Photos by Sue Cook – Nicole McGurn and her fiance Ed Bellinger light the first lantern of the evening.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

POINT BREEZE – Saturday night, the members of OONA celebrated the summer solstice with a party saying goodbye to the spring sun.

During the final moments of sunset, Bob Chaplin played the drums as party-goers shook gourd maracas, hit sticks and cheered.

“I play drums all over the place and I had a night free, so I said I would do it. I was drumming down the sun,” said Bob Chaplain who had been invited by OONA members to help them celebrate.

Cora Goyette and other members light another Chinese lantern.

Jeanne Lauta explained the reason for celebration. “Today is the longest day of the year and summer starts today.”

McGurn releases a lantern into the air while Deanne Borrie watches.

“It’s a great time, great people, a beautiful location, and it was awesome watching the sun go down,” said Debbie Magliocco, who attended as a guest of a member.

The lanterns floated around in the breeze and eventually burned out further down the shore.

Sue Zeppetella said, “I just think it was awesome. This is the third year we’ve done this and it’s a great event. The weather was beautiful and we had fun.”

Fire photo by Tom Rivers – The band Blind Leading the Blind performs at the Orleans County Marine Park last July to kick off the “Summer Concert Series in the Park.” The series will be back beginning July 8.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

POINT BREEZE – The Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association in Point Breeze is working hard to promote the Oak Orchard area through a concert series and other community projects.

OONA will once again present the Summer Concert Series in the Park on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. from July 8 through August 19. Those concerts will be at the Oak Orchard Marine Park on Rt. 98.

The lineup for the concert series is as follows:

July 8: The Who Dats (classic rock, pop)
July 15: Acoustically Sound (acoustic rock)
July 22: Julie Dunlap & High Maintenance (contemporary country)
July 29: The Dave Viterna Group (blues)
August 5: The Blind Leading the Blind (contemporary rock)
August 12: Jive Street Five (classic golden age, rat pack)
August 19: The Sophisticats (swing, jazz, blues)

On average, each band draws between 200 and 325 people depending on the band’s fan base and the weather. OONA has between 20 and 24 of its members serve as volunteers to help run the event.

OONA receives their funding through business sponsors, admission charges, their 50/50 raffle and membership fees. They also receive a subsidy from the county tourism board to help pay for advertising for the event. This year they have 30 business sponsors. Their membership includes about 100 families totaling to approximately 150 total members. They also have a coupon book that businesses can purchase a space in.

The bands are chosen through a committee of OONA members. About half of the bands this year are new to the series and the other half were so popular they are returning for another concert.
The admission is $2 per person or $5 per family. The Clarendon Lions Club will return this year as vendors to raise money for their organization by selling food and drinks.

“The Lions are a community support. It’s a big fundraiser for them,” said Frank Panczyszyn, the Environmental and Conservation Committee chairwoman.

“We’re happy to have them back,” said Jeanne Lauta, Communications Director.

Photo by Sue Cook – OONA takes interest in the community. They are working to make it a great place to live and visit.

Besides the concert events, OONA works toward improving the community and helping to bring a sense of pride about the Oak Orchard area to the county.

OONA is a member of the Adopt-A-Highway program along Route 98. They are also part of a Neighborhood Watch program. They have helped to recover lost dogs and protect property. During the recent storm, they checked on neighbors and made sure people were safe.

They are also working with Albion to make two walking trails through Volkssport, an international walking organization. One trail would go through Albion, the other would involve the lighthouse in Point Breeze and would focus on points of interest and exercise.

OONA also uses some of its funding toward charity. They have made donations to the Carlton Fire Department, the county nursing home and COVA.

“There’s some circumstances where we donated directly to people in need and their families,” said Panczyszyn.

OONA makes an effort to educate the community and work with officials about issues such as lake levels, dredging, and advocating for better conditions for bridges, roads and the Parkway. The group sends a representative from their organization to town meetings with the interest of property owners and businesses in mind.

“We wanted to make it a social organization as well as community support,” said Communications Director Tracy Panczyszyn. “We’re always looking for more volunteers and ideas of things we can do to get more people involved.”

“We want people to help this grow more. It’s their community,” said Lauta.

Members also have special benefits that are not available to the public. This weekend, OONA members are having an invite-only party at a private residence along the lakeshore. To welcome summer, they will be releasing Chinese lanterns tonight over the lake.

OONA wants for more people from the area who love the lakeshore and Point Breeze to become members and support the community. Even visitors who live outside the area may join. For more information about OONA, visit their website http://www.oakorchard.org/.

Some students will be dropped at Rec Hall this afternoon

CARLTON – National Grid has returned electricity to nearly everyone after a severe thunderstorm knocked out power to thousands of Orleans County residents on Tuesday night.

There are about 20 customers still waiting to have their power restored, and National Grid said it expects to have nearly everyone back on line by 4 p.m. today.

There are nine customers without electricity on Route 98 in Carlton near the intersection with Waterport-Carlton Road, and fewer than five without electricity in Kenyonville near Platten Road, according to National Grid’s latest update at 2:32 p.m.

There are also two outages on East Avenue and West Park Street in the village of Albion and fewer than five customers without power in East Shelby.

Albion Central School this morning used the Carlton Fire Company Recreation Hall as a bus pickup because some roads were closed. The Rec Hall will continue to be used this afternoon for bus drop offs for students who live on Route 98 from Waterport-Carlton Road to Route 18. The school expects normal bus schedules to return tomorrow.

Albion closed school on Wednesday due to the aftermath of the storm. Students were supposed to take finals for Grade 8 Latin and Spanish. Those tests have been rescheduled for Friday at 11:30 a.m.

Provided photo

CARLTON – Much of Carlton remains without electricity this morning after a storm Tuesday night knocked down trees and power lines.

The top photo shows Park Avenue Extension in Carlton, where trees remain down and the road impassable this morning.

National Grid reports that more than 3,000 customers in Orleans County remain without power this morning. That includes 1,479 just north of the village of Albion, from between Sawyer Road and Eagle Harbor. The power company reports it is assessing the condition.

Those numbers don’t include 836 customers without power in Carlton. National Grid is estimating they will have power restored at 6 p.m.

There are also 720 customers wit no electricity from Knowlesville to East Shelby and West Barre. National Grid is assessing the condition in that area.

Provided photo – The storm snapped poles in Waterport near the dam and power plant.

Provided photos – Several telephone poles fell down along Route 98 in Carlton after fierce winds hit around 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

CARLTON – It felt like a tornado hit on Tuesday evening for Matt and Sharon Sugar. They were driving back towards Albion after visiting Point Breeze with their two sons and one of their friends.

They were on Route 98 in Carlton when the wind picked up and the rain turned into a torrential downpour.

“We were driving and I couldn’t see because of wind and rain,” Mr. Sugar said. “I never experienced anything like that. We couldn’t see two feet in front of us. It was like a whiteout in June.”

He decided to pull over, about a quarter mile north of Ho-Jack’s. Then a row of telephone poles snapped. Six or seven fell with the Sugars between two of them. Some of the live wires landed on their van, a Chrysler Town and Country.

“It was very scary,” he said.

The Sugars, their two sons and a family friend were trapped in the vehicle for the next two hours. When National Grid was assured the power was cut, the wires were removed, including one on the passenger side mirror, not far from where Mrs. Sugar was sitting. Carlton firefighter Ed Cooper then helped Mr. Sugar navigate the van through the maze of debris.

Mr. Sugar said he is thankful he stopped where he did. If he was 20 feet ahead, a pole would have landed on the vehicle. Their van only had a scratch on it.

“The Lord was with us,” he said. “It could have been much more serious.”

The Sugars were joined in their van by sons Isaac, 5, and Eli, 12, and their friend Cody Wilson, 12.

“It’s a miracle,” Sugar said about their escape from the storm. “Thank God we’re here to tell about it.”

CARLTON – The town and its consultant as part of a reassessment process announced the data collection phase of the project is complete and residents will be getting letters, beginning on Friday.

Those letters will include a summary of information about each of the respective 2,400 properties in Carlton. Property owners will be asked to review the information. If the information is correct, no further action will be required. If the inventory does not appear to be correct, instructions will be included as to how to submit any requested changes.

A dedicated help line will be set up to assist property owners with questions.

Carlton hired GAR Associates Inc. to be contractor for compiling the data. GAR Associates Inc. was hired for $68,000 to visit every property in the town and make note of swimming pools, additions, sheds, garages and exterior property improvements. GAR has been working on the project since March 2014.

The town has been working to update its assessment records so accurate and fair values can be designated for the properties. Carlton was engulfed in controversy in 2013 when new values for properties were assigned. Residents packed the Town Hall to complain about some of the big increases.

Residents also complained some properties were under-assessed. The town’s records didn’t show all the structures and improvements at some properties with low assessments, town officials said.

The Town Board chose not to re-appoint its assessor and worked out an arrangement with Kendall to share its assessor, Gene Massey.

Press release, Orleans County Undersheriff Steve Smith

CARLTON – A Lockport woman remains hospitalized and in guarded condition this morning after being run over by her own car Saturday night in the Town of Carlton.

The incident occurred at about 8:15 p.m. The car was parked with the engine running in a private driveway at a residence in the 12700 block of Roosevelt Highway (State Route 18).  Alexis N. Thompson, 28, had just secured her 4-year-old son into an approved child restraint seat in the rear seat area of the car.  Her 10-year-old daughter was in the front seat listening to the radio. The driver’s door was open.

Thompson was standing outside the car when the floor shift lever of the 1999 Dodge sedan was somehow moved from the “park” position and the vehicle began to move.  Thompson apparently attempted to reach into the car to stop it when she was knocked to the ground by the open car door and the car ran over her in the driveway.  The vehicle continued out into the roadway before coming to the rest.  Neither of the children was injured.

Thompson was flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight helicopter. Carlton firefighters and Medina Fire Department ambulance personnel also assisted.

The incident was investigated by Sergeants D.W. Covis and G.T. Gunkler.  Since there were no adult witnesses to the incident, deputies are hoping to interview Thompson at some point to gain additional perspective as to what occurred.

WATERPORT – A bridge over Lake Alice has been blocked off from motorists so contractors can make repairs to the site over the next five to six months. But the barriers haven’t stopping residents from fishing and jumping from the bridge into the water.

Many people were spotted over the weekend on the bridge. Cameras have been installed and residents are warned they could be arrested if they are on the bridge before the construction project is complete, said Jennifer Vazquez, the construction inspector for Labella Associates.

“It’s for everyone’s safety,” she said this morning.

Keeler Construction of Barre will work on $1.5 million in repairs and preventive maintenance on the Waterport Road bridge over Oak Orchard Creek. The 700-foot-long bridge has been popular for fishermen and thrill-seekers.

Concrete barriers have been placed at the ends of the bridge to block motorists, but pedestrians are still getting on the bridge. Vazquez urged them to stay off until the project is done.

File photo by Tom Rivers – Damien Darrell of Lockport was out fishing on April 19 from the bridge on Route 279 in Waterport. The bridge will be closed to traffic beginning on Monday so it can receive $1.5 million in upgrades.

WATERPORT – The Waterport Road bridge over Oak Orchard Creek will close on Monday and a detour will be posted on Hanlon, Harris and Ashwood roads.

The detour and construction are expected to last throughout the summer. Keeler Construction of Barre has been hired to do $1.5 million in repairs and preventive maintenance on the bridge.

The 700-foot-long bridge is the longest county-owned span in Orleans. The federal government is paying 80 percent of the costs, with the state 15 percent and the county the remaining 5 percent.

Paula Nesbitt starts The Vintage Apple Garden at former Bertsch’s site

Photos by Tom Rivers – Paula Nesbitt is pictured with her daughter-in-law Jillian and granddaughter Isabel at The Vintage Apple Garden, which opened today at the former Bertch’s Good Earth Market on Route 98.

CARLTON – The change in long-established businesses continues in Carlton with a new owner at the former Bertsch’s Good Earth Market.

Paula Nesbitt today opened The Vintage Apple Garden at 1582 Oak Orchard Rd. She is running the business with her daughters-in-law Jillian and Tiffany, and Paula’s daughter Nicole.

The site will continue to sell flowers and gardening supplies. The Nesbitt women are adding a gift shop and antiques. They will have produce – peaches, pears, apples and vegetables, as well as cider – when they are in season.

“I appreciate beauty and I want to share that with people,” Nesbitt said today. “I love to create.”

Nesbitt also wants to make the site available for small parties. She expects a fairy house will be ready on Thursday, and she said that should prove popular with little girls. She also wants to have tea parties at the location.

Paula Nesbitt is pictured inside one of the greenhouses at the business.

Dave and Sharon Bertsch and their daughter Heather Tabor and her husband Jim opened Bertsch’s 14 years ago.  Dave Bertsch will continue to have a part-time presence at Vintage Apple.

Nesbitt said she grew up with a love for gardening instilled in her by her father. Now that her five children are grown, she said she can pursue her gardening and business passion.

“It’s time to take a new journey,” she said about the business.

She is working alongside her daughters-in-law Jillian, who is married to Nick Nesbitt, and Tiffany, who is married to the younger Steve Nesbitt. Paula’s daughter Nicole, a sophomore at Colorado State University, will also be a leader in the operation. She is studying agriculture business and greenhouse management.

The change in ownership at Bertsch’s is the latest in the Point Breeze area. The Cardone family sold the Harbor Pointe Country Club to Lynn-Ette and Sons in March and most of that site has been turned into farmland.

Gatlen Ernst in March also acquired the Lake Breeze Marina, which had been owned by Doug and Janice Bennett.