Photo by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Alaina Zapf, president of the Friends of the Medina Dog Park, is shown Saturday at the park at 260 North Gravel Road next to Medina’s former compost plant. She was presented with her Orleans Hub award for being an “Outstanding Citizen” of 2020. Orleans Hub wasn’t able to have its usual awards presentation as a group celebration due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

Zapf was instrumental in organizing and raising funds the dog park. She worked with village officials and contractors to get the project open last year with the initial fenced in area for dogs as well as an agility section.

The dog park is a place for dogs to socialize and get some exercise near the village. The dog park is a first in Orleans County. The park is a place for where the dogs can roam leash-free.

Zapf said there are more improvements coming, hopefully in late summer or early fall. That includes a water station for dogs to get drinks and rinse their paws. A small enclosure will also be constructed.

That fenced in area will be 100 by 100 feet. There are currently four memorial benches and two more are coming. Zapf also said security cameras will be added, as well as sponsor signs.

The Friends also want to raise funds for more agility equipment for dogs. The group’s fundraising efforts have been hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic. For more information on the Friends of the Medina Dog Park, click here.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Medina Rotary Club member Carl Tuohey (left) and President Ben McPherson are shown at the tennis courts at Medina Central School, which have been modified this weekend for a pickle ball tournament.

There are 45 participants in the tournament. Tuohey is regular pickleball player in the courts at the Knights of Columbus on Main Street, where the basketball court on the third floor is used for pickleball.

Tuohey said many local service clubs do golf tournaments. Medina Rotary wanted to embrace a growing sport and also put on a unique local tournament.

“It’s good exercise,” Tuohey said. “Anybody of any age can play it.”

In pickleball, the courts are smaller than in tennis. The pickleball court is 20 feet wide by 44 feet long. This group practices together as doubles teams on Saturday after they competed individually. They include Pete Zamniak (Medina native now in Rochester) and Sean Greif of Rochester on the left side playing against Will Soos of Buffalo and Jordan Hogan of Lockport.

Pete Zamniak returns the ball on Saturday. He said pickleball isn’t as physically taxing as tennis because the court is a smaller space. Pickleball is a test of quick reflexes and hand-eye coordination. The serve also isn’t an overheard serve like with tennis. The ball is similar to a whiffle ball, and the players use paddles, rather than rackets.

The top three individual players on Saturday include, from left: Will Soos of Buffalo, second; Jordan Hogan of Lockport, third; and Sean Greif of Rochester, first.

Jordan Hogan, right, hits the ball back over the net. Will Soos is at left.

Today there will be 16 doubles teams playing in the tournament.

Provided photo: Staff from the Emergency Department at Medina Memorial Hospital pose with Christine Nenni (the costumed character) and Michelle Wiseman from Best of Tymes Party Rentals, who donated buckets full of toys for children at the emergency department.

MEDINA – Children who are brought to the Emergency Department of Medina Memorial Hospital will find the experience a little less frightening, thanks to the generosity of two local women.

Christine Nenni and Michelle Wiseman, co-owners of Best of Tymes Party Rentals in Albion, have donated numerous buckets of small toys and activities to the Emergency Department, so that children who are brought in will have something to entertain them during a stressful situation, said Heather Smith, director of the Orleans Community Health Foundation.

Nenni and Wiseman founded their business in spite of the pandemic, because they wanted to provide a safe, fun environment where families could get together and spend quality time.

“People couldn’t go out and have fun during Covid, so we decided to bring fun safely to their homes, where they could party with family and friends they knew were safe to be around,” Nenni said. “We had two nieces who turned 13 and their parties were shot down due to the pandemic. We have developed a way to bring safe and affordable fun to everyone.”

Nenni said their party rentals,  which include a bounce house, popcorn machine, nacho station, outdoor games, snow cone machine, and more, cost one-fourth of what similar businesses in the city charge.

This spring, the women decided they wanted to help children in the area, so they contacted the Department of Social Services, Medina Central School, which has a backpack program, and the Medina hospital, and they began donating buckets of small toys.

Smith and Angela Moriarty, Emergency Department manager, couldn’t be more appreciative of the donations.

“Our ER at Medina Memorial Hospital sees around 850 children under the age of 12 in a year, so these types of donations are wonderful to bring joy to kids during a difficult time,” Smith said.

Moriarty hopes Best of Tymes Party Rentals’ gesture will prompt the community to pitch in and donate similar items. In the past, staff of the ED have been purchasing items for children out of their own pockets.

“We typically buy dollar store or Oriental Trading Company-type items, like stuffed animals, books, puzzle games, activity books, toy cars and dolls,” Moriarty said. “Sometimes families don’t want their children to bring home things they’ve played with while there were here, because of fear of infection, so it gets thrown away.”

Any items may be dropped off at the hospital’s front reception desk.

Nenni and Wiseman have developed ways to entertain children, while maintaining Covid safety precautions. At Christmas, they set up an event at their home where Santa sat on a bench on one side of the area and the children were on the other side.

At Easter, the women went to Burger King, McDonalds and Case-Nic Cookies and got items donated from each, which they included in the buckets handed out to children. The Easter Bunny (wearing one of their party rental costumes) rode in the back of their pickup truck while they drove around, mostly in the rural areas, handing out goodies.

Nenni said the idea to help children evolved from the fact Wiseman is a single mom and knows how hard it is for some families to buy even the smallest treats for their children. The women plan to continue their “bucket program” in the future and intend to contact Medina Police and Fire Department and COVA to see how Best of Tymes Party Rentals can work with them to help children.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul rows in a kayak in Medina on June 15 to promote a free kayaking program in the Erie Canal. She was joined in kayaks by Brian Stratton, state canal director; Greg Reed, director of the Orleans County YMCA; and Mike Sidari, Medina mayor.

MEDINA – The appointments have been filling up to use kayaks and hydro-bikes for free this summer in Medina. However, there are still many open slots.

The State Canal Corp. announced the 8-week program on June 15, in an event that included Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Canal Commissioner Brian Stratton, who both were in Medina for the announcement. They both tried kayaking in the canal that day, and Stratton even rode a hydro-bike.

Medina is one of five canal communities offering free “On the Canals” outdoor excursions this summer as part of the state’s Reimagine the Canals initiative. The other communities in the program include Macedon, Waterloo, Savannah and Amsterdam.

Stratton said the state is pushing to make the canal a bigger impact in the canal towns. Hochul on June 15 said the state is making a big tourism push to get New Yorkers and out-of-staters to vacation and experience sites all over the Empire State. She believes Medina will appeal to many people, especially with a historic downtown filled with local businesses.

In the new program offering kayaks and hydro-bikes, the New York Power Authority (which oversees the canal) will partner with the Orleans County YMCA. The hydro-bikes and kayaks are available to rent with appointments made online. The YMCA will lead excursions at Glenwood Lake and the Canal.

Click here to make an appointment.

Brian Stratton, state canal director, is on the hydro-bike and Greg Reed, Orleans County YMCA, is in the kayak in this photo on June 15 at Medina’s Canal Basin.

Photos courtesy of Lee-Whedon Memorial Library

MEDINA – Lee-Whedon Memorial Library had a petting zoo outside the library today to kick off a summer reading challenge, “Tails & Tales.”

The library held the petting zoo at a vacant lot it owns on North Avenue. About 500 people welcomed the chance to meet the animals and kick off a summer reading challenge.

The activities today also included tie-dye bags and eating pizza from Dubby’s Wood Fired Pizza. There will be ab outdoor family movie, Madagascar, shown later tonight at 9:30 p.m.

Spirit Wind Farm of Sanborn brought kangaroos for the event. Kristine Mostyn (center) is the Lee-Whedon director and Samantha Covis, right, is the assistant director. They meet some of the kangaroos.

Last year’s summer reading challenge didn’t include in-person activities. This summer there will be many in-person programs, both inside and outside the library.

Some of the bigger events planned this summer include:

• Outdoor Movies: July 16 & 30, Aug. 13 & 27 at 9 p.m.
• Wolcottsville Wildlife Rescue on July 28 at 11 a.m.
• Hawk Creek Wildlife on July 29 at 1 p.m.
• Cris Johnson presenting “Horror in the Library” on August 3rd at 1 p.m.

There are online reading challenges on Beanstack. Click here for more information.

MEDINA – The Village Board on Monday voted to extend an agreement with the school district where a Medina police officer will work out of the district during the school year.

The village approved a contract with the district to reimburse the Medina Police Department $72,500 during the 2021-22 school and $75,000 during 2022-23. That is up from the $70,000 this past school year and $65,000 the previous year. The contract goes to the Medina Board of Education for its approval.

In Albion, the school district pays the village $81,250 to have an officer committed at the district from Sept. 1 to June 30.

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office has an officer at Lyndonville and Kendall school districts with those districts paying $95,070 to have a deputy assigned as a school resource officer.

In other action during Monday’s Village Board meeting:

• Jada Burgess was appointed the village clerk/treasurer, replacing the retiring Debbie Padoleski. Burgess has worked 12 years in the Village Office, including eight years as Padoleski’s deputy clerk.

The board also appointed Miranda Herbert to be the new deputy clerk. She has been working as an account clerk for the village. The board approved a $55,000 annual salary for Burgess and $36,000 for Herbert.

• The board will be seeking new bids for a kayak launch with the site to be handicapped accessible. The board sought cost estimates for the project but is going through the bidding process with the launch needing to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. A grant and other state funding is expected to cover the costs of the project.

• The board approved a contract with O-AT-KA Milk Products in Batavia with Medina accepting up to 150,000 gallons from the plant weekly for two weeks. The village be paid 4 cents a gallon with 2 cents going to the sewer fund and 2 cents to the village general fund.

• Resident Roz Lind asked when gas stations aren’t allowed to post larger signs with the gas prices. They are limited to having the prices posted only at the pumps.

Mayor Mike Sidari said the Planning Board implemented that in the zoning code several years ago. He said we would pass the request to the Planning Board and seek an answer why the gas stations can’t have signs near the road with the gas prices.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Medina Mayor Mike Sidari presents a key to the Village of Medina to Debbie Padoleski in appreciation for her 41 years of work in the village clerk’s office, including the past eight years as village clerk/treasurer.

Padoleski retires on June 30. She has worked for Medina since she was 19.

Many current and former village employees and trustees attended a retirement party for Padoleski this afternoon. She joins them for a group photo outside the village clerk’s office at 119 Park Ave.

“I’ve met a lot of wonderful people,” Padoleski told the group. “This has not been a job to me. I hate to leave it but I know it’s time.”

Mayor Mike Sidari presents Padoleski with a proclamation declaring June 30, 2021 as “Debbie Padoleski Day” in Medina. That will be her last day at work.

Sidari has been the Medina mayor for five years. He praised her for provided guidance in his role as mayor.

Padoleski functions as the village’s chief financial officer. “She takes care of all the financials,” he said.

She also is a calming presence in the office, and will patiently explain tax bills and local laws to local residents.

The proclamation for Padoleski states:

“Debbie’s thorough knowledge of the day-to-day operations of the Village, including records and fiscal management, has made the Village of Medina a better place to live, work and visit. “With her dedication to the Village of Medina, Debbie has provided the Village with equitable and efficient operations that will have a long-lasting, positive influence on the Village,” states the proclamation, which is signed by Mayor Sidari and Village Trustees Owen Toale, Tim Elliott, Marguerite Sherman and Jessica Marciano.

Abundant Harvest UMC will lead activities at Knowlesville fellowship hall, while giving caregivers a rest

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Church of the Abundant Harvest in Millville in September will begin offering a monthly respite program at the church’s fellowship hall in Knowlesville. Pictured from left include Cheryl Babcock, Pastor Garry McCaffery, Jeanette Carlin (care consultant with the Alzheimer’s Association of WNY) and Ruth Higgins.

KNOWLESVILLE – A local church in September will begin offering a monthly respite program, offering four hours of activities for people with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

The program is intended to give caregivers a break while also providing socialization and fun for people with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

The Church of the Abundant Harvest needs volunteers for the program, which will provide 1-on-1 supervision for the activities. Volunteers would be needed for four hours, with the 1-on-1 supervision, or they could help in shorter stints with preparing and serving lunch, playing the piano, leading an art program or another activity. The church would also like a licensed therapy dog to be available.

Cheryl Babcock and Ruth Higgins are leading the program for the church.

“This is a need in our county,” said Babcock, who is a retired nurse. “We want to give the caregivers a rest. They are doing it 24-7, 365 days a year.”

Babcock said the church also wants to show love for people who with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child,” she said. “Well it takes a village to care for those who have gone ahead of us.”

The respite program will be based out the Abundant Harvest’s fellowship hall in Knowlesville. It will be offered the second Wednesday each month, beginning Sept. 8.

The Abundant Harvest is seeking volunteers ahead of the start of the program. There will be a four-training offered by the Alzheimer’s Association of WNY.

Other churches and organizations in WNY offer a similar respite program, including nearby in Indian Falls and Batavia, but this is the first in Orleans County that is affiliated with Alzheimer’s Association of WNY.

Jeanette Carlin, a care consultant with the Alzheimer’s Association of WNY, said the respite programs are needed for many families. There is currently a shortage of home health aides, and those that are available can cost $25 per hour which is too costly for many families.

The program at the Knowlesville fellowship hall will be free.

Volunteers and participants in the program are welcome from all backgrounds. Those interesting in volunteering can call the Church of the Abundant Harvest at (585) 798-1290 or (585) 798-3173 and leave a message with an ideal time to return the call. Or they can email the church at abundantharvestumc@gmail.com.

Photos courtesy of Kathy Blackburn: This lass poses in her faery costume during one of Medina’s Faery Festivals. Participants this year are urged to dress in their most enchanting costume.

MEDINA – Downtown Medina will witness a little bit of magic on Saturday, when the Fourth Annual Enchanted Faery Festival takes place.

Although the pandemic forced sponsors to cancel most of last year’s event, the Medina Area Partnership did hold a scavenger hunt.

This year, however, the Faery Festival will return in full force from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Information on the Faery Festival was handed out to elementary school students earlier this week.

The festival, sponsored by MAP, is open to any age, from small children to adults, all of whom are invited to dress up in their most enchanting costume.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. in Rotary Park, where pictures will be taken and a craft will be provided. Then entrants will walk through downtown, looking for 12 hidden faeries in store windows.

Six businesses – Lizzie and Lyric’s Boutique, Mandeo’s Candy Shoppe, Downtown Browsery, Della’s Chocolates and English Rose Tea Shoppe and Author’s Note book shop – will each have a craft project for entrants, in addition to Rotary Park.

A king, queen, prince and princess will be chosen. Creekside Floral and Blissett’s have agreed to provide crowns for the winners. Della’s Chocolates will provide scavenger hunt prizes.

“There is no cost to anybody – just fun,” Blackburn said.

At 1:30, the event will feature a faery dance and parade in Rotary Park.

Blackburn started the Faery Festival after hearing about one in another town, and brought the idea to Medina.

MAP’s event committee, who planned the event includes Blackburn, Ann Fisher Bale, Cindy Robinson, Wendy Wilson, Tim Elliott and Sue Fuller.

A group of costumed faeries of all ages searches for hidden faeries in store windows during a Faery Festival before last year’s pandemic.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Brenda Sills and her daughter Laura are presented with an “Honor and Remember” flag on Saturday during a ceremony at Alabama Full Gospel Church in Shelby. The flag is in honor of Steven Sills, who passed away at age 50 on March 23, 2020. Sills served with the U.S Army, 82nd Airborne Division and served a tour of duty in Iraq during Desert Storm.

The flag on Saturday was presented by Kristi Mangine, assistant director of the Honor and Remember chapter in New York State. Dan Criswell of Lockport, left, is holding the flag. His late son Daniel Criswell served as Army Ranger and also was friends with Sills. The Honor and Remember organization previously presented the Criswell family with a flag. Dan Criswell made the Sills’ family aware of the organization that seeks to honor soldiers who died in the line of duty or whose death is a result of their military service.

Steven Sills is honored in one of the hometown heroes banners in Medina. His portrait is shown on a banner on South Main Street, near Butts Park.

Sills is a 1987 Lyndonville graduate. After the Army, he earned two degrees at Fordham University in NYC.

Sills was known for a good heart and inquisitive mind. He was actively involved with WNY Mobile Overdose Prevention Services and Orleans Recovery Hope Begins Here.

Kristi Mangine discusses the symbols on the “Honor and Remember” flag, which is held by Dan Criswell and Mangine’s daughter, Cayna.

“This is our national symbol that reminds us that freedom comes at a high price and this flag is also a comfort to the families,” Mangine said.

• The Red Field represents the blood spilled by brave men and women in America’s military throughout our history, who willingly gave their lives so that we all would remain free.

• The Blue Star represents active service in military conflict. This symbol originated with World War I, but on this flag it signifies service through all generations from the American Revolution to present day.

• The White Border beneath and surrounding the gold star recognizes the purity of sacrifice. The Gold Star signifies the ultimate sacrifice of a solider in active service who will not return home. Gold reflects the value of the life that was given.

• The Folded Flag signifies the final tribute to an individual life that a family sacrificed and gave to the nation.

• The Flame is an eternal reminder of the spirit that has departed this life yet burns on in the memory of all who knew and loved the fallen hero.

Mangine has been active in the Honor and Remember organization the past five years. She said there are 1,026 soldiers and veterans in the state who are eligible for the “Honor and Remember” flags. Those soldiers either died in the War on Terror or as a result of their service, she said.

Mangine has been a part of about 300 ceremonies where the “Honor and Remember” flags were presented to families.

She also was part of a 150-mile run over three days on June 11-13. That Honor and Remember run went from Syracuse to Albany. At different stops along the way, the 1,026 names were read, including Sills’ name for the first time as part of that event.

Dave Kusmierczak attended the service with other members of the Honor Guard from Medina. They did a three-volley salute and played Taps in honor of Sills.

Brenda Sills thanked the community for its support since her son’s death. She is joined at the ceremony on Saturday by Sills’ aunt Nancy Horth and cousin Katie Smith.

Sills wants more families to be aware of the “Honor and Remember” flags.

“We want this honor to be made aware of for their fallen hero,” she said. “So many die on the battlefield, others shortly after and others live with 100 percent disability but eventually pass because of it. It is a life-changing event for any family.”

Sills said her son treasured his time in the military. But his service took a toll on his mental health.

“The greatest honor for him was to serve his country,” she said.