Gaines

County approves $3K for Cobblestone Museum

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2016 at 2:36 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers: The cobblestone school house is part of a museum complex that has been declared a National Historic Landmark.

ALBION – The Cobblestone Museum, which has been shut out of Orleans County budget in recent years, was approved for $3,000 from the county’s contingency fund on Wednesday.

County legislators met for a year-end meeting and unanimously approved the funds for the museum, which operates with two part-time employees, as well as a buildings and grounds laborer.

The museum complex includes seven historic buildings, as well as outhouses and other important community artifacts.

The museum in August was approved for a $23,000 from the Rochester Area Community Foundation. That money will go towards restoring windows on the Cobblestone Church, and repointing on the historic building, as well as work on the next-door Ward House, which was built around 1840. The stairs on the house have been crumbling and will be fixed with the grant funds.

The museum’s Board of Trustees has reached out to the county and other supporters to help with a deficit in the annual operating costs of running the museum, which is the only National Historic Landmark in Orleans County.

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Cobblestone Museum honors supporters

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 November 2016 at 8:28 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

GAINES – The Cobblestone Society and Museum held its 56th annual meeting on Thursday evening at Tillman’s Village Inn and honored several supporters for their efforts at the museum.

The following are pictured, from left: Emily Maxwell, secretary and vice-president elect for Brockport History Forum; Robert Bretz, president of Brockport History Forum; David Mitchell of Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes; Shirley Helfer; and Patty Blackburn, illustrator for new coloring coloring book about the museum and Cobble the Mouse. (Not pictured: Georgia Thomas and Kim Martillotta-Muscarella.)

Business Partner of the Year: Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes was recognized for being a steady supporter over the years, including sponsoring events this year at the museum. Christopher Mitchell was the first sponsor to step forward and support the Halloween Bash on Oct. 21. David Mitchell of Christopher Mitchell was praised for supporting many local organizations, including the museum on Route 104 and Route 98 in Childs.

New Partner of the Year: Brockport History Forum. This group of students at Brockport enjoys history. Many of the members are history majors, but not all of them. They helped put on the Halloween Bash at the museum. That event attracted more than 100 people and raised $1,100 for the museum. The activities included wine tastings, music, ice cream from a food truck, “ghoulish games,” a Halloween costume contest, pumpkin painting contest, swing dance lessons and lectures.

Kim Martillotta-Muscarella organized several art shows at the Cobblestone Museum this year.

New Partner of the Year: Kim Martillotta-Muscarella. The Albion resident coordinated several art shows at the museum as her “First Friday” shows moved from her house on Main Street in Albion to the Cobblestone Church. The shows drew hundreds of people to the museum, and also showcased several local artists. The shows included wine-tastings and refreshments.

Volunteer of the Year: Shirley Helfer. She gave nearly 70 hours at the museum, helping to prep buildings for weddings and other events. She volunteered at the gift shop and was flexible in helping behind the scenes.

Georgia Thomas of Medina is dressed up as Cobble the Museum Mouse during the Fourth of July parade at Lyndonville.

John Proctor Award: Georgia Thomas and Patty Blackburn. This award is named for the founder of Childs who helped establish the Cobblestone Church. The Ward House, which is part of the Cobblestone Museum, also was built in 1840 under the direction of Proctor. The award in his honor is given “for selfless efforts to promote the Cobblestone Museum.”

Thomas and Blackburn worked together to create a coloring book. Thomas wrote the book which shows Cobble the Mouse visiting the different buildings at the museum. Blackburn illustrated the book.

“Other museums have coloring books with a character,” Thomas said in a July interview. “Cobble is a wonderful mouse and he gives you an enchanting tour of the museum.”

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Gaines cuts town taxes by 9 percent

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 November 2016 at 7:50 am

However, fire protection rate sees big increase in 2017

GAINES – The Town Board approved the 2017 budget on Wednesday that reduces taxes by 8.5 percent, with the town-wide tax rate dropping from $3.90 per $1,000 of assessed property to $3.37.

Property owners outside the Village of Albion will see their tax rate fall from $4.67 to $4.19.

The town will collect less in taxes to support the town’s general and highway funds. This is the second straight budget residents are getting a reduction. The tax levy, what the town collects in taxes, has decreased from $279,500 in 2015 to $268,500 in 2016 to $245,550 in the next budget. That’s a $33,950 decrease over two years, or a tax cut of 12.1 percent.

Town Supervisor Carol Culhane said the Town Board and department heads have worked hard to bring down taxes for residents.

“We have a great team here,” she said during Wednesday’s Town Board meeting.

One resident, Bob Nashburn, thanked the board for a tax reduction.

“I congratulate you guys,” Nashburn told the board during a public hearing on the budget. “For 39 years my taxes went up, up, up.”

Gaines was able to reduce taxes partly by using more fund balance or money from its reserves. In 2016, Gaines used $9,917.60 in fund balance. In 2017, the town will use $28,773.80.

The town also is benefitting from a big increase in assessments, fueled by Intergrow Greenhouses.

The town’s assessed value is up 7.4 percent or by $8,593,053, going from $116,551,683 in 2016 to $125,144,736 for 2017.

Residents outside the village will see an increase in their fire protection rates, raising those rates from 32 cents to 71 cents per $1,000 of assessed property.

In the 2016 budget, Gaines paid the Village of Albion $35,305 for fire protection. In 2017, that cost is up to $90,000.

Overall spending in the budget – 10 water districts, general and highway funds – will increase from $1,289,469 to $1,334,643.

Culhane said the board is looking at a capital improvement project at the Town Hall. Gaines received a $75,000 state grant for energy-efficiency projects. Culhane said the building will likely be insulated with new windows, and an enclosed porch area at the front of the building.

The town is working on the scope of the project and expects to seek bids for the work in the spring with the project to be completed in the fall. Culhane said the town has been setting aside funds for building improvements and could spend $50,000 from its own money for the improvements.

The Town Hall opened in 1991, and Culhane said there hasn’t been many changes to the site since then.

“It has held up quite well, but we all agree it is not energy efficient,” Culhane said.

Used books are money-maker for Cobblestone Museum

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 September 2016 at 11:12 am

Former Voting House has become popular spot at historic site in Gaines

Photos by Tom Rivers: The former Voting House in Hamlin was moved to the Cobblestone Museum in Gaines in 1999. The Voting House was built in 1909 by the Monroe County Board of Elections. Monroe County made many of the voting houses that were placed in voting districts in Monroe. The gray tote in the lower right is a spot to place donated books.

GAINES – Twenty years ago the Hamlin town historian offered the community’s old Voting House to the Cobblestone Museum Hamlin had a local history museum but it went defunct and the Voting House was available.

Bill Lattin, the museum’s director at the time, didn’t think there was room at the museum for the small building. But Lattin kept thinking about the Voting House. He knew there used to be some in Orleans County, but they had vanished from the landscape.

Sue Bonafini, the volunteer coordinator for the museum, restocks books inside the Voting House.

The museum also had an annual used book sale on the Fourth of July weekend. It was always a chore to set up for the book sale, and to put leftovers back into storage.

Lattin thought the Voting House would be a good fit as a permanent location for used books. In 1999, the Hamlin and Gaines highway departments moved the building to the museum.

It’s behind the brick house, next to the Crosby’s gas station. The Voting House was cleaned up and repainted to resemble its original colors.

It also is stocked with books, and is popular in the community. Hardcover books sell for $1 and paperbacks are 50 cents. A metal box is mounted inside the site and people pay on the honor system.

Last year the used book sale raised $1,000 for the museum. It generated $550 in sales through the end of August.

“I originally didn’t think we had room for it,” Lattin, now retired as museum director, said today. “But it’s been a nice little addition for the community.”

The Cobblestone Museum has donated books on the shelves in the former Voting House.

There are two plastic garbage totes by the voting house for people to donate books. Museum volunteers go through them and organize by topics.

Two volunteers, R.J. Bannan and Erica Wanecski, have been instrumental in keeping the Voting House replenished with books this year, said Sue Bonafini, the museum’s volunteer coordinator.

“We get really good merchandise,” she said.

Popular authors such as Stephen King, Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts are quickly snatched up, and many classics also are popular, as well as coffee table books and the latest best-sellers. (On Wednesday, I bought “The Boys in the Boat” – the story of the 1936 US Olympic rowing team.)

The used book sale is open during regular museum hours, and often later. Bonafini noted many of the sales happen after hours.

She thanked the community for donating their books, and the customers for buying them on the honor system.

For more on the museum, click here.

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Sidewalk added at intersection of 98, 104

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 September 2016 at 3:57 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers

GAINES – Keeler Construction employees installed a new sidewalk today at the southwest corner of the routes 98 and 104 intersection in Gaines, a walkway across from the Village Inn.

The sidewalk stretches from Route 104 to the blacksmith shop that is part of the Cobblestone Museum.

Keeler did the project after replacing pavement on Route 98 from 104 south past the Village of Albion.

Gaines, Kendall seek 6-month moratorium on industrial solar energy applications

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 August 2016 at 4:27 pm

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board has backed a proposed six-month moratorium on applications for industrial solar energy generation facilities in two towns.

Gaines and Kendall want time to update their zoning ordinances for large-scale solar projects, those encompassing more than a half-acre of land. The moratorium does not apply to solar projects for homes.

The Planning Board also suggested the towns allow solar projects at farms because the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets considers solar that does not exceed 110 percent of a farm’s electrical needs to be on-farm equipment, which is allowable in an agricultural district.

In other action, the Planning Board last Thursday:

The Lonowood Art Company in Albion designed the sign for El Sol Nace.

• Backed a freestanding sign for a tortilla-making business on Route 31 in Albion. Gabriel Rodriguez is constructing a new building for El Sol Nace, a business on Route 31 that will sell tortilla, work boots, cowboy boots and also handle money transactions, such as wiring funds.

Planners already approved the site plan for the building, but the freestanding sign wasn’t in the original application. The sign would be nearly 4 feet by 7 feet at 439 West Ave.

Planners said the new sign should not be placed in a way that obstructs sight lines from vehicles attempting to exit the property. It also needs to be set back at least 15 feet from the front property line and 5 feet from the side property line, which is the village sign ordinance.

• Recommended the Town of Shelby issue a permit for Jonathan R. Daniels of Waterport to operate a motor vehicle repair shop at 11352 Maple Ridge Rd. Daniels will use a structure that has been home to a motor vehicle repair shop for several decades on Route 31A in the Hamlet District.

Gaines Town Board gives thanks for work on historical markers

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 August 2016 at 6:13 pm

Provided photo

GAINES – The Gaines Town Board on Tuesday recognized the efforts of Clarendon Town Historian Melissa Ierlan for giving many historical markers in Orleans County a fresh look.

She has restored the paint on numerous historical markers in Gaines, and others in the county, including one just outside Orleans for the mucklands in Genesee County.

Pictured, from left: Al Capurso, Gaines town historian; Melissa Ierlan; and Carol Culhane, Gaines town supervisor.

Photos by Tom Rivers

Ierlan repainted this marker on Ridge Road, next to the Gaines Carlton Community Church, for pioneer settler Elizabeth Gilbert. The marker had flaked off paint and was getting hard to read to motorists on Route 104.

She also repainted a marker for a cobblestone house on Ridge Road near the Cobblestone Museum.

Fire destroys Eagle Harbor home

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 July 2016 at 8:26 pm

EAGLE HARBOR – Albion firefighters Chuck Prentice, right, and Mike Dalle spray water on the smoldering remains of a house in Eagle Harbor. Fire torn through the house this afternoon, leveling the structure at 3248 Eagle Harbor Rd.

Firefighters were dispatched to the home of Richard Clark at about 1:30 p.m. The house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Albion firefighters were close by at the Orleans County 4-H Fair. Many fire departments were there as part of a display of fire trucks.

The quick response to Eagle Harbor wasn’t enough to prevent the house from being a total loss. The structure was set back from the road in a wooded area. Live wires that were sparking added to the challenge.

Live wires that were sparking made part of site unsafe. National Grid arrived after this photo was taken to deaden the wires.

Clark wasn’t home at the time when the fire started. He thinks an animal could have started it or perhaps a sparking electric wire. The fire is under investigation.

Carlton firefighter Dave Bertsch gets water on the fire. Dale Banker, the county’s emergency management coordinator, is at right.

Pickup truck takes out utility pole by Rocking R Ranch

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 July 2016 at 3:10 pm

GAINES – The driver of a Dodge pickup truck ran into a utility pole on Route 104 this afternoon by the Rocking R Ranch. The pole was knocked down at about 1:37 p.m. and damaged a trailer that belonged to a customer of the Rocking R Ranch.

The driver was responsive and didn’t appear seriously injured, but he was trapped inside due to live wires from the utility pole. National Grid was on scene at about 2 p.m.

Albion firefighter David Nayman directs traffic near the scene of the accident at Rocking R Ranch, 14877 Ridge Road West, Kent.

A Sheriff’s Office deputy on scene said the driver was distracted and drove off the road.

Jennifer Alchin, owner of the Rocking R Ranch, was making a milkshake when the truck crashed into the pole, knocking out power for the business.

She said the utility pole has been hit several times before by motorists.

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3-car accident at 5 Corners; 1 taken by Mercy Flight

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 June 2016 at 5:44 pm

GAINES – The driver of this Lancer was injured and taken by Mercy Flight helicopter after an accident at the 5 Corners in Gaines at 4:51 p.m. today.

The driver was headed west on East Bacon Road when she entered the intersection because her brakes failed, she told deputies on scene.

The driver of the white car struck the Lancer after it passed into the intersection where routes 98, 279 and Bacon Road all converge. The driver of white car was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

There was another vehicle involved in the accident that had minor damage. The 5 Corners is the site of numerous accidents every year.

Gaines, Albion reach 3-year deal for fire protection

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 June 2016 at 12:00 am

File photo by Tom Rivers – Albion firefighter Darryl Szklany checks the back of structures at the Par-Me Golf Course on Feb. 5. The site is on Brown Road in the Town of Gaines.

GAINES – The Gaines Town Board today agreed to pay much more for fire contract in a new three-year deal with the Village of Albion.

The Village Board notified Gaines in April that it was terminating the fire contract on Aug. 31, at 11:59 p.m. The contract between the town and village expired on Dec. 31, 2015.

Village officials wanted Gaines to pay $100,000 for fire protection outside the village, the same as the Town of Albion pays for property outside the village.

The new agreement, approved today, will have Gaines pay $75,000 in 2016, $90,000 in 2017 and $100,000 in 2018.

Gaines paid $33,860 in 2015. That was a fire protection rate of 32 cents per $1,000 of assessed property, by far the lowest in the county. The Town of Yates is next lowest at 49 cents with Carlton at 75 cents. Every other town pays at least $1 per $1,000 for fire protection.

Gaines Town Board members asked for a four-year deal with $60,000 for 2016, $80,000 in 2017, $90,000 in 2018, and $100,000 in 2019.

But Village Board members wanted Gaines at $100,000. Mayor Dean London said the board gave Gaines a $35,000 break from the $100,000 by agreeing to $75,000 for 2016 and $90,000 in 2017.

Gaines has had a discount on its fire protection rate since 1995 when the Town Board then and Village Board agreed to a 20-year discounted fire protection rate in exchange for Gaines making the sewer plant on Densmore Street tax exempt.

Gaines officials had proposed making the new contract based on call volume, but the village resisted that. London said the board was unified in demanding $100,000 for providing fire protection to the town.

Village Trustee Pete Sidari has been a long-time member of the Albion Fire Department. He said costs are climbing for volunteer fire departments, especially with equipment and fire trucks.

The Fire Department just received a new truck that costs $668,796. The vehicle from Churchville Fire Equipment is a new triple combination pumping engine. It will replace two vehicles for the Albion Fire Department: a pumper from 1974 and a smaller truck used to respond to motor vehicle accidents. That truck from 2004 has extrication equipment.

“The equipment is more expensive than it used to be,” Sidari said after the meeting today at the Gaines Town Hall.

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Marker goes up on Gaines Basin Road in memory of deputy

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 June 2016 at 10:00 am

GAINES – This roadside sign was installed on Wednesday on Gaines Basin Road, about a quarter mile south of Route 104. The marker is a memorial for Deputy David Whittier, who was fatally injured here in 1989.

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office had a reception on Monday afternoon with Whittier’s family and former colleagues to unveil the sign for the only Orleans County deputy ever killed in the line of duty.

David Whittier worked 20 years at Kodak before following his dream of being a police officer. He was hired as a full-time deputy on June 22, 1987. Whittier made many arrests for people driving while intoxicated. Ironically on Jan. 19, 1989, Whittier was on routine road patrol when he came upon an unoccupied pickup truck on Gaines Basin Road. The driver of that truck was out hunting.

While Whittier was inspecting the truck a young man who was driving drunk struck the parked pickup truck. Whittier had dove between the pickup and his patrol car. He was crushed between the two vehicles after the pickup was hit. He was then dragged about 100 feet and left for dead under the truck.

He survived the accident and remained in the hospital until April 1989. After being home for a few months, his condition did not improve. He had contracted cancer, which doctors said was trauma induced. Doctors said his immune system was too compromised due to injuries sustained from the accident. He and his family were advised that treatment was not an option and would only cause further pain and suffering.

Whittier was 41 when he died on Sept. 8, 1989. About 700 people, including police officers around the state, attended his funeral in Clarendon at the Disciples United Methodist Church.

Watt turbine is back up after repairs

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 June 2016 at 9:00 am

GAINES – An employee with Xzeres Wind reinstalls the turbine today at Watt Farms on Route 98 in Gaines. The turbine was taken down on April 14 for repairs.

The turbine was originally put up in August 2011. Xzeres gave the turbine new blades and other parts. The main issue was with the alternator. Chris Watt said there was bad insulation on the wiring, which resulted in signals being sent for the turbine to not run.

The 10-kiloowatt turbine is 154 feet above ground. It has three 12.6-foot-long blades. It has a swivel head with a tail so it can face the wind at its peak strength.

The turbine was the focus of a lawsuit from the Town of Gaines, which claimed the 154-foot-high turbine needed to be moved farther away from a farm market and storage building.

Judge James Punch, acting as a State Supreme Court justice, ruled in December the turbine didn’t need to be moved. The State Department of Agriculture and Markets also sided with Watt Farms, saying the turbine location met the proper setbacks.

Teen from Barre found dead in canal in Gaines

Staff Reports Posted 14 June 2016 at 12:00 am

GAINES – The body of a 17-year-old-boy, Raymond L. Kingdollar of Barre, was discovered in the Erie Canal on Monday.

Orleans County deputies responded to the canal, approximately ¼ mile west of Gaines Basin Road, after receiving a call from a civilian reporting a body in the water, Undersheriff Chris Bourke said in a news release. Deputies recovered the body with assistance from the Sheriff’s Marine Unit and Albion Fire Department.

Kingdollar was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester.

The Sheriff’s Office is continuing the investigation into this incident and anyone with information regarding this matter should contact the Sheriff’s Office at (585) 589-5527.

The incident is being investigated by Sgt. Gunkler, Deputy A. Breuilly, Deputy D.Pahuta, Deputy DeFilipps, Deputy Strimple, Deputy T. Marano, Chief Deputy Michael Mele, Inv. S. Brett, Inv. Strickland, The District Attorney’s Office, and the Major Felony Crime Task Force.

Eagle Harbor church celebrates 15 years with Pastor Susan Boring

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 June 2016 at 8:00 am

EAGLE HARBOR – Susan Boring, pastor of the Eagle Harbor United Methodist Church, shares a laugh with the congregation this morning after the group sang Happy Birthday to her.

Boring and the church celebrated 15 years of ministry together. Boring, a fifth-grade instrumental teacher at Brockport, grew up and lives in Albion. She embraces music, including the Agape Ringers behind her, in church services.

Steve Watkins and his wife Chris have been attended the church for over a year. They praised Boring and the congregation for their warmth and compassion.

Watkins grew up in Albion knowing Boring as a kid. She visited Watkins and his wife while both had recent hospital stays.

“This is a church that has made me feel whole,” said Mrs. Watkins, who has been cancer-free for seven months after battling the disease for two years. “They’re very supportive. It’s like a family.”

Boring, in orange, directs the bell ringers during the service today that was attended by about 75 people. This photo was taken from the balcony where a brass choir played during the service.

Susan Boring and Mike Vick sing a duet of praise songs, including “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” and “Psalm 100.”

Marsha Rivers, a member of the pulpit supply for the church, shares a reflection on Boring’s ministry during today’s service.

Linda Haight, a pastor from Albion who leads the South Byron and Stafford United Methodist churches, shared a prayer during today’s service that included several local ministers.

Greg VanDussen, former pastor of the Albion United Methodist Church and a retired district superintendent for the conference, was a key church leader in encouraging Boring to pursue the ministry. He praised her for using her talents to serve God and care for others.

Jeff Post and Aleka Schmidt play with the Agape Ringers during today’s service. Schmidt leads the First Baptist Church in Albion. That congregation had church in Eagle Harbor today.

The Eagle Harbor United Methodist Church has been meeting in this brick building since 1875. It replaced an original wooden structure from 1826.