Chad Kenward, Shawn Houseman will serve in roles; Medina could add a third officer

Chad Kenward

MEDINA – The school district has hired two retired police officers to provide a security presence on campus this year.

The Medina Village Board, as part of its budget process last April, voted to end its contract with the school district where two Medina police officers served as a school resource officers.

The school district paid the village $82,500 towards each school resource officer. Village Board members said that didn’t fully cover the full costs of each officer, which Trustee Scott Bieliski said is about $125,000 to $130,000.

The school district has hired retired Medina Police Chief Chad Kenward and retired Brighton police officer Shawn Houseman to serve as school security. They will each be paid $53,000 for full-time work at the district this year. With the costs of insurance, FICA, Medicare, etc., the cost is close to what Medina has been paying per officer, said Dr. Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent.

Shawn Houseman

The Board of Education may add a third officer during the school year, he said.

Kenward retired as police chief in June 2023. He has served as the school resource officer before during his law enforcement career.

Houseman retired from the Brighton Police Department in 2022 after 26 years in law enforcement. His career also included nearly five years with the Medina Police Department and six years as a deputy with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

The two school safety and security officers are authorized by the district to carry a firearm while on school property.

Retiring chief will join Major Felony Crime Task Force

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Mayor Marguerite Sherman presents a plaque to Todd Draper in appreciation for a 21-year career with the Medina Police Department.

Draper is retiring on Friday as Medina police chief. He has been in that role for about two years. He was previously a lieutenant and the department’s K9 handler.

“We appreciate all that you’ve done,” Mayor Sherman told Draper during Monday’s Village Board meeting. “It’s not an easy job.”

Draper will be joining the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force as an investigator. Sherman said she is happy he will continue to be working in law enforcement within the county.

The Village Board will interview six candidates for police chief with three interviews on Sept. 2 and then three more on Sept.9.

“Twenty one years is a long time,” Trustee Jess Marciano said about Draper’s career with the Medina PD. “He’s been a dedicated department head. He’ll be missed.”

Medina Police Chief Todd Draper accepts a plaque in appreciation of his service to the Medina Police Department the past 21 years.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Terry Buchwald portrays Elvis and rides a motorcycle down Main Street in Medina on Aug. 28, 2024 for the Super Cruise. The big cruise-in is back Wednesday in Medina with Elvis.

MEDINA – The super cruise will be back on Wednesday with perennial Elvis impersonator, Terry Buchwald. About 250 classic vehicles are expected for the special cruise-in on a Main Street in Medina.

The section of Main Street north of Center Street will be closed off to traffic. Classic cars are asked not to arrive before 5 p.m. They should enter the street from the north entrance by the American Legion or the west entrance by Zambistro off Pearl Street.

All makes and models are welcome, said Rollin Hellner, who has helped coordinate the cruise-in this year. Most of the events have been on Friday evenings at 615 West Ave., the parking lot for the senior center across from The Walsh.

Hellner owns The Walsh, which is the sponsor of the cruise-ins for the second year.

There will be awards in 20 categories including:

• Best Custom Truck – All years
• Best Custom Car – All years
• Best Modern American Car – Post 1985
• Best Original/Stock – All years
• Best Muscle Car – All years
• Best Drift Build – All years
• Best 4×4 – All years
• Best Lowrider – All years
• Best Motorcycle – All years
• Best Street/Hot Rod – All years
• Best Ford/Mercury – All years
• Best Mopar – All years
• Best GM – All years
• Best Jeep – All years
• Best European – All years
• Best JDM – All years
• Best Sports Car – All years
• Sponsor’s Choice (The Walsh) – All years
• Judge’s Choice – All years
• Best In Show – All years

It cost $10 to enter a vehicle for the judging. There is no charge for the public to come check out the cars and listen to the music.

Photo from Medina Police Department

SANBORN – Medina police officer Alex Villegas was among the graduates on Friday of the Niagara County Law Enforcement Academy. He will next complete supervised field training prior  to working on his own at the Medina Police Department.

Pictured from left include Lt. Christian Navas, Alex Villegas and Police Chief Todd Draper.

Law enforcement officers from Niagara, Orleans and Genesee counties were part of the 84th Basic Course for Police at the academy, which was about 6 months of education and training.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Lee-Whedon Memorial Library celebrated a ground-breaking today on a 4,785-square-foot addition on the back of the current library, which is 11,100 square feet.

The addition will create space for two meeting rooms, two tutoring rooms, a programming room with makerspace, Friends of the Library book sale room, a quiet research room, a teen room and 14 parking spots.

There would also be additional restrooms, a new circulation desk, a new entry portico with automatic sliding doors, about a 10 percent increase in the collection and upgraded technology.

Library officials break ground with ceremonial shovels today. From left include trustees Steve O’Dea, Dave Schwert, Board President Cynthia Kiebala, trustees Isabella mark and Kathy Boice, and library director Kristine Mostyn.

The new addition is expected to be ready in September 2026.

Library Director Kristine Mostyn thanked the community for its support thus far for the addition.

The project is under the $5.2 million that was presented to the community for a Dec. 10, 2024 bond vote. That passed 223-214.

Mostyn said the total are now projected to be $4,980,323.

The construction bids totaled $3,892,623 with the following working on the project: Javen Construction of Rochester, general construction; TME Excavating of Hilton, site work; McGrain Mechanical of Rochester, HVAC; Erie Electric of Rochester, electric; LMC Industrial of Dansville, plumbing.

There also are expenses for soft costs – permits, legal, bonding, utility fees, inspections, and furniture, fixtures and equipment.

Jeanne Tuohey, a trustee for the Nioga Library System, praised Lee-Whedon for securing about $2 million in state funding towards the expansion, which also included acquiring two lots next door and demolishing the houses. The state is paying $1,669,444 of the construction costs for the addition.

Tuohey said libraries are much more than books. She said with the new meeting rooms and programming space, Lee-Whedon will become an even bigger community hub.

The expansion will go on the back of the current library, where there will also be a parking lot with 14 spaces.

The library is trying to raise $500,000 through a capital campaign in donations and already has 65 percent committed towards the project. Click here to see more on that campaign.

There is one anonymous donor at $50,000. Western New York Energy also gave $25,000. Jim and Barb Hancock also donated $25,000 and the new teen room will be named in their honor.

The library anticipates $2,839,556 in financing which would result in a tax impact of $34 per $100,000 of assessed property.

There were several people in the library today for the annual used book sale.

Many of the library events are in the open space inside. The “maker space” will be a separate room for some of the programs. The concerts will still be in the bigger open space.

The library received citations and commendations for breaking ground on the capital project. From left include Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislature chairwoman; Julia Bauer, community liaison for State Sen. Rob Ortt; library director Kristine Mostyn; and Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

The front entrance will be upgraded as part of the project.

Passero Associates created this rendering of the front of the building, which includes an overhang near the entrance. This is part of a $5 million capital project at the library, which includes a 4,785-square-foot addition.

Provided photos

MEDINA – Dave Kusmierczak, left, accepts a $2,400 check on behalf of the Orleans County Joint Veterans Council from Dave Berry, president of the VFW Auxiliary to Lincoln Post 1483.

The van service is utilized by the veterans who need rides to medical appointments. They are taken to appointments by volunteer drivers.

The VFW Auxiliary 1483 held a chicken barbecue in May to support some of the programs the veterans and service members use in the community. The VFW Auxiliary would like to thank the community for supporting their Chicken BBQ, making this donation possible.

Dave Berry, president of the VFW Auxiliary to Lincoln Post 1483, is shown with one of the vans used to take veterans to medical appointments.

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Village of Medina has been offered a vacant lot at 115 Pearl St. The site is next to the Hometown Wellness Center.

MEDINA – The village has been offered a 100-by-132 foot vacant lot at 115 Pearl St.

The village can have it for free. It is being offered by 415 West Avenue LLC, which is owned by Dr. Syed Shah, a cardiologist.

Dr. Shah initially offered the land for the Medina Fire Department but that lot isn’t a good fit for the fire department, Mayor Marguerite Sherman said. The village instead could use it as a municipal lot.

The site used to have a structure on it, but that building was taken down several years ago.

The lot is between the Hometown Wellness Center at 119 Pearl St. and MDS Consultants at 105 Pearl St.

The village is doing a deed and title search on the property at 115 Pearl Street to ensure there isn’t a lien on it. That should cost less than $1,000.

The land about a decade ago was owned by Vincent Cardone and the Cardone Family Trust. The lot is currently assessed at $10,200.

The Village Board agreed to not have any citations go to the owner for tall weeds and grass while the property is in the process of being acquired.

The village is doing a title search to make sure there are no liens on the property.

Money goes to Cat by Cat Inc. that works with feral cat problem in Orleans County

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Caturday volunteers Shannon Blount, Ellen Blanc and Kelsey Dreisbach are shown at the Caturday fundraiser on Sunday where 184 baskets were up for raffle.

The event raised $29,000 for Cat by Cat Inc., which eclipsed the $24,000 from a year. Canalside has now hosted the fundraiser four years, raising $10,000 in 2022 and $18,000 in 2023.

Blount leads the local Cat by Cat Inc. that is trying to rein in the feral or community cat problem in Orleans County.

Cat by Cat seeks to humanely “TNVR” cats through targeted trapping. Cat by Cat focuses on a TNVR model – Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return.

The team in Orleans County cares for about 150 cats a year. The last four years the local Cat by Cat has tended to 600 to 700 cats and adopted out about 100 a year.

“It’s a quality of life issue not only for the cats but for the community as well,” Blount said. “Nobody wants 100 stray cats wandering around.”

There were 184 gift baskets up for raffle. There were so many, the basket raffle was moved from outside Canalside Tattoo to a tent for the raffle.

That is up from the 150 baskets a year ago. Blount said many local businesses and residents contributed baskets to help support the cause.

Feral or community cats are a big problem all over the county, Blount said.

“Until you get the cats neutered and vetted, the cycle just continues,” she said.

The Caturday fundraiser will help pay for veterinarian costs, cat food, litter and other supplies.

Once a week Blount and volunteers take cats to vets in Blasdell and Hamburg for spay and neutering services, which is done at a deep discount.

“We absolutely need more volunteers to help drive,” Blount said.

To inquire about volunteering, go to the Cat by Cat website.

Canalside had 13 tattoo artists doing tattoos on Sunday for $100 each. They would do about 125 tattoos.

Shawn Ramsey, owner of Canalside Tattoo, works on a Buffalo Bills tattoo for Chris Barrett of Lockport. Barrett was at Canalside for the first time on Sunday and was impressed with the atmosphere of the place, and the push to raise money for a cause in the community.

Barrett believes the Buffalo Bills will win the Super Bowl for the first time in their history this season.

‘This is the year,” he said. “It’s gonna happen.”

Shawn Ramsey, who is engaged to Shannon Blount, praised the tattoo artists for volunteering their time on Sunday. Canalside has six tattoo artists on staff, and seven other visiting artists were part of the day, as well as piercers and Marked. by Janna doing eyebrow wax and shaping.

C.J. Cruickshank, one of the tattoo artists at Canalside, works on a tattoo for Olivia Miller, 21, during Caturday. Miller also got a tattoo a year ago on Caturday. That raccoon tattoo has prompted by smiles and fun conversation in the past year, Miller said.

On Sunday, her new tattoo was of a cat falling asleep while reading a book. Miller said the tattoo was a birthday present from her father.

“It’s fun getting a silly animal tattoo,” she said.

Miller also wanted to support Cat by Cat which has helped her family with two cats.

Medina will perform show, ‘Fragile World’

Photos by Natalie Baron: Medina Marching Band students perform on Thursday. The band has 80 students this year, including 16 newcomers.

By Natalie Baron, Orleans Hub intern

MEDINA— The Medina Marching Band on Thursday gave the community with a preview of their upcoming performances. The band offered a sneak peak in the high school parking lot next to the band barn.

The marching band program features students from the junior-senior high school, grades 7-12. This year, the program has 80 kids, including lots of rookie members. The 16 rookies stepped forward to be recognized during their first band camp. There are 4 seniors this year: Hagen Van Leuven, Natalie Herbert, Mackenzie Poynter and Lyla Page.

Each year, the band develops a performance with a different theme.

“The theme is called ‘Fragile World,’” Director Matt Jaeger described. “It’s ‘The Way We Were,’ so it starts out dark and mysterious. You won’t hear them tonight, but there’s voiceovers that talk about how we are fragile and frail as a society. Then, it works into the end, which is joyous.”

Director Matt Jaeger speaks with the crowd of parents and other band supporters.

Medina will host the Home Show on Saturday, Sept. 20, with 11 bands part of the show. It will be the third week of the season and the band’s second show. During the season, the band will go to West Seneca, Medina, Oswego, Webster, Victor, Orchard Park and conclude at the dome in Syracuse.

Jaeger could not be prouder of the students. “These kids have worked hard this week,” he lauded. “It was really hot Monday and Tuesday, but they pushed through, and it’s exciting to watch them grow from the beginning all the way to where we are now. So, it’s a long week, but it’s a rewarding week. And this is the hardest week of the season. After this, it gets a little easier. It’s not as hot, the days aren’t as long. We have less time, but it’s like a breath, because we do a lot this week, and we go a little slower and easier for the rest of the time. It’s pretty cool.”

Color guard and the band together create quite the show.

Senior Drum Major Lyla Page remarked about the program, “It’s really great! As soon as you get into the Medina school district, you know it’s gonna be a music school. We rely very heavily on the arts, and being part of the marching band is just so fun, because there’s so many great supporters of it. As you can see, there’s a lot of parents! It’s a very involved community, so I really enjoy it.”

There was a sizeable crowd in attendance this Thursday.

Lyla conducts for the band positioned near the back row. “I do a lot of helping people with drill, do their feet and time, and I mainly just stand up there and wave my arms in time with the music. But, it’s also harder than it seems, because you have to remember all the cues and all the time signature changes. So, it can be pretty difficult.”

The band highlights a number of students in solos.

The drumline, pit percussionists, and color guard receive an extra day of practice to prepare them to work seamlessly with the rest of the marching band

“Because there’s so many different moving parts, we start them a little bit differently,” Front Ensemble Instructor Tiffany Organisciak said. “In the summertime, we’ll usually run a pit, battery, and guard rehearsal by itself, and then Thursday will be everyone.” 

The band works tirelessly to ensure the performances come together.

Money drop offs for registration, shoes, and fundraisers will take place on Tuesdays during the first half hour of practice, to be collected by a Booster. To sign up for the fall shows, reach out to Chaperone Chair Meghan Tuttle. The winner of the Fall Cash Raffle will be announced during the Home Show on September 20.

The band groups got together to share a cheer before dismissal for the day.

Loud situations can be handled with disorderly conduct law

MEDINA – The Village Board has decided against pursuing a new local ordinance for noise, saying the issue can best be resolved with discretion of police officers who could instead issue disorderly conduct tickets.

Otherwise the village police should have sound meters to measure decibel levels, and would lose some subjectivity in assessing the situations.

Village Trustee Mark Prawel, a retired Medina police officer, said he faced noise complaints as an officer. He typically handled them with disorderly conduct charges if he felt a ticket was warranted. There is already a state law for noise levels in neighborhoods.

Mayor Marguerite Sherman said a local law could “open up a can of worms” with unintended consequences, such as putting the marching band and fireworks displays in a threshold where tickets could be issued.

Trustee Jess Marciano was looking into a noise ordinance. She said some clear parameters would provide clarification on a sometimes murky situation. But she said she respects the feelings of the board members.

Prawel said a local noise ordinance would be a hinderance for the police officers.

“The go-to (in these situations) is the disorderly conduct law,” he said.

Aug. 20 meeting focused on Fire Department to be rescheduled

Medina Mayor Marguerite, left, and Village Trustee Debbie Padoleski disagree on which steps are needed for the Medina Fire Department.

MEDINA – Village Trustee Debbie Padoleski aired out her frustrations with the ongoing saga on how the village will house a new ladder truck, due to arrive in December in a fire hall that is too small.

“We’re not all on the same page,” Padoleski said during Monday’s board meeting. “I’m going in different directions and you’re going in different directions and nothing is getting done.”

Mayor Marguerite Sherman said she has been putting in many hours trying to secure more money for the village and keep the projects moving. The board voted last month to pursue a $1 million state grant to help with the costs of an addition. Padoleski opposed it saying the grant still leaves the village to pick up some of the costs.

“We have a fully operational fire department that needs equipment to run,” Sherman said. “Right now we have to move forward and equip our firefighters with what they need.”

The board back on June 26, 2023 voted to accept the bid for $1,698,995 from Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, Wisc. to build the new fire truck with a 100-foot-long ladder.

That truck would be too big to fit in the existing fire hall. The current truck from 1996 only has a couple inches of clearance in entering and leaving the fire hall. The truck is 10 feet, 4 inches high in a truck bay with 10 feet,, 6 inches of clearance. The new ladder truck will be 13 feet high. A new hall addition is eyed to have clearance up to 14 feet.

The board voted to go ahead because the 2 ½ year wait for the truck to be ready gave them time to get an addition built for the new truck. Village officials expected the addition to have a much shorter turnaround than the fire truck, where manufacturers have lengthy waits.

Medina was planning on a $4.5 million project that would add two bays with a  fire hall addition and also fix many problems in the existing building. But the estimates ended up topping $6 million.

The board scaled it back to just a one-bay addition at just over $1 million.

But Padoleski, who was elected in March 2024, thinks the one-bay addition may be the wrong approach. She has tried to get the board to rescind the fire truck purchase and rethink the entire project.

“This has been mishandled from the very beginning,” Padoleski said. “I’ve been trying to get you out of this mess. You just don’t trust me. You don’t trust my judgement.”

The board was planning an Aug. 20 meeting to go over the project with its engineer and financial consultant, but Padoleski said she wasn’t pushing for more details on the fire truck and addition. She is questioning the overall costs on the village, and making that commitment on new debt for 20 more years. That Aug. 20 meeting will be rescheduled in the near future so the board can try to pinpoint its next steps.

Padoleski is retired as the village clerk/treasurer. She has long expressed the need for more revenue for the village to fund its services so the village residents and businesses aren’t bearing so much of the cost, especially with Medina personnel often going outside the village.

Mayor Sherman said the fire truck is coming and is needed. She is trying to find a spot to house the truck temporarily while the board plots its next steps with an addition at the fire hall.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Medina ladder truck from 1996 is shown in March 2023 when the fire department had an open house showing the tight quarters at the fire hall, especially for the ladder truck which only has 2 inches of clearance in pulling in and out of the fire hall. A new truck is due to arrive in December.

Padoleski said she has been wrongly branded as opposing the fire department. She said getting more assistance from the nearby towns and county will help ensure its survival with paid staff. She also said the department may need to pare down expenses.

Trustee Jess Marciano said the board members are all working for the best in the community, but the village is facing a difficult challenge in providing services to the community. Those costs are going up but the village doesn’t have more revenues coming in.

“If the surrounding municipalities would contribute more, it wouldn’t be an issue,” she said. “The goal is to maintain the service without breaking the back of the village.”

Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates each give $35,000 towards Medina’s full-time ambulance service.

Padoleski said the Medina firefighters often are going outside of western Orleans with recent calls in Wolcottsville and Lockport.

The mayor noted Orleans County is in the midst of a study on how to best provide EMS and fire protection in the county, looking at the current situation and trying to anticipate the future. She would like to wait and see the recommendations from the study before talking about changes with the Medina Fire Department.

Padoleski said the needs are already known: more revenue for the village if it’s going to continue as a career fire department.

“People appreciate our fire department but they need to put their money where their mouth is,” she said.

Marciano said the village officials need to communicate with the nearby towns and county about the need for more help with funding, especially now that the towns and county are starting their budget process for 2026. The village could use a boost in the local sales tax revenues. The County Legislature hasn’t increased the share to towns and villages since 2001 – 24 years ago.

Padoleski said she fully supports working to get more funding for village services.

“It sounds wonderful,” she said. “I’m all for it.”

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board hired two full-time firefighters on Monday while accepting the resignation of another firefighter.

The two additions and one departure will bring staffing up to 16 full-time. That fills all of the positions except for a vacant fire chief spot. The department was at 21 – fire chief plus 20 other firefighters – until the department was reduced by four full-time employees during the recent budget process.

The new additions include David Pilecki of North Tonawanda, an EMS lieutenant with the Shawnee Volunteer Fire Company in Sanborn, and Frank Golojuch, who has five years’ experience as a firefighter and with EMS at Kodak Fire Department and Seabreeze Fire Department.

The board accepted the resignation of Nick Lee, effective Sept. 28.

Board members said they are concerned the fire department is already halfway through its budget for overtime, and that’s only after about two months of the village fiscal year.

Board members asked Lt. Steve Cooley for detailed reports on overtime due to fire and EMS calls, and also for providing community outreach through public events and fire prevention.

Trustee Debbie Padoleski would like to see the requests for community events, but she said she doesn’t want the board to be “micro-managing” the department.

“I don’t want to say no to everything but I don’t want to say yes to everything, either,” she said about the requests for firefighters to do fire prevention and attend other events.

The Medina fire chief would typically manage those requests for firefighters. Mayor Marguerite Sherman and the board said future budgets should have a line item for overtime for firefighters to do fire prevention and be at other events.

Cooley said the department is applying for a fire prevention grant that could help cover staff time for working with students and other community members on prevention.

Trustee Mark Prawel suggested volunteer firefighters could be part of the fire prevention and community outreach effort as well.

Rollin Hellner proposes to make 40-foot yacht available as Airbnb

Photo courtesy of Rollin Hellner: The owner of this 40-foot-long boat would like to make it available in Medina’s Canal Basin as a short-term rental for overnight stays.

MEDINA – Two weeks after approving a lease to allow a boat as an overnight rental in the Canal Basin, the Medina Village Board has received a new request in a similar arrangement.

Rollin Hellner wants to make a 40-foot-long yacht available as an Airbnb for short-term rentals. Hellner asked that the board agree to a lease that matches the one approved July 28 for Erie Floatel, LLC of Medina.

Erie Floatel can use of the floating dock on south end of the canal for $220 for the season, plus another $100 for electric and water consumption. Erie Floatel will be operated by Andrew Meier and Svein Lilleby. The lease runs from Memorial Day to Oct. 31, 2025. The Erie Floatel boat is 24 feet long.

The Village Board on Monday said it wants more time to consider the lease arrangement. Hellner asked that his boat be allowed in the Basin near the former NAPA building. But Mayor Marguerite Sherman said a large barge will be coming there soon as part of the Medina Triennial art initiative for 2026. She said other vessels also use the basin and she doesn’t want to see the basin get maxed out.

Medina may need to add more docks in the future, she said.

The board said Hellner’s boat would be better sited further east along Manilla Place, in an area close to the back of the Captain Kidz restaurant. That area is underutilized right now by boats. Hellner said that would work fine for his boat.

The board wants more time to consider the lease agreement and also reach out to the Canal Corp. for guidance in the matter. Sherman said the entrepreneurial interest is welcome at the Canal Basin. She just wants to make sure there is balance for other boaters and users.

She said the Village Board is working hard to accommodate the proposals and initiatives that will bring more vitality and economic activity to the village.

She said some people complained to the Canal Corp. about how the board handled the lease arrangement with the Erie Floatel, which the mayor said put a “black eye” on Medina with the Canal Corp.

“Moving forward I hope we can all be more supportive of each other,” she said.

Rollin’s Hellner’s father, Brian Hellner, runs the North Star Cruises business, offering boat rides in the canal. He shared concerns in village meetings about Erie Floatel, saying the boat should be inspected for safety before being made available to the public. Hellner told the board in recent meetings he didn;t think Medina had treated him fairly. He cited the village offering utilities to Erie Floatel and not to his business. The board has since said North Star could have access to utilities, too.

Brian Hellner said he doesn’t have any role with his son’s business proposal with the house boat.

Rollin Hellner said there is room for everyone to succeed in the basin. He said his boat will cater to a different market than the Erie Floatel. Hellner has a bigger, more luxurious boat that will accommodate more people and charge a higher price.

“There’s a lot of people who want to come to Medina,” Hellner told the board during Medina’s meeting. “It would be nice for Medina to have a yacht there. It’s different. It’s something new.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: This photo from Thursday evening shows several boats tied up along the wall at Medina’s Canal Basin.