Photo courtesy of Helen Unterborn

KENDALL – Wallace Higgins, a former Kendall resident, shared his experiences as a Tuskegee Airman during a talk with the Kendall Lions Club earlier this month.

Higgins grew up in Kendall and talked about his early years during the presentation to the Lions Club.

Higgins told about encountering racial segregation and discrimination for the first time after entering the service and training in Pre-Flight at the Tuskegee Institute. He also discussed his post-war education at NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He went on to become an Associate Professor at Alfred, retiring in 1985.

Higgins, 89, has been a member of Alfred Lions Club for 50 years and spent decades in community service.

He is in the official registry as a Documented Original Tuskegee Airman. For his work with the Civil Air Patrol prior to his enlistment he was a recent recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.

This May, NYS Senator Cathy Young and the State Legislature inducted Higgins into the Veterans Hall of Fame in Albany.

Photo courtesy of State Sen. Cathy Young’s office

“Wally Higgins’ patriotic service and sacrifice for our country, and truly his entire life’s story is remarkable example of the selflessness demonstrated by so many in his generation,” Young said when Higgins was recognized in Albany. “They gave so much at a time when battles raged all around the globe and our nation needed heroes. As an original Tuskegee Airman who served in the Pacific theater, Wally’s aviation knowledge and skills were vital to the movement of troops and materials.”

Born on November 11, 1925 on a small farm in Kendall, Wally is the son of Alice and Daniel Higgins.

“Aside from his service, Wally is a loving father and dedicated family man, who deserves our deepest respect and praise. It was an honor to be able to recognize him and have his story memorialized in the state’s history,” Young said.

As soon as he turned 18 years old, Higgins enlisted in the US Army Air Corps. Having already been attending Civil Air Patrol classes in Rochester during his senior year of high school, he already had interest in pursuing aviation.

After initially reporting to Fort Dix, New Jersey, Higgins was sent to Biloxi, Mississippi for basic training and aptitude testing. As a result of his skin color and proficiencies, Wally was selected to be part of the Tuskegee Airmen experiment in Alabama, where he trained in Pre-Flight and Primary Flight training, including solo runs in the P-17 Stearman.

Photo by Helen Unterborn – Retired Major Ryan D’Andrea, Margaret Buell and Wally Higgins look over pictures of the Higgins family homestead in Kendall. D’Andrea now lives in the Higgins family homestead on Roosevelt Highway in Kendall.

Following 11 months at Tuskegee, a downturn in the war in Europe resulted in less pilot training and Higgins was transferred to the 1909th Engineers Aviation Battalion. A sergeant in charge of an all-black, 30-man platoon, Mr. Higgins served in Saipan and Okinawa building roads, airfields and ammunition storage buildings.

On March 17, 1947 Wally was Honorably Discharged as a Staff Sergeant with Squadron F, 3505th Army Air Force. For his service, Mr. Higgins earned the WW-II Victory Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, and New York State Medal for Merit. He was also recently presented with a Congressional Gold Medal due to his Civil Air Patrol involvement during the war.

Upon returning from the war, Wally was accepted to the College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramic design in 1952. While a student there, he met and married Norma Miller almost 64 years ago and never left Alfred. They raised four children, still reside in Allegany County, and nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

KENDALL – During their final meeting of the 2014-2015 school year, members of the Kendall School Board of Education approved a new course offering for the upcoming school year: Civil Engineering and Architecture.

Kendall Jr./Sr. High School Principal Carol D’Agostino said offering the new course is part of the district’s goal to have “… more and diverse electives for students. We try to find where the students’ interests lie,” she said.

Faculty members had a say in the new course, D’Agostino said. The new course fits well with the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curriculum. She said the district already has staff available to teach the new course.

“Great job, that’s exciting,” said Board of Education President Nadine Hanlon.

Board members also approved two exchange students for 2015-16 through the International Student Exchange program. The students are from Thailand and Brazil.

Hanlon noted it has been at least two years since the district hosted exchange students. She said the program is very beneficial,

“Students make bonds they will never forget,” she said.

Nadine Hanlon re-elected to Board of Education

KENDALL – Kendall residents gave strong support for a $15,065,842 budget today. The spending plan passed 172-50.

The budget increases expenditures by 1.6 percent but keeps the tax levy unchanged.
All of the propositions passed with wide margins of support.

Proposition 2 creates a school bus replacement reserve fund not to exceed $100,000 annually. It passed 180-40.

Proposition 3 allows the purchase of school buses to replace existing vehicles at a sum not to exceed $250,000. It passed, 174-46.

Proposition 4 allows the creation of a capital improvement reserve fund not to exceed $5 million. It passed, 174-47.

Kendall residents also re-elected Nadine Hanlon, the current Board of Education president, to another five-year term. She was unopposed and received 199 votes.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Jim Barrett, an emergency medical technician for the Kendall Fire Department, also works as a senior engineer for a company that manufactures hospital sterilization equipment. He used his life-savings skills as an EMT during a recent flight in the Middle East.

KENDALL – Jim Barrett has been on many long airplane trips and the veteran emergency medical technician will let the flight crews know he is an EMT and can help “just in case” someone may be feeling sick.

Almost every flight, Barrett can enjoy the trip without being prompted into action.

On May 7, Barrett was pressed into service when a flight attendant fell ill during a 14-hour flight from Washington, D.C. to Dubai. Barrett examined her and believed she was suffering from an acute appendicitis. The attendant was in severe pain, doubled over on the floor of the plane. Barrett didn’t think she could make it to the final destination before her appendix ruptured.

“If it bursts, there is infection in her abdominal cavity,” Barrett said today. “It would have been very dire. I don’t know if she would have survived that. We still had five hours to go.”

Barrett, 53, insisted to the flight crew the plane should be diverted so the flight attendant could be treated. Another medical professional on board confirmed the diagnosis, Barrett said.

The pilots at United consulted a medical command on ground, and those personnel suggested Tylenol and anti-nauseous pills. They believed the flight attendant could make it to Dubai, Barrett said.

But Barrett didn’t think the woman could last much longer. She was in extreme pain. He convinced the crew to divert and land at Ankara, the capitol of Turkey.

Turkish paramedics met the plane almost immediately after it landed and the stewardess was rushed to a local hospital.

Barrett and about 250 passengers on the 777 airplane stayed overnight in Ankara. The next morning they returned to the plane and the crew told Barrett the woman had the surgery, with doctors saying she only had 5 to 10 minutes to spare.

The woman had the operation in Turkey, and has since returned to the United States, Barrett said.

He has been an EMT for 35 years, starting when he was 18. He works as an electrical engineer, and is currently a senior engineer for Getinge, a company in Henrietta that makes hospital sterilization equipment.

Barrett travels to the Middle East, a big market for Getinge. He helps lead training for company employees and its distributors on maintaining and repairing the equipment.

Barrett said he is grateful the pilots diverted the plane so the flight attendant could get the needed medical care.

“I’ve had people get sick on planes before but I’ve never actually told the captain, ‘You must divert this plane,'” Barrett said. “We had a really good outcome from this. We did the right thing.”

Barrett said his effort on the plane is “all in a day’s work for a Kendall firefighter and EMT.”

His son Alex, 17, is a Kendall junior firefighter, and Barrett serves as advisor to the group.

He flew back home from the Middle East on Friday, with many of the same crew members from the flight on May 7. Barrett said he was warmly greeted by the crew.

“They said they were real happy they landed the plane,” he said.

Legislator worries about shrinking school enrollment

KENDALL – Kendall Central School District residents will see five propositions, including the 2015-16 budget, on the May 19 ballot.

School Board of Education members and District Superintendent Julie Christensen presented the budget during the annual meeting on Wednesday.

The proposed 2015-16 budget is $15.07 million and is Proposition 1 on the ballot. The budget includes a 0 percent increase in the tax levy.

Although enrollment continues to decline, there is no reduction in staff. The overall budget represents a 1.62 percent increase over the 2014-15 budget.

Christensen explained that the budget remains relatively flat because increases in cost of living have been offset by a decrease in pension costs, a decline in health insurance costs and energy savings from the district’s energy performance contract.

The proposed tax rate for Town of Kendall residents is $17.39 per $1,000 of assessed value. Property owners will see an estimated increase in their tax bill of $3 for a house assessed at $100,000, “mostly due to the PILOT agreement for the Cottages at Troutburg project,” Christensen said.

Proposition 2 would create a school bus replacement reserve fund not to exceed $100,000 annually.

Proposition 3 would allow the purchase of school buses to replace existing vehicles at a sum not to exceed $250,000.

Proposition 4 would allow the creation of a capital improvement reserve fund not to exceed $5 million.

Propositions 2, 3, and 4 will have no additional taxes if approved, the district said.

Proposition 5 is the election of one, five-year term member to the Board of Education. Current School Board President Nadine Hanlon is the incumbent and is seeking re-election. She is the only candidate for the single open seat.

Hanlon says she has enjoyed serving the last five years on the board. “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge,” she said. “It’s been a pleasure to work with this board.”

She noted that she looks forward to moving ahead with the district’s “wonderful capital project” and the Urban/Suburban program that would welcome Rochester students to Kendall.

Orleans County Legislator Ken DeRoller attended the meeting. During the public comment portion of the hearing, DeRoller expressed concern over the average loss of 28 students from the district each year and explained Orleans and Niagara counties are working together to bring broadband to the community, which would help draw more businesses and new residents.

He also discussed the PILOT for the Cottages at Troutburg which is impacting the school budget for the first time.

“There are new investors” for the project, DeRoller said about the development at the former Salvation Army camp by Lake Ontario “It is a positive and robust picture at this point.”

DeRoller also said Kendall is in a “tough spot” due to a “flattening of the assessment roll.” He explained additionally there has been, on average, the construction of only one new home in Kendall each year over the last 10 years.

He explained the county, school district and town will work together to help the community grow.

“We have tough work ahead of us,” he said.

The Annual District Vote will be held May 19 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Kendall Elementary School gymnasium. Voters must be at least 18 years of age, a U.S. citizen and a legal resident of the Kendall Central School District for at least 30 prior to the vote. Proper ID is also required. Applications for absentee ballots can be obtained through the district clerk.

Provided photos
KENDALL – About 50 volunteers were out picking up trash along Kendall roadsides on Saturday during the Kendall Lions Club’s annual Environmental Cleanup Day.

In addition to the Kendall Lions, volunteers included Kendall Central School Leo Club, local Boy Scouts, area church groups, Kendall town officials and other Kendall community members.

Volunteers arrived at the Town Highway Building and were given a safety vest purchased by the Lions club to wear while covering almost 34 miles of town roads.

At the end of the morning a flat-bed trailer was filled with the bags of trash and several items were recycled through the e-waste program.

KENDALL – Members of the Kendall Central School District Board of Education have voted to join the Urban-Suburban program, in which students from the Rochester City School District attend schools outside city limits.

The program is marking its 50th anniversary this year and is funded by the New York State Education Department and the Rochester City School District.

“Five districts have joined this year,” Kendall School Superintendent Julie Christensen said.

Two of those districts include Hilton and Spencerport.

Joining the Urban-Suburban program is part of non-resident enrollment options Kendall will utilize in the upcoming school year to combat declining student numbers.

Christensen said current enrollment at Kendall is 718 students, down from 759 a year ago and 724 just last month.

The April 15 Kendall School Board of Education meeting was the third meeting where the board sought public input on the issue.

“This is a win-win for everybody,” Board Vice-President Chris Gerken said.

One parent in the audience said she felt the program is “fabulous” and provides opportunities for city students which they might not otherwise have.

Kendall can determine how many students it will accept and students can be removed from the program if the district so decides. The district can also opt out of the program if it wishes.

Gerken said he is “100 percent for the program,” but proposed that board members “discuss it next year” to access if the program is working in the district.

The district estimates that Urban-Suburban will bring $12,000 in aid per each student that is accepted.

Kendall is also offering enrollment to non-resident staff children and non-resident, non-staff committee approved children whose families would pay tuition to attend school in the district.

The Board approved non-resident tuition rates which will be 50 percent of state recommended tuition for the first student; 30 percent of state tuition for a second student and 10 percent of state tuition for any additional students.

The state recommends tuition of $2,440 for grades K-6 and $5,051 for students in grades 7-12. Special education tuition rates are significantly higher.

KENDALL – The Board of Education approved a $15,065,842 budget on Wednesday that represents a 1.59 percent budget-to-budget increase, Superintendent Julie Christensen said.

A public hearing on the 2015-16 budget and propositions is set for 7 p.m. on May 6 at the High School Commons. The annual District Budget Vote and elections will take place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 19 at the Elementary School Gymnasium.

Kendall will keep the tax levy flat by using a $400,000 increase in state aid.

Although the tax levy is holding steady, the tax rate will increase slightly, less than 0.5 percent, Christensen said. She noted the tax rate increase relates to the PILOT agreement for the Cottages at Troutburg project.

“The budget looks good,” she said. “There are no changes for student programs.”

Christensen explained that increases in the budget mainly involve a rise in the number of incoming kindergarteners who have special needs and will require the hiring of additional teacher and bus aides.

The district is also in need of technology equipment, particularly with changes to classrooms that are part of the Capital Improvement Project.

Photos by Thom Jennings
KENDALL – Kendall High School students performed Pippin with three shows from Thursday to Saturday.

In this photo, Pippin is played by Nicholas Schuth and Connor Henion is Charlemagne (The King).

Pippin is a musical full of acrobatics, magical feats and songs from the composer of Wicked.

Carley Lester is the Leading Player in the musical.

Ken Price plays Lewis, a strongman.

Photos by Tom Rivers
KENDALL – Randy Unterborn (left), president of the Kendall Lions Club, is pictured with Clifford Provost, one of the charter members of the club that formed on Jan. 19, 1975. Provost and Cole Hardenbrook have remained members of the club for all 40 of its years.

“I just like the thought of service,” said Provost, a World War II veteran who worked for Kodak for 40 years. “We really should be committed to helping our community.”

These are tough times for many local service clubs. Their memberships have dropped, forcing many of the local clubs to cut back on service projects and donations to community causes.

The Kendall Lions Club remains strong with 64 members, one of the biggest service organizations in Orleans County.

The club meets the first and third Thursdays at the Kendall Fire Hall. The club welcomes different speakers for their meetings. Last night I was invited to talk about Orleans Hub.

The Lions support many youth and community initiatives. Unterborn is in his second stint as president. He works as the head of the grounds department at Hilton Central School. He joined the Lions Club about 18 years ago.

“We got a good, strong club and we have a lot of fun,” Unterborn said on Thursday night.

Terry Bliss has been a Kendall Lion for 25 years. He recently served as district governor. Kendall, with 64 members, is in the top three for membership of about 40 clubs in the district.

The club joins for dinner, singing and updates on community projects.

Provided photos by Alyssa Baker

KENDALL – A Snowy Owl was caught in Kendall on Tuesday in a field near Kludt Farms in Kendall. Andrew Kludt is holding the owl that was caught by Tom McDonald.

A member of Braddock Bay Raptor Research, McDonald (bottom left) collected photos, measurements, and other data for research on the owl before letting the creature go.

Provided photo – The Kendall Community Choir will do its fifth annual benefit concert for the local food pantry at 7 p.m. today at the David J. Doyle Junior-Senior High School.

KENDALL – The Kendall Community Choir will perform in one of its biggest events of the year tonight. The 41-member choir will perform Christmas music and Broadway tunes in a concert to benefit the local food pantry.

The audience is encouraged to bring in canned and other nonperishable food for the food pantry at the Kendall United Methodist Church. A goodwill offering for cash donations will also be taken for the food pantry.

“This will help them a great deal for both Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Mary Campbell, the choir director.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the David J. Doyle Junior-Senior High School.

The choir started seven years ago and for the past five years has performed the benefit concert for the food pantry. The choir has used past performances to raise money for the Kendall Park Gazebo Fund, the 2012 Kendall Bicentennial, and the Kendall Fire Department Ambulance Fund.