LYNDONVILLE – The snowstorm and plunging temperatures have prompted Lyndonville Central School to cancel all afterschool activities today.
Students will be dismissed at 2:30 p.m., District Superintendent Jason Smith said.
Lyndonville is the only school in Orleans County open today. The others – Albion, Holley, Kendall and Medina – are off because of winter break.
Press release, Lyndonville Lions Club
LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville residents put their best lights forward for Lyndonville Lions Club’s “Spirit of Christmas” annual lighting contest this year.
Judges patrolled the area on Monday visiting the winners’ homes and presenting the top 5 with plaques. The winners are:
Village of Lyndonville, 2 South Main St.
Mr.& Mrs. Gary Newman, 1548 N Lyndonville Rd.
Alex Seaman, 1559 N Lyndonville Rd.
Bill Harrold, 10 Garland St.
Jacob, Margaret, and Emily Cebula, 15 Miller Drive.
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – This year’s holiday open house at the Yates Community Library will feature student musicians, festive treats and a holiday reading by Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson.
The event this Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. also will showcase 30 pieces of pottery created by Lyndonville eighth-graders. They worked with Waterport potter Deborah Wilson and Lyndonville art teacher Doug Michalak to create the jars and bowls.< The pottery has been displayed in the library since Nov. 25. The pieces will be there until Dec. 16. “Everyone has remarked about them,” said Emily Cebula, library director. “We feel it is important to show what our kids can do.”
The pottery pieces were inspired by jars made by Woodland Indians and excavated from archaeological sites near Waterport and Oakfield. The project was made possible through an Artists in the Schools grant distributed by the New York State Council on the Arts and administered by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.
The most distinctive feature of the historic pots is that they have highly decorated “collars” or necks. Each student had the chance to make their own personalized stamping tool for decorating the collars on their own pieces.
This was the first chance that many of the eighth-graders had to work with clay, as the Art Department has not been able to offer pottery in the past few years. The Artists in the Schools funding allowed the school to get the kiln out of mothballs and paid Wilson to come in the share her knowledge of pottery with the group.
“It’s been a wonderful program,” Cebula said. “The kids are very proud of these.”
Photos by Tom Rivers
Route 63 in Lyndonville has a stretch of grand old houses, and several of them are decked out in holiday decorations, including this house at 8 Eagle St., at the South Main Street intersection.
Just south of that location, at 142 South Main St., one of the area’s finest cobblestone houses is lighted up for the holidays.
This house was built in 1846 and is the only Lyndonville location listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Jackson Blood, an early Lyndonville resident, built the house and lived there until 1875.
The downtown decorations for the holidays have been upgraded thanks to funds from the Lyndonville Lions Club and the Lyndonville Area Foundation.
The Holley and Lyndonville communities both are celebrating the holidays in a big way today.
In Holley, the events started at 10 a.m. with a breakfast with Santa. There will be a memory bulb tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. in the Public Square. The day will be capped with a parade of lights at 6:30 p.m.
For a full list of events, click here.
The first “Christmas in Lyndonville” celebration includes a lineup of events from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Santa will arrive at 5 p.m. at Veterans’ Park and will flip the switch that will turn on the lights for 26 Christmas trees decorated by the community.
For a full list of events, click here.
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – Community members decorated 27 Christmas trees at Veterans Park as part of a new holiday tradition in Lyndonville.
The village pushed to start the project after Wes Bradley, a Yates Town Councilman and Lions Cub member, pitched the idea. He saw it at Oakfield last year when there were 53 trees lighted and decorated by community members.
Oakfield shared its planning tips with Lyndonville officials. Bradley was hoping for maybe 15 or 20 trees the first year. With a strong showing this year, Bradley thinks the community could do 40 or 50 next year.
He’d like to add horse-drawn carriage rides and more events as part of day-long celebration.
“This has been a little morale boost for the community,” Bradley said this evening while serving hot cocoa and cookies in the Village Hall.
After arriving on a trailer that looked like a sleigh, Santa greeted the crowd at Veterans Park.
Santa flipped the switch at the North Pole Electric Station, lighting the 27 trees decorated by the community.
Santa then met with youngsters at the Village Hall. Grayson Voltz of Lockport didn’t take a liking to the jolly ole’ elf. Grayson’s mother Jessica Voltz is a Lyndonville native.
Ethan Merrill, 7, of Albion was comfortable with Santa, and happily shared his wish list for Christmas.
Provided photo – Downtown Lyndonville has new decorations this season thanks to donations from the Lyndonville Lions Club and the Lyndonville Area Foundation. The following are pictured, from left: Wes Bradley (Foundation and Lions Club), Darren Wilson (Lyndonville Area Foundation President), Dan Fuller (Village of Lyndonville DPW), John Belson (Town of Yates Supervisor, Lions Club and Foundation) and Terry Woodworth (Village Superintendent of Public Works).
Photo by Tom Rivers
Lyndonville will celebrate its first “Christmas in Lyndonville” celebration this Saturday with events from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The celebration includes the lighting of 26 Christmas trees in Veterans Park. Residents, businesses and organizations are all decorating the trees. Those decorations are scheduled to be up by Friday.
The lineup of events on Saturday includes a community breakfast buffet at the Lyndonville Presbyterian Church from 8 to 11 a.m.; a mini mall at the United Methodist Church from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; games at the Yates Community Library from 3 to 4 p.m.; and caroling at Vets Park from 4 to 5 p.m.
Santa will arrive at 5 p.m. and flip the switch to light the trees. Santa will then be at the Village Hall from 5 to 6:30 p.m. to visit with children and their families. Hot chocolate and cookies will be available at the Village Hall.
There will be a Christmas Choir “LaLaPalooza” at the Presbyterian Church at 7 p.m.
Harriger
YATES – A church pastor who faces felony charges of sex abuse against children has been jailed on $250,000 bail. The state police is asking possible victims of the Roy Harriger Sr. to step forward and contact police.
Harriger, 70, of Middleport was processed at the State Police barracks in Albion today. He was arraigned in the Town of Yates before Judge Donald Grabowski, who set bail at $250,000. Harriger is scheduled to return to town court on Dec. 3.
Harriger is currently the pastor of the Community Fellowship Church in the town of Hartland in Niagara County. He was arrested for two counts of Course of Sexual Conduct (B Felony), two counts of Incest (E Felony), and four counts of Sodomy 1st (B Felony). These crimes occurred between September 2000 and September 2001 in the town of Yates, when Harriger was the pastor of the Ashwood Wesleyan Church in Lyndonville.
A state police investigation revealed the alleged crimes were perpetrated in New York, as well as the states of Michigan and Pennsylvania between 1974 and 2003.The alleged incidents in Michigan and Pennsylvania have been referred to their respective State Police agencies, the New York State Police said.
State Police request that anyone with any information, or if they believe they may have been the victim of sexual abuse in this case, to contact the State Police in Albion at (585) 589-4244.
YATES – A well-known pastor in the Lyndonville community has been charged with several sexual abuse crimes against nine children, crimes that allegedly occurred between September 2010 and September 2011 when he was the pastor of the Ashwood Wesleyan Church.
State police announced today that Roy Harriger, 70, has been charged with two counts of course of sexual conduct, a B felony; two counts of incest, an E felony; and four counts of first-degree sodomy, another B felony, the Buffalo News is reporting.
Harriger was the pastor at Ashwood Wesleyan for 12 years before he was terminated by the church in 2009 after a falling out with denomination leaders.
Harriger then started a new church, Community Fellowship Church in Johnson Creek.
Orleans County District Attorney Joseph Cardone is prosecuting the charges against Harriger, who police say has a history abusing children, as far back as 1974.
Harriger is a visible pastor in Orleans County. On many occasions he has led opening prayers at County Legislature meetings.
LYNDONVILLE – Residents, community organizations and the village are teaming for a debut “Christmas in Lyndonville” celebration on Dec. 7.
Several events are planned for that day. In addition, Veterans Park by the library will be decorated with 26 Christmas trees that are sponsored by residents and businesses. Some of the trees have been sponsored as memorials. Those trees will be decorated from Nov. 28 to Dec. 5 and will be displayed during the holiday season.
“A lot of people have pitched in,” said Village Clerk Teri Woodworth. “We think it will be a nice event.”
The lineup of events on Dec. 7 includes a community breakfast buffet at the Lyndonville Presbyterian Church from 8 to 11 a.m.; a mini mall at the United Methodist Church from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; games at the Yates Community Library from 3 to 4 p.m.; and caroling at Vets Park from 4 to 5 p.m.
Santa will arrive at 5 p.m. and flip the switch to light the trees. Santa will then be at the Village Hall from 5 to 6:30 p.m. to visit with children and their families. Hot chocolate and cookies will be available at the Village Hall.
There will be a Christmas Choir “LaLaPalooza” at the Presbyterian Church at 7 p.m.
The downtown decorations for the holidays have been upgraded thanks to funds from the Lyndonville Lions Club and the Lyndonville Area Foundation.
The Dec. 7 event is sponsored by the village, the Lyndonville Fire Department/Auxilary and the Lions Club.
