By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – About 40 members of the Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association built a fire by the Lake Ontario shore and welcomed summer with a party on Saturday night.
The OONA members met at the home of Gene Haines, next to the Oak Orchard Lighthouse. They celebrated the summer solstice, which officially begins today at 12:38 p.m..
At 8:56 p.m. on Saturday, the OONA members gathered at the shoreline, with maracas and other noise-makers to say good-bye to spring and hello to summer.
This is the fourth year that OONA members have held a summer solstice celebration.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Bilal Huzair, deputy director for the World Sufi Foundation, sits on the front steps of the group’s mosque on Fuller Road in Carlton.
CARLTON – A State Supreme Court justice has ruled the World Sufi Foundation can keep its mosque on Fuller Road and another site used for medical services on Waterport Road.
The ex-wife of the Sufi Foundation’s minister, Dr. Asaf Durakovic, claimed in a lawsuit that the properties were fraudulently transferred to the World Sufi Foundation.
The World Sufi Foundation argued in court that the properties were bought by the group and have been maintained by members. The sites are not a personal asset of Dr. Durakovic, the group told Judge James Punch.
The properties were titled in the name of Durakovic because he was the senior minister when the World Sufi Foundation was incorporated. Title to the properties was transferred automatically once the World Sufi Foundation was incorporated in 2004, the group said in court filings.
Punch, in a decision dated on Thursday, said Durakovic held title to the properties in Waterport, but he had no “beneficial interest” in these assets. He merely held them “as the titular head of the Sufi World Foundation,” Punch wrote in his decision.
The site at 1815 Waterport Rd. has been used a medical clinic and the property at 1529 Fuller Rd. has been primarily used as a meeting place for prayers and ceremonies.
Punch’s decision follows a similar conclusion by a Canadian Court, which found the properties were not part of the Durakovic’s and his former wife’s marital estate.
This site on Fuller Road has been used for prayers and services by the local Muslim community.
The judge made his decision on Thursday and the Sufi Foundation was notified of it in mail on Monday.
That followed almost a week of public demonstrations, including an interfaith rally on Sunday outside the courthouse, seeking religious protections for all faiths.
Bilal Huzair, a member of the Sufi Foundation, said the group is relieved the case is over and it can continue to use the sites.
Huzair stopped by the mosque on Fuller Road today. He said the site has been used by the local Muslim community for 37 years for prayers, services and other special events. The site is in a rural area along a dirt road. Huzair said the community enjoys the peacefulness of the location.
“Someone is always here praying or just enjoying it,” he said.
The mosque has a symbol near the front door that means “He is.” The property also has many trees, and each member has planted at least one.
“It’s giving thanks to God,” he said about all the trees.
Huzair said the Muslim community appreciates the support from other people in the community, especially at the interfaith rally on Sunday, when people stood in a downpour.
The pastors of the First Presbyterian Church in Albion and Pullman Memorial Universalist Church were part of that rally, as well as the Social Justice Committee from the Holy Family Catholic Parish in Albion and other religious groups from outside Albion.
“There were members from different churches who joined us in the pouring rain,” Huzair said.
He is hopeful the religious people can continue to build a strong interfaith community in Orleans County and the region.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Demonstrators were out on Sunday for several hours on Main Street in Albion, holding signs and trying to raise awareness for a court case in State Supreme Court in Orleans County.
ALBION – The Waterport Sufi community is planning an interfaith rally at 2 p.m. on Sunday outside the Orleans County Courthouse to protest a lawsuit that threatens the group’s use of a mosque on Fuller Road in Waterport.
The rally is intended as an interfaith event to support Constitutional rights for religious freedom.
The Sufi community is at risk of losing its place of worship as a result of a private lawsuit now before the New York Supreme Court in Orleans County, said Bilal Huzair, deputy director for the local Sufi Foundation.
The congregation and its local supporters have been picketing the courthouse in Albion for the past week to oppose what it says is an abuse of the legal process.
The local Muslim community has used the mosque on a dirt road in Carlton for 37 years. Many people have been married at the site on Fuller Road over the years. The mosque continues to be used for services and prayers, Huzair said.
He said a former wife of one of the mosque’s ministers has filed a lawsuit, seeking possession of the building. The issue has been argued before James Punch, acting State Supreme Court justice, and his decision is expected soon, Huzair said.
“This is not an individual’s property,” Huzair said on Sunday about the mosque. “We’re being held back from practicing our faith.”
The Sufi community is asking its friends in Western New York, other faith congregations, and all concerned people to stand with them to defend the Constitutional rights and freedoms of all Americans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Protestors are out at Courthouse Square today trying to raise awareness of an impending court action that could make a mosque in Waterport no longer available to the World Sufi Foundation.
The local Muslim community has used the mosque on a dirt road in Carlton for 37 years. Many people have been married at the site on Fuller Road over the years. The mosque continues to be used for services and prayers, said Bilal Huzair, deputy director for the World Sufi Foundation.
He said a former wife of one of the mosque’s ministers has filed a lawsuit, seeking possession of the building. The issue has been argued before James Punch, acting State Supreme Court justice, and his decision is expected soon, Huzair said.
“This is not an individual’s property,” he said about the mosque. “We’re being held back from practicing our faith.”
About 50 protestors began walking along Main Street by the courthouse at about 10 a.m. They plan to be there until 4 p.m. today.
“We want to make sure our freedom of the Constitution is upheld,” Huzair said. “Our focus is on preserving our rights.”
Huzair said some of the protestors weren’t part of the World Sufi Foundation, but were supportive of the group’s effort to raise awareness of the case.
“We want to make sure this doesn’t happen to another church,” Huzair said.
Huzair said the lawsuit should worry all of those concerned about faith and liberty. He said the lawsuit contends the site on Fuller Road and also a community-run medical office are not religious properties and should be seized to settle a private lawsuit that does not directly involve the community.
“This is an abuse of the legal process,” Huzair said. “The court should have dismissed this outrageous claim immediately. Instead they have left us hanging for months not knowing if our place of worship would be sold out from under us.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 April 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – Department of Environmental Conservation officials were at the Oak Orchard River today to deliver Steelhead and Chinook Salmon from the Altmar Hatchery. The fish will spend the next month in pens by Ernst’s Lake Breeze Marina.
The fish are about 2 inches long and will double in size before they are released from the pens. The month in the Oak Orchard will allow the fish to imprint on the river, increasing the chances they will return to spawn when they are mature.
Andy Domachowske, a fish culturist for the DEC, empties the truck of the Chinook Salmon.
The DEC released 106,560 Chinook in five pens at the Oak Orchard River, plus another 4,960 Chinook by the two bridges at Captain’s Cove. Another 9,920 steelhead were delivered for two pens in the Oak.
Leigha Townsend, left, and James Boccacci guide the fish into the pens. Leah’s parents, Tracy and Chas Townsend, are charter boat captains. Boccacci is a volunteer.
Keeping the fish in the pens and releasing bigger fish in about a month increases their chances of survival. They are less likely to be eaten by bigger fish in the lake and river.
Bob Songin, a charter boat captain pictured in back left, led the pen-rearing project since its inception about 15 years ago. He has handed over the duties to a group of five volunteers – Mike Lavender, Bob Stevens, James Cond, Chris Efing and Ian Scroger.
The volunteers will feed the fish five times a day over the next month.
Leigha Townsend and another volunteer direct the fish into a pen in the Oak Orchard River today.
James Cond said the pen-rearing project has made a big difference in the fall fishery. Many of the 20-pound-plus Chinook are in the Oak Orchard to spawn. Their presence attracts anglers from all over the country for the fall fishery.
Without the pen-rearing, Cond doubts the county would have such a vibrant fall fishery. Those fish would likely head back to the Salmon River near Oswego where the fish were initially raised.
“Since we’ve stocked, we notice more of the fish come back to the river,” said Cond, a charter boat captain.
He praised Songin for leading the effort for so many years.
“He’s put a lot of time and energy into it,” Cond said.
Cond (pictured on dock) said the group of volunteers is ready to step up and tend to the fish for the next month.
“We got to give back to the lake,” he said. “A lot of guys will just take, take and take.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 March 2015 at 12:00 am
County board also supports small wind turbine in Ridgeway, food service at Carlton business
ALBION – Orleans County Planning Board members supported a plan for a bed and breakfast in the Town of Ridgeway at the southeast corner of the Telegraph and Bates roads intersection.
Rodelle Mammano and Sunshine Charters want to open the bed and breakfast at the location, a 70-acre site of mostly brush/woodland. The house is a single-family dwelling with an in-law apartment and garage.
Planners on Thursday recommended Ridgeway officials approve the site plan and a permit for the project. County planners said the exterior sign advertising the business should not exceed 2 by 2 feet.
In other actions, the Planning Board:
Supported a Ridgeway resident’s plan for a 153-foot-high “small wind energy conversion system” at 2693 Townline Rd.
William Sills wants to erect the wind energy project that would generate 10 kilowatts of power. He will need a variance for the height beyond 120 feet. The Planning Board supported the variance, saying an accessory building and stand of mature trees along the frontage of the property help conceal most of the turbine from motorists.
The tower would be freestanding lattice construction, and set back 252 feet from the front (west) lot line, 280 feet from the north lot line, 686 feet from the south lot line and 415 feet from the rear (east) lot line. Those setbacks are far enough to avert any significant impacts on neighbors, Planning Board members said.
Sills is working with Sustainable Energy Developments from Ontario, NY, for the project.
Backed the request for a permit to serve food at the Vintage Apple Garden at 1582 Oak Orchard Rd., Carlton.
Paula Nesbitt started the business at the site last year. The business had been Bertsch’s Good Earth Market.
Nesbitt wants to add a lunch menu and coffee bar to the greenhouse and seasonal farm market at the corner of Route 98 and Park Avenue.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – The bridge on Route 18 over Oak Orchard River has been limited to one lane since March 9, when the state Department of Transportation started repairing the truss. That work is expected to conclude this week, and crews will then mobilize to work on the Main Street lift bridge in Albion next week, DOT spokeswoman Lori Maher said.
By keeping the Carlton bridge at one lane, the DOT avoided having to detour traffic while the repairs were made, she said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – Carlton firefighter Ben Diltz tries to break up some of the wreckage from a fire this morning at a garage owned by William Wells at 13324 Hanlon Rd.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 5:34 a.m., but the garage had already mostly collapsed.
Orleans County fire investigators are at the scene, looking for the cause of the fire.
Firefighters are trying to cut through metal and wood to put out hot spots.
The Town of Carlton Highway Department is expected on the scene with a backhoe to spread out the smoldering debris, to prevent fire flareups.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Brown’s Berry Patch has been a popular site along Route 18 in Carlton for about three decades.
WATERPORT – A popular agri-tourism retail site that drew outsiders to Orleans County and also employed about 50 people during the peak of the fall season will close.
Brown’s Berry Patch owners said the site, which started in 1984 as a small fruit stand, is closing. The Brown’s Berry Patch fruit and wholesale businesses will remain in operation.
Bob Brown and his wife Deborah say the business has been profitable, but they are ready to retire. They worked together to make it an agri-tourism destination.
Bob’s brother Eric is the farm’s orchard manager and Bob and Deborah’s son Bobby is in charge of the berry operation, as well as handling other responsibilities for the farm. Eric and Bobby want to continue focusing on growing fruit and working with the wholesale customers – not the retail operation.
“We’ve been blessed with a lot of great customers,” Bob Brown said. “I’m going to miss all of those customers.”
Bob Brown stands next his wife Deborah during the dedication of a Peace Garden on Oct. 5, 2013. Brown’s ancestors helped fight the British during the War of 1812. Paula Savage, the Peace Garden Foundation president, is at right.
The Brown family will continue the 300-acre farm through Orchard Dale Fruit Company. The family has a long lineage in Carlton, dating back to 1804.
Bob Brown pushed to start the retail operation about three decades ago, selling fruit from a roadside stand. He said the farm needed to diversify and not just rely on wholesale buyers.
The farm added its first structure in 1984 for Brown’s Berry Patch. It kept growing in the years that followed, adding a playground that kept expanding. It had a petting zoo with farm animals. The retail side grew to ice cream, gifts, desserts and sandwiches.
Brown’s Berry Patch was popular for wagon rides and birthday parties. “Farmer Brown” – Bob Brown – was the leader of many of those tours, which included many school groups.
Eric Brown looks over a field of strawberries in this photo from May 2013. The Brown family will focus on growing fruit for its wholesale customers.
Gayle Ashbery, the Carlton town supervisor, said she was sad to hear the news this morning about the closing of the retail operation.
“They had a wonderful business that drew a lot of people from a lot of different areas,” Ashbery said.”It was definitely a draw.”
Brown’s attracted many repeat customers from Monroe, Erie, Niagara and Genesee counties. The farm market became a destination. In 2004, it was recognized with an I Love New York Governor’s Agri-Tourism Award.
Brown’s Berry Patch also has been recognized for excellence by the North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association, Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, New York Agricultural Society and Genesee Valley Parent Magazine.
Bob Brown said the family strove to run a clean operation that was family friendly, and also gave customers a taste of farm life.
Pedal cars, a Bouncy Pillow, and the Goat Walk (where goats walk on a track on top of a grain bin and barn) have been popular.
The family would consider leasing the space to another retailer.
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.
