By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 April 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – The American Red Cross provided food and clothing to the owner of a house on Eagle Harbor Road in Gaines that burned last night.
Volunteers Diane Sargent and Jim McMoil responded to the fire at 2516 Eagle Harbor Rd. David Snyder, owner of the cobblestone home that was built in 1850, has made arrangements for temporary housing, Red Cross spokesman Jay Bonafede said.
The agency will make specially trained disaster mental health volunteers available to help deal with the emotional aspects of this disaster, and the Snyder will meet with our caseworkers in the coming days to help work on a long-term recovery plan, Bonafede said.
Volunteers in the Red Cross’s Disaster Action Team also responded to a fire in Buffalo last night on St. Lawrence Avenue.
In March 2015, volunteers from the Western New York Chapter responded to 47 incidents, providing immediate emergency assistance to 172 people, Bonafede said.
The fire in Gaines remains under investigation.
Firefighters try to put out the fire in Gaines last night. Several fire departments responded to the scene.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 April 2015 at 11:45 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – A cobblestone house that has been dutifully cared for by its owner has been badly damaged in a fire tonight.
David Snyder was getting ready to go to bed when he sensed something wrong in his attic. He opened the attic door and the fire seemed to take off, said his sister, Tricia Snyder.
She is thankful her brother made it safely out of the house with his two dogs.
This photo is taken looking towards the back of the house with water coming down from the ladder truck.
It was difficult for Snyder and his family to watch the fire gain strength with flames shooting out of the roof.
Firefighters work to get the fire under control.
Snyder has gutted the house and done a lot of work inside, his sister said.
Neighbors said the house was a popular, welcoming place when Snyder was raising his children. Neighbors said they would try to rally around Snyder in the coming days.
Firefighters stand at the front of the house and direct water to the roof where flames were shooting out.
The dispatch call went out just before 10 p.m. to 2516 Eagle Harbor Rd. Firefighters were inside the house but were called out of the building as the fire spread in the upper floor.
Firefighters put lots of water on the fire, trying to get it under control.
Medina Fire Chief Todd Zinkievich hustles down Eagle Harbor Road to help at the scene.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 April 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
The bells on the Cobblestone Universalist Church will ring at 7:22 a.m. on April 15, the 150th anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln was shot on April 14 while watching a play at Ford’s Theater. An actor, John Wilkes Booth, shot the president in the back of the head. Lincoln’s death came six days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, effectively ending the Civil War.
Churches around the country will ring bells at 7:22 a.m. on April 15 to mark Lincoln’s death. The Cobblestone Society met last night during its board meeting and agreed to have the historic church on Route 104 join the bell-ringing in appreciation of Lincoln’s life.
Other churches are urged to participate.
This statue of Abraham Lincoln looks out over the City of Buffalo from the Buffalo History Museum in this photo from November. Rockwell Hall at Buffalo State, left, and the Richardson Olmsted Complex loom in the background.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 March 2015 at 12:00 am
State officials say town may be sued if it insists on turbine relocation
Photo by Tom Rivers – The 154-foot-high wind turbine at Watt Farms on Route 98 has been a source of litigation for two-plus years. The Town of Gaines wants the turbine to be moved away from the farm market and a U-Pick area.
GAINES – Town officials are again being told by state Agriculture and Markets officials to not demand a 154-foot-high wind turbine at Watt Farms be relocated.
Town officials have insisting the turbine be moved away from the farm market and U-Pick area. Town Supervisor Carol Culhane and Michael Grabowski, chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, both have said public safety is at risk with the tower so close to Watt customers.
The town wants the tower to have at least a 169.4-foot setback from the tower and public areas at the farm market along Route 98.
The town determined that setback by multiplying the top of the tower and tower blade (154 feet) by 1.1. But Ag and Markets says the setback should be determined by multiplying the blade length – 23.6 feet – by five, which would be 118 feet.
Ag and Markets first sent a letter to the town on Jan. 14 from Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball. The town did not respond to that letter directly, which prompted another letter on March 20 from Michael Latham, director of the Division of Land & Water for Ag and Markets.
Latham said Gaines needs to comply with the order from Ag and Markets or face legal action from the state.
“If the Town and Zoning Boards of Appeals do not confirm that they will comply with the Commissioner’s Order, the Department may take legal action to enforce the Order and will seek costs and attorney’s fees,” Latham wrote in the letter to town officials.
In the commissioner’s letter in January, Ball said it was “unreasonable” for the town to demand the turbine be relocated at an estimated cost of $20,000.
The town could, however, restrict public access to the portion of the farm operation within 118 feet of the tower’s base or Watt could take the turbine offline when there are people in the U-Pick portion within 118 feet of the tower, Latham said.
Culhane and Grabowski said recently the town’s decision to demand the tower’s relocation was upheld by James Punch, State Supreme Court judge in Orleans County. They said the judge’s decision trumps the Ag and Markets.
Watt is appealing the decision by Judge Punch in December.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – This former one-room schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road, just north of the Erie Canal, has been largely abandoned since decentralization in the mid-1940s. A Gaines resident would like to see the building be saved and preserved for years to come.
GAINES – A building that has been vacant since about World War II could get new life through the efforts of local preservationists.
Gaines resident Al Capurso is leading the effort to save, stabilize and seek resources for a former cobblestone schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road, just north of the Erie Canal.
The Orleans County Historical Association will discuss efforts to preserve Gaines Basin District No. 2. The association meets 2 p.m. Thursday at Hoag Library. The public is welcome to attend and share ideas for the building.
“It is sitting there, just waiting for us to take care of it,” Capurso said about the building.
The schoolhouse was built in 1832. A log cabin schoolhouse preceded that structure at the site. Capurso said some of the early pioneers in the Albion and Gaines area attended the school. Caroline Phipps was one of the teachers at the log cabin. It’s where she got her start as a teacher.
She would later start a women’s academy, the Phipps Union Seminary, in Albion. That school was located where the County Clerk’s Building now stands next to the courthouse.
There is an effort to have a historical marker outside the building and also to get the site listed on the state and national registers of historic places.
Capurso would like to have a historical marker by the cobblestone building that notes the significance of the site as a school. He wants the Orleans County Historical Association, where he is a member, to apply for a grant from the Pomeroy Foundation for the marker. That foundation funded a marker in Clarendon for Hillside Cemetery last year.
Capurso has also recruited help from Melissa Ierlan and Erin Anheier, members of the Clarendon Historical Society, to help get the cobblestone schoolhouse on the state and national registers of historic places. Anheier wrote successful applications for several sites in Clarendon and in the Brockport area, helping the properties to be listed and making them eligible for tax credits for renovations and preservation efforts.
Capurso said community members will also be needed to help with some of the work to make the building usable as a possible museum, display area and meeting place, perhaps for the Orleans County Historical Association.
“Saving the building will be a longer term effort with human power,” Capurso said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The issue of whether Watt Farms needs to move a 154-foot-high turbine away from its farm market and U-pick orchard will go to the state Appellate Court.
GAINES – The Town Board again said on Monday that town officials acted properly in demanding that Watt Farms move a wind turbine away from its farm market and U-Pick operation on Route 98.
The Town Zoning Board of Appeals said the project did not have a proper building permit. The ZBA said the site should have a 169.4 feet minimum setback (154 feet multiplied by 1.1).
James Punch, acting State Supreme Court judge in Orleans County, agreed with the Gaines officials in a December ruling.
The state Ag and Markets in January said the town was wrong to insist on the 169.4 foot setback. Forcing farm owners, Chris and Karen Watt, to move the turbine at a cost of $20,000 is unreasonable and unnecessary, according to a letter on Jan. 14 from Richard A. Ball, commissioner of Ag and Markets.
He sent the letter to town officials, telling them they needed to comply with the Agriculture and Markets Law.
The issue will now go to the State Appellate Court, Town Supervisor Carol Culhane said during the Town Board meeting on Monday. She said both sides will submit their filings to the court in April. She expects the arguments will be heard in October-November, with a decision to follow within 30 days.
She read the following statement prepared by attorney Dan Spitzer on Monday:
“The Board is extremely pleased that the State Supreme Court has determined that the ZBA acted properly in determining that the wind turbine was placed in a location that unnecessarily presented a threat to public health and safety.
“Based on a review of the record, such as the testimony of a number of patrons of the farm, the detailed site plans submitted by the Watts, the information provided by state and local agencies including proper setbacks, the Court found the ZBA had not acted ‘arbitrary and capricious’ in establishing a 169.4 foot setback from public use areas.
“The Court confirmed that the areas used for the train ride, farm market, corn maze and U-Pick’em areas were properly designated as public use areas.
“The Town Board reaffirms its support for the town’s agricultural community, noting that this was the only time in town history where the ZBA had been forced to take action to protect the public health and safety.
“The situation arose because the turbine was built on an illegally obtained building permit without proper review, and in violation of town laws and state setback guidelines. The ZBA, as directed by the Supreme Court, carefully reviewed the history of the turbine, evaluated submissions from the Watts, state agencies, and the public, and held an extended public input process (including a well-attended public hearing) before issuing its detailed findings.
“The ZBA’s involvement solely rose from the intersection of the turbine’s location and the farm’s public use areas. Towns are specifically granted the power to act on properties in Agricultural Districts where public safety is at issue, and, the ZBA limited itself to the minimum intrusion on farm practices to protect the public.
“The Town and the ZBA remains open to working with the Watts to resolve any outstanding issues in the best interests of the community.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 March 2015 at 12:00 am
These are some of the designs for new signs for the Town of Gaines as proposed by Bill Downey of Downey Signs.
GAINES – The Town of Gaines will have new welcome signs on Route 104, and also two signs each at the Town Hall and Highway Department.
The Town Board approved a bid from Bill Downey of Downey Signs to make six new signs total for $4,150. Downey will make the signs using carved redwood. He will prime them and put on three coats of paint, Town Supervisor Carol Culhane said.
Downey made the town signs for Barre in a similar style. He has 25 years in the sign business.
“I just think with the redwood there is no substitute,” Culhane said.
Culhane is an artist and will try to develop a town logo for the signs that includes cobblestones and a stagecoach.
In other action, the Town Board:
Approved a $9,000 contract with Wendel Energy to take an inventory of the town’s 10 meter pits, including photos and an assessment of the conditions of each site.
Discussed eliminating the $75 hook-up fee for town water customers who turn off their water during winter. They wouldn’t be charged the restoration fee as long as they continue paying a $16 quarterly service charge.
The board may vote on the issue next month.
Approved a resolution seeking more state funding for towns and villages through the Aid and Incentives to Municipalities program, which currently gives $715 million annually to upstate cities.
The resolution, approved by the Town Board calls on the state to increase AIM funding by 50 percent with more money going to municipalities based on population density, and police and other services provided, with considerations made for tax exempt property as well.
Passed a resolution seeking a repeal of the SAFE Act, a gun control measure approved by Gov. Cuomo and the State Legislature in January 2013.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 March 2015 at 12:00 am
Gaines wants tower to move for public safety issues
Photos by Tom Rivers – The 154-foot-high wind turbine at Watt Farms on Route 98 has been a source of litigation for two-plus years. The Town of Gaines wants the turbine to be moved away from the farm market and a U-Pick area.
GAINES – The State Department of Agriculture and Markets says the Town of Gaines was wrong to insist that a 154-foot-high wind turbine be moved away from a farm market and u-pick orchard at Watt Farms.
The Town of Gaines Zoning Board of Appeals made that decision on Dec. 4, 2013, and that decision was upheld this past December by James Punch, acting State Supreme Court judge in Orleans County.
However, Ag and Markets says forcing Chris and Karen Watt to move the turbine, at a cost of $20,000, is unreasonable and unnecessary, according to a letter on Jan. 14 from Richard A. Ball, commissioner of Ag and Markets.
He sent the letter to town officials, telling them they needed to comply with the Agriculture and Markets Law.
Town Supervisor Carol Culhane and Michael Grabowski, the Zoning Board of Appeals chairman, say the town is not obligated to reverse its decision based on the Ag and Markets determination.
“Agency staff members do not trump a Supreme Court judge,” Grabowski said.
The state agency also said the town didn’t use the proper setback distance. Gaines determined the setback distance by multiplying the 154-foot turbine by 1.1 for a 169.4-foot setback minimum.
Gaines officials said the turbine needed to be moved at least 169.4 feet away from the farm market, train ride course and designated u-pick areas.
Ag and Markets suggested the setback from “human-occupied buildings” be five times the rotor distance or five times 23.6 feet, which would be 118 feet for the Watt turbine. Ag and Markets based that suggestion from the recommendation by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority or NYSERDA.
NYSERDA uses that setback for buildings that are occupied a majority of the time and not occasionally, such as in Watt’s situation. The train route at Watt’s and the u-pick area are temporarily visited by the public and insisting on a setback there “unreasonably restricts the farm operation,” Ball said in his letter.
Instead of pushing to relocate the turbine, the town could insist that public access be restricted within 118 feet of the turbine’s tower or the turbine could be taken off-line during u-pick harvest within 118 feet of the tower, Commissioner Ball said.
Grabowski, the Gaines ZBA chairman, insists 169.4 feet should be the setback distance to ensure the public’s safety. He said Watt Farms is appealing Punch’s decision.
Culhane, the town supervisor, said she is confident the town has followed the law. The town has received legal advice on the issue from attorney Dan Spitzer, a land use specialist with the Hodgson Russ firm in Buffalo.
She said the town won’t change course based on the order from Ball.
“Ag and Markets doesn’t trump a State Supreme Court judge,” Culhane said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 February 2015 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – Albion firefighters responded to a chimney fire on Ridge Road in Gaines last March 12 during a blizzard.
ALBION – A deal over 20 years that gave Gaines property owners drastically low fire protection rates will end after 2015. Village of Albion officials said Gaines should expect a much bigger bill for fire protection in the future.
Gaines residents outside the village pay 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed property for fire protection in 2015. That is by far the lowest rate in Orleans County. Most residents in the towns pay fire protection rates over $1 per $1,000 of assessed property.
“It’s going to be a significant increase over what they are paying now,” village attorney John Gavenda said during a joint meeting Monday evening among officials from the village and town of Albion.
Albion town residents pay a $1.23-rate for fire protection from the village’s fire department.
The issue was raised during the town and village meeting because the village would like to continue the fire protection contract with the town of Albion, a contract that has included small increases in recent years.
Gavenda said the contract with Gaines will need to be negotiated this year. Gaines could either contract with Albion or Carlton, or start its own fire department. Whatever the town decides, Gavenda said the town won’t be getting such a bargain price for fire protection.
The village agreed to a 20-year deeply discounted rate in 1995 in exchange for Gaines making the sewer plant on Densmore Street tax exempt. Current village officials don’t think it was a fair deal.
Village Trustee Peter Sidari said the village shouldn’t have had to pay taxes to Gaines for the sewer plant. The town should have made that exempt without pushing for such a low fire protection rate 20 years ago, Sidari said.
The village has many tax exempt sites within its borders from other governments, including the school district, state and county. Sidari said the village doesn’t bill them, and the town should have done the same for the village.
“There’s no secret that they have to pay more,” Gavenda said about Gaines. “They are on a very favorable contract.”
Gavenda said the village expects to soon sit down with Gaines officials to discuss the future fire protection contract.
Here are the fire protection rates for towns for 2015:
Albion, $1.23; Barre, $1.45; Carlton, 75 cents; Clarendon, $1.01; Gaines, 35 cents; Kendall – $1.40 to Kendall and $1.61 to Morton; Murray – $1.57 to Holley and $1.59 to Fancher-Hulberton-Murray; Ridgeway, $1.17; Shelby, $1.49; and Yates, 52 cents to Lyndonville.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 February 2015 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – Workers at Intergrow Greenhouses on Route 98 in Gaines are shown in this photo from June 2014.
Press Release, National Grid
GAINES – National Grid is providing economic development and energy efficiency grants to support the 7.5-acre expansion and new jobs at Intergrow Greenhouses along Route 98 in the Town of Gaines.
The $15.2 million expansion by Intergrow will allow for the year-round production of tomatoes on approximately 55.5 acres of greenhouses. The grants, worth more than $500,000 in total, are from National Grid’s extensive programs in economic development and energy efficiency, the company said today.
A significant component of Intergrow’s $15.2 million investment is for electric upgrades. The lighting system for year-round tomato production requires approximately 9.5 megawatts of electricity supply.
About 7 megawatts will be supplied through the extension of a 34.5 kilovolt service line by National Grid at a cost of $1.5 million. The design, construction, testing and commission of the service line to the system substation and the transformers to power the greenhouse lighting system is approximately $3.5 million. This work is supported by a $250,000 grant from National Grid’s electric capital investment incentive program.
Additionally, Intergrow is seeking to increase its overall production of tomatoes through the installation of an advanced control system for the nearly 8,600 light fixtures in its expanded greenhouses. The control system will allow Intergrow to increase crop yield while reducing lighting costs by 30 percent. National Grid is providing an energy efficiency grant of approximately $292,000 in support.
“Intergrow’s expansion presented a unique challenge, and the combined work of our engineering, field operations and economic development teams allowed us to meet the customer’s needs in a timely fashion,” said Dennis Elsenbeck, regional executive for National Grid in Western New York. “If we are going to build a smart, efficient and reliable electric system then we need to be listening to the needs of our customers and developing solutions together.”
The expansion will create 10 to 15 new jobs while retaining approximately 100 current jobs. It will also increase the company’s tomato production by 600,000 boxes. Intergrow grows beefsteak tomatoes and tomatoes on the vine that are grown from non-GMO seeds.
“Without this investment it would be very difficult for us to compete in the marketplace as retailers want a guaranteed year-round supply of tomatoes,” said Dirk Biemans co-owner of Intergrow Greenhouses. “We have an optimal location where we can get our products overnight to our customers in major markets.”
Intergrow supplies tomatoes on the vine and beefsteak tomatoes to major grocery chains including Hannaford, Aldi, Wegmans and Whole Foods, as well as others.
“This is another example of the public and private sectors working together to bring new jobs and investment to our region,” said James Whipple, CEO and CFO of the County Orleans Industrial Development Agency. “It’s great to see that locally grown products from Orleans County will remain on the shelves of major supermarkets throughout the country.”
In addition to the grant from National Grid, incentives were provided to Intergrow by Empire State Development Corporation, the Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit program and NYSERDA.
National Grid’s economic development and energy efficiency grant programs are designed to help companies grow their business efficiently, while supporting job retention and expansion. Information about National Grid’s suite of economic programs is available at www.shovelready.com.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 January 2015 at 4:29 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – A driver slid off Route 98 in the Town of Gaines, about a half mile north of Route 104, at about 3 p.m. today, one of several accidents after the roads turned slick due to freezing rain.
Dan Ryan, an employee for Waters Autobody and Paint, arrived with a flat bed truck and pulled the car out of the ditch.
The driver of this car, Donald Rosario Jr., was taken by ambulance to Medina Memorial Hospital for minor injuries. Rosario, 22, of Waterport snapped a fire hydrant off when he slid off the east side of the road. The Gaines Highway Department responded to the scene along with emergency personnel and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.
Several other accidents have been reported, including on Ridge Road in the Town of Ridgeway when a car hit a pole and knocked down wires. Crews also are responding to an accident in the Town of Shelby on East Shelby Road, where the vehicle went off the road into trees. The driver reportedly has a head injury.
Updated 5:30 p.m.: Additional accidents have been reported on Marshall Road in Ridgeway with a vehicle overturned in a ditch and on Lyndonville Road in Ridgeway with a car in a ditch.
Updated 7:02 p.m.: Additional accidents have been reported on Ridge Road in Gaines between Sawyer and Lattin roads where a passenger reportedly has a broken collarbone, and on Route 31E (Telegraph Road) in Shelby where a vehicle went off the road.
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
Sr. Master Sgt. Cliff Thom was deployed to Afghanistan
Photos by Tom Rivers – Cliff Thom walks down the hallway in the Albion Middle School this morning with his son Jacob and wife Tara. All of the classrooms emptied into the hallway and students and teachers applauded for Thom and his family.
ALBION – The High School Band played “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” And then Cliff Thom entered into the band room, wearing his military uniform. He walked up to his daughter Catherine and put his arm around her.
Catherine, a sophomore, had her back to the door and was focused on playing her clarinet. But then she realized the person who cozied up to her was her father.
Catherine jumped up and gave him a hug. Her father is back home today after more than 5 months of active duty in Afghanistan.
Today he saw his three kids for the first time since June 29.
Catherine Thom and her father Cliff Thom embrace after seeing each other today for the first time since late June.
Thom, 42, has served in the military for 24 years. He also is a full-time electrician, working in Rochester. He and his wife, Tara, live in Gaines with their three children: Catherine, 15; Jacob, 11; and Sarah, 8.
He is a senior master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He is in the Reserve, which typically requires one weekend a month and two weeks a year of training. There is always the chance of deployment.
Thom talks to middle school students in Jonathan Sanford’s class about Afghanistan. Thom’s son Jacob is in the class.
Thom does his training out of the Air Reserve Station in Niagara Falls. He is a command chief from that site. In Afghanistan, he served as an operations superintendent.
At a base in Afghanistan, Thom and his unit loaded cargo from aircraft.
“My job is loading the planes,” Thom told a class of Middle Schoolers today. “It’s an important job because it supports everyone else.”
Thom surprised his son Jacob, a sixth grader in Jonathan Sanford’s class, this morning.
Thom told students it’s very hot in Afghanistan with temperatures well over 100 degrees. In his five-plus months there, it seldom rained and there were very few clouds the entire time.
It cooled down to about 90 degrees during the summer nights. In early December, the temperatures were in the 70s during the day and dropped to the 30s at night.
“It’s windy, dusty and dirty,” he told the students. “It’s very sandy. It’s all tan or brown.”
Jonathan Sanford, a social studies teacher, takes a picture of Cliff Thom with his son Jacob and Jacob’s classmates.
Sanford, a social studies teacher, thanked Thom for his service and willingness to go so far away.
“I know I speak for all of the kids when I say thank you for your service,” Sanford said.
Sanford told the students that the United States enjoys its safety and peace due to soldiers. He noted they all volunteer to enlist.
“They serve their country,” Sanford said. “It’s a very noble thing to do.”
Thom walked through a corridor of students and staff in the middle school, all thanking him for his service.
After surpirsing Jacob at the middle school, Thom and his wife headed to the high school to surprise Catherine who was in band.
Mike Thaine, the band teacher, thanked the Thom family for sharing the surprise with students.
“This is one band practice you will never forget,” Thaine told the students.
Cliff Thom, right, greets the high school band where his daughter plays the clarinet.
Thom admitted he was nervous this morning before seeing his children. He doesn’t like a lot of attention, he said.
He didn’t want to wait until the end of the school day to see them. He said the deployment and separation was a little easier because he could text with his family and talk with them through Google Hangouts, which is similar to Skype.
Many of his local friends also saw him do the Ice Bucket Challenge while in Afghanistan. His wife posted a link to the video of that on her Facebook page.
Thom greets his youngest daughter Sarah during lunch in the elementary school cafeteria. Sarah grabbed his hat.
After connecting with his children, Thom said the family was headed for lunch at the Village House restaurant. He wanted a bacon cheeseburger deluxe.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – The call went out from dispatch at 12:15 p.m. about an accident on Crandall Road in the Town of Gaines.
Firefighters, a state trooper and an ambulance saw a trail of debris, including a demolished mailbox, along Ridge Road, just east of Crandall Road. But they couldn’t find the car in the accident – until they checked down Crandall Road where a car had been driven off the road into the brush.
There weren’t any injuries in the incidents. No additional information has been released.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Al Capurso of Gaines has created several mini log cabin scenes as tributes to pioneer residents in Orleans County. He is pictured with his latest creation. He has donated the log cabin dioramas to the Cobblestone Museum, Clarendon Historical Society and the Holland Land Office Museum.
Photo by Tom Rivers
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Clarendon cabin (above) bears the name of the town’s founder, Eldredge Farwell, who discovered Clarendon in 1810 while looking for his brother Isaac’s lost horse. He traced Isaac’s footprints along the border of Sandy Creek and was impressed with the waterfalls in Clarendon.
Photo by Tom Rivers
GAINES – In the spring Al Capurso was out in his backyard with a knife, cutting down thick grape vines that were wrapped around trees.
Capurso studied the thick vines and noticed they bore semblance to mini logs. His mind and hands started working, and began building a small log cabin. It sits on a shelf in his kitchen, a tribute to pioneer residents who settled in the area about 200 years ago.
Capurso has a strong interest in the county’s pioneer history. He and his family put up a historical marker on the Courthouse Lawn last year for William McAllister and his wife, who were Albion’s first settlers in 1811, building a log cabin where the current County Clerks Building stands.
Capurso also did the research and convinced the local and federal governments to name Gilbert Creek in Gaines and Carlton in honor of another pioneer.
With the grape vines, Capurso cut them in 7 and 9 inch chunks and created a mini log cabin. He notched the wood, made a roof out of bark, and put in windows and doors. He added corals for livestock, a swing for children, and a wood lot. He even planted trees around the sites.
It takes Capurso about a month to make the scenes, and he has donated three of them to historical organizations. As he makes them, he finds himself transported to about 200 years ago, when the area’s first settlers were tasked with surviving in the wilderness.
“Everything back then was ‘make do,'” he said. “You made do with what you had.”
Capurso has given log cabin dioramas to the Holland Land Office Museum in Batavia, the Clarendon Historical Society and the Cobblestone Museum.
Farwell saw the waterfalls as a potential source of power for business. He moved his family to Clarendon in 1811 and built saw and grist mills. The town was originally named Farwell’s Mills but was renamed to Clarendon. Farwell was from Clarendon, Vermont.
Farwell also had six children when he moved to Clarendon. Capurso added a swing by the miniature cabin.
“I dedicated this one to children who grew up as pioneers in the wilderness,” he said on Tuesday at his Gaines home on Route 279.
Capurso is a volunteer at the Cobblestone Museum. He gave the museum a cabin that made in honor of John Proctor.
John Proctor is often referred to by historians as the Paul Revere of Ridge Road. On a December night in 1813, he rode by horseback on the Ridge from Gaines to Clarkson to warn of the approach of British and the Indians after the burning of Lewiston.
The following morning he joined a regiment that was headed to Lewiston. The regiment would capture the enemy quartered at Molyneaux Tavern. A historical marker on a large stone on Route 104 shares the story of Proctor. The stone is on the south side of Ridge Road, a few houses west of the Route 98 intersection.
Capurso would like to build a full-size replica cabin as a tribute to the pioneers. That would be about 20 feet by 20 feet. He would need to find a site and volunteers for the project.
