Photos by Kristina Gabalski

KENDALL – Ryan Barrett and Hanna Hofstra sang their way to the “Most Colorful” Award for their animated performance of “A Whole New World” in the Jr./Sr. High Acts division.

It was a night of song, dance and comedy Friday evening at Kendall Central Jr./Sr. High School as the Kendall Central chapter of AFS and the Class of 2020 hosted the annual Kendall’s Got Talent program.

Kendall students and alumni performed. The most memorable acts received “Paper Plate Awards.”

Two Kendall graduates Bethanie Mason (Class of 2001) and Kaitlyn Curtis (Class of 2008) served as judges for the event. They also performed. Mason is now a Kendall Central school nurse and Curtis teaches math at Kendall Central.

The first alumni act featured Cody and Carley Lester (Class of 2010 and Class of 2015) performing, “The House that Built Me.”

Elementary students Jonny Conte, Nicholas Cole, Aidan Kwiatkowski, Vinnie D’Agostino, C.J. D’Agostino, Brooke Rodas and Brady Werth (not in order shown) performed a skit satirizing Olympic synchronized swimming. The blue tarp served to mimic pool water. The ensemble received the “Most Colorful” Award in the Elementary Acts category.

Irelynn Maloney and Alivia May received the “Star Quality” Award in the Elementary division for their performance of “Fly.”

Caleb Henion and Megan Hardenbrook joined forces to sing “Somewhere Only We Know.”

Elementary students Amberlyn Pruner and Lana Strapp danced their way across the stage.

Emily Brundage received the “Out of This World Performance” Award in the Elementary division for her rendition of “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”

Michela Hanlon and Kierstyn Christensen took home the “Star Quality” Award in the Jr./Sr. High Acts division for their dance performance.

Brothers Eric and Kirk Warren were awarded the “Out of This World Performance” in the Jr./Sr. High Act division for their hilarious “Who’s on First?” skit.

Brandi Stephens sings “Lost Boy” in the Jr./Sr. High Acts division.

The evening wrapped up with a performance by the AFS 2018 Crew who helped make the evening such a success. This year’s AFS advisors are Mirjam Bauer and Katie Driesel.

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Provided photo

KENDALL – The Kendall Lions Club donated $1,700 on Thursday to the Kendall Food Cupboard. Lion President Mike Cusimano, left, presents a ceremonial check for $1,700 to Marty Goodenberry for the Food Cupboard.

Each year at their holiday party, Lions Club members donate and bid on items to be auctioned. This year club members raised a record amount.  Marty thanked the club and shared that they prepared 270 boxes and gifts for 120 kids at Christmas.

He shared that the Food Cupboard is now a 501c3 organization. This status will allow the organization to seek grants to further support the Food Cupboard.

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Jim Baker says running saved his life, allowing for detection of tumor

Photos courtesy of Jim Baker: Jim Baker is pictured on Sept.17 when he finished the Rochester marathon, covering the 26.2-mile course in 3 hours, 35 minutes, which qualified him to run in the Boston Marathon in April.

KENDALL – Jim Baker had achieved a dream in April 2016 when he ran the Boston Marathon. Baker expected to feel triumph that day, but he struggled to get to the finish line.

His time of 4 hours, 59 minutes was more than an hour off what he was expecting for the race. Baker’s best time of 3:27 was at the Rochester marathon in September 2015. That time qualified him for Boston.

But on April 18, 2016, he felt a cramp and “side stitch” during the prestigious race in Boston. He almost stopped, but pushed on to the finish. It was the Boston Marathon after all.

“I wasn’t my normal self,” he recalled on Saturday. “But I gutted it out.”

The slow time wasn’t a one-day aberration. Baker, a Kendall resident who works as a chemist for Kodak, didn’t get back to his brisk 8-minute pace in the weeks after Boston.

The pain also continued when he ran. He went to the doctor and was diagnosed with colon cancer. He had run Boston with a plum-size tumor in his colon.

“I had a huge tumor in my side,” he said. “It had grown like wildlife.”

The tumor was removed and he started chemotherapy in June 2016. After seven months of treatment, his doctors declared him cancer-free a year ago on Jan. 13, 2017.

Baker didn’t let cancer derail his running. Even during chemo, he typically ran 15-20 miles a week – “at a very slow pace.” He battled nausea but kept going, except when it was cold out. The chemo made him especially sensitive to cold temperatures. He decided to take a two-month break from running during the harsh winter weather.

Jim Baker is shown on Jan. 13, 2017 when he received a certificate of completion for chemotherapy at Interlakes Oncology at Wilmot Cancer Institute.

He picked up his mileage after completing chemo, with a goal of running a marathon again and qualifying for Boston. On Sept. 17, he ran the Rochester marathon in 3:35, and that 8-minute, 12-second pace earned him another chance to run Boston.

He will be back at the starting line for that big race on April 16.

“I’ve got redemption on my mind,” he said.

Baker wants to break 3:45.

Although he’s disappointed in his time at Boston in 2016, Baker said that race was a sign that something was wrong with his health. When he didn’t bounce back after Boston, he went to the doctor for a colonoscopy, which revealed the tumor.

“If I didn’t run I’d be gone,” he said. “I wouldn’t have known I had the tumor if I didn’t run. There were no other warning signs. I had no loss of appetite.”

He also didn’t get what he thought was a cramp, except when he was running. If he wasn’t a runner, he would have felt that pain.

He had a colonoscopy two years before the one that showed the tumor. Baker had been fighting Crohn’s Disease for 15 years. (When his tumor was removed, taking out part of his colon, Baker said the Crohn’s Disease went away, too.)

Jim Baker completed a half marathon in Rochester on Jan. 6 when temperatures were just above 0 degrees. Baker ran the course in 1:47.

Baker started running 11 years ago when he was 44. He would go for walks during lunch breaks at Kodak, but Baker said that walking didn’t do anything to chip away at his extra pounds. He initially couldn’t run more than 200 yards without stopping. But he didn’t give up.

Conquering 2 miles while running was a milestone. He ran his first race at a 10K (6.2 miles) and enjoyed the energy and people at the races. He signed up for more races and joined the Bagel Bunch, a running group in Greece.

The other runners have become good friends and given him plenty of advice on increasing his speed and avoiding injury. He has completed 11 half marathons and five marathons – and shed 40 pounds.

Baker grew up in Albion and wasn’t a runner. He didn’t have the slightest inkling to run in high school or as a young adult. “Back then softball was my form of exercise,” he said, laughing.

Baker and his wife Stacey moved to Kendall about 27 years ago. They have two grown children, Kyle and Megan.

He knows running is difficult for many people, especially when they start. He encourages people to stick with it. It took him about six months of steady running to feel comfortable and really enjoy his runs.

Running also makes you more in tune with your body. If you’re running a little slower than normal, and that time lingers, you should go to the doctor.

Baker said that ultimately saved his life.

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Photo by Kristina Gabalski

KENDALL – Ethan Billings, a junior at Kendall, recites his winning oratorical speech from this year’s American Legion Oratorical Contest to members of the Kendall Board of Education on Wednesday evening.

Billings was second in Orleans County and placed 3rd at the regional competition held Jan. 14. Kendall High School Principal Carol D’Agostino described Billings as a quiet young man, “and one of those students you want around everyday.”

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Says district didn’t properly notify residents of project, and veered from scope of work approved by voters

Photo by Tom Rivers: Kendall’s capital project included a dramatic change to the exterior and front entrance of the junior-senior high school.

KENDALL – Julie Christensen, school district superintendent, on Wednesday evening responded to a recent critical audit by the State Comptroller’s Office.

The Comptroller’s Office faulted the district for not informing the public enough about the $25.2 million capital project, which stretched from 2012 to 2017.

Key findings of the audit released Jan. 5 criticized the Kendall Central School District for not properly informing district residents prior to voting on a proposition for a district-wide capital improvement project because the Board and district officials did not develop or provide the public with a formal project plan detailing the scope and related costs, the Comptroller’s Office said.

The audit also states that because bids for the project came in significantly lower than anticipated, the Board decided to expand the original scope and spend the remaining authorized appropriations.

“Project reports did not include cost information or sufficient information to allow the Board to properly monitor the project’s progress or determine whether expenditures were properly authorized, funding sources were being used properly, or sufficient funds remained,” the audit states.

The State Comptroller’s Office recommended that the district provide voters with specific information on what will be included in proposed capital projects, including detailed descriptions of the improvements to be made and the locations where work will be performed as well as ensure the district stays within the scope of a capital project, and actively monitor capital project activity.

Christensen spoke during Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting. She said the audit results were frustrating as the State Comptroller’s Office, “doesn’t really understand” the process the district must follow. She said the district does not have project details when a capital project is first proposed as the expense of design work is significant and is not undertaken until after a project is approved by voters.

She also called some of the detailed expenses the Comptroller’s Office would like to see reported, “unreasonable, we may not have access to all the details,” Christensen said.

Kendall School Board President Nadine Hanlon said the Comptroller’s Office, “should let us know what our duties are when it comes to a capital project.”

The district recently held a public information meeting regarding the next capital project it would like to pursue. Christensen said that moving forward, the Board of Education will make certain to take action on budget summaries of capital projects to ensure that they are included in board meeting minutes.

In their written response to the Comptroller’s Office, Christensen and Hanlon noted the district provided the community with information about the proposed capital improvement project during a public forum in April 2013. Information about the scope and locations was posted on the district website, in the district newsletter and displayed on boards in the offices and at events beginning in Jan. 2013 and continuing through the duration of the capital project.

“The Board will continue to provide the community with information about the scope and location of work; including as much detail as possible given required design work and unforeseen conditions that may impact scope.  This information will continue to be shared at the Board meetings, on our website and in District newsletters,” Christensen and Hanlon wrote.

A written project and budget was shared with the board and monthly updates on the plan and budget was reviewed at board meetings for the duration of the project, Christensen and Hanlon wrote. “In the future, the Board will ensure that these documents are formally approved and clearly reflected in the Board minutes.”

The response noted that the capital improvement project stayed within the voter authorization of $25.2 million and, “in actuality, the District stayed below the authorized amount … The Board will continue to stay within the scope of the capital project as authorized by the voters.  The Board and District will ensure an updated project plan is available at the District Office for public review,” the District’s response states.

Additionally, the response states that Turner Construction Company and the Turner Project Manager attended most Board of Education meetings before, during and after construction to directly answer questions, and that the Board will continue to monitor project activity and individuals responsible for oversight through regular communications.

Christensen and Hanlon state that they are pleased, “the Comptroller’s Office will be developing a guidance document on Board roles and responsibilities during a Capital Improvement Project to ensure expectations are understood clearly from your office’s perspective.”

To see the Comptroller’s report on Kendall’s capital project, click here.

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KENDALL – The school district will host an “Evening of Healing” on Tuesday at the Kendall Jr./Sr. High School Cafeteria. The event will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and is not limited to those in the Kendall School District.

An Evening of Healing is a collaborative effort between state, local leaders and the Kendall Central School District to promote safety and wellness. It is appropriate for ages 12 to adult. Childcare will be available on site.

The Evening of Healing will provide an opportunity for area residents to come together in conversation and support in an effort to learn positive ways to cope with sudden traumatic loss and foster resiliency and mental wellness.

The event includes a table discussion enabling participants to gain knowledge of local resources and support and how to support oneself or others who may be struggling with the challenges associated with sudden loss of a loved one or mental health issues.

Topics discussed will include loss from suicide and unexpected loss, such as from accidents and unforeseen health issues, as well as mental health.

Julie Christensen, the school district superintendent, said the goal of the evening is to promote healing and resiliency. An opportunity will exist before and after the panel presentation for people to visit and familiarize themselves with available resources.

Pre-registration is preferred but not required. Refreshments will be served.

To pre-register call the Kendall Central School District Office at 659-2741, or email your intent to webmaster@kendallschools.org.

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Photo by Kristina Gabalski: Kendall School District Superintendent Julie Christensen describes projects that might be included in the district’s next capital improvement project during a public forum on Wednesday evening.

KENDALL – A public forum at Kendall Jr./Sr. High School Wednesday evening gave residents and district staff and officials a first look at a proposed $14.5 million capital improvement project.

The cost of the project would be covered by a voter approved reserve fund and New York State Building Aid.

“There would be no impact on local taxes,” said District Superintendent Julie Christensen.

The project would be “a continuation of work we began years ago,” she said. The proposed project would include work that wasn’t covered during the last capital project, as well as, “things we noticed as we went through that work.”

The project would include addressing health, safety and code issues as well as preservation of infrastructure and enhancement of the instructional environment.

• Proposed improvements to the Elementary School include improving ventilation on the second floor of the quad and auditorium; renovation of the multi-purpose room for technology, agriculture and consumer science programs; replacement of the original gym bleachers and the gym floor, renovation of locker rooms, and a re-design of the cafeteria and serving line.

• Improvements proposed for the Jr./Sr. High School include renovation of the art, technology and music rooms which would address accessibility, storage and ventilation; replacement of gym floors and bleachers; renovation of the girls’ locker room; renovation of music practice rooms; renovation o the lavatory in the arts hall; update of the public access system; ventilation in the office and gym; improving light and sound and providing fly space for set productions in the auditorium; addition of a vestibule at the entrance to the art and music wing.

• Site improvements might include improving lighting and traffic flow at the Elementary School front loop; improvement of traffic flow at the Jr./Sr. High School bus loop; drainage in the athletic fields, addition of bathrooms and storage by the track and sidewalks from the High School cafe to the tennis courts.

• The bus garage is in need of roof repairs, an update to the fuel system and outside lighting as well as improvements to the water line. The old bus garage behind the Elementary School is in need of replacement windows and doors, Christensen said.

She provided a timetable for the project which includes adoption by the Board of Education in February and a community vote referendum in May. If approved by district voters, the construction could begin in 2019 and be completed by 2020.

Detailed plans and design work will not begin until after the project is approved, Christensen said. She welcomed additional suggestions from faculty, staff and community members.

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Photo by Tom Rivers: Part of the shoreline on Lomond Shores in Kendall is shown last month. The high Lake Ontario waters and pounding waves chewed away big chucks of backyards last year, with the lake getting closer to many houses. Many residents are trying to put in new breakwalls.

The State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year approved $15 million for residents along Lake Ontario that suffered property damages.

Those funds have already been depleted, and more money is needed as part of the upcoming state budget, according to a letter from several state legislators to Gov. Cuomo.

“It is clear to us that although $15 million was a good start to help reimburse homeowners, unfortunately, it didn’t even scratch the surface,” wrote State Assemblyman Steve Hawley. “We need to get a clear understanding of the number of applications each of the not-for-profit housing organizations have approved and the dollar amount of damage. It is imperative that the funding for this program be increased to make good on the promise to make everyone whole!”

Hawley sent the letter today to Gov. Cuomo. Other legislators who signed it include Assembly members Michael Norris, Peter Lawrence, Angelo Mornello, Bob Oaks, William Barclay and Mark Johns, as well as State Senators Robert Ortt, Pamela Helming and Joe Robach.

In Orleans County alone about 500 people have been approved for funding for breakwalls and to fix other property damage. There 48 of those projects complete or under construction, according to PathStone, which is administering the program for the state in Orleans County.

Hawley and the state legislators said their offices field many calls from concerned residents who worry they won’t be reimbursed from the lake flooding.

The legislators asked Cuomo to determine how many projects need funding along the southshore and at what cost. The Legislature and governor should work to include the money in the 2018-19 state budget, according to the letter.

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Provided photos

KENDALL – Town of Kendall officials today joined Dollar General staff in celebrating the opening of a new store on Route 18. Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata, front right center, welcomed the new store and said the community anticipates a long-lasting relationship with the store. Barb Flow, a town councilwoman, joins Cammarata in front at center left.

The store opened for the first day on Dec. 18. Today was a grand opening celebration.

Many residents braved the cold weather to attend a ribbon-cutting celebration at 8 a.m. The 9,100-square-foot structure is on Route 18, just west of the Kendall Road (Route 237) intersection.

This is the fifth Dollar General in Orleans County. Other stores are located on West Avenue in Albion, Route 31 in Holley, Maple Ridge Road in Medina and Ridge Road in Medina (just south of Lyndonville).

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Photo by Kristina Gabalski: Kendall Town Board members work their way through 39 resolutions during their organizational meeting Wednesday evening. Pictured from left include: Councilman Wayne Martin, Jr., Councilwoman Lynn Szozda, attorney Andrew Meier, Supervisor Tony Cammarata, Town Clerk Amy Richardson, and Councilwoman Barb Flow. Councilman Bruce Newell arrived later in the meeting and is not pictured.

KENDALL – Town Board members met for their 2018 organizational meeting Wednesday evening and approved a number of resolutions.

Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata, who was re- elected in November to a third term as supervisor, reviewed progress made on his election promises to residents, including bringing public water to more residents, residential and commercial growth, and safety improvements to the town hall and highway garage.

Cammarata reported that two new water districts will be created in the town in 2018 and two additional water districts will be created by 2020.  He noted commercial growth with new ownership for the Bald Eagle Marina and the recently opened Dollar General store.

“We have had 20 new residential building permits issued since I took office as supervisor,” Cammarata said. “That’s about five per year.”

The town hall and highway garage will receive new roofs in 2018, and power assisted doors will be added to the town hall in the spring or summer. Additionally, the town will continue to pursue conversion to LED street lighting, Cammarata said.

He explained that taxpayers now have the option of making partial tax payments, and the town expects to adopt the tax exemption for Cold War veterans in the spring.

“I would like to congratulate the recently elected people and look forward to working with them,” Cammarata said.

Town council members Wayne Martin, Jr. and Bruce Newell were re-elected in November, as were Town Clerk Amy Richardson, Justice Debra Drennan, and highway superintendent Warren Kruger.

Council members re-appointed Andrew Meier as town attorney, Patrick Bolton as chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Andrew Kludt as chair of the Planning Board, Michelle Werth as Director of Youth and Adult Recreation, Heather Banker as town historian, Eileen Grah as librarian,  and Paul Hennekey as code enforcement officer.

Town Councilwoman Lynn Szozda was re- appointed deputy supervisor.

The 2018 salary and wage schedule adopted by council members includes no pay increases for the supervisor, councilpersons, town justices, the town clerk or the code enforcement officer.

The Superintendent of Highways receives a $2,000 salary increase to $53,250. Highway Department employees also receive increases in hourly wages for 2018.  Full-time motor equipment operators will now make from federal minimum wage up to $20.60/hour, an increase from $20.20; part time motor equipment operators will receive from federal minimum wage up to $14/hour, up from $13.36; full time laborers will receive from federal minimum wage up to $12/hour, an increase from $11.74; and part time laborers will receive from federal minimum wage up to $12/hour, an increase from $11.70.

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Provided photo: Sharon CassanoLochman has two new books published with a third due out in February.

KENDALL – A Kendall resident has two new books out. Sharon CassanoLochman, a former teacher and motorcycle safety instructor, has written Stranded on Thin Ice and Man with the Sand Dollar Face.

CassanoLochman in February also expects to have a three-volume collection of spiritual verses published.

Last January she established her own publishing company, Ontario Shore Publishing, and has been working to write and publish her books.

CassanoLochman brings her life experiences into creating her characters. In addition to working as a motorcycle safety instructor and teacher in Penfield and Honeoye Falls, CassanoLochman has been a paralegal, and a stay-at-home mother who enjoys hunting.

In 2013, she started writing Stranded on Thin Ice. That book tells the story of Tanner Phillips, a 12-year-old who fishes the Oneida Lake Ice Fishing Derby every year with his father.

The competition turns disastrous when one of the competitors goes missing and another gets injured. Tanner’s father must leave Tanner and his new friend, Richie, alone on the ice. After their ice hut comes unhitched, Tanner and Richie find themselves blown across the frozen lake in a blinding snowstorm, according to a description of the book on Amazon.

“It’s about all the young boys like to read about and participate in,” CassanoLochman said.

Click here for more on Stranded.

Man with the Sand Dollar Face was published last month and focuses on a quirky widow in her early sixties who takes her first job in a private investigator’s office. Arriving early she discovers an agitated man waiting at the door. He insists he must see the PI immediately. In the midst of his anxious demands, he clutches his chest and collapses. Shocked, she runs for help. Upon returning, the man has disappeared. As the story unfolds the woman finds herself embroiled in an international drug trafficking ring. Everything hinges on finding the man with the sand dollar face.

Click here for more on Sand Dollar Face.

CassanoLochman said she enjoys the writing process.

“It’s like watching a movie unfold when I sit down to write and give life to these characters,” she said.

She has taken writing classes through the Institute of Children’s Literature. While she owns the publishing company, she outsources the book’s formatting and cover design.

She has the books available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online. The books are also at the Lift Bridge Book Shop in Brockport, where she had a book-signing last Saturday.

CassanoLochman lives by Lake Ontario on Lomond Shores. She is active with the United Shoreline group that has held several events and protests for residents effected by the Lake Ontario flooding this past year.

She said being by the water has been inspirational, especially for her spiritual verses.

“The Town of Kendall itself is a very beautiful place,” she said. “It’s a community in the very best sense where I know my neighbors.”

For more on CassanoLochman’s books, click here.

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Provided photo

KENDALL – The Dollar General store opened today in Kendall. The 9,100-square-foot structure is on Route 18, just west of the Kendall Road (Route 237) intersection.

This is the fifth Dollar General in Orleans County. Other stores are located on West Avenue in Albion, Route 31 in Holley, Maple Ridge Road in Medina and Ridge Road in Medina (just south of Lyndonville).

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