By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 July 2021 at 12:52 pm
Contributed photos
LYNDONVILLE – Demolition has begun to take down the Crosby-Whipple building at 30 North Main St. in Lyndonville.
These photos are from behind the Main Street site, with the sided part of the building close to Curley’s Bar.
The site will become a 7,600-square-foot Dollar General with 29 parking spaces. The Broadway Group in Huntsville, Alabama is the developer for the project.
The 7,600-square-foot store is the smallest model offered by Dollar General. Most of the Dollar Generals are more than 9,000 square feet. The parcel of land on Main Street doesn’t give enough room for the larger size store.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 July 2021 at 6:26 pm
Gerald ‘Bud’ Hamann, whose remains were recently identified in Philippines, survived 60-mile Bataan Death March, succumbed to dysentery
Photos by Tom Rivers: The portrait of Gerald “Bud” Hamann is positioned near his grave spot at Lynhaven Cemetery during a service today for him. His remains were recently identified in a mass grave in the Philippines. Honor Guard members from Orleans County are in the background.
LYNDONVILLE – Nearly 79 years after his death in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, Gerald “Bud” Hamann was given a service at Lynhaven Cemetery today.
Hamann survived the arduous Bataan Death March over 60 miles on foot, and then a 25-mile ride standing up in a boxcar packed with fellow soldiers who were prisoners. When he finally made it to the prisoner of war camp at Cabanatuan, Hamann would die from dysentery on July 25, 1942.
He was thrown in a mass grave with over a 100 other soldiers. His remains were positively identified after a niece, Kathy Kage, submitted DNA through ancestry.com.
Scott Goetze, a member of the American Legion in Lyndonville, presents an American flag to Mary Francis, niece of Gerald “Bud” Hamann. Francis traveled from Montana for the service today in honor of her uncle. Family also attended from Seattle, Minnesota, South Carolina, Texas, Florida and Fort Drum near Watertown in northern New York.
Today, with his family from many states gathered in Lyndonville, Hamann was praised and mourned for his life.
“We are here to celebrate a life of heroism,” said State Assemblyman Steve Hawley.
Hamann and his American regiment helped the Filipino people and then was subjected to “one of history’s most horrific wartime occurrences,” Hawley said.
An estimated 500 to 650 American troops died in the Bataan Death March, when they were denied food, given little water and often beaten or killed with bayonets if they fell out of line or for no reason at all. Filipino troop deaths totaled 5,000 to 18,000 in the march.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley said the Hamann led “a life of heroism.”
After the march, the survivors were packed into sweltering railroad boxcars and taken another 25 miles to a prisoner of war camp. Hamann survived that. At the camp, however, he was the 29th man to die on July 25, 1942 due to illness, and the 1,187th prisoner to perish.
His death was recorded by a fellow soldier on the backside of a label from a can of condensed milk. Hamann’s fellow soldier wrote he died at 7 p.m. at Cabanatuan on July 25, 1942. He died in barracks # 4, in POW Camp # 1, Cabanatuan.
“How do we know that?” said Matthew Atkins, a chaplain with the 10thMountain Division at Fort Drum. “Because these heroic men loved one another enough to record it. Because of them, despite their conditions, despite the cruelty, despite the inhumanity, they would not be abased. Each one mattered. Each life sacred. Each brother, inestimably valuable.”
Hamann and his regiment were lacking in food, ammunition and weaponry. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, crippling the U.S. Pacific operations on Dec. 7, 1941, Japan then turned to the Philippines.
Matthew Atkins, a chaplain with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, speaks at the service today for Gerald Hamann. The soldiers with Hamann on the Bataan Death March cared for each other in the face of brutal inhumanity, Atkins said.
The overmatched U.S. and Filipino forces would hold off the Japanese for nearly four months until surrendering on April 9, 1942.
Those four months altered the Japanese timetable in the war, and that extended time made a difference for the Allies who would emerge victorious, said Atkins.
But April 9, 1942, the day of the surrender, may have been “the most brutal time for any soldier every wearing the American uniform,” he said.
The soldiers, already starving and weakened, would be subjected to “unthinkable brutality.”
Early enlister
Hamann enlisted in New York National Guard on Jan. 17, 1938, when he wasn’t quite 18. He asked to be released from National Guard early so he could enlist in Active Duty with Army.
He was stationed 14 months in Hawaii and then was sent to the Philippines, arriving in Manilla in April 1941. It didn’t seem too dangerous of an assignment, Atkins said.
Gerald Hamann’s grave stone notes he is the “beloved brother of Geraldine Kage.”
But then Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, and 10 hours later the Japanese would attack U.S. military installations in the Philippines. Hamann and the 31st Infantry Division were suddenly in an active combat zone.
Hamann had a twin sister at home, Geraldine. She was married to Herman Kage, who was fighting Germans in Europe.
When a telegram arrived from the War Department, she couldn’t bear to open it, not knowing if it was the worst news about her husband or brother.
Hamann’s grave stone at Lynhaven notes he was the brother of Geraldine.
His remains haven’t been released yet. His family said they are grateful for the military’s efforts to identify and honor him.
Atkins said the U.S. military is committed to trying to identify as many soldiers as possible, and to bring them home.
He noted that Hamann comes from a family where at least eight members have served in the military since World War I. He comes from the town with “a statistically huge veteran population.”
Hamann may not have died in “a blaze of glory” but he and the other soldiers in the Bataan Death March and the POW camps showed each other love while suffering “day after day, mile after mile, indignity upon indignity,” Atkins said.
“We are horrified, and our sense of humanity wounded by the misery that CPL Hamann and so many others endured,” Atkins said. “And we are astounded by their character. These were men of honor, who fought valiantly with next to nothing, endured unspeakable conditions.”
“They lived the most arguably difficult days with principle. In their suffering, they did not surrender their souls.”
Family members attend the service at Lynhaven Cemetery today. The Honor Guard does a 21-gun salute for Hamann. Bogan & Tuttle Funeral Homes assisted the family in arranging the service.
‘Among the finest men this country has ever produced’
Hamann and the soldiers on the march, later in the railroad boxcars and then in the POW camps would share bread crumbs and rice, and care for each other.
Atkins quoted lines from America the Beautiful:
“O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self, their country loved
And mercy, more than life.”
“Perhaps no collective in American history has embodied that verse more than the soldiers from Bataan,” Atkins said.
The service today for Hamann is “a day of sorrowful remembrance, and grateful thanksgiving.”
Hamann died nearly 79 years ago.
“Many of you still mourn over what might have been – the life Gerald should have lived,” Atkins said. “There is no way we can know what might have been in Gerald’s life – and we are left to judge the whole by its quality of humanity in sacrifice as opposed to its quantity of days. By that standard, CPL Gerald Hamann was among the finest men this country has ever produced.”
Mary Francis, niece of Hamann, thanked the Honor Guard, American Legion members, speakers and others for their presence today at the service.
“Thank you for acknowledging the sacrifice of my mother’s brother,” Francis said.
Preston Kage, a relative from Minnesota, plays Taps during the service today at Lynhaven.
Gary Befus, leader of the Honor Guard, presents the family with three spent shell casings that represent service, honor and duty.
Steve Goodrich, American Legion commander in Lyndonville, presents an American flag to Kathy Kage, one of Hamann’s nieces, today at the family home on Church Street. Goodrich presented the flag after the service at the cemetery. Kage submitted DNA that provided a match to her uncle’s remains in the Philippines.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 July 2021 at 9:49 am
Lyndonville native survived Bataan Death March, but died from dysentery in POW camp
LYNDONVILLE – The family for the late Gerald Hamann and the local veterans’ community will have a service for the World War II soldier on Tuesday morning, more than 75 years after his death.
Hamann survived the Bataan Death March but would then die of dysentery at a prisoner of war camp. He was buried in a mass grave with at least 100 other soldiers.
His remains were never positively identified until recently when his niece, Kathy Kage, submitted DNA into the ancestry.com database. Kage, a Lyndonville native who now lives in Texas, was contacted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which is tasked with identifying and repatriating the remains of fallen US service members.
Hamann was positively identified from Kage’s DNA file. Kage and other family members for Hamann will be giving him a funeral service at Lynhaven Cemetery at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
“It is quite significant that they can bring these men home,” said Steve Goodrich, commander of the Houseman-Tanner American Legion Post in Lyndonville.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 July 2021 at 12:55 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – A tree is a silhouette in front of the Lyndonville school while multiple fireworks lit up the sky during a fireworks show on Sunday night
The Lyndonville Lions Club hires Young Explosives for the show, and it is one of the biggest displays in Western New York.
Last year’s fireworks show was cancelled due to ovid-19 restrictions on social gatherings. This year the restrictions were lifted with rising vaccination rates and declining Covid cases.
Fireworks are reflected in the water at the Johnson Creek pond in front of the school on Sunday night during a 40-minute fireworks show.
The fireworks explode in the sky with the steeple of the Lyndonville United Methodist Church in the foreground.
Food vendors were busy in the school parking lot, including this one serving funnel cakes.
Fireworks are launched from the back of the school property near the softball field.
The top of the Presbyterian Church is shown with fireworks going off in the background.
Henry Symmons, 13, of Albion twirls a sparkler before the fireworks show.
Fireworks are reflected in the back of a truck parked on the school campus near the baseball field.
Another photo shows the reflection in the water at Johnson Creek. That spot near the backyard of the Yates Community Library is a popular place to watch the fireworks.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 July 2021 at 2:37 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – Hannah Pollard and her nephew Hayden Woodroe are pictured at the Lyndonville school grounds today for the arts & crafts show. Pollard organized the crafts show with help from her nephew. She is also a vendor, selling products from her business, Catherine Street Quilts.
There are about 40 craft vendors at the show today, which is part of the Fourth of July celebration in Lyndonville.
There is a big crowd of people back in Lyndonville today to celebrate the Fourth. Last year’s holiday celebration organized by the Lyndonville Lions Club was cancelled for the first time in 46 years due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
Some highlights later today include The Who Dats performing from 7 p.m. until the start of the fireworks show at 10 p.m. by Young Explosives. The school grounds will be open for the fireworks show.
Jason Smith, a member of the Lions Club and Lyndonville school district superintendent, grills hot dogs for the Lions Club booth.
The Lions Club is grateful to be hosting the festival again today. Most of the activities are back with the notable exception of the parade.
“It’s absolutely wonderful,” Bruce Schmidt, Lions Club president, said about the return of the festival. “It’s great to see people come out and participate.”
Jeff Johnson of the Lions Club raises the American flag with Dylan Kage of the Honor Guard to start the Fourth of the July celebration in Lyndonville. (Click here to see a video of the flag-raising.)
Keystone Club Police Pipes & Drums head to the flag pole for the flag-raising ceremony. The group also played a concert at noon.
Bob Burtwell (center) and Scott Goetze, members of the Honor Guard and American Legion in Lyndonville, stand at attention during the flag-raising ceremony.
There are several new vendors in the arts and crafts show, with many people taking up hobbies during the pandemic and turning them into small businesses.
Lisa and her husband Kelly Liston are show at their display as part of HateCuddler Craftworks. Mrs. Liston started making home-made candles and soap with all-natural ingredients. The products have been popular and the Listons have been selling them at local farmers’ markets.
“We started the business in our house and it has just exploded,” said Mrs. Liston.
She makes the products in several different scents.
Deanna Papp of Lyndonville is selling creations made with recycled horseshoes by her husband, Al Papp. Deanna Papp and Judy Larkin paint the horseshoe artwork.
Mr. Papp, owner of a welding company, has been making the horseshoe creation for about four years. He makes animals , flowers, pumpkins with a beagle the most popular one.
Mrs. Papp said this is their first show of the season after all of them cancelled last year due to Covid restrictions.
“I love it now that you can get out and see people,” she said.
Michelle Higgins cooks the potatoes for the chicken barbecue dinners. Bill Jurinich is in back. The Lions Club sold all 500 of those dinners with chicken, baked beans and salt potatoes.
The Lions Club prepared 300 pounds of potatoes for the dinners.
Photos courtesy of Orleans County Sheriff’s Office: Deputy Jason Barnum, school resource officer at Lyndonville, stressed the importance of safe driving for students.
Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke
LYNDONVILLE – Orleans County Sheriff’s School Resource Deputy Jason Barnum finished up a great 2020-2021 year at the Lyndonville School District.
In the last few weeks of the school year, Deputy Barnum provided information and guidance to High School students with learners’ permits and driver’s licenses. Deputy Barnum emphasized the importance of safe driving and not using drugs or alcohol beverages before getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
Deputy Barnum brought the Sheriff’s Office Driving Simulator System and pedal cars to the school. These systems allow drivers to wear goggles that simulate being under the influence of various intoxicating substances and see the problems they cause for operators.
Students drove the pedal cars through a course with the goggles on.
Retiring technology teacher Jeff Gress tries the driving simulator.
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office would like to wish all students in the county a safe summer vacation.
Veterans will lead opening ceremony, indoor seating will be available for chicken barbecue
File photo by Tom Rivers: The Who Dats, shown performing on July 4, 2019, will be back this Sunday outside the school, playing for the crowd before the fireworks.
Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club
LYNDONVILLE – With the further lifting of Covid-related restrictions, the Lyndonville Lions Club wishes to inform everyone of the final updates for this year’s 4th of July festivities in Lyndonville.
While there will be no Main Street Parade for this year, the Houseman-Tanner American Legion Color Guard will perform an opening ceremony on the front lawn at Lyndonville Central School beginning at 11 a.m. The annual Arts and Crafts show and the Lions hot dog fundraising tent also open at 11 a.m.
While previously announced as drive-thru/take-out only, the annual Lions chicken barbecue dinners will now be served in the Lyndonville Central Schools cafeteria where indoor seating and restrooms will also be available. Chicken dinners begin serving at 1 p.m. until sold out. Dinner tickets are still available at M&T Bank Lyndonville, Orleans Ford and Hartway Motors in Medina, at the door or from any Lions Club member. Tickets are $12 each.
Afternoon entertainment begins at noon with the Gates Keystone Club Police Pipes & Drums followed by the Mark Time Marchers at 1 p.m. and the Lyndonville Central School Jazz Band at 2pm. Various vendors will also be providing great food and refreshments all day long and into the evening and the Who Dats will be performing from 7 p.m. until the start of the evening fireworks show.
The fireworks display – the largest in the region – begins at 10 p.m. and the school grounds are now open to everyone for viewing the spectacular fireworks show. Even though the school grounds will be open, the display will still be “high shots” this year. The rain date for the fireworks is July 5th at 10 p.m. The Lyndonville Lions wish everyone a safe and fun holiday and look forward to seeing you all in Lyndonville on the Fourth!
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 June 2021 at 10:39 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – Abigail Garver moves her tassel to signify her graduation from Lyndonville Central School during commencement this evening at the school’s Stroyan Auditorium. Connor Bell is next to her and Hayden Arlington is behind her. They are among 59 graduates in Lyndonville’s Class of 2021.
Commencement is usually on the fourth Friday in June. Lyndonville was planning for an outdoor ceremony and set the date for today, the fourth Thursday, to allow for a rain date on Friday. But the state modified its Covid-19 guidelines for special events, which allowed the district to have the ceremony indoors.
Cameron Brownell is handed his diploma by Susan Hrovat, vice president of the Board of Education.
Lynlee Hong accepts her diploma during the ceremony.
Senior members of the chorus sing the National Anthem led by chorus director Jennifer Trupo. The students include from left: Alissa Klinetob, Brian Cunningham, Jacob Corser, Jason Grager and Erin Kiefer.
A larger group of seniors also sang “Seasons of Love” during the ceremony.
Alexander Barry gets some laughs while delivering the salutatory address. He praised the families, teachers and staff in the district for their support of the class, especially in the past school year, when there was always the threat of disruption, cancellation or quarantine from Covid-19.
“Thank you especially to the teachers in this crazy and stressful year with the Covid rules changing,” Barry said.
Lyndonville was able to offer in-person classes five days a week this school year. There were times when students were quarantined, and Barry said the Covid restrictions “put a damper on our ability to learn.”
But he said many of the students excelled with their schoolwork. Nearly half of the class is graduating with a GPA at 90 or higher.
A year ago, Lyndonville didn’t have an in-person graduation. The district instead recorded students receiving their diplomas individually and posted a video with a compilation of all the students. There was a vehicle parade around the community.
Not having an in-person graduation and then having the July Fourth celebration cancelled last year made Barry and his classmates value those events even more this year.
“I realize just how blessed we are to live in Lyndonville,” Barry said.
Nathan Dillenbeck delivers the valedictory address. He praised his classmates for pushing each other to excel in class, in sports and in the music program. That “friendly rivalry” resulted in a class with high distinction, Dillenbeck said.
The graduates will no doubt face difficult circumstances in the future. Dillenbeck urged them to keep hope, knowing that a difficult time will get better.
Jason Smith, the district superintendent, also addressed the class and shared a message about “The power of persistence.”
Smith first said this class of graduates had new terms to contend with during their senior year, such as hand hygiene, community spread, quarantine and contract tracing – all part of the Covid pandemic.
But the students adjusted, endured and finished off the year.
Smith shared the story about Joseph Ferdinand Cheval, a postman from southeastern France. During a 33-year career delivering mail, he collected pebbles on his route. From those he created a castle with mortar and limestone. “The Temple of Nature” is now a big tourist attraction that was made one stone at a time.
Smith gave each graduate a package of pebbles that are painted in Lyndonville Tiger orange. The gift from Smith includes the message, “Keep Persisting.”
The district also presented many scholarships as part of the ceremony. Dr. Aaron Slack, the high school principal, presents the David Pike Memorial Scholarship to Reagan London. Pike was a longtime physician’s assistant at Oak Orchard Health in Albion.
Darren Wilson, president of the Lyndonville Area Foundation, shared news that the Foundation passed $50,000 in scholarships in 2021 for the first time.
Jeff Gress, a retiring teacher at Lyndonville, congratulated students as they walked off the stage and headed down the aisle. The teacher with the most seniority is given the chance to be one of the first to congratulate the students. Gress shared many fist bumps with the students.
Dr. Elissa Smith, the elementary school principal, is in full academic regalia as part of the procession into the auditorium.
Zayda Moyle, one of the graduates, directs the band in playing the alma mater.
Lyndsey Snell moves over the tassel on her graduation cap during commencement. Dylan Jisa is next to her. Both are National Honor Society members.
Dr. Libby served as family physician in Barker for 33 years
Press Release, Oak Orchard Health
Dr. Margaret Libby
LYNDONVILLE – Dr. Margaret Libby, a family physician who has practiced in Barker for over 33 years, has moved her practice to Oak Orchard Health, 77 South Main Street, Lyndonville. All appointments scheduled with Dr. Libby will now take place at this location.
“I chose to move to Oak Orchard Health because it was a good fit for me and my patients. I enjoy practicing rural medicine and that’s their focus as well,” said Margaret Libby, MD.
As a family medicine physician, she also specializes in occupational health, care of the disabled, addictions, and behavioral health medicine with a focus on the social determinants of health (non-health-related conditions such as housing, education, and work that affect one’s health).
“We’re grateful that Dr. Libby has chosen our Lyndonville office to continue her practice,” said Mary Ann Pettibon, CEO of Oak Orchard Health. “She knows the people in the area so well. It’s appropriate that an experienced family physician like Dr. Libby joins us as part of our medical team.”
Dr. Libby joins Oak Orchard’s family nurse practitioner, Michelle Okonieczny.
Dr. Libby received her medical degree at SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine and was a resident at Buffalo General Hospital. She also received an MS in Occupational Therapy from Columbia University.
LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville Central School will be hosting a pre-kindergarten/kindergarten registration and information event on Monday, July 4, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. during the Lyndonville 4th of July celebration.
Staff will be available in the lawn in front of the school (Main Street location) to help families/students sign up for the 2021-22 school year and gather contact information for younger children in the community. Staff will also answer questions about Lyndonville’s PreK and kindergarten programs, complete craft projects and read stories to children.
The district received a NYB5 Transition grant from the NYS Department of Child & Family Services to help fund this outreach program.
Lyndonville is currently accepting registrations for both their PreK and kindergarten 2021-22 programs. If you are a resident of LCSD and your child will be 3, 4 or 5 by December 1, 2021, they are eligible to enroll. For more information, please see the district’s website: Lyndonville Central School District (lyndonvillecsd.org) or call (585) 765-3122.
This project is supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDGB5), Grant Number 90TP005902, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 June 2021 at 12:36 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – Four school districts in Orleans County recognized the Top 10 graduates at a banquet on Tuesday evening at the White Birch Golf Course. This is the 35th annual Academic Excellence Awards celebration in the county.
The top photo shows five of Medina’s top graduates, including from left: Carina Kingsbury, Hannah Kenward, Carter Green, Alwyn Cayea and Brooklyn Brown.
Each of the Top 10 students received a medallion and certificate for their academic achievements. These medallions were presented to the Medina students.
Last year’s Top 10 banquet was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The banquet recognized the top students at Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina school districts. Albion does a separate honors convocation where students with a cumulative GPA of 90 percent or higher are recognized.
This year’s banquet for the Top 10 was scaled down with no keynote address or presentations from state legislators and other dignitaries. Organizers were trying to keep attendance below 150 to avoid proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test.
The Top 10 graduates at the four districts include:
Holley: Karl Biedlingmaier, Amya-Omar Cancino, Kasey DeFrank, Andrew Drechsel, Brandi Heffernan, Erin Kelly, Allyson Skehan, Hayley Skidmore, Annalise Tinkous and Callie Updike.
Kendall: Grace Allen, Willow Clark, Kylie Davenport, Jacob Esposito, Madison Jacob, MacKenzie Jenks, Ethan Kuhn, Lauren Miller, Joseph Nettles, Karlee Robb and Brianna Wakefield.
Lyndonville: Alexander Barry, Olivia Braley, Nathan Dillenbeck, Lynlee Hong, Dylan Jisa, Erin Kiefer, Emma Maynard, Zayda Moyle, Cameron Paniccia and Sydney Wilson.
Medina: Suvi Biesinger, Brooklyn Brown, Alwyn Cayea, Carter Green, Hannah Kenward, Carina Kingsbury, Emma Roush, Evie Schultz, Sydney Watts, Amanda Woodruff and FaithAnn Vanderwalker.
These students from left include: Brianna Wakefield, Karlee Robb, Joseph Nettles, Lauren Miller, Ethan Kuhn, MacKenzie Jenks and Madison Jacob.
Grace Allen is presented her medallion by Julie Christensen, the district superintendent at Kendall.
Lyndonville’s Top 10 are recognized at the banquet at the White Birch Golf Course.
Nate Dillenbeck, Lyndonville’s valedictorian, accepts his medallion and certificate for his academic excellence.
Amya-Omar Cancino of Holley is congratulated by Brian Bartalo, Holley’s district superintendent.
Photos by Tom Rivers: These three were recognized by the school district on Monday. Jennifer Trupo (left) and Dan Dragula were named educators of the year, and Mary Bateson-Kurz, the school nurse who was named staff member of the year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 June 2021 at 11:36 am
LYNDONVILLE – The school district on Monday honored a nurse as staff member of the year and two teachers as educators of the year.
Mary Bateson-Kurz – dedicated school nurse the past 20 years
Mary Bateson-Kurz, the school nurse the past 20 years, was named the first recipient of the staff member of the year. She has always been a dedicated nurse for Lyndonville students, but took on an even bigger role this past school year during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Jason Smith, the district superintendent.
She was praised for being “a calming influence in the storm” and an “essential member” of the district’s team that makes safety decisions for the schools. Bateson-Kurz sorted through ever-changing regulations from the state and made those guidelines understandable to students, parents, faculty and staff, said Sharon Smith, the district’s director of instruction and student services.
Bateson-Kurz responds to numerous emails, voicemails and texts from parents and staff, often on weekends and in the evenings.
The school nurse position has become more demanding with changing mandates and regulations from the state and federal governments, and some students with complex health needs, said Dr. Aaron Slack, middle-high school principal.
Bateson-Kurz assumed a leadership role with the district the past year, handling an increased workload and stress with “a calm, wise and supportive voice amidst the ever-shifting myriad of bureaucratic guidance and directives related to COVID safety and reopening,” Slack wrote in his nomination for her.
Bateson-Kurz , in accepting the award, thanked parents for their cooperation in the past year. They screened their children before sending them to school, and kept them home if they had Covid symptoms. She acknowledged the challenges for families when students needed to stay home if they were determined to be a close contact with someone who had Covid.
She praised the district staff for their increased efforts with keeping the school clean this past year.
“It has been a community effort,” she said about fighting the spread of Covid and keeping the schools open all year for in-person classes.
Bateson-Kurz will receive a $500 grant from the district for receiving the award. She will use that towards the cost of buying an audiometer which can help screen children as young as 3 for hearing acuity. It performs the test in English and Spanish.
Jennifer Trupo – Lyndonville grad connects with students at her alma mater as music teacher
Jennifer Trupo was recognized as one of two educators of the year. A music teacher, she works with elementary and high school students as K-12 vocal and general music teacher. She also directs the high school music in a combined production with Lyndonville and Medina students.
Kristina Best, a Lyndonville music teacher, was among the nominees for Trupo. Best said her colleague is resilient and “the most positive person I know.” Trupo has brought stability to the music program, and allowed students to flourish, Best said.
“One of the things that sets Jen apart is her incredible ability to connect with students at all levels,” Best said. She can be teaching kindergarten one period and high school the next, and she does it flawlessly.”
Several students also nominated Trupo for the educator of the year. Brian Cunningham, a senior, has been in the chorus, musicals and select chorus for many years with Trupo. He said he is grateful he has had the privilege of being her student.
“She has an unbelievable ability to reach out to even the most close-minded student and inspire them to put their best foot forward and help them to be the best version of themselves they can be,” Cunningham said in his nomination letter. “Mrs. Trupo is a daily inspiration to not only me, but to countless other students and teachers.”
Alissa Klinetob, another student, said Trupo “is a smiling face in the halls and a ray of sunshine through school.”
Trupo was awarded $1,000 for winning the award and she said she would use it to purchase ukuleles for her students.
She praised many of her former teachers when she was a student at Lyndonville. They were the role models for her to pursue teaching.
She has built a level of trust with her students where they feel comfortable taking risks and expressing themselves.
“I go out of my way every day to show and tell my students that I care about them as people and that they are loved by me, and in turn they respond to me because they know it to be true,” Trupo said. “I would have zero success in the classroom if this wasn’t the case.”
Dan Dragula – science teacher praised for use of humor, creative class lessons
Dan Dragula teaches physics and astronomy at Lyndonville. He also is a class advisor and happily helps build sets for the school musical, and is a go-to person with sound, electrical, lights and technology.
Dragula received numerous nomination letters from current and former students, who praised his use of humor, creative experiments and passion in helping the students to understand complex concepts.
Dragula has been teaching at Lyndonville since 2013. He said he struggled in the beginning and didn’t feel like students were understanding the material. He continues to modify his teaching style, looking for ways to engage all students.
He was praised by the district for being a highly effective teacher, even with students who have been remote during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He was nominated for the award by Kristina Best, a music teacher, who called him “the epitome of a caring educator.” He is also a great resource to the other teachers.
“He helps anyone and everyone, and he truly wants to see if teacher succeed,” Best said. “He wants to help out simply for the joy of helping others and giving our students the best possible experience during their school careers.”
Parents also nominated Dragula and praised him for using a positive attitude and humor, as well as technology to help the students learn.
Jacob Corser, a senior, said Dragula is much more than a physics and science teacher. He fixes broken Chromebooks, builds sets and works on the light configurations at musicals.
“He gives so much of himself while still being an amazing teacher and person,” Corser said in his nomination letter. “I’m beyond grateful for all he has done for the school, my life and the lives of the students.”
Dragula said his focus for students isn’t just memorizing facts and formulas. Like Trupo, he wants students to feel safe to take risks in class and not be afraid of failure.
“My desire isn’t that I produce mindless robots with extensive scientific knowledge,” Dragula said. “I want smart, thoughtful, ethical students that use their knowledge and learning to better their lives and the lives of those around them.”
Retiring teacher grateful for career at Lyndonville
Jeff Gress is retiring after 29 years as a teacher and coach at Lyndonville.
The school district also recognized Jeff Gress on his impending retirement after 29 years at Lyndonville. He was hired as a technology teacher in 1992, and was a dedicated coach in wrestling, volleyball and track and field. He was also a GCC approved instructor, teaching Lyndonville students engineering and architectural drawing classes.
Gress was always willing to take on new challenges for the district, said Jason Smith, the district superintendent.
Two years ago he led Lyndonville’s new FFA chapter. He has served on other district committees and has brought a servant’s heart to the position while setting high expectations for students and athletes, Smith said.
Gress said he is happy his career was spent at Lyndonville.
“I love our district,” he said. “I love everything about it.”
• Lyndonville also awarded tenure to teachers Alisha Duffina and Maegan Suhr
‘We are overcome by grief and appreciate the support of those who have reached out to us.’
Press Release from Millennium Roads
YATES – On the morning of June 8th, a tragic incident occurred at the headquarters of Millennium Roads. As a result of this accident, one man lost his life, and another remains in critical condition.
The men were servicing a tanker truck when the accident occurred. The tanker had been used to transport Lignin, a byproduct of paper production that the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation defines as a non-hazardous substance.
There were no witnesses at the scene therefore existing news reports cannot be substantiated. No further information is available at this time as authorities are still conducting an open inquiry into the cause of the incident.
The principals of Millennium Roads have issued following statement:
While the investigation into the cause of this tragedy is ongoing, we are providing the information we do have to the public at this time.
In the process of flushing out a tanker, Keegan Bayne (19) and Chase Johnson (35) were somehow overcome for a reason that has yet to be determined.
We are devastated that Keegan passed away at the scene. Chase Johnson, the operations manager for Millennium, was flown by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital where he remains in critical condition.
To Keegan Bayne’s family and loved ones, words cannot express the depth of sadness we feel for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
The status of Chase Johnson’s condition will be updated by his wife via social media only.
Everyone at Millennium Roads is working diligently with authorities to determine the cause of this tragic accident. We are overcome by grief and appreciate the support of those who have reached out to us. Thank you for keeping both families in your thoughts and prayers.
We ask the media for the time and respect to grieve and process this terrible tragedy.” – Jeff and Lynne Johnson, owners of Millennium Roads
YATES – Save Ontario Shores, Inc., the grassroots organization opposed to plans to erect dozens of massive industrial wind turbines in the lakeshore communities of Somerset and Yates, is calling on members of the public to take part in The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Great Lakes Wind Feasibility Study Public Feedback Session.
The virtual event will be held Wednesday, June 9, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Registration for the event is required – click here.)
“How many towns, marinas, boaters, and those in the tourism business along Lake Ontario and Lake Erie are aware of a feasibility study to look at the possibility of placing industrial wind turbines in the lakes Ontario and Erie?” asked SOS President Pam Atwater. “As we speak with stakeholders we realize that most are not aware of this study. It is crucial for residents to voice their concerns about the negative impacts this project will have on the quality of life for lakeshore residents.”
“In Somerset we are particularly concerned as one of the locations where transmission lines could come onshore would be at the Somerset Beowulf property where they would use the existing transmission lines,” Atwater said. “That would put the turbines right off our shore. New York State has an expansive amount of Great Lakes shoreline and it is an enormous resource to the local economy. Millions have been spent over the past decade to restore the Great Lakes environment. Now the state is spending a million dollars to decide if it is feasible to industrialize it! And as is standard practice in New York, the rural communities and businesses who would be most impacted are not brought to the table.”
According to NYSERDA: “The study will consider existing and emerging technologies for fixed and floating turbines (including icing considerations unique to the Great Lakes), new technology development timelines, geospatial conditions, resource assessment, regulatory processes, permitting requirements and risks, potential conflicts, costs and economic opportunities, electrical infrastructure, and overall cost-reduction pathways.”
“The fact that floating turbines are not likely due to ice issues, means that development would be limited to lake depths of 197 feet or less until new technologies emerge,” Atwater said. “This would still allow for offshore wind development throughout much of New York’s Lake Erie waters, but limit development to within a couple miles of shore within New York’s Lake Ontario waters.”
An August 2020 survey commissioned by SOS found 83 percent of Somerset and Yates respondents opposed to plans by the state to allow for installation of industrial wind turbines up to 10 miles off the shores of Lake Erie and one to two miles off Lake Ontario’s shores.
“These distances are far less than the 30 miles offered to shoreline areas off Long Island,” said SOS Vice President Kate Kremer. “If these offshore industrial wind projects are allowed to proceed, they will have a devastating impact on eco-tourism, fishing and boating, and recreation which people now enjoy in an unencumbered manner.”
The video intersperses photos with student-drawn maps of local landmarks and organizations, including the Lyndonville Fire Department. Other sites are also featured, including the popular Shoe Tree.
LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville’s fifth and sixth-grade art students won first place in the Rural School Association’s Video Contest: “Our School, Our Community.”
Thirty students in Amanda LeClair’s art class worked together to create the award-winning video.
“As a class we had just finished working on artistic maps of Lyndonville, inspired by artist Aaron Meshon,” said LeClair. “When we saw the theme of the RSA Video Contest, we thought our maps would fit perfectly.”
The class developed a script and each student had an opportunity to record their voice describing special places in Lyndonville that make their school and community great. The colorful maps they created in art class were featured along with pictures of the actual destinations.
Representatives from RSA will be attending Lyndonville’s Elementary Awards Ceremony on June 18 to present certificates and a $500 check.
Click here for a link to Lyndonville’s first place winning video.
