By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 June 2019 at 9:29 pm
KENDALL – There is a new organization for graduates of Kendall Central School. The Kendall Alumni Association will hold a launch celebration and reunion party on June 22.
That happens to be the finale of the Kendall Fire Department Carnival, an annual event that brings many alumni to town.
The Alumni Association welcomes graduates to walk with a float for the parade at 7 p.m. on June 20. Kendall graduates can wear their varsity jackets or other Kendall clothing while they ride in a wagon or walk in the parade.
The Alumni Association plans to hold the annual reunion celebration during the carnival weekend. This year the carnival is earlier than usual so Kendall could accommodate the schedule for the amusement ride provider.
Kendall graduates are welcome to attend reunion events on June 22, beginning at 10 a.m. with coffee and donuts served to the classes of 1939, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.
There will be alumni softball and volleyball games. An alumni band also will play at 11:30 a.m.
The events are at the Kendall Junior-Senior High School, 16887 Roosevelt Hwy.
Photos courtesy of Kristina Gabalski: Students at Kendall Elementary School work to plant a school orchard on Friday morning.
Posted 15 June 2019 at 2:27 pm
Press Release, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County
KENDALL – Members of the Kendall Elementary-based 4-H Club and Kendall Elementary students joined forces last week to plant a school orchard.
The project was a joint effort between the school and the 4-H Club, which meets regularly during the school year, as a community service project.
“We proposed to idea to Sharon Smith, Kendall Elementary Principal, last year and she enthusiastically supported the project,” said Kristina Gabalski, Orleans County 4-H Program Coordinator. “School orchards provide educational and nutritional benefits to students by providing a place to learn about nature, grow plants and produce food. The orchard at Kendall Elementary will be a living classroom and a laboratory without walls where students can study everything from botany to art, as well as relax and be refreshed by its beauty.”
Principal Sharon Smith works with Kendall Elementary students to plant a tree in the new orchard.
The Kendall Elementary School orchard is located just outside the south wing of the school where it will be easy for students to access as well as care for the planting.
“The spot will also provide some protection from wind and receive lots of sun all year,” Gabalski said.
The orchard includes six trees: two Enterprise apples (a new disease-resistant variety); two Northern Spy apples (a heritage variety); one Blake’s Pride pear; and one Stanley plum.
The trees were donated by Sara’s Garden Center in Brockport, which has also enthusiastically supported the project. Additionally, Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension received a $500 grant from Gro More Grassroots Grants presented by the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and KidsGardening. Grant funds were used to purchase garden tools, mulch and additional supplies for the orchard.
Sharon Smith said she foresees the orchard having a prominent place in the Kendall community for years to come.
“The more children we involve in this, and the more families in the community who become involved in this, will mean that this orchard is valued and protected for many decades,” she said. “Students will take these skills and this love back home and apply it in their own gardens with their own families, and eventually with their own children as adults.”
Gabalski would also like to acknowledge the support and help of Dan Brundage, Kendall Elementary Buildings and Grounds Manager, and his staff for their guidance and enthusiasm in making the orchard a reality.
“We have an amazing relationship between Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 4-H, and Kendall Elementary,” she said. “It is so exciting to be able to work together on projects like this that enhance the quality of life in our community.”
Members of the Kendall Elementary 4-H Club place trees before they were planted on June 7.
Kendall Elementary students are framed by foliage from one of the fruit trees while they work on planting another.
Students dug holes, planted trees and watered and mulched the new transplants.
The newly planted Kendall Elementary School Orchard with the school in the background.
Provided photos: Kendall Lion John Becker presents the club’s Citizen of the Year award to Steve Giverson, center. Lions Club President Doug Urquhart is at right.
KENDALL – The Kendall Lions held the club’s annual officer installation and awards dinner on Thursday. Kendall volunteer firefighter Steve Giverson was presented the “Citizen of the Year Award” for his commitment and strong leadership in the Lions Club’s carbon monoxide and smoke detector program in response to a community tragedy.
Steve transferred from the Gates Fire Department 2 1/2 years ago and quickly made an impact in the Kendall community and the fire department. He recently was elected secretary of the Kendall Fire Department. Steve was the liaison between the community groups – American Red Cross, Kendall Central School, the Fire Departments and the Lions Club – during the recent CO and smoke detector program.
Giverson took on the responsibility of scheduling, training, delivery and community communication as the Lions Club distributed 200 CO detectors and more 600 smoke detectors to residents in the local communities.
Provided photos: Kendall Lion John Becker presents the club’s Citizen of the Year award to Steve Giverson, center. Lions Club President Doug Urquhart is at right.
John Becker also was recognized for his leadership in the CO and smoke detector program as well as his continued service as a Kendall Lion. Becker received the “Lion of the Year” award. Becker was the initiator of the program after two lives in the Kendall community were lost due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Lion President Doug Urquhart recognizes Debbie Ryan for her tenure as club treasurer. She is joined by her husband, Bob Ryan, who is a member of the club.
This group includes, from left: incoming President Helen Unterborn, Lion Candy Minigiello, Lion Tom Minigiello and Lion President Doug Urquhart. Candy Minigiello was awarded the Robert Uplinger Award for her service and participation in the community and the Kendall Lions Club.
Kendall Supervisor Tony Cammarata (center), a member of the Lions Club, was presented the Melvin Jones Fellow as a reflection of the continued service to our community and club, often behind the scenes but integral to our success. The award is named for the founder of the Lions Clubs International.
Lions President Doug Urquhart presents the award to Cammarata, who was joined by his wife, Sharon Cammarata.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 May 2019 at 9:55 pm
KENDALL – The school district’s budget passed during a public vote today with 62.7 percent in favor, 136 yes to 81 no.
The $17,774,362 budget for the 2019-20 school year increases spending by 2.34 percent, with the tax levy going up by 2.2 percent.
Proposition 2 also passed, 156 to 62. That vote authorized the district to spend up to $250,000 from a transportation bus reserve for transportation vehicles.
Proposition 3 was for a member of the Board of Education. Chaley Swift was unopposed and received 205 votes for another five-year term on the board.
ALBANY – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) poses with 70 students from Kendall on Tuesday at the Million-Dollar Staircase in Albany, where the steps are made from Medina sandstone. The students, members of the Class of 2024, wore shirts representing the school colors.
Hawley said he was happy to welcome the middle schoolers to the State Capitol. Hawley led the students on a tour of the building an gave them a formal introduction on the Assembly floor.
“I was proud to welcome these inquisitive and enthusiastic students from my district to Albany and pleased to give them a behind-the-scenes look at policymaking in our state,” Hawley said. “The Eagles certainly made their presence known, proudly sporting their school’s colors and logo, and it my pleasure to join my colleagues in introducing them during our Assembly proceedings on Tuesday. I enjoy giving young students the opportunity to ask questions and witness the inter-workings of politics firsthand. In doing so, we create more civic-minded young people and a stronger democracy.”
Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Steve Hawley: Lake Ontario crashes into the shoreline in Orleans County.
In light of water levels continuing to rise and historically adverse flooding conditions along Lake Ontario’s southern shoreline in recent years, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) personally toured the northern border of the lake on Sunday from the Yates to Kendall to inspect conditions firsthand.
Hawley, who was one of the first elected officials to tour flood related devastation along the shoreline in 2017, wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell requesting immediate confirmation of newly appointed International Joint Commission (IJC) members so they can begin work regulating water levels and protecting residents and businesses who may soon face property damage in northern Orleans County.
“I am writing regarding the urgent need for the Senate to move forward and place the International Joint Commission nominees on the Senate calendar for confirmation votes…Water levels on Lake Ontario are at 246.86 feet, compared to the peak of 249.10 in 2017. The lake has risen 5 inches in the past 10 days. However, if this continues, the few residents who survived the flooding in 2017 with minimum damage may not this year,” Hawley wrote in the letter, dated April 24.
The IJC has six members, with Canada and the U.S. each having three representatives. The U.S. nominees for the board include former State Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, and Rob Sisson and Lance Yohe.
“Increased erosion will continue to decrease the assessed value of the shoreline properties and more homeowners will have the expense of installing destroyed break walls to protect homes,” Hawley wrote. “Local businesses that struggled through 2017 may not survive another year.”
Please contact Hawley’s District Office at (585) 589-5780 for assistance regarding flood related issues caused by Lake Ontario.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Some of the docks at the Oak Orchard River in Carlton are underwater due to the high Lake Ontario water levels. This photo was taken on Friday afternoon.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 May 2019 at 9:50 am
KENDALL – The Town of Kendall is the first municipality in Orleans County to declare a state of emergency from the high Lake Ontario water levels.
Tony Cammarata, the town supervisor, made the declaration on Wednesday. He said on Saturday that the declaration will expedite state resources for the town, including AquaDams, large grain bags to hold multiple sandbags, and assistance from the National Guard and inmate crews from state prisons with the flood protection.
On Thursday, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo also issued a state of emergency due to high waters along Lake Ontario. The county implemented a 5 mph speed limit for all boat traffic within 500 feet of the Lake Ontario shoreline in Monroe County. That is intended to minimize flooding damage to the shoreline.
Wayne County also has declared a state of emergency for bays in Sodus, Huron and Wolcott.
More Orleans municipalities – the towns of Yates and Carlton, and Orleans County – are expected to soon declare a state of emergency. Dale Banker, the county’s emergency management director, said the Orleans officials are coordinating with Niagara County an a declaration.
“It could be any day based on the changing conditions,” he said.
The State Office of Fire Prevention and Control installed a 450-foot AquaDam on Friday at Oak Orchard on the Lake, just west of the Oak Orchard Harbor.
Cammarata said Kendall is better prepared to fight the flooding this time, compared to 2017. The town has many pallets of sandbags ready, and learned two years ago that putting sandbags in the larger grain bags makes them more effective. Residents who need sandbags should contact the Kendall Highway Department at (585) 659-2650.
The AquaDams also help protect property. The State Office of Fire Prevention and Control installed a 450-foot AquaDam on Friday at Oak Orchard on the Lake in Carlton.
Cammarata said Kendall has requested three AquaDams for vulnerable shoreline in the town.
Many property owners have new breakwalls that should also better protect property if the lake continues to rise and floods. State grants helped pay for those breakwalls, which Cammarata said are at a higher incline to better thwart erosion.
“We’re anticipating better in 2019 than in 2017,” he said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 May 2019 at 9:21 am
KENDALL – The school district is proposing a $17,774,362 budget for the 2019-20 school year that increases spending by 2.34 percent, with the tax levy going up by 2.2 percent.
The budget will be voted on by district residents from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 21. The vote will be at the Kendall Town Hall, 1873 Kendall Rd. The district said it moved the polling place from the school to the Town Hall for student safety. Eligible voters must be at least 18 and a legal resident of the district for at least 30 days prior to May 21.
Overall spending is up $406,885 with rising health insurance premiums, utilities and fuel among the causes, as well as the impact of the higher minimum wage in many district departments, said Julie Christensen, the district superintendent. State aid for the district is $12,480,840, which covers 70.2 percent of the budget.
The tax levy will go from $4,715,842 to $4,819,591. That $103,749 increase or 2.2 percent remains below the district’s allowed tax cap, which is 3.81 percent due to carryover from prior years when Kendall was below the cap, as well as other exclusions, Christensen said in a budget message to district residents.
Kendall’s projected tax rate will be $17.02 per $1,000 of assessed property, which compares to a Monroe County average of $23.90, the district stated in its newsletter.
Kendall will have a public hearing on the budget at 6:30 p.m. on May 6 in the library at the Junior-Senior High School.
In addition to the budget, the May 21 vote includes:
• Proposition 2: Transportation bus reserve fund to allow district to spend up to $250,000 for transportation vehicles
• Proposition 3: To elect a member to a five-year term on the Board of Election. Chaley Swift is unopposed.
KENDALL – About 35 volunteers, including Eileen Dellacosta, were out Saturday picking up litter and trash in the Town of Kendall.
The Kendall Lion’s Club sponsors the annual Kendall Community Town Clean Up. The annual event is held in conjunction with Earth Day.
Kendall volunteers who braved the elements of wind and snow included the Boy Scouts, Leo’s Club, Fire Department, Lion’s Club, Highway Department and other community members.
Bob Furness, a member of the Lion’s Club, cooks hotdogs in the cold on Saturday.
The volunteers met at the Highway Department garage on Crandall Avenue before heading out to pick up trash along the roadsides. Volunteers filled several garbage bags and also retrieved 15 tires.
Photos courtesy of Ben Jones: The CH-47 Chinook takes off Friday after being repaired following precautionary landing Thursday in a Kendall farm field.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 April 2019 at 11:27 am
KENDALL – The CH-47 Chinook whch made a precautionary landing in a Kendall farm field on Thursday night returned to Rochester at about noon on Friday.
The large helicopter is based at the Army Aviation Support Facility at Rochester International Airport. The CH-47 was conducting a routine training flight on Thursday evening, said Eric Durr, director of public affairs for the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
“Shortly before 8 p.m. the crew noticed that a transmission warning light had come on,” he said. “This indicated that metal shavings could be in the transmission. The crew followed the correct emergency procedures for this situation, which required them to land as soon as possible. The crew made a precautionary landing near Kenmore Road in the Town of Kendall.”
None of the four soldiers on board were injured and nobody on the ground was ever in any danger, he said.
A CH-47 from Rochester flew to the site and transported three crew members back to Rochester. One stayed with the aircraft.
On Friday morning, maintenance personnel inspected the helicopter and conducted tests which indicated that the aircraft could safely conduct a flight back to Rochester for additional inspections and maintenance, Durr said.
That was completed before noon on Friday and the aircraft returned to the Army Aviation Support Facility by 12:15.
One of the crew members wrote on the Orleans Hub Facebook page, thanking local residents for stopping by with coffee and food.
The CH-47 created a stir in Kendall, with many residents stopping by to get a close look. The crew even gave some tours of the large aircraft.
KENDALL – The Kendall Fire Department, Kendall Ladies Auxiliary and Kendall Lions Club hosted their annual Easter egg hunt on Saturday with 150 kids, from toddlers to grade 6, participating.
This year’s prize egg winners were Camden Manners, Emmalyn Gravelle, Colton Schaeffer, Ryan Gardner, Joey Knapp, Addison Schultz, Andrew D’Agostino, Adriana D’Agostino, Kearstin Loescher, Baylee Harper, Isabella D’Agostino and Genevieve Pagano.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 April 2019 at 2:53 pm
File photo: Sharon Smith, Kendall Elementary School principal, makes cotton candy on Family Night at the elementary school in April 2017.
GENESEO – Sharon Smith, Kendall Elementary School principal, is one of three finalists to be the next superintendent at Geneseo Central School.
The other finalists include Cindy Flowers, and Brian D. Schmitt, Ed.D. Flowers presently serves as the Special Education administrator for Geneseo Central School. Schmitt is the district superintendent of Genesee Valley Central School District in Belmont.
The finalists will visit the district on April 23, 24 and 30. Smith will visit on April 23, Flowers on April 24 and Schmitt on April 30. Meet and greet forums, which are open to the public, will be held each day at Geneseo Middle-High School in the Media Center from 4:15 – 5 p.m., Geneseo school district announced today.
Final interviews with stakeholder groups and the BOE will follow the meet and greet forums. The anticipated start date for the new superintendent is July 1. The new superintendent will replace Timothy Hayes, who is retiring.
Smith is currently the principal at Kendall Elementary. She also serves as the UPK Director, ESL Coordinator and grants writer and administrator. She’s held this position since 2012.
Some of her initiatives include changes in literacy and mathematics instruction with alignment to Common Core standards. This resulted in moving the student proficiency rate from 32 to 61.8 percent in 2018.
Previously, Smith served as Pre-K to 12 Education and Data Coordinator at Frontier Central School District from 2011 until 2012. Her experience includes four years as a school building administrator at both Royalton-Hartland and Newfane school districts.
In 1984, Smith began her work in education as a sixth grade Language Arts teacher at Perry Elementary School. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from SUNY Geneseo and a Master of Education degree from SUNY Buffalo. Smith earned a School District Administrator Certification from Canisius College in Buffalo. She has two permanent New York Certifications, as a Pre-K-6 School Teacher and a School District Administrator.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 April 2019 at 4:07 pm
File photo by Tom Rivers: Youngsters enjoy one of the rides at the Kendall Carnival in this photo from July 2014.
KENDALL – The Kendall Firemen’s Carnival, an annual summer tradition in Kendall since the 1940s, is moving this year’s event up two weeks due to the schedule for the company that provides the rides/midway.
The carnival is typically three days from Thursday through Saturday, the first or second week of July. This year it will be June 20-22.
The big parade also is typically on Friday. The parade this year will be on a Thursday. (Kendall’s commencement program is that Friday, June 21.)
About 50 volunteers help the Kendall Fire Department keep the annual carnival going. Many other fire departments in Western New York have ceased doing carnivals.
The Kendall carnival helps the fire department pay for the ambulance, and building maintenance, utilities and upkeep.
Provided photos: This model shows the design of a war memorial proposed for the Kendall Town Park on Kendall Road. The first phase is complete on the project with the rest expected to be finished by this summer.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 March 2019 at 10:45 am
KENDALL – Four Boy Scouts in Kendall’s Troop 94 are working together to build a war memorial at the town park. The four Scouts are each in charge of a different phase of the memorial for their Eagle Scout projects.
Ryan Barrett, Noah Rath, Jayden Pieniaszek and Brian Shaw have joined forces in the project. This is the first joint Eagle Scout project that Scoutmaster Ken Spohr is aware of. He praised the Scouts for working together on an ambitious effort. They have already given public presentations to about a dozen groups, with more planned.
“They’re reaching out to everyone in the community,” Spohr said. “It’s a very big ask that they’ve chosen to do, but they are well on their way to getting it done.”
These Kendall Scouts are leading the effort to build the war memorial. They include, from left: Jayden Pieniaszek, Brian Shaw, Noah Rath and Ryan Barrett.
The memorial includes a brick wall that will be 4 feet tall and stretch nearly 40 feet long. There will be concrete medallions on the wall for the five branches of the military and six plaques about different wars where Kendall residents fought, including the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War 1, World War II, the Korean War and Persian Gulf War.
Memorial bricks will be placed along a sidewalk at the memorial. The bricks are available for $100 each.
Ryan Barrett and Jayden Pieniaszek presented the idea of the memorial to the Troop. They both have family who have served in the military and they wanted to town to recognize the community’s veterans. Noah Rath and Brian Shaw also wanted to be part of the project.
“They sketched it out,” Spohr said about the Scouts’ plans for the memorial. “It was amazing to watch. “These four are always looking for ways to help their community.”
They have divvied up the project into four phases.
Ryan Barrett is in charge of the first phase, which is complete and includes putting in the foundation for the wall, a stone memorial and three flag poles.
Jayden Pieniaszek is leading the second phase which includes construction of the brick wall, which is 36 feet long, 3 ½ feet wide and 4 feet tall.
Noah Rath is heading up phase three which includes the medallions for each five branches of military. Rath will also lead the efforts to have two 25-foot flag poles and get the electricity set up so the memorial and sidewalk can be lighted up at night.
Brian Shaw is coordinating phase four which includes final grading and planting cedar trees behind the memorial, which will provide a buffer for the neighbors and also enhance the site. Shaw will also manage getting the six plaques on the memorial for the different wars where Kendall soldiers served.
Spohr said organizations and residents have joined the effort to build the memorial with in-kind services and financial donations.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 22 March 2019 at 12:24 pm
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Anna Migitskiy, who manages Lure’s Restaurant at Bald Eagle Marina with her husband Andre, chats with Doug Farley, director of the Cobblestone Museum. On Thursday, Lure’s donated a portion of their sales to the Cobblestone.
KENDALL – Lure’s, a new restaurant which opened late last year at Bald Eagle Marina on Lake Ontario, hosted a fundraiser Thursday to benefit the Cobblestone Museum at Childs.
Cobblestone director Doug Farley came up with the idea and approached Anna and Andre Migitskiy, managers of Lure’s.
Farley first learned about Lure’s when he went there with Leadership Orleans in 2018.
“I fell in love with the place,” Farley said. “I have done this concept of fundraising successfully at other places, and asked if Lure’s would be interested. I was eager to offer this to Cobblestone country, too.”
Farley said he saw the huge investment the ownership of Lure’s was making in this region and thought they were a rising star. He not only appreciates their willingness to donate to the Cobblestone Museum, but hopes the exposure will help the restaurant, as well.
“The museum depends on a lot of different income streams to continue its work, like memberships, grants or successful on-site events, and also, as demonstrated on Thursday, through partnering with community organizations to achieve a great result than either can achieve on its own,” Farley said. “A raising tide lifts all boats.”
Lure’s Restaurant at Bald Eagle Marina in Kendall is located in this structure overlooking Lake Ontario, where a fundraiser took place Thursday for the Cobblestone Museum at Childs.
