By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 April 2022 at 8:57 pm
MEDINA – The main transmission line for Medina’s water system will be shut down tonight so crews can make a repair.
The line will be turned off at 9 p.m. and then the 24-inch main needs to be drained. Then crews from the Niagara County Water District and Village of Medina Department of Public Works will weld a section where there is a leak near Pride Pak.
The NC Water District and Medina DPW will each have six people working all night on the project.
Jason Watts, the Medina DPW superintendent, said he hopes the job will be done by 7 a.m.
The village filled its 3 million gallon water tank over the weekend in anticipation of the repair tonight.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 23 April 2022 at 8:56 pm
Provided photos: Brady and Dominique Meakin of Medina hold their son Koleson, who was born with a rare genetic disease called TPK1 Leigh disease. A 5K walk/run on May 21 at Junior Wilson Club will benefit the family.
MEDINA – The family of a Medina child born with a rare genetic disease will benefit from a 5K walk/run scheduled May 21 at Junior Wilson Club.
Michelle Sidari, daughter-in-law of Medina Mayor Mike Sidari, and her husband Joe live in Farmington, where she has organized several previous 5K runs to benefit charity. A senior sales director with Mary Kay, Michelle has become an ambassador for fighting domestic violence and cancer in women.
“Every year, I donate to the Mary Kay Ash Foundation, but after learning about the Meakin family in Medina, I wanted to help them, and decided to have this event in Medina,” Michelle said.
Brady and Dominique Meakin’s 8-month-old son Koleson has been diagnosed with TPK1 Leigh Disease.
When Dominique was eight months pregnant, an ultrasound revealed Koleson’s brain ventricles were enlarged.
“Doctors told us he would have this disease and there was nothing we could do about it,” Dominique said. “In three months he was diagnosed with a different disease. On Christmas Eve he had a prolonged seizure and spent five weeks in the hospital.”
This was when they did gene testing and determined he had this disease so rare there were few known cases. In fact, there was only one in the world with the severity of Koleson’s. He now survives with a feeding tube.
Koleson Meakin is shown in this Easter photo taken by his family.
Brady and Dominique were told they were both carriers of the gene mutation which caused Koleson’s disease. They have a 25 percent chance, if they get pregnant again, that baby would also have the disease. Their only hope would be invitro fertilization, so every embryo could be genetically tested.
“This would be an out-of-pocket expense for us,” Dominique said.
Dominique said they met Michelle through Mary Kay.
“We are so thankful she thought of us,” Dominique said. “The community supporting us is how we are able to take care of Koleson. We hope his case will make a difference, and doctors can learn how to help other children.”
The walk/run on May 21 will begin with sign in at 9 a.m., followed by the start of the race at 10 a.m. Participants are urged to register by May 1 in order to be eligible for a T-shirt. Registration is $30 with a shirt and $20 without one. A limited number of shirts will be available on a first-come basis for those who register after May 1.
Michelle’s goal is to have 750 participants.
She is also seeking sponsors and donations for a basket raffle that day. Anyone wishing to donate toward the race or raffle can bring donations to Junior Wilson Club on Bates Road between 6 and 9 p.m. May 20.
“As a special touch for the family, anyone who would like can bring a gift for baby Koleson or the family either on Friday night or the day of the race,” Michelle said.
Suggested items are books, adaptive clothing (6 to 9 months) huggies/pampers (size 4 and up), wipes for sensitive skin, gas cards for doctors appointments, dish soap, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry soap or tissues.
Any business who would like to make a $100 donation will receive their name on the back of the T-shirts. Donations may also be made through Venmo to @TheMedina5K, by calling Michelle at (716) 450-1572 or e-mailing sidarimkoffice@gmail.com.
Michelle said as an ambassador for the Mary Kay Ash Foundation it is her job to spread the word and raise awareness about this organization and the amazing work it does in the community. She said the Mary Kay Ash Foundation donates money to help fight domestic violence by awarding grants to domestic shelters every year, and if anyone knows of a local shelter in their area who would like to be considered for a grant, they should contact her at (716) 450-1572 and she will write a letter of recommendation to accompany the grant application. The Foundation also donates to doctors and researchers in an effort to find a cure for cancers affecting women, Michelle said.
There is also a Cruisin’ for Koleson car show and basket raffle from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 28 at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville. There will be food vendors and live music.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 April 2022 at 10:00 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board next week will review the site plan for a 9,200-square-foot banquet hall at Mariachi De Oro, a Mexican restaurant at 11417 Maple Ridge Rd.
The Rosario family opened the popular restaurant in 2011. The County Planning Board will review the proposal for the banquet hall during its meeting at 7 p.m. on April 28 in the legislative chambers of the Orleans County Administration Building, 14016 Route 31 West in Albion.
Other items on the agenda for the meeting include:
• Request for a special use permit and site plan review in Murray for a 27,500-square-foot building at 15631 Lynch Road.
• Request from the Town of Gaines for a 6-month moratorium extension on the installation of freestanding and ground mounted solar energy systems.
• Request from Town of Clarendon to amend the zoning text to allow additional recreational vehicles for special events on a private lot. Clarendon also seeks additional and revised language for non-conforming uses.
• Request for from Town of Carlton for review of special use permit and site plan to construct a 55’x40’ pole barn and to relocate a store from the existing structure to the newly constructed building. Project is at 14339 Roosevelt Highway.
MEDINA – The Village of Medina has experienced a water leak on the main transmission line along Maple Ridge Road.
The water line will be shut down at 9 p.m. Monday in order to make the necessary repairs. We are not anticipating any water pressure loss in the village.
The village water storage tower has sufficient water to supply the village during this time.
Affected residences in the Town of Shelby will be notified of the loss of water.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 April 2022 at 10:11 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – A fire this morning in Medina displaced three residents – a grandmother, her daughter and granddaughter. The Red Cross and family are assisting the residents. No one was injured in the blaze.
Firefighters were dispatched at 4:55 a.m. to 438 East Center St. There was a fire in an unoccupied bedroom on the second floor. The fire contained to that one room, but there was extensive smoke and water damage, said Lt. Steve Cooley of the Medina Fire Department.
Early estimates put the structure damage at $30,000 and contents at $50,000.
The house did not have working smoke detectors. Cooley said the residents were fortunate to be able to get out unharmed.
The Medina Fire Department has free some detectors supplied by the Red Cross. The fire department has up to three available for each property owner or tenant. Call the fire Medina firefighters were assisted this morning by Ridgeway, Albion, Shelby, Orleans County Emergency Management, county fire investigators, East Shelby and COVA. Middleport and Tri-Town Ambulance filled in at the fire station for any other calls.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 April 2022 at 4:25 pm
Rising utility costs biggest factor in district seeking 2% increase
Photo by Tom Rivers: Medina is proposing a $39,884,316 budget for the 2022-23 school year. Voting is May 17.
MEDINA – The Board of Education is proposing a $39,884,316 school budget that goes before voters on May 17. The spending plan calls for a 2 percent tax increase, the first in a decade in Medina.
The board and Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent, said the “runaway escalation of utility costs” is the biggest factor in the tax increase.
The district still remains below the state-imposed tax cap, Kruzynski said.
The represents a 1.43% increase over 2021-2022. The proposed budget maintains all programs and staffing, increases student support services, purchases three large school buses and one wheelchair bus, the replaces maintenance equipment, adds new cafeteria tables for Oak Orchard Primary School, and returns a high school musical to the Medina auditorium. The district has been sharing the high school musical with Lyndonville.
“I am pleased to present a budget for the upcoming school year that balances the community’s financial needs with the educational, social and emotional needs of our students,” Kruzynski said.
The tax levy, what Medina collects in taxes, increases from $8,641,861 to $8,814,697. The tax rates will be set in August by the Orleans County Department of Real Property Tax Services. State aid is the biggest source of revenue for the district at approximately $29,100,598.
In August, the Orleans County Department of Real Property Tax will set the final municipal tax rates.
“Much thought and discussion went into creating this budget,” said Wendi Pencille, the board’s vice president. “Considering the current state of inflation, the board and administration worked extremely hard to control costs. It is a sound budget and represents the board’s commitment to providing an excellent education for our students at a cost that the district can support.”
Voting on the budget will be from noon to 8 p.m. on May 17 in the District Office board room at One Mustang Drive.
There is still time for candidates to submit petitions to run for the Board of Election. Petitions signed by at least 25 eligible voters in the district are due at the district office by 5 p.m. on May 2.
Petitions can be picked up at the District Office between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday. The seats up for election are currently held by Pencille and Debbie Tompkins.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Medina’s Police Advisory Committee met Monday evening for its monthly session. Pictured from left include Heather Jackson, Donnell Holloway, Lt. Todd Draper, Chief Chad Kenward, Jovannie Canales, Debbie Fuller and Jessica Marciano. Other members include Sgt. Christian Navas, Mark Kruzynski, Danielle Figura and Jacquie Chinn.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 April 2022 at 1:18 pm
MEDINA – About a year ago Medina finished a state-mandated plan for police reform. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo required all municipalities with police departments to seek community input and prepare a plan on police reform and collaboration.
Medina sent in the plan and in May abolished the 12-member committee that worked on the document and gathered public feedback.
Medina, however, formed a new Police Reform Committee that has been meeting monthly and continuing to review police policies and solicit input from residents. Some of the members have gone on ride-a-longs with officers.
The new committee is looking to implement goals from the reform and collaboration initiative. That includes community policing, training and responding to people in a mental health crisis.
The committee also is working with the Medina Police Department and other agencies in the county for the National Night Out, which will be Aug. 2 in Medina. That event had been at Bullard Park in Albion and was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid. The event is a chance for residents to meet first responders and agency representatives, while also enjoying free food, K-9 demonstrations, a bike rodeo and other activities.
The committee wants to continue to hear from the public and has an email address – medinapoliceadvisorycommittee@gmail.com – for people to send in comments, concerns and suggestions. The email is handled by a non-law enforcement member of the committee.
Jovannie Canales, pastor of a church in Medina, speaks during Monday’s evenings Police Advisory Committee meeting. Canales recently went on a ride-a-long with the police and he said he saw officers engage community in a respectful and friendly manner.
Police Chief Chad Kenward and Lt. Todd Draper said they welcome two-way communication between the public and the police department.
“It provides feedback to local law enforcement personnel that can be used in decision-making and also educates community members and creates transparency in our police department activities,” they said in a news release from the department.
Jessica Marciano, a village trustee, and Jovannie Canales, pastor of the Second Church True Disciples of Jesus Christ, are members of the committee and they each went on recent ride-a-longs. They said it was very informative.
Police officers shared how those driving haphazardly can be a sign of impairment. The officers stopped some motorists for taillights or headlights that didn’t work, but didn’t issue tickets, just a message to get them fixed.
Canales said officers try to connect with residents and build rapport.
“We went through the entire town,” he said about his ride-a-long. “This town is patrolled.”
Canales said the police officers are well regarded by most of the people he knows. He did say some members of the Hispanic community avoid being in the village because they don’t want any police contact that could result in them being deported.
Marciano was with an officer when one driver bolted out of a car and a chase ensued. She stayed back in the patrol car. After the person stopped running and was caught, admitting he made a mistake, the officer worked with the person to not have the vehicle towed.
Marciano attended the first public forum about the police reform initiative on Sept. 23, 2020. It was at the Medina Theater on Main Street. Marciano was a new resident to Medina and she felt inspired by the Police Department’s and the Committee’s serious effort at engaging the public in the process.
“I wanted to see how Medina would handle a historic moment and I left very impressed,” she said, recalling that meeting. “Medina is a ‘hear it and learn from it’ community, rather than trying to shut people down.”
The Medina Police Advisory Committee has 12 members and they include Kenward, Draper, Canales, Marciano, Danielle Figura (Orleans County Mental Health Department director), Debbie Fuller, Jacquie Chinn, Donnell Holloway, Heather Jackson, Mark Kruzynski (Medina school district superintendent) and Christian Navas, a sergeant with the Medina PD.
The committee expects to keep meeting well into the future. The frequency may go from monthly to quarterly.
Police officers have done demonstrations for the committee members, showing them tasers and spike strips. They go over procedures and other policies.
“They see the in’s and out’s,” Chief Kenward said. “It’s been helpful for them to see what we actually do.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 April 2022 at 5:17 pm
Provided photos: Jose Quiros of Medina crosses the finish line in Monday’s Boston Marathon in a time of 3:07.46, his fastest time in a marathon.
MEDINA – It was about a decade ago when Jose Quiros took up running. Initially he was looking to lose some weight. Quiros weighed about 200 pounds then.
He lost 50 pounds that first year of running in 2013, and has stuck with the sport since then. He is a regular in local 5k races. He won the Run for Wayne on April 2 in Albion, an event that is the Wayne Burlison Colon Cancer Awareness 5K.
Quiros, 45, was running 100 to 200 races from 2014 to 2016. He then started to think about a bigger ambition: the 26.2-mile marathon with an ultimate goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon and finishing that famous course.
On Monday, Quiros fulfilled that dream. He covered the distance in 3:07.46. That was well under the qualifying time for him to come back again next year.
His wife Marixell and their daughter Sabrina joined him for the weekend in Boston. The entire event couldn’t have gone better, including the sunny 54 degrees on race day.
“It was an experience I’ll never forget,” Quiros said this afternoon.
He shifted his focus to marathons during Covid. In 2020 many of the 5k races were cancelled, and then last year it shifted to staggered starts so all the runners weren’t in a big group at the beginning.
Quiros didn’t like that and turned to long distance. He set a goal for qualifying for Boston and met that with a 3:10.59 marathon in Syracuse last Oct. 17.
Jose Quiros finds his name among about 30,000 in a display for the wall of runners at the expo before the Boston Marathon.
At Boston, the atmosphere was electric with a huge crowd. Quiros had to remind himself many times not to start out too fast. He needed his legs to have juice for later in the race, when then infamous hills lead to heartbreak for many of the runners.
Quiros did the first half in 1:34 and beat that pace for the second half.
“Near the end my legs felt great,” he said. “I felt like I won the lottery.”
Quiros for many years worked for Modern Disposal. He worked about 60 hours a week with an hour commute. He recently took a job at Mizkan in Lyndonville, just a 5-minute drive. That has freed up more time for training and to be with his family.
He has new goals. He wants to run a 5k in the 18s. If he can do it that fast he thinks he could then lower his marathon time to under 3 hours.
“I think I could possibly break 3 hours at Boston,” he said. “But I know I will be back at Boston.”
Arbor Day celebration with 3rd-graders returns April 29
Press Release, Medina Municipal Tree Board
Photos courtesy of Chris Busch: These 42 trees are tagged and ready for installation in Medina with 9 additional trees to arrive soon.
MEDINA – With the month of April comes thoughts of Spring and in the Village of Medina, Spring means Arbor Day.
Arbor Day, observed nationally on the last Friday of April, falls this year on April 29. The observance will be held at the on the northeast corner of Frank Street at West Avenue in the village. As always, 3rd graders from Medina Central School will be on hand to celebrate.
“Fifty-one trees in all will be planted this year,” said Kathy Blackburn, Tree Board Chair. “Forty-one on the west block of South Avenue, nine on the east block of Frank Street and one at City Hall on Main Street.”
“The west block of South Avenue has lost nearly all of its trees over the past 10-15 years,” said Blackburn. “The impact on this streetscape will be huge.”
Multiple sources of research on the impact of street trees cite numerous benefits, including increase property values, slower/safer traffic patterns, lower urban air temperatures, and absorption of harmful pollution.
Research from 2017 also indicates street trees in neighborhoods result in lower blood pressure and improvement to overall emotional and psychological health.
Arbor Day 2022 will mark a milestone for Medina’s urban forestry program. It is the 15th year in a row that the Village of Medina has been awarded the Tree City USA designation by the National Arbor Day Foundation. The award honors Medina’s commitment to community forestry.
The Tree City USA Program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters, and the USDA Forest Service. Tree City USA is awarded annually to those communities who qualify and is a national designation.
Medina’s Municipal Tree Ordinance and Arbor Day Celebration have been a model for several other communities looking to establish a board and planting program. Medina receives multiple inquiries for assistance and advice every year from municipalities across the state.
The 300 block of South Avenue is the main spring planting site for Medina’s trees in 2022.
The village maintains a policy of diversity in its urban forest plantings. Species to be planted in the village this year include Ginkgo, Osage Orange, Crab Apple, American Sweetgum, Japanese Zelkova, London Plane, Elm, Honey Locust, and varieties of Oak and Maple.
Blackburn says with each passing year, more trees are lost and need replacement. With increasing costs and limited funding, the task is difficult but necessary.
“Municipal budgets are tight everywhere and the cost of plant material has seen double-digit percentage increases in the last six years,” said Blackburn. “Additionally, our village forest is aging and we’re losing 30-40+ trees each year. The upside is we replace those trees with new, more desirable cultivars.”
Medina’s planting policy reflects a diverse selection of species. Shown here is Quercus muehlenbergii or Chinkapin oak, one of ten different species being planted this month in the village.
Blackburn explained that much of Medina’s old trees are Silver Maple and Ash, with the Silver Maples simply dying from age and the Ash from the Emerald Ash Borer.
“Thankfully, the community has been extremely generous in donating funds for trees, both as memorials and general plantings,” she said. “People see the importance of trees in the village and enjoy the aesthetic impact. We’re incredibly grateful for the financial support we recieve through our annual Community Releaf Fund Drive.”
According to Blackburn, donations can be made anytime for general tree planting, memorial trees or for “trees on your street”. Additional information can be obtained at the Village Clerk’s Office or by downloading the Releaf brochure online at villagemedina.org.
“Now more than ever, support is critical for the future,” said Blackburn.
The Arbor Day 2022 Celebration will begin at approximately 10 a.m. on Frank Street at the corner of West Avenue, and will include the reading of the Arbor Day Proclamation by Mayor Michael Sidari. The trees will planted by the Medina DPW. Medina’s 3rd graders will be on hand to help plant the trees and celebrate the day.
“The community’s invited!” said Blackburn. “Medina’s Arbor Day Celebration is second to none and we encourage everyone to come celebrate and support tree planting in Medina!”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 April 2022 at 9:31 am
File photos by Tom Rivers: Greg Reed is shown on the steps at the Orleans County YMCA on Pearl Street in Medina, a former Armory that trained soldiers. Reed helped the Y build many partnerships in the community.
MEDINA – Greg Reed, the YMCA director in Orleans County, has been promoted to director of the Y in Genesee County. Reed will continue to help oversee the Y in Orleans County, acting as a mentor to the new director.
The Y has set a deadline for Wednesday for applicants to be executive director of the operations in Orleans County. That person will oversee 30 employees, 460 membership units, a $580,000 annual budget and an 80,000-square-foot facility on Pearl Street in Medina. (Click here to see the application.)
Reed said the Y wants a director with the core values of respect, responsibility and a community mindset.
“Some one who is a doer and has a servant heart will thrive in this position,” he said.
Reed, a Stafford resident, welcomes the much closer commute to Batavia. He also will be part of the Y team that is developing a $30 million healthy living campus in Batavia with Rochester Regional Health and United Memorial Medical Center.
Reed will also stay connected in Orleans County, helping the Y develop disc golf courses at Gulf Street Park in Medina, Bullard Park in Albion and a site in Holley.
He also is working to develop a bike share program where bikes can be rented in Medina. Last year the Y also partnered with the Canal Corp. and New York Power Authority to offer free use of kayaks and hydro-bikes. That program will continue this year.
Reed said the Y in Orleans County wants to expand youth sports and programming in the afternoon and evenings.
The Y partnered with the Genesee-Orleans Regional Art Council on several projects, including outdoor art on the sidewalks and steps, and hosting the annual Day of the Dead festival. That event in late October remembers ancestors, and included free activities with Mexican crafts, face painting, dance and drama performance, sand painting and ofrenda displays, and special food tastings.
“My biggest goal trying to encourage people to see the Y as a place for community,” Reed said. “I wanted to get people in the door and they can see it’s not the same Y as it was years before. We wanted to recognize our Armory roots and show that it now looks different.”
Jill Pettigrew, an artist from Batavia, shows off a transformed room at the Orleans County YMCA to Greg Reed, the Y director, in this photo from March 2, 2020. Pettigrew painted the mural that shows animals having a picnic in the forest. The wall used to be white on top with blue on the bottom. It is one of several projects where the Y worked with artists to give the Y a new look.
The Medina Armory opened in 1901 for Company F, which formed in 1891. In 1977, the National Guard left the Medina Armory, a site on Pearl Street. The site has been used as a YMCA for nearly four decades.
The Y recently opened an indoor playground, and revamped its child watch area to be much more interactive.
“We’re focusing on families right now,” Reed said.
The YMCA received a $51,000 grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to transform the sidewalks and steps by the Y with art. There was grant money left over from that project to pay an artist to work on the child watch room.
Reed also is proud of the Canal Club where members can explore the canal through exercise with kayaks, snow shoeing, biking and hydro bikes.
Reed was recognized fin 2018 as the Chamber of Commerce’s “Business Person of the Year” for building many strong community partnerships, and bringing new programs to the Y.
“We’re a wellness center and we’re for the community,” Reed said. “Our goal is how to make the Y so there is truly something for everyone when they walk in the door.”
