Photos by Michael Karcz
KENDALL – The school district celebrated homecoming over the weekend, including a carnival on Friday where Kendall students and teachers took pies in the face.
The carnival also included a bounce house and other games and activities. The school district had a parade on Saturday and graduates were welcomed back to participate in alumni soccer and baseball games.
KENDALL – A project that will significantly add to the town of Kendall and Orleans County tax base will be celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
Construction has started on the Cottages at Troutburg, a new three-season waterfront community along the Lake Ontario shoreline in Kendall. There could be 400 houses built on a 126-acre site in the next eight to 10 years.
The Wegman Group is developing the project at a former Salvation Army camp that includes a half-mile of lake front property at the eastern end of Kendall.
The Wegman Group estimates the project will have a $40 million dollar impact for the town of Kendall and the county. The Cottages at Troutburg will add 40 to 50 new jobs over the next couple of years. The cottages range in size from 450 to 1,300 square feet.
“We chose this site because it is spectacularly beautiful and will offer residents endless opportunities for lakefront recreational activities,” said Dan Wegman, president at The Wegman Group. “This location also makes it convenient and accessible to families and seniors from Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse and even Toronto.”
The Cottages at Troutburg provide owners a maintenance free, secure living experience through a range of cottage and cabin styles for sale and land lease. Residents will have access to swimming, fishing and boating; open recreation areas, including a playground, two tennis courts and a basketball court; walking trails; a heated swimming pool; community center; and gated community with a keypad.
The ribbon-cutting on Wednesday will be at 19 Monroe-Orleans County Line Rd. The following officials are scheduled to attend: State Sen. George Maziarz, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard, Kendall Town Supervisor Dan Gaesser, Kendall Planning Board Chairman Paul Gray, Kendall Town Clerk Amy Richardson, and members of the Orleans Economic Development Agency, including CEO Jim Whipple, and Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development.
Courtesy of Mike Zingler -Mike Zingler is pictured with Abby Wambach during a commercial shoot at his farm in Kendall.
KENDALL – When the New York Apple Association was planning a new commercial to promote the state’s $300 million apple industry, it wanted an apple farm close to Rochester, an orchard that was clean and a good representative of the industry.
The Apple Association picked Mike Zingler’s farm in Kendall to film a commercial featuring Abby Wambach, a Rochester native who holds the world record for most goals scored by a woman in international competition.
The new commercial featuring Wambach is now being aired. The soccer star also is featured in in-store advertising.
She spent part of July 30 at Zingler’s farm for the commercial shoot.
“She was great,” Zingler said about Wambach, whose family owns Wambach Farms, a farm market and garden center. “She is a gracious person. She’s really into farming.”
Wambach was hired as an apple ambassador because of her local roots and healthy, active lifestyle, said NYAA President Jim Allen.
Mike Zingler’s son, Jimmy, was able to meet Wambach. Jimmy, 20, played soccer at Kendall. He works at his father’s farm and is also a part-time college student.
Zingler is a past member of the NYAA board of directors. She has a reputation as a progressive grower with high standards at his farm, Allen said. Zingler also has an iconic red barn and a striking tree in the orchard that created an ideal farming atmosphere for the commercial shoot, Allen said.
“Mike’s location was just excellent,” Allen said.
The Apple Association is eager to promote this year’s crop, which is the biggest on record at 32 million bushels.
To see the commercial, click here.
Press release, Orleans County Sheriff Scott Hess
KENDALL – A Kendall man was injured this morning during a logging operation behind his home.
Lee A. Zarpentine, 37, was operating a Ford 8N tractor, which he was using to drag logs from the wooded area behind his home in the 1500 block of West Kendall Road.
Zarpentine was pulling a large log up an incline in the dirt laneway when the butt end of the log began to dig into the earth, which caused the tractor to flip over backwards, pinning Zarpentine underneath. He was trapped for about an hour before being discovered by a family member, who in turn called 911.
A Caterpillar diesel forklift from nearby Kludt Farms was utilized to lift the tractor off of Zarpentine. He was then transported by Kendall Fire Department ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
The incident was investigated by Deputy M.C. Mele and Lieutenant C.M. Bourke.
KENDALL – An ambitious lakefront residential project in Orleans County is progressing with the first five or six houses expected to ready in October at the former Camp Troutburg.
The Wegman Group updated town and county officials on the project, which is planned to have room for 400 houses on 126 acres in the northeast corner of the town of Kendall at a former Salvation Army camp.
The first houses are expected to be ready in two months, with more building over the winter and early spring, said David Wegman, CEO of the Wegman Group. By April there could be 20 to 30 houses built at The Cottages at Troutburg.
Wegman and his son Dan spoke at tonight’s Orleans County Supervisors and Legislators Association meeting at The Village Inn. The Wegman Group said there is strong interest in the seasonal houses, which range from about 450 to 1,300 square feet. The Cottages at Troutburg will be open from April 1 with the water service turned off on Dec. 1.
The group hasn’t made an aggressive marketing push yet. Wegman expects to see a big response for the seasonal homes from the Rochester region, including people in the Finger Lakes.
“We think there are a lot of people tired of the taxes in the Finger Lakes, which are outrageous,” he said.
Home owners at the Cottages will pay a monthly $495 charge to the Wegman Group for the gated community. The fee covers road maintenance, lawncare, walking trails, all common buildings, plus access to a pool with lifeguards.
The Wegman Group will keep most of the 126 acres as green space, and it is planting 2,000 trees. The property includes a half-mile of lake front.
“This is absolutely the best site in New York this could happen,” Wegman said. “This is really a special piece of property.”
Town Supervisor Dan Gaesser praised the Wegmans for the project, which will bring new residents to Kendall to support local businesses and will boost the town, school and county tax bases by perhaps $25 to $30 million when the property is at full build-out.
Wegman said the property could be fully developed with 400 houses in eight years. The company has set a goal of selling one house each week. Wegman said the company has tried to keep the homes affordable with most of the houses costing about $60,000.
There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project on Sept. 25.
For more information, check The Cottages website by clicking here.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Whipple Brothers Farm built a 16-foot-high trellis system for hops vines at the farm along Norway Road in Kendall.
KENDALL – Hops is making a comeback in New York, which once led the country in hops production before Prohibition, and two Kendall brothers are using the revived interest in the crop to start their own farm.
State incentives to grow micro-breweries and the craft beer industry have created a demand for hops, a plant that adds flavor and taste to beer.
The crop takes a lot of work, but it’s also a high-value product in a niche market. That’s a perfect recipe for two brothers just starting out, who don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on planters, combines and grain storage facilities.
Last year Chris and Justin Whipple purchased a 92-acre farm off Norway Road in Kendall. They planted an acre of hops, building a 16-foot-high trellis system to hang the tall bines. The brothers grow corn on the other 91 acres, contracting with another farmer to have it harvested.
Both Chris, 31, and Justin, 28, continue to work for other farmers. When they finish working for the other farmers, the brothers work evenings and weekends on their own farm.
They don’t mind all the effort.
“This is really a dream come true,” Justin said today at the farm. “It was always our goal and our dream to have our own farm.”
Chris and Justin Whipple hold some of the hops they harvested this week. The brothers are part of an emerging hops industry in New York, which is supplying breweries.
The two both have college degrees from Brockport State College. Chris earned a degree in accounting and Justin earned a bachelor’s in finance. They worked desk jobs for a couple years and hated it.
“I didn’t like the professional world and the professional world didn’t like me,” Chris said.
The two Holley graduates watched the state’s efforts to grow the craft beer industry, hoping to create destinations much like wine trails. They researched the crop, and they saw it as a way to farm on their own without an enormous capital investment.
The crop, however, is labor intensive, especially during the harvest. The brothers have had 30 friends and family helping to pick hops off the bines. Their wives have been by their side, even when the plants need weeding.
Justin Whipple, left, and Chris Whipple work together today to harvest hops at their farm on Norway Road. Chris uses a tall pole to cut the bines and Justin catches them.
Carrie married Justin on June 30, 2012. On their honeymoon, they stopped by a hops farm in Oregon. Carrie works as a health educator. Amanda is married to Chris and she works as a speech pathologist.
Amanda and Carrie both exclaimed about the beauty of the hops when they grow tall and sway in the wind.
“It’s beautiful to watch them,” Amanda said.
The hops take three years to produce a mature crop. This year the plants are yielding about a third of their potential. Next year there should be a full crop for the first time.
The brothers have purchased a pelletizer to put the hops in a form desired by craft breweries. They expect they will process hops for other growers as well.
They also expect to double their hops field, planting another acre of the crop next year. State-wide there are about 100 acres of hops.
Justin said it’s an exciting time to be in agriculture, with the state encouraging niche farms and the public responding to the products.
“Growing up we were told there was no future in farming,” Justin said. “But right now there are a lot of opportunities, and it’s actually a lot of fun.”
The Whipple Brothers Farm includes, from left: Justin, Carrie, Amanda and Chris.
Photos courtesy of Nadine Hanlon
KENDALL – The Kendall Community Band, which formed last year for the town’s 200th anniversary, has stayed together. Last night the group performed in Kendall’s new gazebo in the town park.
Lori Cyr, a member of the Brockport Big Band which performed in Kendall on July 18, served as director of the Kendall group. She is pictured in the top photo.
About 75 people attended the concert. Band member Skip Scroger, who plays the trumpet, was instrumental in getting an alumni band together for Kendall’s bicentennial and for helping the group transition to a community band this year.
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Ridge Road Improvement Association put up this monument to George Washington and local Revolutionary War soldiers in 1932.
Photo by Tom Rivers
MURRAY – I noticed the big stone with the bronze marker for the first time yesterday on the way to the Kendall Firemen’s Carnival.
I had no idea we had a monument in honor of George Washington in Orleans County. But there it stands along Ridge Road at the Route 237 intersection, in front of a building across from the Murray Superette.
The marker was put up by the Ridge Road Improvement Association in 1932: “To honor and commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington and the men who fought in the American Revolution and sleep in the town of Murray.”
The marker list the names of Murray revolutionaries:
Robinson Smith, “Life Guard of Washington”
Asa Clark, “The Courier who carried the news to Washington of the attack on Throgs Neck.”
Captain Timothy Ruggles
William Jennings
Amos Frink
Captain Aaron Warren, “who built the first grist mill in the town of Murray”
The marker also notes that New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton stayed in a primitive log cabin near the spot during “an eventful horseback trip through Western New York in1810.” Clinton was the force behind getting the Erie Canal built.
There are several markers along Ridge Road. I’ll try to find out more about them.
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Kendall Lawn Chair Ladies work their magic during tonight’s parade in Kendall.
These youngsters show off some exceptional facial hair.
Kendall Highway Superintendent Warren Kruger promotes a classic car show from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Vietnam Veterans led off the parade.
KENDALL – The annual Firemen’s Carnival has returned to Kendall with an hour-long parade the highlight of tonight’s festivities. It was quite a spectacle with youngsters dressed as hippies, tractors pulling floats, fire trucks from three counties and the Kendall Lawn Chair Ladies.
The parade was led by a group of Vietnam veterans from Rochester and ended with a line of fire trucks.
The three-day carnival continues Saturday, wrapping up with fireworks at 10:20 p.m.
“Coastie” is part of public relations campaign about boater safety through the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Hamlin.
Carrie Milano of Hamlin holds her 2-month-old son Nick during tonight’s parade in Kendall.
Riders in with Lone Oak Stables in Kendall were among the parade participants.
Lone Oak Stables had a cleanup crew behind the horses on Kendall Road during the parade.
Three Orleans County school are ranked in the middle of the pack among 97 districts in Western New York, while two others are near the bottom of the list, according to a report by Buffalo Business First.
The publication put out its annual listing of districts, using test scores over four years. Kendall ranked 42nd overall, the top-ranked district in Orleans. Lyndonville was 53rd and Albion, 62nd.
Two local districts were ranked low, with Medina at 80 and Holley, 91.
Wealthy suburban districts dominated the top of the list while poorer districts were ranked near the bottom. Williamsville was the top-rated district followed by East Aurora and Clarence. Buffalo was ranked at the very bottom, just above Lackawanna and Dunkirk.
To see the report, click here.
