Photo by Tom Rivers: Main Street in downtown Medina is shown on Monday night.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 August 2022 at 1:17 pm
MEDINA – The Village Board appointed nine people to serve on a committee to help Medina pursue a $4.5 million grant from the state in a program called NY Forward.
Medina has been a finalist for a Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant before but has missed out to other villages and metros in the Finger Lakes Region. The state is making changes to the DRI program this year. Instead of only approving $10 million award winners, the state is making $10 million available for metros in cities through the DRI, and then $4.5 million for downtown areas in villages and hamlets through NY Forward.
Medina already is tweaking its approach to the downtown application. It has expanded the committee from five to nine people.
Those members includes Village Trustees Marguerite Sherman and Timothy Elliott, and residents Kathy Blackburn, Chris Busch, David Flynn, Chris Goyette, Reinhard Rogowski, Randy Reese and Lauren Backlas.
The application is due by 4 p.m. on Sept. 23.
“We have to get going on this,” Trustee Sherman said during Monday’s Village Board meeting.
The board also approved sending a notice to the state of Medina’s intent to submit an application.
Medina is considered to be in the Finger Lakes Region by the state for its program that includes 10 regional economic development council. Last year Medina missed out on the $10 million to the Village of Newark in Wayne County and the City of Rochester. Other previous $10 million grant winners in the Finger Lakes region include the City of Geneva in 2016, the City of Batavia in 2017, the Village of Penn Yan in 2018 and Seneca Falls in 2019.
Medina was one of five finalists for the grant in 2019 and in 2021.
Medina’s application in 2021 sought funding for streetscape Improvements, multi-use trail along the Medina Railroad from the museum to Main Street, upgrades to Canal Village Farmer’s Market, improved waterfront access and amenities at the Canal Basin Park, enhanced programming at State Street Park (ice skating rink, enhanced lighting, boat tie-ups, benches and bicycle racks, and a construction of a nature trail), boat tie-ups and docking facilities at the Lions Park, viewing platform and at Medina waterfalls, wayfinding signage, small grant fund for local businesses, adaptive reuse of the old Medina High School to turn into apartments, and redeveloping the Snappy facility on Commercial Street by the Erie Canal into a mixed-use commercial and residential space.
The committee will likely have to modify the application, with the village’s maximum amount cut from $10 million to $4.5 million.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 August 2022 at 8:16 am
MEDINA – A village resident who has had chickens in her backyard for more than a decade – sharing the eggs with her neighbors – was told by village officials that the chickens have to be removed from the village.
Debbie Varley of Highland Avenue has about 20 chickens that are used by her grandchildren for 4-H. The chickens are popular in the neighborhood, and Varley shares their eggs with nearby residents.
However, one resident made a complaint to the village about the chickens, and village officials say they are obligated to insist the birds be removed.
Chickens are only allowed in the village if they are in an agricultural-residential district. The only AR zoned parcel in Medina includes the Gallagher barn property on North Gravel Road.
Varley is in a residential district, where the chickens aren’t allowed. She said she didn’t know chickens were banned from residential neighborhoods. She thought she was OK as long as she didn’t have roosters, which make a loud ruckus, especially in the morning.
“You’re an outstanding member of the community,” Village Trustee Tim Elliott said at Monday’s Village Board meeting. “I’m sorry we have to voice an opinion on it. But there is no gray area.”
Elliott said Varley likely was able to keep the chickens for many years because no one ever complained until recently. But once there is a formal complaint, the village has to look at the issue to see if the resident is in compliance with the village code.
Varley said many other people in the village also have chickens. But there haven’t been complaints about those chickens.
She is hopeful she can find someone to take the chickens who lives nearby so her grandchildren can continue to show them for 4-H.
“We’ve had them a long time,” she said. “We have a lot of time and money in them. They’re nice show birds. They are all named. I honestly didn’t know they weren’t allowed.”
(Editor’s Note: The person who called code enforcement and voiced concerns about the chickens called the Orleans Hub this afternoon and said he didn’t have a problem with the chickens in the person’s backyard. He was instead upset that the chickens’ fecal material was set out by the curb days in advance of the garbage pickup, smelling up the neighborhood. The person also said the issue bothered many of the neighbors, and he wasn’t the only one to complain to the village.)
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 4 August 2022 at 2:23 pm
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Members of the Butts-Clark American Legion Post in Medina posed with sign painters Thursday morning to celebrate completion of this giant flag mural on the south wall of the post. From left are Dave Kusmierczak, Dave Higgins, Carol Callina, Glenn Whitmore (commander), Dave Morien, Peter Huth and sign painters Mark Weld and Jeff Watkins.
MEDINA – The Butts-Clark American Legion Post in Medina will certainly catch the eye of drivers coming down Main Street with completion of a giant flag mural on the south end of the building.
The idea for project was born several years ago when Legion Commander Glenn Whitmore noticed a similar painting on the Post Office in Gasport.
“I thought it was beautiful and came back here and told Steve Johnson, our former commander about it,” Whitmore said. “I thought it would be awesome to have a flag on our post. We had just had the building painted and it looked wonderful. And we had this big blank wall and I knew then I was going to do whatever it took to get that done.”
Then the Covid pandemic hit and Steve moved away.
Whitmore didn’t forget his idea, however. The restrictions eased with Covid and this spring Whitmore, Carol Callina and Dave Kusmierczak started rethinking the idea of having a giant flag painted on the south side of their building. They contacted sign painter Mark Weld of Barker and his assistant Jeff Watkins of Newfane and put together the paperwork to present to the village for approval.
In June, the village approved the project and a week ago, Weld and Watkins began work.
It took a lot of prep work and six days to draw the initial outline and then paint it, Weld said. This is one of the biggest projects he has attempted, but it’s beautiful, he said.
“A lot of people have been pulling into the parking lot and commenting on it,” Whitmore said. “It’s the best sign I’ve seen on anything in my whole life.”
Underneath the flag are the words, “For God and Country.”
Whitmore doesn’t deny his patriotism.
“This is America,” he said. “That flag means everything.”
“We fought for that flag,” said Carol Callina, a Medina native who served four years active duty in the Navy.
Whitmore also served in the Navy for six years aboard the USS Forrestel.
“When our ship pulled into port and the sailors all lined up along the rail, nothing made you more proud than to arrive back in America with flags flying, a band playing and families waiting,” Whitmore said. “I want to do as much for Medina and this post as I can.”
Whitmore said the mural is latest improvement the Legion has made to their building. They recently added a patio with tables overlooking the canal. Legion members and their guests love to sit out there, have a drink and enjoy the breeze. Smoking is allowed out there, as well.
Whitmore said it is important to thank all the members of Post 204, the American Legion Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion and the village for their support in helping to make the project possible.
He also encourages anyone eligible to consider joining the American Legion.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Scouts and veterans saluted and recited the Pledge of Allegiance before a flag burning ceremony at the Conservation Club.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 4 August 2022 at 8:42 am
MEDINA – A flag burning ceremony delayed from Flag Day on June 14 because of rain was rescheduled for Wednesday night at the Conservation Club in Medina.
Boy Scout Nicholas Reese and his father, Scout leader Michael Reese, and Webelos Scout Savannah Schroth, 10, joined Glenn Whitmore (commander), David Kusmierczak, David Higgins, Peter Huth, Cathy Fox and Carol Callina from the Butts-Clark American Legion Post for the ceremony.
Scout leader Michael Reese walks a flag up to burn barrel for proper disposal.
Nicholas began by reading the meaning of the red and white stripes and stars on the flag, while his father “retired” a piece of flag. The red stripes symbolize courage and the blood shed for the country, while the white stripes stand for purity and innocence. The stars represent the 13 original colonies.
The veterans and Boy Scouts hold a flag burning ceremony twice a year, usually on Flag Day in June and after Veterans Day when they have removed the flags from cemeteries.
Flags are collected throughout the year in Medina at the American Legion on South Main Street, VFW on East Center Street, Generations Bank on Maple Ridge Road and the Veterans’ Services Office in Albion and Ace Hardware in Medina and Albion.
Black smoke billows from a burn barrel during Wednesday’s flag burning ceremony.
The collection of flags on Wednesday included a Canadian flag and a POW flag, something the veterans had not seen before at the flag retirement ceremony.
This was the first ceremony Savannah Schroth, 10, of Medina had witnessed. Her mother Kristina Schroth said her siblings and Savannah’s older brother all served in the military, so honoring the flag was important to them.
“This was a good thing for Savannah to watch,” her mother said.
Carol Callina, formerly Prawel, has become an active member of the Butts-Clark American Legion since joining last October. She had met Legion commander Glenn Whitmore, a Navy veteran, at the YMCA and he encouraged her to join. Callina served in the Navy and spent 40 years as an immigration officer before returning to Medina last fall.
From left, Carol Callina, Cathy Fox and Michael Reese place flags in a barrel to burn during Wednesday’s flag burning ceremony at the Conservation Club.
Scouts from Troop 35 and local veterans teamed up Wednesday night for a flag burning ceremony at the Conservation Club on Bates Road. From left are Cathy Fox, American Legion Auxiliary; Carol Callina, Glenn Whitmore, Dave Kusmierczak and Peter Huth, Butts-Clark American Legion Post; Webelos Scout Savannah Schroth; David Higgins, American Legion; Boy Scout Nicholas Reese and his father Michael Reese, Scout leader.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 August 2022 at 9:32 pm
Group also wins two 2nd place awards at Elite Dance Challenge
Photo by Tom Rivers: Brandon Johnson, owner of Dance Theater in Medina and instructor for the competitive dance teams, is pictured with many of the dancers on the competitive team. Dance Theater won a first place and two seconds at a national dance competition on July 22 in Cape May, NJ. Amy hazel, in back left, and Emilie Preston, in back second from right, also are instructors at Dance Theater working with the recreational program.
MEDINA – Brandon Johnson and dancers from Dance Theater are basking in a strong showing a national competition.
One group from Dance Theater won the first place as “National Grand Champion” for their performance of Jumanji. They won in the age 13 over group.
Dance Theater also won second place in age 12 under group for “The Power” and another second in the age 13 over group for “These Hands.”
“I felt like all of our hard work paid off,” said Marli Thrash, 17, of Albion. “We are in the studio a lot and we have a really good teacher.”
Provided photos: “Jumanji” – 1st Place National Grand Champion, Age 13 over Group
The dancers have been working on their numbers since September, sometimes putting in five hours a day at the studio. The rehearsal time picks up on breaks and in the early summer as they get ready for nationals.
Dance Theater competed with 28 other studios at the Elite Dance Challenge in New Jersey. Dance Theater sent three different teams and they performed 32 numbers, and advanced to the final dance off for three.
Johnson, 39, is celebrated his 20th year of owning the dance studio. One of his dance teams won at nationals in 2018.
He was grateful for a chance to see the dance perform at this year’s recital and at the dance competitions without restrictions on crowd sizes, or have to wear masks on stage.
“These Hands” – 2nd Place National Grand Champion, Age 13 over Group
In 2020, Dance Theater did a recital but it was limited to 50 people, including the crowd. He staggered that recital over 10 sessions – 10 hours in one day. Last year the group performed in competitions while wearing masks and with a limit on guests.
This year it was “back to normal” for Johnson and the dancers. He was thrilled to see the groups having fun on stage, and to see the competitive teams advance in the regional competition in Rochester, earning a shot at nationals.
“It does feel good coming out a pandemic,” Johnson said. “It was nice to be back on stage in the competitive dance circuit.”
He praised the dedication of the dance teams. Johnson has about 130 dancers at the studio, with about 30 on the competitive teams. The competitive dancers are at the studio usually two to three times a week, sometimes from 4 to 10 p.m., honing their craft.
“It is a dedicated group of dancers who are looking for a little more,” he said.
Johnson works with the competitive teams, and will bring in guest choreographers to help make the performances even better.
Thrash, one of the dancers, said the group appreciates Johnson’s commitment to the program.
“I’m very thankful for ‘B’ and for everything he has done,” she said.
Dance Theater will have its fall open house from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 11-12, and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 13. Dance Theater is located at 425 Main St. Call the studio at (585) 590-4643 for more information.
“The Power” – 2nd Place National Grand Champion, Age 12 under Group
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 August 2022 at 9:07 am
About 700 attend event outside middle school in Medina
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Mason Cady, 8, of Kendall rides in a bike rodeo on Tuesday evening at the National Night Out in Medina, outside the middle school.
The event was free to the community and connected residents with local law enforcement officers and other first responders, as well as agencies.
National Night Out was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions and concerns. The event, in its first five years, was held at Bullard Park in Albion.
About 700 people attended the National Night Out.
Penny Miller, left, and Kim Brueckner serve up hot dogs. They were volunteering with Boy Scout Troop 28, which had 800 hot dogs ready for the event.
The Walmart in Albion donated the hot dogs and bottled water. Burger King in Albion donated the ketchup and condiments.
Jonah Fisher, 5, of Albion high fives Sparky the Fire Dog. Jonah’s dad, Medina firefighter Adam Fisher, wore the costume of the friendly dalmatian.
Jack Smith of Medina is next to Jonah, ready to greet Sparky.
The Safety Pup also attended National Night Out and greeted community members.
A lineup of fire trucks was available to tour, including ladder trucks from Albion, Clarendon and Shelby.
David Mogle, Albion police chief, let people take a peek at the Albion PD’s SWAT vehicle which is available for responses in the county and region.
Medina police officer Dustin Meredith assists Gabriella Burtwell, 5, of Medina in completing the bike rodeo course.
Crystal Elliott of Medina gave people a chance to paint rocks. She leads the “Medina Rocks” group on Facebook.
Medina firefighter Dustin Pahura helps Phoenix Konieczny, 5, of Medina aim a hose and direct water at targets.
State Trooper Doug Rich showed people a roll-over simulator to emphasize the importance of wearing seatbelts.
These kids enjoy sliding down and climbing through a bounce house.
The battle of belts was won by Jesse Cudzilo and his family – wife Katie and sons Caleb and Noah. Cudzilo is the new director of the Orleans County YMCA. They topped seven other teams by putting seat belts on, and then rotating to four different seats. They did it in 40.44 seconds.
The 2022 GMC Terrain was made available for the event by Hartway Motors Chevrolet.
These girls put their hands up after getting their seat belts on. They are Ashlyn Fisk, right, and Harmoni Wilson. Other members of team “Oreos” included Caliyah St. Louis and Mia Kujawa. They were the top youth team with a time of 53.16 seconds. Medina Police Department Lt. Todd Draper was referee in back and blew the whistle when they were done.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: The historic Walsh Hotel at 525 West Ave., Medina, has reopened under the ownership of local funeral director Tim Cooper. (Right) Catherine and Tim Cooper relax in what is now the Tap Room at the newly renovated Walsh Hotel. The room is available to rent for private parties and social events.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 2 August 2022 at 8:03 am
Tim Cooper gives new life to landmark on West Avenue
MEDINA – A historic landmark in Medina has reopened under new ownership, after three years of renovation.
Tim Cooper, a local funeral director, has an interest in older buildings with architectural style or appeal, sites that have been neglected and on the verge of being lost.
“The Walsh Hotel fit all those criteria,” said Cooper, who purchased the Walsh Hotel in March 2019. Cooper was operating Cooper Funeral Home on West Center Street with his assistant Jake Hebdon. On Dec. 29, 2018, Hebdon took over and three months later Cooper negotiated with Guy Chiarolanza to purchase the Walsh.
“I had looked at it in December 2018 when Polar Express was running at the Medina Railroad Museum,” Cooper said. “There were a lot of people and I thought this presented an opportunity. I like to retore old buildings to modern use and living, while incorporating the historic design details that made them distinctive.”
Bartenders David Minervino, left, and Marc Law stand behind the bar at the newly opened Walsh Hotel. (Right) This mural at the end of the Walsh Hotel’s bar shows Democratic candidate Francis Burton Harrison, center (holding his hat) when he campaigned in Medina for lieutenant governor in 1904.
Cooper has restored five other properties in Medina: 105 Pearl St., 215 West Center St., 212 Park Ave., 213 Park Ave. and 1024 West Ave.
“I put a lot of sweat equity and investment into the Walsh, with the able assistance of Denny More, and it is now ready to be a unique bar/restaurant/hotel venue,” Cooper said.
History of the Walsh Hotel goes back to 1852 when the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Company completed the railroad through Medina. Previously, hotels and taverns in Medina sprung up adjacent to the canal basin, but the development of the railroad had an immediate effect on the Erie Canal. Soon, the New York Central Railroad Company was the primary transportation provider.
The first depot was a small stone building close to the railroad on West Avenue, and the adjacent lot on the west side of the street was the obvious site for a hotel, a waiting and meeting place for travelers, particularly since the depot provided sparse comfort.
Aaron Clark (who also built the Alabama Hotel) was granted a license for the Clark Hotel in 1861. The third floor was put on, doubling the size of the building. It was sold to Frank Sloat in 1884 and later to Thomas Lysett. Eugene Walsh purchased it in 1903 and renovated and enlarged it with 38 rooms.
Several customers enjoy a drink at the bar in the newly reopened Walsh Hotel.
In 1904, Francis Burton Harrison, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, arrived by train to campaign there, and then went to dinner at Bent’s Opera House. Although he didn’t win, he went on to become governor general of the Philippines.
In 1916, a New York City attorney Grace Humiston was there to champion the innocence of West Shelby resident George Stielow, who had been wrongly accused of murdering his employer. She would later prove his innocence with the use of forensics for the first time in history to solve a murder.
Other famous visitors were Babe Ruth, who stayed at the Walsh in 1920, and Adolph S. Ochs Jr., New York Times publisher, who lunched there in 1925.
An article in the Medina Tribune on June 30, 1938, reported that any man in Western New York who was asked if they knew where the Walsh Hotel was would beam with recognition, brought on by memories of “succulent steaks, broiled chicken and braised short ribs of beef, all served with steaming bowls of gravy.”
Historical accounts say Walsh “virtually built over” the hotel into one of the most up-to-date hotels between Buffalo and Rochester, with 38 cheerful sleeping rooms, each furnished with electric lights and electric call bells, steam heat and “special attention to sanitary conditions.” The hotel was frequented by commercial travelers and local businessmen and professionals lunched there on a regular basis. It was a popular venue for business meetings, bridge tournaments and dinner parties, all of which sustained it through Prohibition and Depression.
Frank Cardone bought the Walsh in 1941, and remodeled it after a fire in the barroom area in 1959. He ran it until 1977, when he conveyed it to Guy Chiarolanza. No food or beverages were sold there in recent years, and it operated strictly as a boarding house.
After his purchase, Cooper spent three years totally remodeling the downstairs, with assistance from contractor Dennis Moore and construction workers Monty Hartman and Mike Eckerd. Mark Weld created the new signage. The upstairs remains a work in progress, Cooper said. He has no plans to open a restaurant there, but does offer sandwiches from Sourced Market and Eatery.
Cooper’s renovation included gutting the barroom, adding a window for more light, moving the staircase to the outside of the building, taking out a cooler, replacing a rotted section of floor, moving a wall, putting a second bar on the north side in a dining room called the O’Brien and Ceallaigh (Irish spelling of Kelly) Tap Room. This room is available to rent for private parties and social gatherings.
He also upgraded the heating and cooling, did lots of painting, maintaining the tin ceiling and tin wainscoting, and making roofing and siding improvements on the outside.
“The Walsh is a survivor. It has character. It has survived the decline of the railroad, Prohibition, the Depression and massive social changes. It started out and thrived because of its proximity to the railroad and I think that has come full circle. There are a few more chapters in the Walsh’s history. It is still a landmark – and a feisty, enduring one.” – Tim Cooper
Cooper has hired two bartenders, whose history is entwined with each other and Cooper.
Marc Law and David Minervino both grew up in Medina and have been lifelong friends. Cooper’s older brother Jim and Marc went to school together. Marc’s grandmother was Mildred Cleary, who owned Cleary Funeral Home on Park Avenue and was instrumental in Cooper’s decision to become a funeral director.
Cooper was working on the building the day after he purchased it, when Law stopped in and offered to help if he ever got to that point.
“I did eventually get to that point,” Cooper said, and he called Law.
Law left Medina for 35 years, pursuing a career with hotels, restaurants and as a bar manager. He began tending bar in 2010 and worked in West Virginia and Southern California, before returning to Medina 10 years ago.
He likes tending bar because “It’s such a positive atmosphere, and you’re constantly meeting people,” he said.
Minervino worked at Kodak for 22 years and dealt in a casino for four years. He worked for Chiarolanza for three years in the late 1970s, and at Tillman’s Village Inn for 30 years until they closed in December 2021.
Like Law, he loves bartending because of the social activity and all the people he meets.
Tim Cooper, who has restored and reopened the Walsh Hotel, points out the original tin wainscoting on the wall of the entrance hallway. (Right) Cooper stands by a door leading into the bar area. He removed the door from a cooler which stood where he is standing. The sides of the cooler were used for the wall at left.
Cooper also has a family background in the tavern/bar business. Edward Kelly, who built O’Brien’s Pub on Main Street, was his great-grandfather. Cooper’s grandfather Francis O’Brien married Kelly’s daughter Margaret and they ran the pub as O’Brien’s and Kelly’s. Hence, Cooper’s name (O’Brien and Ceallaigh) on his tap room.
The Irish influence also includes Cooper’s wife Catherine, who is from County Kerry.
Cooper said it is an interesting fact that in old time Ireland, the pub owner in a rural area was usually the undertaker.
In restoring the Walsh, Cooper said it was his goal to create something which has been lacking in the area – the ability to go into a pub and talk.
“People who come in here actually feel refreshed,” Minervino said. “They talk to one another. There are no cell phones, no TV, just old-fashioned conversation.”
Cooper said the Walsh is ideally poised for a new chapter.
Catherine, who is Orleans County historian, in a history she wrote on the Walsh, said that although its luster may have dimmed for a time, the Walsh is still a landmark.
Tim said when he initially started the project, he had hoped the Downtown Revitalization Initiative would come through with funds for the project. However, that wasn’t the case. Medina wasn’t picked by the state for the funding, yet.
“The Walsh is a survivor,” Tim said. “It has character. It has survived the decline of the railroad, Prohibition, the Depression and massive social changes. It started out and thrived because of its proximity to the railroad and I think that has come full circle. It will benefit the Medina Railroad Museum and the Museum will benefit it. There are a few more chapters in the Walsh’s history. It is still a landmark – and a feisty, enduring one.”
The Walsh is open from 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday and 3 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It serves a full line of alcoholic drinks, including imported Dingle gin from Dingle, Ire. Their phone number for information or to reserve the O’Brien and Cealliagh Room is (585) 318-5027.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 July 2022 at 10:09 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: In this photo from Aug. 6, 2019, Rylee Tusing, 2 , of Albion gets fitted for a new bike helmet by Medina Lt. Todd Draper. Rylee is held by her mother, Stephanie Corke. National Night Out didn’t happen in Orleans County in 2020 and 2021, but returns on Tuesday.
MEDINA – National Night Out is back on Tuesday after being cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
Medina will be hosting the event for the first time. National Night Out was held in Albion from 2015 to 2019.
Participants in the event will include law enforcement, fire agencies, EMS responders, civic organizations and other groups that will be providing activities, demonstrations and giveaways.
The event is free to the community and will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Wise Middle Intermediate School, 1016 Gwinn St.
There will be the battle of the belts, which is a race to see how fast a team of four and put seat belts on, while rotating to four different seats. Teams run outside the vehicle in a clockwise direction to the next seating position until they’ve completed all four spots. There will be prizes in the youth division, ages 10 to 18; adult division, ages 19 and up; family division, all ages; best costume and the turtle award.
There will be K-9 demonstrations, a bike rodeo, child car seat inspections, a magician, face painting, balloon animals, llamas and alpacas, many games and give-a-ways.
Boy Scout Troop 28 – United Methodist Church will be serving hot dogs.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 July 2022 at 10:07 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Josiah Morton, 12, of Medina hoses down targets with help from Medina firefighter Bailey Schubmehl during the fifth annual Family Fun Day on Saturday at Butts Park.
The event was attended by about 500 people, who enjoyed free food, live music, bounce houses and the chance to meet local agencies. There were also giveaways of back-to-school supplies.
Second Church True Disciples of Jesus Christ A.G. took the lead the organizing the event, with assistance from the Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God and Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship.
Firefighters were busy letting kids try to aim the hose at the targets. The Medina Police Department also did a K-9 demonstration.
These kids enjoy one of the bounce houses at the park.
There was a long line for cotton candy.
Jovannie Canales, senior pastor at Second Church True Disciples of Jesus Christ A.G., addresses the crowd in a message entitled, “Not ready but willing.” Canales said people often don’t feel prepared when they are going through hard times or transitions. He urged people to trust God in the process.
Two people were baptized and three made public commitments to God during the event on Saturday.
Jovannie Canales addresses the group near the end of the three-hour fun day at Butts Park.
“We’re so blessed to serve the people in the community,” Canales said. “It’s bringing the church outside the four walls.”
Russ Peters, pastor of Alabama Full Gospel, sings during the event. This song is entitled, “I Need You.” Peters performed the song previously when he was part of the band, PS 100.
Vince Iorio, recently retired pastor at Calvary Tabernacle, serves bags of popcorn.
Jack Burris of the Hands 4 Hope ministry had many options for free clothing.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 July 2022 at 11:00 am
Back-to-school supplies and other giveaways will be available
Photos courtesy of Second Church True Disciples of Jesus Christ A.G.
MEDINA – A Medina church will be hosting its fifth annual Family Fun Day Community Outreach on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. at Butts Park.
Last year more than 300 people attended the event, which is free to the public.
The event is organized by the Second Church True Disciples of Jesus Christ, which is located on 11031 Maple Ridge Rd.
Family Fun Day will include K-9 demonstrations, fire trucks, face painting, a caricaturist, food, bounce houses, music, displays by local agencies for the community, backpacks with back-to-school supplies for the children, giveaways and other activities.
“We want to provide a free event that enhances relationships in the community, unites families through activities, helps those in need, and brings a message hope in difficult times,” said Jovannie Canales, the church’s senior pastor.
Local first responders will meet with the public as part of the event on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
