Photo courtesy of Paul Hand

LYNDONVILLE – The St. Joseph’s Catholic Church has been knocked down this week following a fire on Feb. 28, 2023 that caused extensive damage to the site at 36 Lake Ave.

The Diocese of Buffalo announced on July 10 that the church would not be repaired and would be demolished. The wrecking crew has been on site this week.

Paul Hand, a parishioner at St. Joseph’s since 2010, stopped by on Wednesday and saw the main structure in a heap in the basement.

“It is an emotional time for a lot of people,” Hand said. “It was our spiritual home.”

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was built in 1917 as a mission church under St. Mary’s in Medina.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Here is how the site looked on Feb. 28, 2023 when multiple fire departments responded to the scene.

Firefighters were dispatched to the church at 3:41 a.m. on Feb. 28 when a passerby saw flames shooting out from the back of the building. The fire started in a classroom structure attached to the church. There was smoke and water damage throughout much of the building.

The pews were covered in soot and soggy insulation from the fire. The walls peeled and the former white interior turned gray and black after the fire.

Photos by Paul Hand

Hand started going to St. Joseph’s in 2010 after the Sacred Heart Catholic Church was closed in Medina. Hand now attends St. Mary’s in Medina. He said other parishioners from St. Joseph’s are now going to Catholic churches in Barker, Medina and Albion.

Hand said seeing the site in a demolished state was difficult for him. He was especially struck by seeing the stairs no longer leading to the main building.

“Those were the stairs we walked into every Sunday,” he said. “Now there’s a stairway to nothing.”

He appreciates the Diocese did move to take the building down, rather than have it languish unoccupied for years.

“It would have been a shame to see it sit there deteriorating,” he said. “Now we can move forward.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville elementary students are performing Disney’s Jungle Book Kids with shows at 7 p.m. today and 2 p.m. on Saturday at the school’s Stroyan Auditorium, 25 Housel Ave. Admission is free with donations accepted.

The top photo shows Bagheera, a panther played by Emily Kroll. She looks out for Mowgli, a boy who was raised by wolves and played by Fatima Lieberman, back right.

Lydia Bailor is Baloo, a giant bear at left who befriends Mowgli.

There are 40 Lyndonville fifth- and sixth-graders in the cast, including Sierra Frasier who is the flower. Students are also running the lights and helped make the set pieces.

Declan Fonda plays King Louie, an orangutan and wily leader of the jungle.

Fatima Lieberman plays the role of Mowgli, who has been raised in the jungle. Some of his animal friends realize the jungle has become too dangerous for Mowgli and they try to connect him to a “man village.”

Lydia Bailor plays Baloo and sings “The Bare Necessities.” Baloo urges a more care-free lifestyle for Mowgli, a contrast from the message from Bagheera.

Madelyn Ingersoll is Kaa, a snake that lulls Mowgli to sleep and tries to squeeze him into submission. The snake coils include Caylin Scholes, Harli Crawford, Chloe Sabino and Annaliese Irwin.

Press Release, Yates Town Supervisor Jim Simon

YATES – The Town of Yates cancelled the Oct. 12 Town Board meeting, and apologizes to those who arrived and planned to attend the meeting.

It is rescheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall.

The public is advised that the Yates Town Board plans to vote on a resolution to approve the tentative budget for 2024 at the Oct. 18 meeting.  If the resolution passes, then the tentative budget becomes the preliminary budget for 2024 and will be subject to a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 6, at the Town Hall.

Press Release, Yates Community Library

Melissa Kate Miller, left, and Kristin Brandt will be featured on Monday at Yates Community Library.

LYNDONVILLE – The Erie Canal Traveling Museum will be the first of two featured programs at Yates Community Library in downtown Lyndonville on Columbus Day, Monday. The program begins at 11 a.m.

Gathered over decades, fascinating tools and other artifacts used in everyday life in our area in the early-to-mid-1800s will be on display. Presenter Melissa Kate Miller will shed light on how they were used, and attendees can get a hands-on look at the artifacts.

“Different Perspectives On The Erie Canal,” presented by Kristin Brandt, will be the second feature of the day (also observed as Indigenous Peoples’ Day), starting at 1 p.m.

This program will explore the differences and disputes between the local Native Americans known as the Haudenosaunee, and New York Governor DeWitt Clinton at the time of Canal construction. Respect for nature and the plant life native to the Canal corridor will also be explored.

Both programs are encouraged for ages 8 and up, and are free of charge. This programming has been made possible by the generous support of Humanities New York and Arts for Learning WNY. The library will provide snacks and water for attendees, between the two programs. For more information, please call the library at (585) 765-9041.

LYNDONVILLE – The village has been approved for $576,437 in short-term, interest-free financing for the planning, design and construction of disinfection improvements at the village’s wastewater treatment plant.

Mayor John Belson said the news is “huge” for the village which is in the process of putting in the chlorination system that was mandated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Belson said the village has tried to get government grants and financing assistance previously but wasn’t approved.

He said the new chlorination system should be in place by the end of the month.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the financing for Lyndonville this afternoon as part of $234.5 million in financial assistance for water infrastructure improvement projects across the state.

“By investing in our state’s water infrastructure, we are laying the foundation for regional growth and prosperity while protecting our natural resources,” Governor Hochul said in a press release. “This financial assistance helps ensure that cost will not be a barrier as communities across the state continue to modernize treatment systems with vital infrastructure upgrades, helping usher in a healthier, more resilient future for New York.”

School officials eyeing about $24 million in improvements, with more in next phase including possible turf field

Photo by Tom Rivers: David Kenyon, senior landscape architect, presents a rendering for a turf field at the Lyndonville, a project that school officials said will have to be pushed back for another capital project, not the one that could go to a public vote in November or December.

LYNDONVILLE – School officials are working with engineers and architects at the Wendel firm to pare down a list of projects to upgrade the school district.

An initial list of facility upgrades and site improvements at the district came in at $50 million.

That’s about twice what the district can spend with its state aid and also a district capital reserve. Lyndonville won’t pursue a project that increases local taxes, the board said at the meeting last Thursday.

The district and Wendel have grouped those projects in three phases, but some things in phase one will need to be removed to get the costs down.

School officials will try to finalize a list in the next month with the project to go to a public vote possibly in mid-November or December.

“Right now this is really big picture,” said Justin Parish, lead project architect from the Wendel firm.

He and three of his Wendel colleagues went over the costs of the project on Thursday evening with the Board of Education.

The prices listed anticipate a construction schedule two years from now in 2025 when costs are expected to be up another 16 percent, Parish said.

Lyndonville has a three-phase project to try to include all items identified to upgrade the school district.

But for now phase one tentatively includes:

The Main Street school building – $11,299,786

• replace/upgrade boiler – $5,491,248
• air-conditioning throughout building – $5,293,008
• restroom renovation – $499,777
• brick repair –$15,753

This school building was closed for a few years but reopened during the Covid pandemic in 2020-21. That building allowed Lyndonville to space out students and have in-person classes all five school days each week, while most other districts were on an alternating hybrid schedule.

Lyndonville now uses the Main Street site for ages 3 and 4 all-day prekindergarten, and first and second grades.

Housel Avenue school – $15,077,144

• demolition of annex and new build – $3,879,649
• roof replacement – $2,955,105
• replace/upgrade boiler – $1,879,445
• replace antiquated electrical panels – $1,184,868
• restroom renovation – $825,322
• upgrade generator (comm shelter) – $490,290
• secure vestibule – $81,715

Justin Parish, lead project architect, goes over the list of items identified for the school building on Housel Avenue.

Site improvements – $10,613,584 for phase one

• turf field – $3,623,190
• turf field lighting – $1,339,005
• 6-lane rubber track – $2,362,950
• softball and baseball lighting – $1,831,286
• scoreboard for turf field – $551,973
• bus garage parking lot – $511,973
• concession stand with bathrooms – $393,825

In phases 2 and 3, the list includes an accessible playground ($708,885), courtyard design ($511,973), 1,000 seat bleachers with press box ($787,650), bleachers for softball/baseball ($236,295), pickle ball court ($291,430), baseball/softball drainage ($15,753), 10-by-10 foot storage shed ($47,259) and miscellaneous site and lighting upgrades ($551,355).

Bus garage – $574,456 for a roof replacement.

In phase 3, the district should consider an overhead door replacement ($169,943), restroom addition ($70,889) and other mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades ($1.3 million).

Lyndonville already announced parts of phase one have been eliminated, including the turf field, new track and lighting and scoreboard for the turf field.

Under the current maximum cost allowances for state aid, Lyndonville would receive up to $19,572,061 in state funding for construction and another $4,582,426 for incidentals (site work and soft costs), or $24,154,487 altogether.

The construction projects identified by the school committee and Wendel officials totaled $29,522,394 (or $9,950,333 over the maximum state aid.) The incidentals totaled $21,236,830 (or $16,654,494 over the state aid).

The district’s construction committee will meet again this week to review the project and try to narrow the scope.

Parish, the lead project architect, said the construction numbers are conservative, and it’s possible the costs may be less when the project is bid which would allow Lyndonville to include more items in phase one.

Phases two and three would need to be spaced out about every five years to allow Lyndonville to be eligible for more state aid towards a capital project.

Parish suggested the costs would be in line financially for the total project by cutting most of the site improvements, and instead only doing $433,208 in that category – $393,825 for a concession stands and bathrooms, $23,630 for baseball/softball scorebooths, and $15,753 for baseball/softball drainage.

Sharon Smith, the district superintendent, said it was a “gut punch” to have to cut the new track and turf field.

“We’ve taken our hopes and dreams and tried to set priorities,” she said.

Ted Lewis, president of the Lyndonville Board of Education, listens to a presentation from engineers and architects at the Wendel firm on Thursday evening.

LYNDONVILLE – The Board on Education on Thursday approved the tax warrant for the 2023-24 school year. There are four towns that have parts of their boundaries in the school district, and the tax rates vary by more than $4 depending on whether there was a town-wide reassessment this year.

Lyndonville’s total tax levy is up 1 percent or by $46,187 to $4,664,927.

Carlton and Ridgeway both did a town-wide reassessment this year that will result in a sharp drop in the tax rates. Carlton is down from $16.56 to $12.17 per $1,000 of assessed property, while Ridgeway’s rate drops from $18.09 to $12.17.

The district also includes Yates and Gaines, which didn’t do a town-wide revaluation. The state is using equalization rates to try to ensure those property owners are paying at a rate that matches their property values.

The Gaines rate will drop from $16.56 to $16.44 while Yates is up from $15.80 to $16.44.

The district will collect 4,664,927 in school taxes from the four towns. That includes $1,300,803 from Carlton (down from $1,346,050 in 2022-23); $28,913 from Gaines (up from $28,504 in 2022-23); $664,333 in Ridgeway (down from the $674,403 in 2022-23); and $2,670,786 from Yates (up from $2,569,781 last year).

The tax rates for the Yates Community Library include Carlton and Ridgeway at 33 cents, and Gaines and Yates at 44 cents. The school district will collect $124,808 for the library.

LYNDONVILLE – The school district will be making free breakfasts and lunches available to all students this school year.

The district was accepted by the state Department of Education to be included in the Community Eligibility Provision of the National School Breakfast/Lunch Program. Lyndonville started offering the free breakfasts and lunches this summer and has served about 2,000 meals.

“That we can feed every child two meals a day that really helps our families,” said Sharon Smith, the district superintendent.

There are about 600 students in the Lyndonville district, including those in prekindergarten.

Lyndonville school officials and the Board of Education decided to apply for the program last school year, and expected Lyndonville would have to pay about $14,000.

But the state will cover the district’s share, so there won’t be any local cost for providing the meals.

To qualify for the program, a district or school building must have an Identified Student Percent (ISP) of at least 40 percent. Lyndonville is at 42 percent, Smith said. She added that 58 percent of the student body is in poverty.

The ISP isn’t determined by student eligible for free and reduced lunch. Instead it depends on SNAP and Medicaid recipients identified through the electronic direct certification matching process (DCMP) and extension of these eligibility benefits to siblings or other household members not matched. It also includes homeless children identified by the homeless liaison, Head Start students, migrant, runaway and foster children certified directly by the state or local foster agency.

Lyndonville families don’t need to register to have access to the meals, Smith said.

The Board of Education on Thursday extended its food service contract with Personal Touch Food Service, Inc. in Buffalo, increasing the amount by 3.5 percent.

The cost for breakfast will increase from $3.0640 to $3.1712 per meal, and lunch will go up from $3.5810 to $3.7063.

‘Sonny’ Dent and Gary Wakefield praised for their service

Photo by Tom Rivers

LYNDONVILLE – Gary “Sonny” Dent, left, and Gary Wakefield celebrate their retirements from Lyndonville Central School on Thursday evening.

They were recognized during the Board of Education meeting, which they had a recess for a reception for the two retirees.

Dent worked for the district for 20 years with the first 15 as a groundskeeper and the past 5 years in maintenance.

“I enjoyed everything about the job,” Dent said. “I loved the kids, and the challenges.”

He said the school district is like a family. He was grateful to be a part of it for two decades.

Dent was praised by Sharon Smith, the district superintendent.

“This place worked because of you, Sonny,” she said. “Everyone here knows it. We are eternally indebted to you.”

Board of Education member Harold Suhr said Dent is “a diamond in the rough” with great character.

“He can do anything and everything, and do it with nothing,” Suhr said. “He’s done a great job. You can’t replace him.”

Wakefield worked 23 years as a custodian for the district. He said he is very thankful for a career in a school setting.

“You see the kids everyday with their smiling faces,” he said. “I made a lot of friends with the teachers.”

Wakefield battled cancer seven years ago and he said the teachers showed him great kindness which helped him get through that health challenge.

Smith said Wakefield greets everyone with a smile and is a big part while the school looks so good.

“He is one of kindest, most thoughtful guys I’ve ever met,” Suhr said during the board meeting. “Gary, your heart is bigger than this entire school building.”

Provided photos: The Yates Community Library has received $1,890 from the Lyndonville Area Foundation for the “Rise and Shine” reading program for preschoolers. Pictured from left include Herbert Bohnet, library trustee; Emily Cebula, library director; Michele Harling, Foundation director; Robin Boyle, teacher; Valerie Wells, Foundation member; and Megan Johnson, Foundation member.

Press Release, Lyndonville Area Foundation

LYNDONVILLE – The Yates Community Library appreciates the Lyndonville Area Foundation Grant of $1,890 to be used toward the “Rise and Shine” reading program for preschoolers.

The Foundation grant will be used to assist in a series of early literacy programs for preschoolers offered at the Yates Community Library in Lyndonville known as “Rise and Shine Reading Time.” The program has been ongoing since the fall of 2018, as presented by Robin Boyle, a retired Lyndonville kindergarten teacher with 30 years of experience.

Emily Cebula, the Yates Community Library Director for 15 years, said the goal of the project is the continued growth of the young participants in a variety of skills that will prepare them for school, and for a lifetime of reading and learning enjoyment. Social and behavioral skills, communication and literary skills, confidence in being able to form questions, listening skills, understanding of story structure and sequence and visual discrimination are developed during the course to provide a stepping stone for academic learning.

Created and conducted by Robin Boyle, it will consist of three series of six programs of 45-minutes each, presented every other week, during the fall, winter and spring of 2023-2024.

Robin Boyle is shown with several preschoolers at the Yates Community Library.

Boyle plans each session to include relevant stories, songs, art projects and group activities, such as her very popular scavenger hunts. She incorporates holidays and seasonal themes into her programs and enjoys actively participating just as much as her students do.

Boyle believes the program is successful because of the commitment that parents and caregivers make to bring the children in each week, the ability to create programs that are based on the individual needs of the preschoolers in small class settings and the support of the Yates Community Library staff.

Cebula credits the success of the program to Boyle’s experience and enthusiasm. She wrote in her application to the Foundation: “The joy of sharing books with peers, of recognizing common experiences, and surprise in discovering new adventures, is a treasure to be carried throughout one’s lifetime.”

To sign up for the program, scheduled to begin in October, please contact Cebula, the library director, at (585)765-9041. The sessions are free but space is limited. Families with children age 2, 3 and 4 who are not enrolled in Universal Pre-K, as well as and homeschoolers, are welcome. Priority is given to families living in the Yates Community Library service area, which is the Lyndonville Central School District.