LYNDONVILLE – The village water supply is running low due to drought-like conditions. That is prompting the Village Board to implement a water restriction policy until further notice.

The village can pump 400,000 gallons of water daily for customers in the village and the Town of Yates. Due to the lack of rainfall, water customers have been using more water for lawns, washing cars and other purposes, Village Clerk Teri Woodworth said.

“The water tower is nearly empty,” Woodworth said. “The restrictions are in place until we can replenish.”

The village water restriction policy, passed by a local law in 2003, says no public water can be used to wash vehicles, and watering lawns or gardens is limited to between 4 and 5 a.m., and 9 and 10 p.m.

Here is a public notice put out by the village this morning:

Due to extreme drought conditions the Village of Lyndonville declares that a water shortage condition now exists throughout the area served by the Village of Lyndonville.

The Village of Lyndonville and the Town of Yates (District 4) are implementing Stage 1 of the Water Conservation and Water Use Restriction policy. These restrictions shall remain in effect until the supply of water available for distribution is replenished.

The following restrictions apply to all customers: Stage 1

A. No Person or entity shall cause, permit or allow:

1. The continuing of a leak or waste from any water pipe, valve, faucet, conduit equipment facility, or device connected to the water system, or which utilizes water, on or in any premises owned, leased, managed, operated or controlled by such person or entity;

2. The washing of any vehide by means of a hose, fire hydrant, or other active source connected to the water system.

3. The washing of any street, sidewalk, driveway, outdoor areaway, outdoor steps, building exterior or other structure by means of a hose, fire hydrant or other active source connected to the water system.

4. The use of water from the water system for any ornamental purpose, including but not limited to use in fountains, artificial waterfalls, reflecting pools, lakes and ponds.

5. The use of water from the water system to water any lawn, ornamental shrub, plant or tree, except that:

a. Water maybe used to water any lawn, tree, shrub, or garden from 4:00 am. to 5:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

b. Water may be used at any time to irrigate from a hand held container, vegetables or fruits grown for human consumption.

6. The opening or use of any fire hydrant or of the water there from, for any purpose other than fire protection except in accordance with a permit obtained from the DPW Department and only for the period of and the purpose authorized by such permit and in strict adherence to all terms and conditions set forth therein;

7. The operation of any air conditioning system utilizing water from the water system in a cooling tower, unless within 30 days from the effective date of this regulation a separate meter is installed to continuously measure the flow of water to the cooling tower.

8. Operate any air condition system in excess of two tons of rated capacity or greater or any refrigeration unit rated at 10 horsepower or greater using water from the Village water system, unless such air condition system or refrigeration unit is equipped with a water re-circulating device approved by the Department of Public Works and;

9. The use of water from the water system to fill or maintain the water level in any swimming pool, except that, provided the pool is operated with re-circulating equipment water may be used to fill the pool once during each calendar year, and thereafter may be used as necessary to maintain the water level in such pool.

For more information, contact the Village Office at (585) 765-9385.

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville community – and beyond – raised more than $12,000 during a basket auction on Monday to support a family with a baby battling a brain tumor.

More than 200 baskets were donated to support Ella Suhr and her family, and the auction raised $12,584.11, said Jen Button, one of the organizers of the event.

“That is way more than we ever anticipated,” Button said this morning. “It will definitely help them.”

Ella is the daughter of Joe and Meagan Suhr. Mrs. Suhr is a high school teacher in Batavia and her husband is a social studies teacher in Lyndonville. Both Joe and Meagan grew up in Lyndonville and continue to reside in the community.

Ella’s grandparents are also active in the Lyndonville school district. Harold Suhr is on the Board of Education and his wife Joanne is a long-time elementary school teacher. In addition, Ella’s grandmother Carol Neal is a teacher’s aide for the school district.

Ella in March was diagnosed with a brain tumor and stage 4 cancer. Surgeons have removed the tumor and an MRI last week showed no more signs of the tumor, Meagan posted on Facebook.

“We’re thankful for all of the donations,” Maegan said by phone today from Florida. “We’re overwhelmed.”

Provided photo – Many people buying tickets are lined up for the auction on Monday.

The Suhrs are in St. Petersburg for Ella’s care at All Children’s Hospital. She will be discharged today, and will return home to Lyndonville. She has three upcoming rounds of chemotherapy and will have some of her stem cells returned in a procedure at Golisano’s Children’s Hospital at Strong in Rochester.

“She still has a long way to go,” Mrs. Suhr said.

Button, a senior account clerk in the business office for the school district, said she is proud of the way the community has rallied to support the Suhrs.

As volunteers were setting up for the auction on the school lawn on Monday, during Lyndonville’s Independence Day Celebration, more people showed up unexpectedly with baskets to donate. Other people made cash donations, Button said.

The community has rallied to support the Suhrs since Ella was diagnosed in March. Joe’s colleagues at Lyndonville donated their sick days so he could take the rest of the school year off to care for his daughter.

Many in the community wore Lyndonville Tiger colors of orange and black with the message “Suhr Strong” to show support for the family and help raise money for medical costs.

LYNDONVILLE – Fireworks explode in the sky at Lyndonville to cap the 42nd annual Lions Club’s Independence Day Celebration.

The Lions Club hired Young Explosives for the show.

Neila Johnson, 8, of Barker has fun before the fireworks in Lyndonville.

The fireworks are a big draw to Lyndonville.

This family from Barker prepares to send a Chinese lantern. The group includes form left: Kristina Klosin, Natalie Regling (partially pictured), Neila Johnson, Brent Johnson and Christopher Klosin (back to camera).

The fireworks show started with this display of the American flag.

This family watches the fireworks from a swingset at the playground.

The Who Dats played before the fireworks. The band members pictured include from left: Marty Hobbs on bass guitar, Lonnie Froman on lead vocals and John Borello on lead and rhythm guitar.

The fireworks are pictured through the playground by the Lyndonville school.

Jeff Kerr from Massachusetts lets go of a Chinese lantern. He was in town visiitng family.

Fireworks are reflected in the Johnson Creek pond.

The fireworks show lasted more than a half hour and lighted up the sky in Lyndonville.

Shane Ritzenthaler, 9, of Medina holds some sparklers while waiting for the fireworks show.

LYNDONVILLE – Thomas Follman plays the tuba in the Lyndonville Marching Band in today’s Fourth of July parade. Follman, who just graduated from the school, joined about 85 other students in grades 5 through 12 in the band for today’s parade.

The band stopped on the parade route on Main Street to lead the crowd in singing the National Anthem.

Numerous community organizations – churches, businesses, fire departments, service clubs, bands and more – marched in today’s parade in Lyndonville, and many of the participants were decked out in red, white and blue.

Miguel Aldaco, center, joins Jacob and Clara Pruski in the float for the Knights of Columbus and St. Joan of Arc of Orleans.

Faith Bible Baptist Church in Medina made this patriotic float, “Old Glory.”

The Spencerville Yacht Club in Lyndonville released a batch of balloons during the parade. The group has an Olympic-themed float.

The Hospice Duck stops to high-five a kid along the parade route.

Teri Woodworth, the village clerk, promotes Lyndonville’s public water supply.

This member of the American Legion in Lyndonville waves to the crowd on Main Street.

Employees for the Mizkan company in Lyndonville participate in the parade.

Daniel Grabowski of Albion helps carry the banner for the Knights of Columbus. His father Michael Grabowski is a member of the Knights.

The Shelby Volunteer Fire Company was among the many fire departments with a fire truck in the parade.

Lyndonville firefighters march in the parade.

Oak Orchard Assembly of God in Medina created a float to promote its upcoming Vacation Bible School called “Lava Lava Island, Where Jesus’ Love Flows.”

Lyndonville alumni once again joined to play in the parade. They call their band, “Treble in the Streets.”

Randall Bane is dressed as Uncle Sam while pushing his mother Mildred in today’s parade.

The Lyndonville United Methodist Church also created a patriotic float to promote some of the church’s ministry efforts.

The Gates Keystone Club, Police, Pipes & Drums plays patriotic music in the parade.

Georgia Thomas of Medina is dressed up as Cobble the Museum Mouse. Thomas has created a coloring book starring Cobble to help promote the Cobblestone Museum in Gaines.

Local Girl Scouts and their leaders were out waving flags and tossing candy along the parade path.

Automotive Solutions, a towing business in Medina, joined several other businesses in the parade.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, center, and State Sen. Rob Ortt passed out candy and waved to many in the crowd.

Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower and a contingent from the Sheriff’s Office also participated in the popular parade.

Photos by Tom Rivers

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville marching band was out practicing on Friday for Monday’s July 4 parade that starts at noon. This photo shows Aaron Despard, left, and Justin Higgins carrying the banner for the band.

Last year there were 40 kids in the band for the Independance Day Parade. This year there will be 85. The program has grown with the inclusion of fifth- and sixth-graders as well as more participation from upperclassmen.

Natalie Allen, front right, plays the piccolo in the band, which was rehearsing on Housel Avenue on Friday.

Kristina Best, the middle and high school band director for Lyndonville, keeps an eye on the band during rehearsal on Friday. She said she is impressed by the big turnout from the students, especially at the beginning of summer vacation.

“We’re really proud of these kids because it is optional,” she said. “They’re out here for the community.”

Anna Lewis, left, and her sister Aubrey, right, play the saxophone in the band.

John Bailey, the elementary school music teacher, is happy watching the students practice on Friday. He has several elementary school students in the band.

Tamara Huzair is among the band members for Lyndonville.

The band stopped by a teacher’s house on Garland Street and played “Happy Birthday” for the teacher.

The parade on Monday is a big part of Lyndonville’s Fourth of July celebration. (Click here to see the schedule.) The Lyndonville Lions Cub organizes the popular community celebration.

Photos by Kristina Gabalski

LYNDONVILLE – Popular presenter Rick Merritt returned to the Yates Community Library on Thursday afternoon with a special kids’ program entitled “Pop Secret and I Scream for Ice Cream!”  Participants learned about the science behind bubble gum and ice cream.

The second half of the yummy science program involved analyzing the effect of salt on ice and making ice cream.  Here, participants work in pairs to agitate ice cream ingredients and ice with salt in plastic bags to make the frozen treat.

Merritt and his sons, Nate (in white T-shirt) and Kory show participants how to measure the s-t-r-e-t-c-h (thanks to elastomers) in bubble gum.

After participants tested and recorded data regarding the elasticity of various bubble gums, a bubble blowing contest was held.

Merritt helps participants dish up the ice cream.

This year’s family of swans on the Johnson’s Creek millpond adjacent to Yates Community Library includes six babies or cygnets.  The family could be seen swimming serenely around the pond during the library program which was held outside.

Provided photos
LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville Central School celebrated commencement Friday when 42 seniors graduated. Jasmine Plummer, valedictorian of the Class of 2016, delivers her speech.

This trio of new graduates includes, from left: Amanda Blackburn, Rhiannon Burgess and Jessica Harling.

Jenna Doran, the class salutatorian, gives her speech at the Stroyan Auditorium.

Graduates, including Thomas Follman, center, sing during the commencement program on Friday.

YATES – Two culverts on Platten Road in the Town of Yates will be replaced likely late this summer or early fall.

The Orleans County Legislature on Wednesday approved the low bid, $817,643, to Keeler Construction of Albion. The county will soon have a preliminary construction meeting with Keeler to determine the work schedule, said Jerry Gray, the county highway superintendent.

The county bid the two culverts together to get a better price on the project, Gray said. There is one culvert east of Swett Road and the other is west of Swett. The culverts carry water from Oak Orchard Creek tributaries.

Other bids for the culvert project include: $833,667 from Villager Construction in Fairport; $837,750 from Ironwood Heavy Highway LLC in Rochester, $848,845 from Union Concrete and Construction Corp. in West Seneca, $880,806 from Zoladz in Alden, and $884,607 from C.P. Ward Inc. in Scottsville.

The project will be paid from an $8 million bond the county took out two years ago for a series of infrastructure projects.

Provided photos

LYNDONVILLE – The school district and local firefighters worked together this morning to simulate a drunk driving accident, trying to send a strong message to students to not drink and drive at Friday’s prom or at upcoming graduation parties.

Lyndonville has put on the exercise annually in June to urge students to show good judgement and show responsibility when they get behind the wheel.

Some Lyndonville students wore makeup to look bloodied with injuries as part of the DWI simulation this morning. The students are pictured with local firefighters who extricated students from the vehicles.

Students watch firefighters work to get students out of the vehicles.

YATES – A plan for up to 70 wind turbines in Yates and Somerset has received some of its strongest resistance, including public rebukes from Congressman Chris Collins and State Sen. Rob Ortt, because they see the project as possibly jeopardizing the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

Apex Clean Energy, developer for the project, countered last week saying the proposed project would not harm the base’s mission or the future for other military training plans.

H. David Belote, a retired Air Force colonel, now works as a consultant for Apex. He met last week with local officials, Save Ontario Shores members, landowners and supporters of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

Belote showed them a March 16 letter from the Department of Defense, stating the DoD doesn’t see a negative impact on the base from Lighthouse Wind.

“The project is unlikely to impact military testing and/or training operations in the area,” Steven J. Sample, chief of the Military Evaluation Branch for the Department of Defense, wrote to Taylor Quarles, development manager for Apex.

The DoD did an informal review of the project, and is awaiting locations and heights of the turbines. The DoD, as well as the Federal Aviation Agency, will take a more thorough review of the project once the final application is submitted, which is expected this summer.

Belote said the far western end of the turbines are about 25 miles from the base. “It’s not an impact,” he said in a phone interview.

The turbines won’t affect drone operations when those begin at the base, Belote said, and he doesn’t expect there will be issues with radar from the turbines, which could peak at more than 600 feet to the top of the spinning blades.

The radar issue will be reviewed by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, but that organization needs to know final locations and heights. Belote said he expects that review will be this summer or fall.

Belote served as the first director of the Pentagon office that approves or rejects wind and solar projects around military bases. He said in his current role as a consultant that he wouldn’t advocate for a turbine project if it would hurt a military operation.

If the mission of the base changes in the future to other planes, such as F-22 or F-35, Belote said Apex could put night-vision lighting on the turbines. He said other air bases, such as the Travis Air Force Base in California, have many more turbines closer than what is proposed for Somerset and Yates. Belote said there are nearly 900 turbines within 12 miles of Travis.

The presentation from Apex didn’t allay concerns by the project’s opponents. Save Ontario Shores met with Quarles and Belote last week at Apex’s Barker office. SOS said it wanted more information about how the turbines could impact the base.

“This was really more of the same,” said Pam Atwater, president of Save Ontario Shores.  “Apex makes vague statements and then refuses to give the public access to the data that they were based upon. We did not hear anything that has changed our position. Apex will use every option available to them, including using high-paid D.C. lobbyists, to try and force this project upon communities that have legitimate concerns about the impact of the project on local employment and have clearly expressed they do not want the wind turbines installed.”

Atwater also said the letter from the Department of Defense was just an informal or preliminary review.

“SOS is deeply concerned with the next Base Realignment and Closure Commission process,” she said. “If the DoD, which is under extreme pressure from the Obama Administration to engage in green energy initiatives, were to rule that the Apex project is not an encroachment into the MOA (Military Operating Area), there would be nothing preventing a future BRAC, under a different administration with different priorities, from overruling the decision and concluding that some level of encroachment does exist.  Sacrificing what is now an encroachment free MOA could place NFARS, which has already faced closure recommendations from the last two BRAC’s, in jeopardy.”

Provided photos

LYNDONVILLE – Volunteers from the Yates Community Library placed 50 flags on the school grounds near the Johnson Creek dam today. Another 50 flags will be placed on Main Street on Friday morning.

Other Lyndonville residents also purchased Main Street flags that were bought in honor of loved ones. Donors for those flags will get to take the flag home on Monday after the traditional Memorial Day service held at the village park.

Library Trustee Patricia Mumau attaches a flag dedication tag for the flags on the school lawn.

Ginny Hughes did much of the organizing for the flag display.  She saw a similar display in Auburn. Kathleen Sillick created laminated dedication tags for each flag with names as specified by the donors. Jim Watson and his son Eric provided rebar and PVC pipe cut to fit for appropriate flag display. Patricia Mumau created an advertising flyer and designed the layout for flag placement. Gail Foss and Herbert Bohnet, also trustees, assisted in driving in the rebar posts and labeling the flags.  Mark Hughes and Joy Bohnet, spouses of trustees, also helped.

Library Trustees Ginny Hughes and Gail Foss attach a tag with flag dedication and name of donor. Mark Hughes is in back with the driver device.

The Lyndonville Village Department of Public Works surprised the trustees with a special gift that greatly aided installation: a custom-fabricated driver for pounding in the supporting rebar.

The flags will fly all weekend and will provide a background for the annual Memorial Day service in Veterans Park, downtown Lyndonville, at 9 a.m. on Monday.

After noon on Memorial Day, those who have purchased a flag may pick them up to take home.