‘A big benefit is the mind/body connection. Yoga cultivates an awareness of yourself so you are more aware of things happening with your body.’ – Kaylin McCarthy

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Kaylin McCarthy and daughter Amelia, 6, demonstrate the art of yoga at the Orleans County YMCA in Medina, where Kaylin will give free lessons beginning Tuesdays in March.

MEDINA – A “Teaching for Equity” grant from the Yoga Alliance will fund a series of free yoga lessons by Kaylin McCarthy at the Orleans County YMCA in Medina.

The Yoga Alliance is a nonprofit membership trade and professional organization for yoga teachers, headquartered in Arlington, Va.

McCarthy, an Albion resident, is a registered Yoga teacher, a title in the United States that designates a yoga teacher who has received a certain standard of yoga teacher training at a registered Yoga school.

McCarthy has always been intrigued by people and early in her career she trained in social therapy.

“We looked at food they were eating and exercise they were getting, and that resonated with me,” she said.

She and her husband Patrick lived for 10 years at Heartbeet Life Sharing in Vermont, a community of people with special needs.

“We lived and worked with the adults on the farm there,” McCarthy said. “All had special needs. Some couldn’t eat without help, yet everybody contributed what they could.”

While there, she trained in yoga at Kripalu, the largest retreat and yoga school in North America.

When Patrick and Kaylin decided to make a move, they chose to come to Western New York. Housing was scarce and expensive in Vermont and they had family in Rochester and Niagara Falls, so settling in Albion was a perfect location. They arrived in December 2020 with their three children: Alden, now 9; Amelia, 6; and Etta, 5.

Kaylin, 36, has always loved yoga. She explains its benefits, especially breath work.

“It takes you from ‘fight’ to ‘flight,’” she said. “Modern science has proven most people are stuck in a fight or flight mode, and yoga takes you out of that and gives you the opportunity to reset. It has physical benefits of moving and stretching your body. A big benefit is the mind/body connection. Yoga cultivates an awareness of yourself so you are more aware of things happening with your body.”

She said she is ADHD and when her three children were under 3, she had anxiety. She was diagnosed with chronic exhaustion and fatigue.

“Yoga got me out of that state,” she said. “I understand the struggles people are going through. My work is based on my personal healing journey.”

Kaylin McCarthy and 6-year-old daughter Amelia love practicing yoga together.

Kaylin works with school districts and has taught a mindfulness class for teachers. She hopes to teach Kaliedoscope ME, a social, emotional learning platform that builds character, instills life-enhancing values and promotes healthy choices, similar to “Best Buddies” or “Big Brother, Big Sister” programs.

Kaylin began her yoga classes at the YMCA in Medina in October, and has seen a steady increase in attendance, she said. She has five neighbors in Albion who have adopted a regular yoga regimen, one of whom is in the 80s, she said. She even has inspired them to eat regular eat kale.

In January, she added a second yoga class.

The grant-funded yoga classes will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday from March through May. They are open to all ages. She currently opens her classes to individuals 5 to 85. Anyone interested in joining the classes just has to show up at the YMCA by 5:30 p.m.

The classes are suited for all ages, and chairs are available for those who may need to sit to practice.

All mats and materials are provided for the grant-funded classes. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and bring a bottle of water.

Kaylin explained the “Teaching for Equity” grant is available to teachers serving under-represented populations. She said a lot of yoga studios shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic and have not reopened. She also offers classes remotely.

“I want everyone to have access to these classes and the benefits they provide,” she said.

District seeks upgrades at 3 school buildings, plus bus garage

Conceptual renderings from Medina Central School: This shows a proposed new media center in the Oak Orchard Primary School.

MEDINA – The school district will seek the community’s approval on Feb. 14 for a $34,357,277 project that includes significant work at the three school buildings, plus the bus garage.

There won’t be any new taxes as part of the capital project. District officials said the cost will be covered through $29,895,213 from state building aid (87 percent of the total cost), $2,750,000 from capital reserve and $1,712,064 by retiring debt service payments, resulting in a “tax neutral” financing plan, district superintendent Dr. Mark Kruzynski said in a letter to the community on the district website.

“Major reconstruction and mechanical upgrades for our aging pool were identified among our most critical asset preservation needs,” Kruzynski said in his letter. “In addition, key educational program goals of this project include renovations to our music, technology, and STEAM spaces. The project will also address important safety and security improvements at all school entrance vestibules and main offices. Rehabilitation and reconstruction of our intercampus roadways, parking areas, and bus loops will further improve safety and circulation for parents, students, and staff.”

Doing the projects as part of a capital plan will make the district eligible for state aid, covering the majority of the costs. If the project is voted down, Medina would still need to proceed with some of the “critical safety requirements and building preservation needs,” Kruzynski said. However, not doing the work in a capital project would put the full cost on district taxpayers, he said.

There will be a public information meeting on Monday, Feb. 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the junior-senior high school auditorium. The vote will be from noon to 8 p.m. on Feb. 14 in the district office board room.

Eligible voters must be at least 18 and a resident of the school district for at least 30 days prior to the vote.

Here is a breakdown of the capital project:

Junior/Senior High School – $17,324,760

• Reconstruct secure entrance vestibule
• Reconstruct Main Office including lock-down security notification
• New Choral Room (including new office and practice rooms)
• New Band Room addition (including new offices, practice rooms, and storage)
• New Music Storage Room with stage access
• Replace stage curtains and add stage outlets
• New STEAM Classroom
• New Technology Computer Lab
• New Technology Wood Shop addition (including exterior dust collector system)
• New Greenhouse addition
• New first-floor connector link to provide access to new classrooms
• New first-floor classrooms at former District Office
• New 8’ wide corridor including new single ADA-compliant toilet rooms
• New first-floor boys’ and girls’ toilet rooms
• New second-floor boys’ and girls’ toilet rooms
• Reconstruct existing roadways and parking areas
• New shared bus arrival/dismissal parking area for Jr/Sr High School and Intermediate School

This shows a proposed new band room in the junior-senior high school.

Clifford H. Wise Intermediate – $9,769,533

• Reconstruct secure entrance vestibule
• Reconstruct Main Office including lock-down security notification
• Reconstruct existing Pool (including pool tank, gutter, deck, mechanical equipment, and lighting)
• Reglaze and reseal windows with failed seals
• Reconstruct select mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems throughout the building, including generator replacement, panel board replacement, sanitary piping replacement, sump pump replacement and crawlspace drainage improvements
• Reconstruct existing roadways and parking areas: reconstruct existing exit onto Gwinn Street and expanded parking and roadway configuration

Oak Orchard Primary School – $6,198,091

• Reconstruct secure entrance vestibule
• Reconstruct Main Office including lock-down security notification
• New District Office in former Media Center
• Reconstruct Girls’ Locker Room to provide ADA-compliant toilets adjacent to Cafeteria and Gymnasium
• New Media Center
• New Computer Lab
• Reconstruct select mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems throughout the building, including panel board replacement, sanitary piping replacement and rawlspace drainage improvements
• Reconstruct existing roadways and parking areas
• New parking lot at relocated District Office
• Bus loop paving restoration

Bus Garage – $1,064,893

• Roof replacement
• New staff parking area

If the project is approved by voters, the school district will work on final designs to be submitted to the State Education Department this fall, with SED approval expected in early 2024. The project would then go out to bid with the bulk of construction expected to start in summer 2024, according to a timeline from the district. Medina school leaders anticipate the entire project would be completed in early 2026.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Rob Robinson of Medina toasts to being cancer free for 100 months.

MEDINA – Rob Robinson’s whole life changed in 2014, after what he thought was a routine visit to his doctor.

Robinson, 66, has always suffered from allergies, so kept regular appointments with Dr. Surinder Bath in Medina, during which Robinson routinely had blood work done. It was after one of those appointments that he got a call from the doctor’s office saying he had to come back to the office, “Now.”

“I arrived to find Dr. Bath with tears rolling down his cheeks,” Robinson said. “He had me booked at Roswell at 9 the next morning.”

His blood work showed he had multi melanoma, a cancer of the bone marrow.

“What has happened since is a series of miracles,” Robinson said.

The first few months were really rough, he said. He had to be driven to Roswell once a month, where he spent an entire day having his stem cells collected. Often, they couldn’t harvest enough and he would have to return again and again. Once, he had to go 12 straight days, arriving at 6 a.m. and lying in bed for six hours while hooked to a machine.

“I would lay there and watch the Rockford Files,” Robinson said. “When the show was over, I knew the procedure was half way through.”

His pastor, the Rev. Vince Iorio of the Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God, arranged for someone to take him and come back and get him each day.

This regimen has continued for eight years, which includes taking three chemo pills a day and visiting the clinic at Roswell once a month.

“I’m in my 100th cycle now, meaning Jan. 26 will be my 100th monthly visit,” Robinson said. “The nurses have told me people rarely make it to the 100th month. All my numbers are miraculously normal.”

Robinson volunteered to be in a study, so the treatments don’t cost him anything. If they did, he would have passed the $1 million mark long ago, he said.

Robinson and his wife Cindy are eager to share his story to tell people the importance of early detection. Robinson, whose mother Virginia Bishop used to play piano at the Apple Grove, inherited his mother’s love of music, and has played piano in big-name area bands all his life.

When he decided 10 years ago to form his own band, which he calls the “A” Band, he decided to use the band to spread the word about early detection. His first wife died of cancer in 2006, and he has since played gigs on what he calls the “Kill Cancer Tour.”

He believes God’s hand is in his life, which is why he has been able to attain total remission. He also has a philosophy.

“It’s all about attitude,” he said. “There’s no laying around feeling sorry for myself. Besides my band, I started the Busker Festival during Ale in Autumn last fall. It was so successful, we are making it an annual event. I’m still involved in Scouting and work at my job as an electrical inspector.”

On Feb. 10, Robinson and his band will perform at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina for the Finally Fridays concert series at 7 p.m.

There isn’t a day goes by that he doesn’t give thanks for his miraculous life.

‘Vaping is the number one issue we are dealing with’ – GCASA prevention educator

Provided photo: Thomas Forrestel (Medina Junior/Senior High School Dean of Students), Diana Fulcomer (Prevention Educator at GCASA) and Julie Webber (Medina CSD Director of Curriculum and Instruction) promote a vaping awareness program on Jan. 18.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – “A big concern among our educators at the Junior/Senior High School and parents is vaping,” said Julie Webber, Medina’s director of curriculum and instruction.

The use of e-cigarettes is unsafe for everyone because it contains nicotine and it is highly addictive. They can also contain other harmful substances besides nicotine.

“We saw the problem as being a great opportunity to partner with GCASA and educate parents on the signs their children are vaping,” she said.

Diana Fulcomer, prevention educator with Genesee Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, told Webber she had the perfect interactive program that they could offer to anyone in the community who would like to attend.

“Vaping is the number one issue we are dealing with,” said Fulcomer. “E-cigarettes have been in the US since 2007 and marketed as a safer or better alternative to the traditional cigarette. In 2016, the FDA( Food and Drug Administration) began regulating these products. At that time consumers still thought they were safer than tobacco. That is not the case at all. These companies are targeting our youth, which is easy because we are all enticed by anything that is new and innovative. We still don’t have all the research and the information we have shows that they are dangerous. Not only because of the possible nicotine addiction, but because some students are cannabis vaping as well.”

The community is invited to the Mustang Parent Academy’s Hidden Mischief: Unlock the Vape Mystery from 6 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 18 in the Junior/Senior High School Auditorium, located at 2 Mustang Drive in Medina.

This program is designed to create an awareness of current vaping trends and of ways youth conceal these devices or use everyday items for drug use. The interactive youth bedroom will give each participant an opportunity to search and find vaping paraphernalia, devices and drug references.

Each participant will learn how everyday items can be converted to hide or use drugs such as nicotine or marijuana.  In addition, it will create an awareness of the possibilities of how easy these items can be purchased over the internet or at local vendors.

Refreshments will be provided free of charge and childcare will be available for ages 4-12 years of age. Transportation can be provided if needed. Call to reserve a spot at 585-798-2700, option 4.

“Prevention is the key,” Fulcomer said.  “The more education parents have on the dangers, the better.  We will also show how to start an open conversation with your child about this topic.”

For those who cannot attend the training, but would like more information, contact Diana Fulcomer at dfulcomer@gcasa.org or dfulcomer@medinacsd.org.

MEDINA – The village election will be March 21 with voting from noon to 9 p.m. at the Senior Center, 615 West Ave.

The Village Board on Monday set the location, date and time for voting.

There will be two trustee positions up for election. Those spots are currently filled by Owen Toale and Jessica Marciano.

Toale said he isn’t seeking re-election after 12 years on the board. Marciano, who is finishing her first two-year term, said she will be running again.

Candidates for the board need to submit petitions signed by at least 100 eligible registered voters in the village. The petitions are due by Feb. 14 in the village office. Jan. 3 was the first day the petitions could be picked up at the village office.

The board on Monday also appointed four election inspectors. Judy Szulis will be chairwoman of the inspectors and be paid $15.50 an hour, while the other inspectors – Norma Huth, Linda Deyle and Mary Ann Ander – will be paid $14.50 an hour.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Sherry Tuohey talks with Dave Lindsay on Friday at the Senior Center of Western Orleans’ Christmas party. Lindsley is crazy about Christmas and created quite a stir with his Grinchy green lighted shoes and reindeer and snowflake suit.

MEDINA – Senior citizens packed the Senior Center of Western Orleans on Friday for their annual Christmas party, which was originally scheduled for Dec. 23, but had to be postponed because of the blizzard.

Seniors were treated to pizza provided by the Senior Center and an array of snacks and desserts which were brought in by the seniors.

Friday is a regular euchre day, so after dinner, the seniors stayed to play cards.

One member, David Lindsay of Medina, is crazy about Christmas and showed up wearing Grinchy green shoes, which lit up when he walked, and a red, white and blue suit of snowflakes and reindeer. He said he loves to dress for the occasion at Christmas, and has another holiday suit at home. He welcomes an opportunity to wear them in public.

Seniors are reminded to sign up for cards from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Euchre is played all three days and pinochle players are welcomed on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. The Orleans County Office for the Aging also offers exercise classes at 11 a.m. each Wednesday.

On Monday mornings, seniors are invited to play six-handed euchre.

The Senior Center is a wonderful place to meet people and enjoy the camaraderie, according to director Kelly Shaw of Gasport.

The gift shop is full of unique and reasonably priced items, including a whole section of jigsaw puzzles, and there is always a puzzle in progress on a table.

Monthly board meetings, followed by a provided or pot-luck luncheon are at 11:30 a.m. the second Tuesday of each month. Entertainment always follows, either musical or educational.

Annual dues for membership are $10 a year.

Bryan DeGraw is hopeful he will start making mead at Leonard Oakes in early 2023

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Bryan DeGraw, co-owner of 810 Meadworks, holds a bottle of Liquid Sunshine, one of five different meads available at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery on Ridge Road.

Friday was a launch celebration at Leonard Oakes in welcoming 810 Meadworks to the tasting room at 10609 Ridge Rd.

810 Meadworks was part of downtown Medina for eight years. It closed its tasting room and also an ax-throwing range on Sept. 22 at 113 West Center St. DeGraw said the business’s insurance tripled in price, making it unaffordable to operate.

Several wineries in the region didn’t want to see Meadworks go. Leonard Oakes was among several that reached out to DeGraw to sell the mead and also make the product.

DeGraw is thrilled 810 Meadworks will continue and remain in the Medina community, where he and his wife Larissa make their home with two children. The DeGraws own Meadworks along with Tim Elliott.

“This is the community I belong in,” DeGraw said on Friday, just before the tasting room celebration from 5 to 7 p.m. “I didn’t want to uproot. I can keep my business alive and partner with Leonard Oakes.”

DeGraw said Meadworks is working to move its production equipment to Leonard Oakes. That includes five 200-gallon fermentation tanks, eight 60-gallon drums, and other barrels and equipment.

The mead production will be separate from Leonard Oakes, which has its own equipment for producing wine and Steampunk Cider.

DeGraw said Meadworks is waiting on final approval from the State Liquor Authority to allow Meadworks to produce mead at the Leonard Oakes location.

“I’m thankful to keep going,” he said. “Leonard Oakes made that possible.”

DeGraw also said the new arrangement will give him more time to focus on producing mead, which is his passion. He was spending a lot of his energy running the tasting room at Meadworks, with day-to-day pressure to keep the bar stocked.

“This will give me more freedom,” he said.

He already has one new mead coming in 2023: a mead made with mulberry.

Right now, Leonard Oakes is carrying five of Meadworks most popular meads: Liquid Sunshine (lavender lemonade with mead), Scarlet A (apple cranberry mead), Raisin d’Etre (cinnamon raise aged in a bourbon barrel with amber honey), Maple Tap (mead with maple syrup, cinnamon nutmeg and vanilla) and Sweet Devotion (black currants, rose petals, black tea, oil of bergamot and local honey).

Bryan DeGraw speaks with two passionate Meadworks customers, George and Mary Jo Harris of Barker. They have been loyal Meadworks customers for about five years. They said they are thrilled Meadworks and Leonard Oakes will be teaming up.

The Harris couple said Meadworks was a destination that made them discover other sites in the community. They used to go to Buffalo for most of their outings, but now come to Medina and Batavia.

“Meadworks was like a second family,” Mary Jo said. “Bryan makes enough different styles that there will be something for everyone.”

When DeGraw posted on Facebook on Sept. 22 that the business would be closing, there was a big reaction from customers, who didn’t want to lose Meadworks. Many bought bottles of mead and gave the business a lifeline.

They encouraged the owners to try to find a way to keep going.

“The response that day I can’t express how thankful I am,” DeGraw said about the customer reaction on Sept. 22. “The outcry was bigger than I thought it would be.”

Cat Holland, the retail manager at Leonard Oakes, is pleased to welcome 810 Meadworks to the tasting room. Leonard Oakes has other products made in New York, including fruit brandy from North Ridge Distillery in Medina.

She is hopeful to do tastings and event with DeGraw as a host, explaining how he makes the different meads. She knows Meadworks will also bring in a passionate customer base.

“It makes sense to offer more for everyone,” she said. “It was a no-brainer. He’s local and we’ve had a very good working relationship with him.”

File photo by Tom Rivers: Don Newcomb, lead singer and bass guitarist for the Don Newcomb Country Band, performs on Jan. 13, 2017 at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library as part of the “Finally Fridays” concert series. Newcomb and his band will return for a concert on Jan. 27.

MEDINA – The Finally Fridays concert series kicks off this Friday at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.

The nine-week concert series kicks off with Creek Bend Bluegrass & Americana. All of the concerts start at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m.

The Medina library has hosted the series since 2002 with the 2021 concerts cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The lineup of bands performing includes:

• Jan. 6: Creek Bend – bluegrass & Americana
• Jan. 13: Who Dats – rock
• Jan. 20: Two Of Us – Beatle
• Jan. 27: Don Newcomb – country, rock
• Feb. 3: Frankfurters – German Folk
• Feb. 10: “A” Blues Band Rock – blues, country
• Feb. 17: Corfu Pembroke Community Band – concert band
• Feb. 24: DSP Jazz – jazz
• March 3: Step In Time – Irish folk

The series receives funding from the New York State Council on the Arts in a program administered by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.