oak Orchard Road.
“We’re continue with our efforts,” Callard said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony today.
Other bridges identified for improvements include a 1959 bridge in Kendall on Carton Road over Sandy Creek, a bridge from 1936 in Ridgeway over Fish Creek on East Scott Road, one from 1928 in Ridgeway over Fish Creek on Culvert Road, and a bridge from 1956 in Kendall over Sandy Creek on Norway Road.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
WATERPORT – Local officials are planning an 11:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting on Monday for the Waterport bridge, which reopened on Oct. 22 after about five months of construction work.
The bridge is 700 feet across. It’s the longest county-owned bridge. It stretches across Lake Alice and the Oak Orchard River.
Keeler Construction in Barre served as the contractor for the $1.5 million project.
Another county bridge that has been under construction reopened earlier this week. The bridge on Hulberton Road near Route 104 is brand new, a $1.3 million project over Sandy Creek in the Town of Murray.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Insurance company will help ID cause
Photos by Tom Rivers – Firefighters use the Albion ladder truck to help douse the house fire in Carlton on Friday.
CARLTON – The fire that destroyed a Carlton home on Friday afternoon remains under investigation, said Walter Batt, a fire investigator for Orleans County.
The insurance provider for the house owned by Tim and Terry Keller will have personnel on the scene early next week to help sift through the rubble and look for a cause.
Firefighters from several departments were on scene after the initial call went out at about 12:30 p.m. for the fire at 1830 Kent Rd. It took about three hours to bring the blaze under control. Firefighters struggled to snuff out the fire due to windy conditions on Friday.
Firefighters get into position to work out the fire at the back side of the house.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 November 2014 at 2:02 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – Firefighters from several fire departments are on scene at a house fire on Kent Road. The house is fully engulfed with flames and firefighters are struggling to put it out due to windy conditions.
The house is owned by Tim and Terry Keller. They live at 1830 Kent Rd., next door to the Carlton Fire Station. Firefighters were dispatched at about 12:30 p.m.
Firefighters from throughout the county as well as from Hamlin responded to the call.
Carlton firefighters Ed Cooper and Ben Diltz direct water on the back of the house. The Albion ladder truck gets in position to spray water from up high.
The dark smoke from the blaze can be seen from miles away.
One firefighter suffered a muscle sprain in his knee and was taken from the scene by ambulance.
Heather Stone of Kent sent in this photo taken at about 1 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – A fire that tore through a home in Carlton was finally brought under control at about 3:30 p.m. today. (The top photo shows the scene at about 4:15 p.m.)
Firefighters battled the fire for about three hours. The house at 1830 Kent Road is owned by Tim and Terry Keller. Mr. Keller is a past chief of the Carlton Fire Company. The house is located next to a Carlton fire station.
Fire investigators are on the scene, sifting through the rubble to determine a cause. It appears to have started in a back corner of the house by a wood stove, but that hasn’t been determined as the cause.
Dan Strong, a Carlton firefighter, was taken from the scene by ambulance. He suffered a muscle strain in his knee, and has been released after being treated, Carlton firefighters said.
The fire spread through the house and took about three hours to bring under control.
Firefighters are barely visible through the smoke in this photo taken at about 1:15 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
WATERPORT – Brown’s Berry Patch has hosted a 5-kilometer run and walk at its farm since 1996. The Oct. 11 event raised $3,615 for Hospice of Orleans, one of the highest totals in the race’s history.
Margy Brown, right, director of the race stopped by Hospice on Monday and presented a check to Bonnie Reigle, administrative assistant for the agency. They are pictured in the new garden next to the Martin-Linsin Residence.
The residence opened almost two years ago and includes eight residential suites for Hospice patients.
