Provided photo: GateSwingers’ vocalist Allison Eberhardt performs the 1954 hit, “Teach Me Tonight,” on the patio of Yates Community Library on Monday evening.
LYNDONVILLE – The Yates Community Library hosted a rescheduled concert on Monday featuring GateSwingers, a19-piece dance band from Rochester.
The group played crowd favorites from eras’ past. The final concert of this summer’s “More Than Just Books” series will happen on Friday evening, when the popular all-Beatles group Mr. Mustard will perform from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
The concert is free, and support for the series provided from the NYS Council on the Arts, through a regrant program administered by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.
Mr. Mustard was scheduled to perform on Aug. 22, but was rescheduled due to rain.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 August 2022 at 8:20 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has renewed agreements with the Lyndonville and Kendall school districts to have an Orleans County Sheriff’s deputy assigned to each school district.
The agreements are both for two school years and run from Sept. 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024. The agreements call for Lyndonville and Kendall to pay the county at $501.10 per day in the 2022-23 school year and $510.26 in the 2023-24 school year.
Any additional time for after-school events will be billed at $61.05 per hour in 2022-23 and $62.53 the second school year.
The agreement also matches the terms between the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and the Albion School District. When that agreement was approved by the Albion Board of Education on Aug. 1, district superintendent Mickey Edwards said the annual cost to the school district in the first year would be about $91,000.
LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville Central School will be hosting an on-campus, all-district (PreK-Grade 12) back-to-school family celebration on Wednesday, August 31, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Families and students are invited to join in the fun as the school district celebrates the start of the 2022-23 school year. Students will be able to meet their teachers, drop off supplies, receive class schedules (grades 7-12), pick-up a 2022-23 calendar and play family-friendly games with our physical education staff.
Families may purchase food at the various food trucks (Dubby’s Wood Fired Pizza, Baby Ribs, Blue Groove Coffee and ice cream) or bring a picnic from home, if they desire. Any family that completes the 2022-23 Free/Reduced Meal Application will receive a coupon for a free treat from the cafeteria.
Other community organizations will join in with the festivities. Deputy Jason Barnum and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office will conduct child car-seat checks and distribute Child Identification and Yellow-Dot kits. The Yates Community Library will issue library cards. Representatives from Orleans County Mental Health, Orleans Community Health and the Lyndonville Sports and Music Boosters will also be on campus to discuss their organizations and the services they provide.
The district looks forward to welcoming everyone back with this celebration. Families are encouraged to enjoy the campus and playgrounds, socialize, meet district staff, gather school and community information and have fun. Lyndonville students officially return to school on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 August 2022 at 5:24 pm
YATES – A concert this evening outside by the Yates Community Library featuring Mr. Mustard won’t happen today due to the threat of rain.
The concert featuring the Rochester band that plays Beatles music will be rescheduled, Library Director Emily Cebula said.
The Celtic Spirit Pipe Band’s rescheduled concert will take place this Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the library’s back yard. The concert is free with the support of GO Art!
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 August 2022 at 9:50 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
YATES – A section of Main Street was closed off to traffic so the Town of Yates could celebrate its 200th anniversary on Friday evening.
The local band Who Dats performed from 7 to 9 p.m. after deejay JT Thomas played music in the downtown.
The Who Dats include John Borello on guitar, Alona Kuhns on bass, Alex DeSmit on drums, lead singer Lonnie Froman and Ed Hilfiker on guitar.
The street was closed between Maple and Eagle, with food trucks and tables and chairs on the street.
The “street fair” was the second of three bicentennial celebrations for Yates. The “Grand Finale Lake Fair” will be on Sept. 24 from 1 to 9 p.m. at the Town Park by Lake Ontario on Morrison Road.
Joanne Suhr helped organize the street fair. She was pleased with the attendance. Organizers estimated about 1,000 people came for parts of the celebration.
“The turnout was more than I expected,” she said.
She recalled a street dance back in the 1980s and thought the public would respond to the event.
Suhr, a recently retired Lyndonville teacher, was happy to see different generations coming together for the event.
There were 20 different food and craft vendors for the celebration. There were also two tours of the Lynhaven Cemetery on Friday evening.
There are 200th anniversary T-shirts available for Town of Yates.
There are also bicentennial magnets and other Yates merchandise.
Jack Buckner of Medina brought his grandson Logan to see a Civil War encampment by Johnson Creek near the back of the municipal parking lot.
Jack Buckner and his grandson Logan are silhouettes as the sun sets. They looked over a Civl War cannon.
Myron Woolston of Corning and six other Civil War re-enactors answered questions from the public during a Civil War encampment. The re-enactors spent the night outside at their camp.
Who Dats lead singer Lonnie Froman, right, and Ed Hilfiker on guitar play in front of a crowd on a closed-off part of Main Street.
Alex DeSmit plays the drums for the Who Dats.
Alona Kuhns plays the bass guitar for the Who Dats with the Village Hall in the background.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Yates town officials walk by the new concrete kayak launch and access point at the Yates Town Park off Morrison Road by Lake Ontario. Pictured from left include Town Councilman John Riggi, engineer Jon Hinman of the MRB Group, and Town Supervisor Jim Simon.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2022 at 5:01 pm
YATES – The Town Park by Lake Ontario is “no longer an afterthought,” Town Councilman John Riggi said.
The site has added a pavilion with bathrooms, new playground equipment, a kayak launch, a crusher-run walking trail, and new parking lot with sidewalks. More upgrades will follow, including a pier and a horse-and-buggy turnaround with hitching posts.
“This is really nice,” Riggi said Saturday morning while giving a tour of the improvements with Town Supervisor Jim Simon and engineer Jon Hinman of the MRB Group.
The town is pushing to have the $2.5 million project complete in time for the Sept. 24th bicentennial celebration at the park. The “Grand Finale Lake Fair” from 1 to 9 p.m. that day is the third in a series of 200th anniversary celebrations for the town. This Friday there will be a street fair as part of the 200th on Main Street from 5 to 9 p.m.
Town Supervisor Jim Simon greets participants Saturday morning who were on a charity bike ride for Bike MS to support people with multiple sclerosis. Saturday’s bike ride started at Lakeside Beach State Park and included options for 16, 30 or 62 miles.
The town park improvements are 95 percent funded by the state, which made $300 million available to southshore communities through the state’s Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative or REDI. That was in response to historic flooding along the shore in 2017 and 2019. That flooding destroyed part of the shoreline at the park and the town used a separate $400,000 grant from the state to put in a massive breakwall. Simon said about 25 feet of shoreline was chewed away from the high waters.
The local share is about $126,000. The Lyndonville Area Foundation gave $100,000 towards the local portion, with the town highway department providing in-kind services to meet the remaining local contribution. The highway department has removed trees, hauled stone and milled the driveway.
New playground equipment was installed by Landscape Structures. The new pavilion with bathrooms in the back. The playground is handicapped accessible.
Families can now bring their children to the park to use the playground.
The park itself has long lacked in amenities. Before there were some grills and port-a-johns.
The Town Board welcomed the chance for state funding to fortify the park from future flooding and erosion, and also create a destination for residents and visitors by the lake.
Simon said there is already interest from residents in renting the pavilion for weddings and special events. The board will soon create a policy for reserving the facility.
Community members already have asked about reserving the pavilion for special events.
Keeler Construction in Barre is the general contractor for the project. It put in a concrete kayak launch that Hinman believes is unusual for Lake Ontario. That ramp also gives easy access for people to the shoreline, instead of having to climb down the breakwall.
The launch is a sizable ramp, which was needed to withstand the waves from Lake Ontario that often can be 3 to 4 feet, Hinman said.
The pier is the last big piece of the project to be constructed. It will go 75 feet out into the lake for people to enjoy sightseeing and fishing. Boats won’t be allowed to tie up to the pier unless it’s an emergency.
Volunteers wait for cyclists on Saturday who stopped by the new pavilion for refreshments.
Town Supervisor Jim Simon said the park is better protected from high waters in the future. Simon said the town also is interested in land next door owned by NYSEG. That 100-acre site would make a great nature preserve, Simon said.
Photos and information from Lyndonville Youth Commission
LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Youth Commission has sponsored a summer recreation and activity program for the youth of the Lyndonville Central School District for over 50 years.
Recently the commission partnered with the district summer reading/math camp with programming using the school facilities. The Town of Yates, Village of Lyndonville and the Lyndonville Area Foundation sponsor the program.
Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon for five weeks there were over 100 children a day at the school facilities for athletic activities, arts and crafts, playground opportunities and boardgame fun.
Students attending the academic enrichment program also participated in the recreation program.
The community is grateful to the Lyndonville Area Foundation, the town and village government, and the school district for providing socialization and physical activities for our youth during the summer.
YATES – On Friday, August 19th, the Town of Yates will celebrate its bicentennial with the second of its three fairs, dubbed by committee coordinator Joanne Suhr as, “A Street Fair.”
The event will be from 5 to 9 p.m. on Main Street in Lyndonville between Maple and Eagle Streets. There is no charge for admission.
After the “Family Fair” in July featuring live music from a Lyndonville school chorus, a church choir comprised of some of the churches in town, and a barbershop quartet, this second of three events should have the feel of a street dance.
Although thru traffic – especially all trucks – will be diverted around downtown Lyndonville, local traffic and people attending the fair will be allowed to park closer to the event. Main Street will be closed between Maple and Eagle, and the Town will have food trucks and tables and chairs on the street.
Several vendors will be set-up in the parking lot behind the Town Hall, and of course the Friday evening farmer’s market will be running at the old Pennysaver.
From 5 to 7 p.m., there will be a DJ and music in front of the Town Hall, and then from 7 to 9 p.m., the Who Dats will be performing live at that same location.
There will be a Civil War encampment in Patterson Park, southwest of the Town Hall parking lot along the reservoir, which will include several cannon fire demonstrations during the evening.
At 6 p.m., Catherine Cooper, the Orleans County Historian, will guide a cemetery tour at Lynhaven Cemetery on Housel Avenue. At 7 p.m., Steve Goodrich, American Legion Lyndonville Post Commander, will lead a cemetery tour. Both tours will begin at the flag pole in the cemetery.
Joanne Suhr is hoping that everyone comes out for the fun gathering, “What better way is there to celebrate the Town’s bicentennial than to have a street party?!”
As a reminder, please mark your calendars for the “Grand Finale Lake Fair” on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 1 to 9 p.m. at the Town Park.
For more information go to the Town of Yates website: townofyates.org, or call Town Supervisor Jim Simon, 716-946-2075.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 August 2022 at 11:25 am
LYNDONVILLE – A concert that was cancelled last night due to the threat of rain will be this evening on the lawn behind the Yates Community Library, 15 North Main St.
The trio called Mystic Sisters will be performing from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in a concert that is free to the public. People are welcome to bring a lawn chair or blanket.
Emily Cebula, the library director, said the group from Rochester is popular with the local crowd. The Mystic Sisters have been members of the popular group Blue Sky.
Provided photos: The band Crash Cadillac performed outside the Yates Community Library on Thursday evening. Members of the Lyndonville Lions Club served up grilled hot dogs and iced cold beverages during the event.
Posted 8 July 2022 at 3:34 pm
Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club
LYNDONVILLE – Just off the heels of a very successful July 4th celebration the Lyndonville Lions Club closed out the first week of July with their 13th Annual Community Appreciation Concert.
The outdoor concert event was held at the Yates Community Library outdoor stage on Thursday evening and featured Crash Cadillac as the musical headliner. The annual event is free of charge and is meant to show the clubs appreciation for all those who attended the recent July 4th celebration.
Lions Club President Harold Suhr stated that the club had a record turnout for the 4th of July event and thanked everyone who attended and for their efforts in keeping the event safe, clean and family-friendly. Suhr recognized and thanked the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.
“They were tremendous with traffic control and security throughout the entire day and worked well into the evening getting people home safely after the fireworks display,” Suhr said. “The Lions are extremely grateful for all the people and organizations that sponsored the fireworks display.”
This years’ effort to upgrade the evening concert series seems to have been met with much approval and again Suhr thanked the Concert Series Sponsors. Sponsors included at the Bronze Level: Dr. Thomas Madejski, Paul Mullane and Shelby Crushed Stone; Silver Level: The White Birch Golf Club, Steven Vann from Burger King, Drum Oil and Propane and the Johnson/Feigl Families; Gold Level: Baxter International; Platinum Level: Batavia Downs Race Track and Gaming.
“The concert was well attended and social media feedback shows a positive response to the Lions Clubs efforts to bringing in top name local entertainment for the evening concert,” Suhr said.
The concert headliner band DoubleShot gets a picture with Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia just before they honored him with their rendition of “American Soldier” by Toby Keith.
The club further expressed their gratitude to Medal of Honor Recipient David Bellavia, who served as grand marshal of the parade.
“It was nice to have Sgt. David Bellavia back home to allow Lyndonville to express their appreciation for his service and sacrifice,” said Russ Martino, one of Lyndonville Lions Club’s senior members for over 45 years.
Last of all, the Lions are extremely appreciative for the voluntary efforts of the men and women of the 911th United States Air Force Reserve from Pittsburgh. This unit was responsible for the military flyover tribute to our local veterans just before the parade.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Main Street was packed just before noon with people waiting for the parade and also a military flyover. The parade returned for the first time since 2019.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 July 2022 at 8:49 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – Members of the Lyndonville school band play patriotic music during the parade in Lyndonville on Monday. The parade returned for the first time since 2019.
The community festival was cancelled in 2020 and last year was back in a scaled-down format without a parade.
Eric Villalta, the Lyndonville grades 7-12 band teacher, leads the group during the parade. The students and crowd wore lots of red, white and blue.
It was a packed Main Street for Monday’s parade, especially in the Lyndonville downtown. The procession started at noon and ended at about 1:10 p.m. This photo shows a float from the Class of 1982, followed by Weed Man Lawn Care Services based in Albion.
Kim Recco, from the Class of 1982, passes out candy along the parade route.
A young parade watcher takes in the action from a higher perch in the parade.
A lineup of classic cars heads down Main Street.
About 10 vehicles in the Peoples Convoy-NY decorated their vehicles in patriotic displays. They were seeking to “End the Mandates!”
These two girls are draped in American flags while walking along the Peoples Convoy, which featured several tractor trailers and other vehicles.
The fire trucks were a little too loud for these parade spectators.
These veterans acknowledge the crowd. They are riding on a trolley that debuted on Memorial Day.
State Sen. Rob Ortt, left, and Assemblyman Steve Hawley had lots of fun in the parade.
A bear holds a flag as part of a float from Wandering Trails Taxidermy by Ashley.
Gordon-Fisk Inc. on Ridge Road in Medina brought several lawn mowers for the parade procession.
A group of motorcyclists from the Albion and Brockport Elk Riders and Old Crow Motorcycle Club were part of the parade.
Lyndonville Fire Department members marched in their hometown.
Debbie Taylor, fire chief for the East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company, tosses candy.
These veterans – Tom Snyder in Navy uniform and Issac Robinson at right, wave to the crowd from a patriotic float.
The Oak Orchard Assembly of God promoted its upcoming “Kid’s Krusade” program.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 July 2022 at 1:18 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – These two watch the fireworks from atop a vehicle during a 40-minute show at Lyndonville on Monday night.
The Lyndonville Lions Club hires Young Explosives for the show, and it is one of the biggest displays in Western New York.
Before the fireworks, cousins Aubrey and Tyler Goetze of Lyndonville have fun with sparklers in the grass for the softball field next to where the fireworks were set off.
The fireworks are reflected in the water by the Johnson Creek dam with Lyndonville Central School in back.
Liam Goetze, 2, of Lyndonville handles two sparklers after he enjoyed some S’mores with his family.
Fireworks are launched by the team from Young Explosives.
The band Double Shot from Buffalo performed an outdoor concert for 2 ½ hours. They closed the concert with “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC.
These photos near the end of the fireworks show include the steeple of the Lyndonville United Methodist Church in the foreground.
Jayden Wyant, 3, of Albion has fun with a sparkler.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 July 2022 at 6:46 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – David Bellavia waves to people along Main Street during Lyndonville’s Fourth of July parade today.
Bellavia, a Lyndonville grad, is a Medal of Honor recipient. He received the medal from former President Donald Trump on June 26, 2019 at the White House.
Bellavia served as the grand marshal of today’s parade which started at noon and ended at about 1:10 p.m. Scott Schmidt, the county’s chief coroner, is driving the car.
Bellavia is the first living veteran from the Iraq War to receive the nation’s highest military medal. He was honored for his acts of valor on Nov. 10, 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq.
Bellavia led an infantry squad clearing houses of insurgents, saving the lives of the members of his unit. He is the first living Iraq War veteran to receive the nation’s highest honor for military service.
There was a big crowd out along Main Street for the first Fourth of July parade in Lyndonville since 2019. The Independence Day festival was cancelled in 2020 and the celebration returned last year, except without a parade.
Bellavia is one of five county residents to receive the Medal of Honor. Bellavia has said he is very appreciative to have grown up in Orleans County, where veterans are respected and people are encouraged to serve their country in the military.
He is a radio talk show host for WBEN and also travels extensively as an ambassador for the Army, speaking at colleges, high schools, bases and other events.
Bellavia and Forrest Vosler, another Medal of Honor recipient from Lyndonville, are recognized with Hometown Hero banners on Main Street.
Vosler was assigned as a radio operator and aerial gunner aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress during World War II with the 358th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group stationed out of England.
On Dec. 20, 1943, Vosler’s fourth combat mission. The plane was under fire and had two engines knocked out with the aircraft windmilling out of control. When a fellow aviator was knocked unconscious, Vosler maneuvered himself into the tailgun. Another 20-mm shell hit the aircraft, sending shrapnel into Vosler’s chest, face, and eyes. He continued to deliver defensive fire upon German aircraft until the attacks subsided. Nearly out of fuel and losing altitude quickly, the crew jettisoned every piece of equipment to lighten the plane.
Vosler, severely wounded and floating in and out of consciousness, begged the crew to throw him out of the plane to reduce weight. As the aircraft plunged into the frigid waters of the North Sea, Vosler crawled out of the aircraft onto a wing. A passing Norwegian trawler quickly picked up the crew and transferred them to a British rescue vessel. One of Vosler’s eyes had to be removed, and the other required extensive surgery.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 July 2022 at 3:09 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – A United States Air Force C-17 flies over Route 63 in Lyndonville just before noon today for Lyndonville’s Fourth of July celebration.
The flyover was a first for Lyndonville’s July 4th festival, which has been organized annually by the Lyndonville Lions Club for about 50 years.
The plane approaches the Lyndonville at about 11:55 a.m.
The flyover was carried out by the 911th Airlift Wing from Pittsburgh, Pa. The C-17 planes are used by the Air Force Reservists to carry out their mission of aeromedical intratheater evacuations and agile combat support.
Here is a photo looking overhead as the plane passed by, heading north.
Main Street was packed with people for the flyover and the parade to follow.
LYNDONVILLE – Route 63 north, leading to Lyndonville, will close to traffic today at 11:40 a.m. until a military flyover is complete.
The flyover is scheduled for 11:55 a.m., just before the start of the parade in Lyndonville.
The Lyndonville Lions Club is asking people to arrive early for the flyover and parade, and be in pace no later than 11:30.
The Lions Club also encourages everyone to bring an American Flag or homemade signs to the flyover to honor our veterans and men and women in active duty.
The flyover will be carried out by the 911th Airlift Wing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The plane will be a United States Air Force C-17. These planes are used by the Air Force Reservists to carry out their mission of aeromedical intratheater evacuations and agile combat support.
The grand marshal for the parade will be David Bellavia, a Lyndonville native and Medal of Honor recipient.
Re daylong celebration includes live music, food and craft vendors and other activities. It will be capped by fireworks at 10 p.m.
