LYNDONVILLE – Two elementary school teachers at Lyndonville have been selected in a rural teacher initiative.
Jenna Goheen
The Rural Schools Collaborative is an organization focused on gathering information from early career rural teachers from around the country. The organization wants to hear form the teachers what they think is necessary to prepare, recruit and retain high-quality teacher-leaders.
Jenna Goheen and Joseff Smith have been picked for the “I Am a Rural Teacher” campaign.
Goheen, a first-grade teacher at Lyndonville, was selected by the Rural Schools Collaborative as an exemplary young rural educator. The RSC wants her input as the group considers policy, networking and support for rural schools and teachers at the National Rural Education Association annual conference.
Joseff Smith
Joseff Smith, a fourth grade teacher, was selected to serve as an advisor on the Young Educators’ Advisory Council and will serve for two years engaging in online conversations. Smith’s experience, love of teaching and commitment to education will be an asset as he serves as a representative for Western New York.
Smith is the JV boys soccer coach at Lyndonville. He has previously taught math, science and history at multiple grades at a private rural school in North Carolina for two years. At that school he led the early college program, where over 80 percent of all high school students were dual enrolled in community college courses and high school classes.
Smith also has three years experience leading a team in sales, customer service and marketing for an international company.
These opportunities for Miss Goheen and Mr. Smith allow the Lyndonville school district to participate in the “I Am a Rural Teacher” campaign and contribute local voices to a national organization.
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Lyndonville community last year had 76 Christmas trees decorated at Veterans Park on Main Street, next to Johnson Creek near the dam.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 November 2020 at 9:49 am
LYNDONVILLE – The village will have its 8th annual display of Christmas trees at Veterans Park from early December through at least Jan. 1.
There won’t be a festival or big bash when the lights are turned on for the first time for the collection of trees, like there has been in years past.
But there will still be display for people to enjoy during the holidays. Lyndonville has already sold 42 trees and the deadline is Thursday to purchase one. Many residents, businesses and community organizations have bought them in the past and then decorated them.
The village started the tradition in 2013 with 26 trees, and it has grown each year since with 76 last year. The $30 fee covers the cost of the tree, materials for the sign, lead cords, replacement cords and adapters as needed. Participants provide lights and decorations.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 November 2020 at 1:58 pm
LYNDONVILLE – The high school will return to in-person classes on Tuesday for grades 9-12.
Lyndonville shifted to remote only for those grade levels today as a precaution so the Orleans County Health Department could do contact tracing after a confirmed case of Covid-19 on Sunday for a high school student.
The student was last on campus on Nov. 2, said Jason Smith, the district superintendent.
“We have spoken to the Health Department and if your child is deemed a ‘close contact,’ you will be contacted and provided with further direction,” Smith said in a letter to the community today. “If your son/daughter is contacted and is put on mandatory quarantine, please call our school nurse, Mrs. Kurz, at 765-3124. We will work with your child about being fully remote during the quarantine period. Please note it is not necessary to take action unless you are personally notified by the Health Department.”
The district is committed to providing students and staff with a safe and healthy environment, Smith said.
“I assure you, our building will continue to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected,” he said. “I continue to be proud of our staff and students for adhering to the safety protocols we have in place. Our cleaning, social distancing, barriers and face covering are effective in preventing the spread of the virus on our campus. I ask that you please continue to wear face masks, maintain social distancing and wash your hands frequently.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 November 2020 at 7:20 pm
High school student tests positive for Covid
LYNDONVILLE – The school district will shift to remote learning for grades 9-12 on Monday after the district was notified today that a high school student tested positive for Covid-19.
“Out of an abundance of caution and to allow time for contact tracing, all 9-12 students will be on remote/at home learning for Monday,” District Superintendent Jason Smith said in a message to the community on the school website.
This is the first Lyndonville student to test positive for Covid this school year. Lyndonville has also had one staff member with a confirmed case of Covid.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Robert Smith, owner of the Webber Building on Main Street in Lyndonville, is pleased with a redone façade to reflect how the building originally looked. Smith last week removed a wooden covering that had been in front of the building for about 18 months while contractors worked on the building.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 November 2020 at 9:22 am
Webber Building should open next spring as hotel and café
LYNDONVILLE – For 18 months there were big boards in front of the Webber Building at 29 South Main St.
Contractors led by Mike Preston & Son Construction in Lyndonville were behind the scenes at work, transforming the façade.
The construction workers needed to rebuild the storefront, putting in new windows, window frames, three doors and rebuilding the façade. (Ralph E. Ewald Contractor of Ransomville constructed the doors and window sashes.)
Preston gutted the building and put in new framing, floors and stairs in place for a site that will be a boutique hotel with six rooms on the second floor and a café with retail space on the first floor.
This winter contractors will put in plumbing, HVAC, drywall and the interior furnishings.
Smith owns the three buildings next to the Webber Building. They will also see a transformation in the two years with the building next to Webber opening in 2021.
Robert Smith, a Lyndonville native who now lives in California, is leading the transformation of four buildings on Main Street. The Webber site will be the first to open, likely in spring.
“It’s beautiful,” Mayor John Belson said Friday at the site. “We’re really proud of what he’s trying to do.”
Smith is transforming four buildings, including the former Pennysaver Market site at the corner. The full effort will take about two more years to complete, Smith said.
The upstairs of the four buildings will offer hotel rooms and other residential options. The first floors will have retail with co-ops, a selection from the Niagara Wine Trail, locally grown produce, “a mini general store concept,” Smith said.
Pictured from left include Robert Smith, Lyndonville Mayor John Belson, Village Trustee Dareen Wilson, Laura Belson, Code Enforcement Officer Dan Wolfe and Smith’s brother Daryl Smith and his wife Anne Smith.
Smith, who worked 36 years as a financial advisor, sees potential in small-town Lyndonville. He wants to help his home town, and he also thinks the project is a good investment.
“We have to think outside the box because the Big Box (stores) have destroyed Small Town America,” he said. “We believe we can make Lyndonville a destination.”
His late mother, Barbara, ran a restaurant – Barb’s Lynd Lounge – on Main Street in one of the buildings he now owns. He remembers the hustle and bustle on Main Street when he was a kid.
He thinks the small towns are making a comeback, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“People are realizing what the small towns have,” he said.
He sees a need for places to stay in Lyndonville with White Birch hosting many weddings and events on Route 63. There are also fishermen and many others who come to the community, including drivers for the Amish and Mennonite communities.
People will book their rooms online and there will be a local hotel manager.
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Here is how the building looked in 2018 before the construction started.
Smith wanted to unveil the storefront last week to show the community there has been significant progress on the Webber Building.
Smith owns about 18,000 square feet of space in buildings that used to be a restaurant, super market, ice cream shop and other thriving businesses. The sites are vacant now and many of the windows are boarded up.
Smith is funded the project largely on his own. He was awarded a $490,000 matching state grant last December to help with the renovation of 29 South Main Street, a mixed-use anchor project in the village’s downtown.
‘We have to think outside the box because the Big Box (stores) have destroyed Small Town America. We believe we can make Lyndonville a destination.’ – Robert Smith
The renovations will replace windows so they aren’t mismatched, and make other façade improvements, including new steps and doors. The Pennysaver Building will get a new roof and the interiors will be upgraded and modernized.
Smith travels from Palm Springs to Lyndonville to see family and friends, and check on the Main Street project. He was joined on Friday be his brother Daryl Smith and his wife Anne.
Belson believes the project will spur more pride and investment in the community.
“This is a quaint little community with a lot of tradition,” Belson said. “And we do have people who are looking for a place to stay around here and right now there isn’t a place to stay.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2020 at 4:54 pm
LYNDONVILLE – The school district will have all third-graders do remote learning until Nov. 9 after a staff member contracted Covid-19.
The Orleans County Health Department instructed the district to make the shift to remote learning so students can quarantine at home until they are able to safely resume in-person instruction, said Jason Smith, school district superintendent.
“At this time, no additional members of the third grade staff or students are symptomatic,” Smith said in a notice to the community. “The District will continue to receive guidance and direction from the Orleans County Health Department. If students and staff remain asymptomatic, they will be able to return to school on Monday, November 9, 2020.”
In Lyndonville, students are able to do in-person learning for five days a week rather than a hybrid model.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2020 at 11:32 am
LYNDONVILLE – The school district has been notified by the Orleans County Health Department that a staff member has tested positive for Covid-19.
The staff member was last at the school campus on Oct. 23, District Superintendent Jason Smith wrote in a letter to the community.
“We have spoken to the Health Department and if your child is deemed a ‘close contact,’ you will be contacted by New York State Contract Tracers and provided with further direction,” Smith said. “If your son/daughter is contacted and is put on mandatory quarantine, please call our school nurse, Mrs. Kurz, at 765-3124. We will work with your child about being fully remote during the quarantine period. Please note it is not necessary to take action unless you are personally notified by the Health Department.”
Lyndonville is the second of the five school districts to have a staff member test positive. Holley had a teacher test positive last Friday.
Lyndonville hasn’t had any students test positive for Covid so far this school year.
“We are committed to providing our students and staff with a safe and healthy environment,” Smith said in his letter. “I assure you, our building will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. I continue to be proud of our staff and students for adhering to the safety protocols we have in place. Our cleaning, social distancing, barriers and face covering are effective in preventing the spread of the virus on our campus. I ask that you please continue to wear face masks, maintain social distancing and wash your hands frequently.”
Lyndonville will continue to have in-person classes five days a week.
“We will monitor the situation closely and will notify you immediately if the Department of Health determines there is a need to close school—right now, this is NOT the case,” Smith said.
YATES – Local opposition to a proposed industrial wind turbine project in the towns of Somerset and Yates has increased significantly according to a new survey commissioned by Save Ontario Shores.
• 83% of the residents who participated in the survey in late August and early September said they were opposed to the Lighthouse Wind project, which calls for the construction in the two Lake Ontario shoreline communities of 47 turbines that would be 600 feet or taller. Including 240-foot long blades.
In 2015, the Town of Somerset’s survey showed that 67% of respondents were opposed to the project; SOS’s survey in Yates that year showed 78% were opposed.
“After five years, any lingering doubts about the level of opposition to this project has evaporated,” said SOS President Pam Atwater. “Governor Cuomo and project developer Apex should look very closely at these survey results and acknowledge that the project is not acceptable to our communities.”
In latest survey, 2,148 surveys were mailed to Somerset and Yates residents; 31% were returned to the Buffalo accounting firm Lumsden & McCormick, LLP, which tabulated the results. The survey margin of error is +/- 3%.
• The respondents also said they opposed industrial wind projects in the Great Lakes because of the negative impact it will have on fishing and boating (78% concerned); the legacy pollutants (chemicals remaining in the environment long after they were first brought into use – 78% concerned); and the number of birds and bats that would be killed by industrial wind turbine blades operating in the lake (84% concerned).
“Enough is enough! Each town, not the state, should decide for itself how best to contribute to a more sustainable future that is in harmony with the values and character of each community,” said Town of Yates Supervisor Jim Simon. “Our town is working with local farmers on the possibility of a renewable energy biodigester to convert cow manure into biogas. This initiative is proof that a community can contribute to the governor’s renewable energy goals while staying true to its rural character and residents’ desires.”
“Our town as well as all towns should be able to decide what is best for our community and residents, not the state,” said Town of Somerset Supervisor Jeff Dewart. “There is an 1,800-acre industrial site in Somerset that is closed. It would be a good place to put a solar farm and a data center, along with a multi-use site including a park for our town. This would demonstrate that our community is contributing to the governor’s renewable goals.”
• An overwhelming number, 89%, oppose legislation approved early this year by New York State giving Albany substantial power to rapidly review, evaluate and permit the siting of industrial wind turbine and solar energy projects with decreased opportunity for public or local municipality input.
Recent studies have estimated that using industrial wind and solar projects to meet the governor’s renewable energy goals will require hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Upstate New York, which currently produces 88% of its electricity from zero emissions generation (largely hydro-electric and nuclear). Downstate uses 70% fossil fuel generated electricity. 88% of the survey participants said Upstate New York was being asked to bear an unfair burden in order to meet the governor’s energy goals.
This survey is released as Governor Cuomo’s renewable siting office has draft regulations and standards that when finalized will decrease citizen and municipal voices and options, will lighten requirements for developers and speed up the siting process for projects so large that they will change the character of a region. Out-of-state developers profit at the expense of rural communities, rural habitat and wildlife in Upstate New York that is already saturated with zero emissions electricity.
“This is not just an assault on local rule – it’s an all-out declaration of war by the governor,” said Yates Town Board Member John Riggi.
• 86% of the respondents support establishing local moratoriums to study and develop standards for battery storage safety and transmission line construction before any new industrial wind and solar projects are constructed.
“We are calling on Governor Cuomo to explore alternative ways to reach statewide climate goals, and not force massive industrialization on communities like Somerset and Yates whose residents clearly do not want them and whose environment, economy and community character would be harmed by them,” Atwater said. “He should be developing an energy policy that brings together New Yorkers, not one that tears communities apart.”
Provided photo: Katy Franks holds the plaque she awarded by Brockport State College.
LYNDONVILLE – Katy Franks, a special education teacher for Lyndonville Central School District, was honored with a teacher educator award from Brockport State College.
She received Brockport’s Marguerite Hare Browne/Gerald L. Browne School-Based Teacher Educator Award (grades 7-12) for her outstanding dedication to SUNY students.
“Lyndonville Central School is proud to have Katy Franks as a teacher and a mentor to future educators,” said Lyndonville Superintendent Jason Smith. “She has worked for the district for over 15 years and is a true asset to our team.”
Franks is an exceptional school-based teacher educator who supports 7-12 teacher candidates enrolled in SUNY Brockport’s teacher certification program in the Department of Education and Human Development. To be nominated for this award, Franks demonstrated an exemplary performance as a teacher and has provided numerous opportunities for SUNY Brockport student-teachers to gain valuable experience working with students.
Although Franks is not “technically each (Brockport) student’s teacher of record, she is amazing and invests deeply in ensuring our adolescent level students placed at Lyndonville get rich experiences working with students with disabilities throughout their student-teaching,” stated Allison Wright of Brockport State College.
Franks is “very professional and always willing to go above and beyond,” said her previous direct supervisor, Anne Marie Holland. “She is a great role model for student teachers, field placements and for the new teachers she has mentored over the years.”
LYNDONVILLE – National Grid has a planned outage for about an hour from 11:59 p.m. Friday until about 1 a.m. Saturday, the Orleans County Emergency Management Office announced today.
There are approximately 1,800 customers affected by this event in the village and surrounding towns, the EMO said.
The outage is for required station tests at the station located off of North Main Street and Railroad Avenue in the Village of Lyndonville.
The affected customers are in the entire Village of Lyndonville, the Town of Yates and parts of Ridgeway.
All customers have been forwarded a previously recorded phone message of the planned outage.
This year’s event will be drive-through and carve at your home
Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club
LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville Central School students K-6th grade can look forward to another year of pumpkin carving presented by the Lyndonville Lions Club.
The Lyndonville Lions Club is holding its annual Rick Callard Pumpkin Carving Contest between 10 a.m. and noon this Saturday. The event will be held at the Lyndonville Fire Hall on Main Street.
However this year’s contest will be a little bit different. Due to current Covid-19 restrictions on gathering, this year’s event will be drive-through, touch-free only.
The Lyndonville Lions Club will be handing out free pumpkins plus a complimentary goodie bag to each Lyndonville school child up to age 12 present in your vehicle. A Lions Club member will place each pumpkin and goodie bag in your vehicle for you to ensure a safe touch-free environment for everyone.
While we anticipate having plenty on hand, both pumpkins and goodie bag quantities are limited and will be given out on a first-come-first-served basis until they are gone – so you are encouraged to show up early!
We invite you to bring your child or children to pick up your complimentary pumpkin and decorate it in the safety, convenience and comfort of your home. On the night of Saturday, October 24th, we encourage you to share your child’s pumpkin carving and creations with us on our Lyndonville Lion’s Facebook page.
The Lyndonville Lions Club wishes everyone a fun safe Halloween and we look forward to seeing you this Saturday.
Photos and article courtesy of Lyndonville Central School
LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville school district would like to thank our Sports Boosters for donating two 25-foot-high flag poles that have been placed between our athletic fields.
We would also like to thank the Town of Yates and Village of Lyndonville for their assistance with installation and thank graduate Reggie Cichocki for the donation of the concrete bases.
Your generosity is greatly appreciated, and the flags (which are flying at half-mast per NYS) are a beautiful addition to our campus, according to a message from Jason Smith, the district superintendent, and James Zeliff, the district’s athletic director.
Provided photo: Members of the Lyndonville Board of Education include, front row, from left: Susan Hrovat and Kristin Nicholson. Back row: Steven Vann, Vernon Fonda, Jerod Thurber, Harold Suhr and Ted Lewis.
Press Release, Lyndonville Central School
LYNDONVILLE – The New York State School Boards Association recognizes October 19-23, 2020 as School Board Recognition Week.
Lyndonville Central School District will join with all public school districts across the state to celebrate and honor local board members for their commitment and dedication to Lyndonville and its students.
“I would like to thank and recognize our Board of Education for their continued dedication and commitment to our district and our students,” said Superintendent Jason Smith.
The key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:
Creating a shared vision for the future of education
Setting the direction of the school district to achieve the highest student performance
Providing accountability for student achievement results
Developing a budget that aligns district resources to improve achievement
Supporting a healthy school district culture for students and staff
Lyndonville’s Board of Education and their years of service are as follows: Theodore Lewis, President, 11 years; and Susan Hrovat, Vice President, 9 years.
Trustees: Vernon Fonda, 1 year; Kristin Nicolson, 1 year; Harold Suhr, 7 years; Jerod Thurber, 5 months; and Steven Vann, 2 years.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Ruth Hedges is dwarfed among a sea of Christmas decorations which have been donation to the Lyndonville United Methodist Church. They have received so many decorations they have had to partition off part of their Fellowship Hall to display just a portion of them. The community is invited to visit the church’s Hope Resales Thrift Shop and shop for holiday decorations of all kinds.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 15 October 2020 at 10:41 am
LYNDONVILLE – Christmas may be a couple of months away, but at the United Methodist Church in Lyndonville, it looks like Christmas is already here.
The church has recently received an abundance of Christmas decorations – so many, in fact, they don’t have room to display them.
Ruth Hedges is heading up a sale of Christmas decorations of all kinds at Hope Resales. The merchandise is set up in the church’s fellowship hall and may be purchased during regular hours Hope Resales is open.
Ruth Hedges, who was instrumental in starting the churches thrift shop, Hope Resales, said they are struggling to find room to put all the decorations – all beautiful and some unique.
The donations started coming in right after the thrift shop was allowed to reopen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I think people must have had time to clean out their houses during the pandemic, because the donations began to pour in,” Hedges said.
While church volunteers don’t know where to display all the items, Hedges said they are also grateful for a community which supports their Hope Resales Thrift Store.
Hope Resales opened March 30, 2019 and the church was planning a big one-year celebration for the end of March this year, when they had to close. Ruth and her husband Doug had come back from Florida on a Thursday to get ready for the celebration, and on Saturday they closed the store.
On a positive note, the church used that time to renovate their space in the church’s basement. They painted the floors and shelving and bought new racks, which gave the store a more organized look, Hedges said.
Support for the thrift shop has been overwhelming, and they have so many donations of merchandise, they could use more room.
Then the problem arose of where to display the tons of Christmas decorations which started coming in.
An end of the fellowship hall upstairs in the church was finally partitioned off and tables set up and filled with candles, figurines, Santas, stockings, dolls, tree toppers, ornaments, china and more. The floor is lined with tubs of Christmas lights, garlands and wreaths. More boxes line the hall, which have not yet been unpacked.
An assortment of angel tree toppers fills a table in the Fellowship Hall of the Lyndonville United Methodist Church. The church has recently received donations of so many Christmas decorations, they don’t have room to display them.
The Christmas decorations are on sale during regular hours of Hope Resales, which are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Hours may change after the end of October, Hedges said.
Customers should enter through the basement entrance of Hope Resales on the north side of the building.
Hedges also wants the public to know they have an assortment of good winter coats in many sizes. They have also acquired nursing scrubs, a selection of XXX men’s clothing, Beanie Babies with tags on, Halloween costumes and a large collection of Barbie dolls.
Hedges would like to expand the thrift shop with more crafting items and yarns.
To entice shoppers, Hedges has begun putting together gift baskets on different themes. One is a scrapbooking basket with more than $100 worth of related merchandise in it.
Profits from the thrift shop are divided half to the church and the other half to local and global missions.
In keeping with Health Department regulations during the pandemic, customers are required to wear a mask and maintain social distancing. A limit of three will be allowed in a room at one time, unless members of the same family.
The Lyndonville United Methodist Church is located at 102 North Main St. More information is available on their Facebook page.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 29 September 2020 at 9:08 am
The outstanding athletic accomplishments of Lyndonville High student athletes will be honored in a very special way in the future as the school is forming an Athletic Hall of Fame.
“We have a pretty rich athletic tradition here and this is a great way to honor the outstanding accomplishments of our former athletes,” said Athletic Director Jim Zeliff. “I’m really excited about it. It will give inspiration and incentive to our current athletes and it will also drum up interest in the community.”
Zeliff noted that the purpose of the Hall of Fame is “to highlight those who have made a positive impact on the Lyndonville Athletic program and maintain relationships, history, and tradition within the school community.”
A committee will be formed to select the inductees and it is planned to have up to 10 inductees the first year, up to five the second and up to three each year after that.
There are four categories for selection including as an athlete, a team, a coach and a special contributor/supporter/fan.
Nominations can be submitted to Zeliff and a nomination form is available on the school’s website. The deadline for nominations this year is March 1, 2021 and the inductees will be announced in May.
