Provided photo – Terry Woodworth, Village of Lyndonville DPW superintendent, and his granddaughter Haley put up trees in Veterans Park last Saturday along with assistance from the Lyndonville Fire Department, Carla Woodworth and Teri M. Woodworth (Village Clerk-Treasurer).

LYNDONVILLE – There are 42 Christmas trees in Veterans Park, and they will be decorated with lights and other themes in time for a Dec. 6 Christmas celebration in Lyndonville.

The Village of Lyndonville is teaming to put on the event with the Lyndonville Fire Department/Auxiliary, Lyndonville Lions Club and Lyndonville United Methodist Women.

Lyndonville debuted the celebration last year with 27 trees. There are 42 this year.

The events on Dec. 6 begin from 8 to 11 a.m. with a community breakfast at the Presbyterian Church. Other activities are planned throughout the day, including games and crafts at the library, horse-drawn carriages, a mini mall at the United Methodist Church, a wine tasting at Sixes & Sevens Spirits, caroling at Veterans Park, and Santa’s arrival and the lighting of the trees at the park at 5 p.m.

Santa will then move to the Village Hall to greet children from 5 to 7 p.m. The day will be capped with a Christmas choir “LaLaPalooza” at the Lyndonville Presbyterian Church at 7 p.m.

For more information on the day’s events, click here.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Community members gather around the decorated trees during the debut celebration last December at Veterans Park.

LYNDONVILLE – The sun came out at about 4 p.m. after a rain and a giant double rainbow soon followed.

Several Orleans Hub readers sent us photos of the rainbow, including the top photo by Jason Smith, Lyndonville Central School superintendent. That picture shows the flag pole by the school district.

Smith also took this photo of the rainbow stretched high over the community, including the church steeples.

Ralph Smith was by the Lake Ontario shoreline in Yates when he took this picture of the double rainbow at about 4:10 p.m.

Dena Bradshaw-Scribner sent in this photo of the rainbow, arcing over the DPW garage in Lyndonville.

Village Clerk Teri Woodworth sent in this photo taken outside the Village Hall.

George Snell was out in the country in Waterport and took this photo of a rainbow over a fruit orchard.

Apex Clean Energy will have open house in Yates on Dec. 9

Apex Clean Energy – A 200-megawatt wind farm is eyed for the towns of Yates and Somerset along the Lake Ontario shoreline.

YATES – A company is eyeing the lakeshore towns of Yates in Orleans County and Somerset in Niagara for a 200-megawatt wind farm called “Lighthouse Wind.”

Apex Clean Energy hasn’t made an official proposal for the project yet, but it is connecting with landowners and local officials in the communities. The company had an open house last month at the Barker Fire Hall and will be available for another open house from 3 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Yates Town Hall.

The company is considering 60 to 75 of the wind turbines that tower about 500 feet. The Orleans Economic Development Agency discussed the project this morning at its monthly board meeting.

The EDA would like to be a part of the project to ensure revenue from the wind farm is directed to Yates, the county and the Lyndonville school district. Jim Whipple, the EDA executive director, said the potential revenue for the community has Yates town officials “excited.”

The electricity from the wind turbines would be tied into the grid near the Somerset power plant, Whipple said.

For more on the project, click here.

Colin Cousins, Emily Dill won fire prevention contest

Photos by Tom Rivers

As the fire truck turned off Main Street and headed down Housel Avenue to Lyndonville Central School this morning, firefighters sounded the horn.

Ashton Lang meets first-graders in Mary Ann Kelly’s class.

LYNDONVILLE – Two first graders, Colin Cousins and Emily Dill, have big smiles after riding a Lyndonville fire truck to school this morning with firefighters Ashton Lang, left, and Larry Lonigan.

Colin and Emily are the winners of a fire prevention contest for the first grade. For the first time ever, the Lyndonville Fire Department gave children a ride to school.

“We thought it was an opportunity to get the kids excited,” said firefighter Ashton Lang.

First-graders are studying fire safety. They were encouraged to design a fire escape plan with their parents and practice the plan. Students who completed the assignment were eligible for the ride on the fire truck. The firefighters drew two names to determine who would ride the fire truck.

Lang and Lonigan pulled up at each student’s house this morning and drove them to the school.

Colin and Emily wore red firefighter helmets made of plastic. They hooked their back packs on the truck where firefighters put their gear.

“He’s very excited,” said Kelly Cousins, Colin’s mother. “He called all of his grandparents and aunts and uncles.”

Two classes of first-graders waited with a sense of awe by the sidewalk in front of the school. The fire truck pulled up and two first-graders hopped out.

All of the first-graders will be at the fire hall around noon to tour the fire trucks, see a hose line, hear the pagers go off and learn more about fire prevention.

The Fire Department wanted to give the kids a ride on the truck after hearing about that incentive provided by the North Greece Fire District. Pete Sidari of Albion is the fire safety officer for North Greece. He helped Lyndonville develop the protocol for this morning’s ride, which needed permission from the Village Board.

Lang said the department will talk about expanding the effort next year, perhaps giving more kids rides from other grade levels.

“They were both super excited when we rolled up,” he said.

Classes decorate floats and parade down Main Street

Photos by Tom Rivers

LYNDONVILLE – After a hiatus for several years, class-decorated floats returned for homecoming this week at Lyndonville.

Students in recent years decorated halls with class themes during homecoming. This year, students and the school decided to decorate floats and have a parade down Main Street this morning. The floats and student participation will factor in the winner of the Spirit Stick, which will be presented during the Homecoming Dance this evening.

“It took a lot of work but it was worth it,” sophomore Aubrey Lewis said about her class float. The sophomores picked a “Monsters Inc.” theme.

Seniors decorated their float with a theme from “The Jungle Book.”

The Junior Class had a “Toy Story” theme with Tom Follman dressed as Buzz Lightyear, Riley Starr as the Barbie in the box and Samantha Raduns as the other Barbie (in green dress).

The sophomore class had a “Monsters, Inc.” float.

Freshmen decorated with a “Little Mermaid” theme.

The junior high – the seventh- and eighth-graders – went with a “Finding Nemo” theme for their float.

Dog saved, home spared thanks to quick thinking

Photo by Sue Cook – Lyndonville Assistant Chief Ben Bane, left, is pictured with Mya Heideman, Alia Childs, Emily Brown and Chief Jason Gerety.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

LYNDONVILLE – Three Lyndonville girls were recognized by the Lyndonville Fire Department for acting quickly to prevent a house fire.

Mya Heideman, 9, Alia Childs, 10, and Emily Brown, 11, were out last Monday evening when they saw a dog in a home on Maple Avenue with foggy looking windows. They could hear the smoke detectors inside going off. The girls raced home to Alia’s house on adjacent Lynwood Drive and had her mother, Holly Childs, call 9-1-1.

The fire department sent two trucks to investigate. Upon opening the front door, the dog trapped inside ran out. The entire first floor was engulfed in smoke. Their investigation revealed food burning on the stove had accidentally been left cooking by the homeowner. The dog was retrieved later that night, suffering no apparent ill effects from the smoke.

Fire Chief Jason Gerety said the home was very near catching fire and that the girls’ fast response saved the life of the dog, as well as the house. He presented them with framed awards on Friday evening, saying, “Your community thanks you. It could have been a lot worse than it was.”

“You did the right thing,” he continued. “Never hesitate to call 9-1-1 or tell a grown up. If that had gone a little bit longer, that dog wouldn’t have made it out of the house and the homeowner would have been burying her pet. You guys recognized it and did the right thing and I’m proud of you.”

Chief Gerety then suggested that the girls do one more step next time if they ever need to call 9-1-1 again.

“There’s only one thing you might have done different,” he said. “If you think of it, try and grab the house number next time.”

The girls hadn’t thought to get the house number and had described which street the home was on and said it was the “house with the gnomes.” Immediately, the Chief knew which home they were talking about and they went straight there.

Holly Childs, Alia’s mother, said, “I’m really proud of the girls. They acted really fast.”

Homeowner Rose Carter was in attendance at the award ceremony. She shares the home with her fiance, Eric Morton, who was not home at the time of the incident.

“I left chicken on the stove and forgot about it and went to Lockport,” Carter said. “When I came back the fire company was there. They said these girls, heroes of mine, rescued the dog. They called 9-1-1. These are my heroes right here. I can’t thank them enough.”

The girls all agreed that it felt really good to be called heroes. Their advice to anyone that ever thinks there might be a problem like a fire is to just call 9-1-1.

YATES – The state Department of Environmental Conservation is testing wells on Ward Road after residents complained cow manure contaminated their water supply, Town Supervisor John Belson said this afternoon.

Residents attended Thursday’s Town Board meeting to voice their concerns about the manure. A dairy farm spread on Ward Road and then a downpour hit in late August, causing significant manure runoff, Belson said.

The manure washed into ditches and Johnson Creek, and residents fear some of the manure got into their wells, Belson said.

There are five houses on Ward Road, which is located off Alps and Platten roads. They have shallow wells, Belson said. The town does not have a public waterline along the road.

Belson said samples have been taken of the well water. The DEC and the Orleans County Department of Health are both investigating, he said.

Provided photo – Greg Ahlquist, the 2013 New York State Teacher of the Year, addresses Lyndonville teachers last Thursday during a staff development day to kick off the new school year.

Press release
Lyndonville Central School

LYNDONVILLE – Greg Ahlquist, the 2013 New York State Teacher of the Year, a last Thursday with Lyndonville Central School District teachers. Superintendent Jason Smith invited Mr. Alhquist to address the staff on the topic of Growth Mindset relating it to education.

Mr. Ahlquist, who teaches Social Studies at Webster Thomas High School, shared the findings of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who believes that every person has either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

“Basically if you are a fixed mindset you believe that intelligence and talent create success without effort. The person thinks this is who I am and what I do,” Mr. Ahlquist explained. “In a growth mindset, people believe with time and effort you can enhance your abilities. If you can instill a growth mindset into your students you can develop their love of learning and it will help them with their motivation and productivity.”

Along with his PowerPoint, Mr. Ahlquist shared remarks his students made in his Advanced Placement World History, European History and Holocaust elective classes about what they were most proud of at the end of the class. The responses ranged from the funny, “I didn’t cry,” to “I realized that I am smarter than I thought and I can do this.”

Mr. Ahlquist explained that if a student is of a fixed mindset they feel judged and evaluated where growth mindset students are always looking for ways to improve.

“It is our responsibility as educators to change what they believe about themselves and education,” he said. “Praise effort, not achievement.”

Mr. Smith said he is very grateful for the time that Mr. Ahlquist with his teaching staff.
“He is an exceptional educator and his message of moving students from where they are to whom they can be is a very important one to have reinforced at the beginning of the school year,” Smith said. “It falls in line with our Vision statement to being committed to continuous improvement of student learning and it was very generous of Greg to share his knowledge and insights with us.”

YATES – A fire destroyed a home on Goodwin Road in the town of Yates on Tuesday afternoon and also resulted in the deaths of five dogs inside the house, Walter Batt, Orleans County fire investigator, said this morning.

The cause of the fire is undetermined while fire officials await testing results, Batt said.

The fire broke out at about 4 p.m. at 1877 Goodwin Rd. The house is owned by Diana and Antonio Lopez. No one was home when the fire started.

The house was a total loss and was torn down last night, Batt said.

Photos by Sue Cook

LYNDONVILLE – A team of volunteers installed a playground by the Lyndonville school campus on Housel Avenue today. The playground used to be used by the elementary school on Main Street, but that building was closed about two years ago.

About 30 volunteers worked with the school district, PTA, town and village to move the playground. The district also worked with Parkitects on the project. Ben Frasier, a Lyndonville graduate, headed up the effort for Parkitects.

“We do community builds like this all the time, but normally the stuff is new,” he said. “This is the first time where we had to rip out the equipment like yesterday.”

A team of volunteers spent today assembling a playground.

“What was great was the village, the town, the county, the school district all helped out,” he said. “Everybody pitched in to make this happen, and then seeing all the community volunteers was great. It’s great to have everybody involved in my hometown.”

Volunteers spread out wood chips on a finished portion of the playground. They finished putting up the equipment by 2 p.m. and spent the afternoon moving stone and woodchips.

Photos by Tom Rivers

YATES – I’ve been on the lookout for dirt roads in Orleans County and noticed Hall Road in the town of Yates. This one isn’t too far from the village of Lyndonville. It’s a north-south road about a mile east of Route 63. It cuts across Route 18.

Photos by Tom Rivers
YATES – J.C. Miller Co., a general store on Millers Road in the town of Yates, has an array of solar panels on the roof of the business in the northwest corner of the town.

The property also has a hitching post made of Medina sandstone as well as a hitching rack.

Jonas Miller runs the store with his wife. He put up the historic hitching post last year. He acquired it from a customer as part of the payment towards new gutters in another business venture headed by Mr. Miller.

He said some of his customers with horse and buggies at the general store will use the hitching post that was originally made more than a century ago.

He put up the solar panels in December 2012, the first member of the local Amish community to embrace the technology. Solar energy is popular in many other Amish settlements.

LYNDONVILLE – The playground from the now-closed elementary school on Main Street will be moved today and reinstalled by the school playground on Housel Avenue on Saturday.

The school district, re-established Lyndonville PTA and other community members will dissemble the playground beginning at 8:30 a.m. today. The volunteers expect they will be reassemble the playground from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Lyndonville is working with Parkitects, Inc. on the project. The project manager for that company is Ben Frasier, a Lyndonville graduate. The Lyndonville Area Foundation provided $7,500 for the project.

Construction materials were donated by local businesses, including Orleans Construction Company (geo-textile fabric), Shelby Crushed Stone (stone), Evan’s Ace Hardware (concrete) and Medina Hardware and Lumber (concrete). The Village of Lyndonville and Town of Yates also will provide manpower and equipment.