Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Riki Lake models a wedding gown during today’s Blissett’s Specialty Shop Wedding & Prom Showcase at the Medina United Church, which uses the former Apple Grove Inn for its church. The circular arch and barrels were provided by The Wed Shed of Lyndonville, one of the vendors at the show.

The church sanctuary was turned into a venue for a fashion show, featuring wedding gowns, and prom and bridesmaid dresses, as well as tuxedos. The two young men in tuxedos are Ricky Pitts, left, and William Braswell. They wore tuxedos provided Daniel’s Men’s Apparel in downtown Medina.

Sarah Martin models one of the wedding dresses.

The Apple Grove used to host a bridal show. Today’s event was believed to be the first bridal show in Medina in 15 years.

Jaye Sullivan, owner of Blissett’s, teamed with Larry Eastlack, pastor of the church, to put on today’s event, which included several other volunteers. They all wanted to showcase the many businesses in the Medina area that provide services for weddings and other special occasions.

Jaye Sullivan puts a corsage on Nate Sherman, one of the models for tuxedos during today’s fashion show.

Michelle Lewis was one of the models during today’s hour-long fashion show featuring dresses and gowns from Blissett’s.

Lindsay Fulwell models one of the gowns that could be wore for a prom or as a bridesmaid’s dress.

Owen Toale served as emcee for the fashion show, which was attended by about 100 people in the church sanctuary.

Darian Kinney walks down the center aisle to model a wedding dress.

Kelsey Evoy gets help with her dress while heading down the steps during the fashion show.

Hannah Willard models a dress that could be wore for a special occasion.

Susan Fuller, owner of Della’s Chocolates in Medina, was among the vendors at the show.

Larry Eastlack, pastor of the United Methodist Church, and Robin Wehling, a member of the church, announce a raffle winner during the first hour of the bridal and prom show today.

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Photo and information courtesy of Medina Mustang Band: The Medina JV Winter Guard is shown competing Saturday at East Syracuse-Minoa.

Medina’s Junior Varsity & Varsity Winter Guard traveled to East Syracuse-Minoa on Saturday to compete in a show sponsored by the Mid-York Colorguard Circuit.

There are two major organizations in the state that sponsor winter guards. They are the North East Color Guard Circuit & the Mid-York circuit. From their names one can see there is a geographical divide, but overall the basic requirements and judging criteria are the same.

Guards connected to a particular circuit can perform in the other one as well. Each guard has 8 minutes to get their floor and props set up, perform their show and then pick up their equipment and exit the floor.

Medina’s JV guard competed in Scholastic RA and came in 5th with a score of 62.16 out of seven guards in this class. First place went to a guard from Homer with a score of 71.25.

The Varsity guard competed in the Scholastic A2 class and came in 3rd with a score of 66.56 out of four guards in this group. First place went to the Northstars with a score of 69.35. Scholastic A consists of nine guards and they were divided into three groups based on their skill levels.

Medina’s next competition is March 2 at Lancaster followed by the home show on March 9.

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RIDGEWAY – The Medina Theatre on Main Street in Medina is collecting clothes and household items for a Ridgeway family that lost all their belongings in a house fire on Monday.

Larry and Corina Sword and their two teen-age daughters moved into an apartment on Friday. They could use household goods, furniture, bed linens, dishes and clothing.

Those items could be dropped off at Medina Theatre, 603 Main St. People are welcome to drop off gift cards as well.

Amy Herman, the theatre manager, welcomes phone calls or text messages so she can assure people she is at the theatre or to give sizes for the clothes. Call her at 585-205-3760 for more information.

“A community only feels love when we all come together,” Herman said in a Facebook post. “Let’s show this family that the community that they live in and love is willing to give back and help in their time of need.”

Herman also is looking for someone with a truck to help deliver any larger items.

The Swords lived at 3358 Bates Rd. Their house has been declared a total loss.

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Photo by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – West Center Street (Route 31) in Medina is littered with potholes. The freeze and thaw cycle is wreaking havoc on the pavement.

I think the stretch of Route 31 in the village of Medina may be the most pothole-plagued in the county.

It’s been too cold for highway crews to get out and effectively patch the potholes.

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MEDINA – The Village of Medina will be getting $55,000 from the Orleans Economic Development Agency to build a new pedestrian bridge over Oak Orchard Creek on Maple Ridge Road.

The EDA’s board of directors approved the allocation on Friday. The money comes from a revolving loan fund that needs to be phased out.

Medina also will use $130,000 from the Town of Shelby for the bridge. That $130,000 also is from the revolving loan fund through the EDA.

The state is making the economic development agencies around the state close out the funds. The remaining funds can stay local if there is a project identified by March 31. The projects need to serve low-to-moderate income residents, or improve handicapped accessibility at a public space.

If a project isn’t identified that meets the state criteria, the funds need to be sent back to Albany.

The section of Maple Ridge by the creek has become busier with a housing development, several new businesses and also the GCC campus center. There are also about 200 available acres in the area being promoted for development by the EDA.

The pedestrian bridge and sidewalks on Maple Ridge have been sought by the village for several years but Medina didn’t receive grants for the project.

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Courtesy of Cobblestone Suites: The proposed 58-room hotel in Medina will look similar to this Cobblestone Suites hotel in Pennsylvania.

MEDINA – Developers of a proposed 58-room hotel on Maple Ridge Road are looking at a late spring to summer ground-breaking on the project.

The new Cobblestone Inn and Suites hotel will be on Maple Ridge Road, next to Pride Pak and almost across the street from Genesee Community College.

Cobblestone said the project will be $6,750,000, which includes paying the EDA $50,000 for 5 acres of land. The hotel owner estimated it would create 12 full-time jobs the first its open with an average salary of $29,000. The project will create 275 construction jobs.

The 3-story hotel would be Cobblestone’s first project in New York. It will be the first chain hotel in the county and is expected to keep more visitors in the county for overnight stays, boosting occupancy and sales taxes. The occupancy tax is used to promote tourism in the county.

The Orleans Economic Development Agency on Friday approved a $250,000 loan to Medina Hospitality LLC for furniture, equipment and fixtures for the project. The Orleans EDA approved the loan through its Orleans Revolving Loan Fund. That fund is being phased out and this will likely be the last loan through the program.

BriMark Builders has been working on the project in Medina for a few years. It secured Planning Board approval from the Village of Medina and Orleans County in 2017. BriMark is based in Neenah, Wisc.

Cobblestone Inn and Suites has built about 80 hotels with most of them in small towns, typically working with investors in the host community. An investor from Pennsylvania is leading the effort to build the project in Medina.

The project includes 65 parking spots, an access drive, outdoor patio, sidewalks, dumpster enclosure, and an optional future gravel truck parking area.

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Photo courtesy of Medina Marching Band

VICTOR – Medina’s varsity winter guard team is shown competing Saturday in Victor. Medina came in second with 65.60, which was behind Corning Painted Post with 65.96.

Victor hosted its 20th annual winter guard show and all 3 of Medina’s guards competed.  Winter guard is a hybrid performance art form that combines elements of music, dance and military-like precision marching.  Winter guard came into existence 30 years agond is an international sport.

In the Novice class Medina took 1st place (no numerical scores). In the RA class, Medina came in 2nd with 57.10, bested by Eastridge with 58.35.

In other classes Victor came in 1st in Cadets with 55.56; Geneseo in Senior class with 45.70;  Batavia 1st in A1 with 64.70; Gates-Chili in Independent A with 71.25; Victor in Scholastic Open with 72.0;  Lancaster in Independent Open with 68.40; and the Brigadiers in Independent World with 74.20. (The ARC of Yates performed in exhibition and it was obvious how much this group of adults put their hearts into performing.)

Medina’s next competition is Feb 16 at East Syracuse Minoa. Medina’s home show is March 9.

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Joe Sidari is the son of Medina mayor

Michelle and Joe Sidari will be featured on House Hunters tonight at 10 as they look for their home in the Rochester area.

A Medina native and his wife will be featured on the “House Hunters” show tonight at 10. Joe and Michelle Sidari look at three houses before making their choice.

The couple shares their journey in whittling down debt to be in a position to buy a house.

The couple met at St. John Fisher College, where Joe played football. They both graduated in 2009. Joe is a business teacher at the Ganada school district. His wife sells Mary Kay cosmetic products.

They have been married since 2010.

Joe is the son of Medina Mayor Mike Sidari and his wife Brenda.

“They’re very busy and they have a lot of fun together,” Mike Sidari said. “I can’t wait to go to the viewing party to watch it.”

The mayor said he watched some of the taping of the show. He was told for every 500 minutes of footage, only 5 minutes will be aired. The TV crew was with Joe and Michelle for five days.

The HGTV show is on Spectrum Cable Channel 56 and Channel 44 in Medina.

House Hunters promotes the episode by saying: “First-time buyers are on the hunt for a home in Rochester, New York. She’s looking for a place with a home office near the city but he’s hoping for a big backyard and a little privacy farther out. Most of all, this young couple just needs more room to start their family.”

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