Photo by Ginny Kropf: The Butts-Clark American Legion Post made a $500 donation to the local Wreath’s Across America project on Friday afternoon. From left are Dave Kusmierczak, Wreaths Across America coordinator Kathy Blackburn, Legion commander Glenn Whitmore and Dave Morien.

MEDINA – Medina’s Wreaths Across America project got a big boost Friday with a $500 donation from the Butts-Clark American Post.

The donation is particularly significant because the national Wreaths Across America organization announced it would match any donations made by Jan. 13, said local organizer Kathy Blackburn.

“I’m thrilled people are stepping up for this match program,” Blackburn said.

Medina first participated in Wreaths Across America in 2013, when the initial seven free wreaths were sent from the Worcester, Maine, Morrill Wreath Company. Support for the program soon mushroomed, with 315 wreaths placed in Boxwood Cemetery last month.

Blackburn also praised Tom Snyder from Medina Lumber, who made a major donation to the effort.

Next year, Blackburn said all veterans’ graves in St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart Cemetery will also have wreaths placed on them.

Dave Kusimerczak, a member of the local American Legion, who first suggested the Post make a donation to Wreaths Across America, has volunteered to walk both St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart Cemetery and count the number of veterans’ graves.

Blackburn said it is incredible how the Wreaths Across America program has spread across the country. Initially, in 1992, Morrill Worcester of Harrington, Maine, who owns a wreath company, had a surplus and donated enough to cover a neglected section of Arlington National Cemetery. Now, annually hundreds of tractor trailer drivers donate their services to deliver wreaths to 2,700 locations across the county.

“This program is amazing,” Blackburn said.

She added they can always use more volunteers to help placing the wreaths, the third Saturday in December each year.

Kusmierczak said he suggested the donation because he not only wanted to honor veterans, but give recognition to the American Legion.

Legion Commander Glenn Whitmore said he thought it was a great thing to do.

Anyone who would still like to make a donation and have it doubled by Wreaths Across America, can get it to Medina village clerk by Jan. 13. Checks should indicate “Wreath program.”

Belgian Malinois served in Medina PD for 8 1/2 years; meets with residents in farewell

Photos by Ginny Kropf: These children –Chloe Moreland, 9, (left) and Kinsley, 5 – pet Kye at the Medina Senior Center today, where Lt. Todd Draper took the dog so residents could say goodbye to him.

MEDINA – Kye, the Village of Medina Police Department’s K-9 until retiring in November 2020, bid goodbye to handful of residents, Medina police officers and firefighters this afternoon.

Kye’s handler, Lt. Todd Draper, brought the Belgian Malinois to the Senior Center this afternoon, so residents and children could come and say goodbye to the dog, who has been diagnosed with bone cancer.

Lt. Todd Draper waits with Kye to meet the public this afternoon.

Draper knew many children had interacted with Kye at school and public events during his 8 ½ years on the police force, and he wanted to give them a chance to say a final farewell.

When the village decided to have a K-9 on the police force, Draper was named K-9 officer and Kye was imported from Holland when he was a year old. That was in 2012. He had some basic training in Holland, and for a year after arriving in Medina he continued to train in narcotics detection, building searches, criminal apprehension and handler protection.

He served the village well until being retired at the age of 10 1/2. That was little more than a year ago and the village now has a new dog of the same breed, Phoenix. His handler is Officer Jake Reeves.

The first visitors to come and greet Kye on Tuesday were Ashley Moreland of Medina and her children Jaden, 10, Chloe, 9 and Kinsley, 5.

“The children had seen Kye in school and wanted to come and say goodbye,” their mother said.

Draper set up a display with pictures of Kye during his years on the police force, newspaper clippings of arrests he had a part in and posters drawn by children. Many had messages which said, “We will miss you.”

Kye has become part of the Draper family. About 2 1/2 months ago, the lieutenant said they noticed Kye was having difficulty moving. They knew he has undergone a lot of sprains and strains during his police work, but when he got worse, they gave him some medicine. It didn’t help, so they took him to the vet, who also gave him medication, then ordered some tests.

It was confirmed Kye had  bone cancer on his right shoulder. Already the tumor is the size of two grapefruit.

Draper said Kye isn’t in any pain, but he knows the day will soon come when the decision will have to be made to put him down.

Provided photo: Nurse April Schultz at Medina Memorial Hospital takes Santa Claus’ blood pressure to make sure he is healthy for his Christmas Eve visit to children around the world.

MEDINA – Santa Claus is healthy and ready for his big night, according to information from Orleans Community Health/Medina Memorial Hospital.

On Dec. 22, Santa successfully passed his yearly physical, announced medical personnel at Medina Memorial Hospital.

April Schultz, RN, conducted the examination and said, “Mr. Claus is in the best shape of his life. We were pleased to visit with him and wish him all the best on his coming trip.”

“Children can rest assured that the big guy is ready to go,” said RN Kim Gray, chief nursing officer and director of surgical services for Orleans Community Health. “He received a clean bill of health.”

NORAD will begin tracking Santa and his sleigh just after midnight on Christmas Eve. It is estimated he needs 36 hours to complete his journey.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Diane Mazur, left, and Sherry Tuohey fill boxes at the Grove United Methodist Church for families who applied for assistance at Christmas.

MEDINA – Volunteers at the Grove United Methodist Church packed 75 boxes of food, gifts, toys and clothing, which were delivered to families on Saturday by local firefighters.

This year’s applicants were slightly higher than last year, said Sherry Tuohey, who chairs the annual MAAC-sponsored event.

Boxes this year will provide Christmas to more than 100 children and 32 senior citizens, Tuohey said.

Volunteer shoppers pack box of toys and gifts at the Grove United Methodist Church for delivery to needy families.

After firefighters collected the more than 40 red barrels from throughout the community, they were brought back to the church, where volunteers sorted the contents, according to age and gender. Tables were piled high with toys, gifts, hats, scarves and mittens. With a family’s wish list in hand, volunteers with shopping carts went down the aisles, picking out an appropriate item or items for each person on the list.

After the boxes were packed and sealed, they were stacked along a wall according to the street on which the family lives. Then, on Saturday, the firefighters loaded them in their vehicles and delivered them to the homes who had applied.

This year, donations to the MAAC red barrels will result in Christmas for 200 individuals in all.

Toys, gifts and clothing are arranged on tables by age and gender at the Grove United Methodist Church, ready for volunteers to fill Christmas wishes.

Dennis DuBoi tapes a box of Christmas gifts, ready for delivery by local firefighters.

Provided photo

MEDINA – Girl Scouts in Troops 82007 and 82261 placed wreaths on veterans’ graves in Boxwood Cemetery in medina on Saturday as part of the Wreaths Across America program.

The Scouts joined other volunteers in placing wreaths on the graves of 315 veterans.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Staff at Takeform in Medina, Medina merchants and winners of a holiday contest pose in front of a new gratitude panel created by Takeform and erected in Rotary Park for the Christmas season. At left are Mike and Kara Zambito, Decorate Medina chair Jaye Sullivan, and Jordan and Brett Grollnes with son Patrick, who won Takeform’s contest. At right are Ryan Scaja, engineer at Takeform; Shannon Dent, designer; engineers Jesse Follman and Doug Robertson; and Andrew Szatkowski, operations manager at Takeform.

MEDINA – When Takeform employees learned they weren’t going to have a float in this year’s Parade of Lights, they knew they had to do something else, said Takeform director of operations Andrew Szatkowski.

“We really missed working on a float, so we started thinking about it and ideas just snowballed,” said designer Shannon Dent.

They decided to have a booth at the Parade of Lights, where they would ask the crowd to take a slip of paper and write down what they were grateful for. To encourage people to their tent, they gave away Christmas ornaments, said Szatkowski.

Three hundred and fifty people participated.

At the end, one winner was drawn, 8-year-old Patrick Grollnes, whose answer was, “My family and friends.”

Patrick, 8, who won Takeform’s contest at the Parade of Lights, poses with Santa Claus, his mother Jordan and sister Adeline in Rotary Park, where his reason for being thankful is one of those engraved on the Gratitude Wall designed by Takeform employees.

As winner, Patrick and his family, parents Brett and Jordan and sister Adeline, were treated to dinner by Mike and Kara Zambito of Zambistro’s in their popular outdoor igloo.

It was pretty cool, Patrick said.

“Patrick is a big eater, so he really enjoyed having a multi-course meal,” his mother said. “It was a real nice treat the week before Christmas.”

Meanwhile, Takeform had contacted Jaye Sullivan, chair of the Decorate Medina Committee, who said they could erect their display in Rotary Park. The layered display features an 1880’s picture of Medina’s downtown with an acrylic overlay engraved with the messages of those who filled the slips at the parade.

This wall of Holiday Gratitude and Greetings will stand in Rotary Park until about the first of February. It features a background picture of 1880’s Medina with a plastic overlay engraved with reasons why hundreds of people who attended the Parade of Lights are grateful.

Reasons for giving thanks included many who said “family and friends and good health.” But others were thankful for their community, for small towns like Medina, Godzilla, deer season and one said, “Everything I have.”

Dent said it took her about 10 hours to lay all the comments on the plastic.

The Takeform group said the display is most beautiful at night when it is lighted.

It will remain up until about the first of February, Szatkowski said.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Jeanne Crane, Orleans Community Health Foundation president, presents a poinsettia to North Wing resident Elizabeth Atwell, who is surrounded by her family.

MEDINA – The North Wing at Medina Memorial Hospital is all decked out for the season to help residents enjoy the Christmas holiday.

Recently, Jeanne Crane, president of the Orleans Community Health Foundation, presented each resident with a poinsettia.

This is a tradition started by the Twig Association many years ago, and then handed off to the Orleans Community Health Foundation.

North Wing resident Rose Plummer gets a poinsettia from Jeanne Crane.

From left, Orleans Community Health Foundation director Heather Smith, OCH president Jeanne Crane and CEO Marc Shurtz pose amid holiday decorations in the North Wing of Medina Memorial Hospital.

MEDINA – A Medina native and Nashville entertainer return home for Christmas and give a concert Dec. 30 at the Medina Theater on Main Street.

Brandon Noreck is a 2009 graduate of Medina High School, where he sang in the choir, played in the jazz band and was a member of the Mustang Marching Band from seventh grade through high school.

Brandon Noreck

“Mrs. Roessler, who led the choir, was a big inspiration to me,” Noreck said. “Mr. Doctor pushed me to be a vocalist. He urged me to audition for a school musical. I didn’t want a featured spot, but I ended up as Tony in ‘West Side Story.’”

Noreck’s parents still live in the area – his father Jim on South Lyndonville Road and his mother Lisa in Amherst.

“I’ve loved music all my life,” Noreck said in a phone call from Nashville last week. “I started playing piano when I was 5 years old.”

In his senior year of high school, he and his mom took a trip to Nashville, and he was hooked.

“I fell in love with the city,” he said.

Noreck attended Fredonia State College, where he graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in sound recording technology.

Initially, he wanted to be an engineer in sound recording technology, he said.

Not only is he an engineer, but a song writer, singer and instrumentalist. He plays piano, guitar and trumpet. While he has knowledge of woodwind, brass, percussion and choral arrangements, his specialty is RnB/Soul/Pop.

Music is one of the most important things in his life, he said.

After moving to Nashville in 2013, Noreck did freelance sound recording, but after a couple of years he realized his biggest passion was to sing. He started attending sessions called Writers’ Rounds, where musicians and singers meet and perform for each other.

Noreck has written several songs and really enjoys performing his original stuff, he said. He has had a couple of his songs cut and released. He has also done jingles on the radio.

Click here to hear “I Just Want You” by Brandon Noreck.

When a family friend, Tim McPherson of Medina, learned Noreck was coming home for Christmas, he thought how great it would be if the singer could perform for his home town crowd. McPherson contacted Joe Cardone and arranged to use the Medina Theater for a concert. This will be his first time performing for his home town.

Noreck will sing and play from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 30 at the theater. Admission is $10 at the door.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A new display of gratitude sends messages of thankfulness during a time when many people are feeling anxiety, loss and disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Takeform in Medina installed the display featuring a vintage photo of downtown Medina on Friday in Rotary Park at one of Medina’s main intersections.

The company had a booth during the Olde Tyme Christmas celebration on Nov. 27 and asked people what they are thankful for in their lives. Those quotes are part of a display that will be up until mid-January.

Many said family, and others included organ donors, deer season and even chocolate.

A sampling of some of the messages include:

“This Wonderful, Friendly Town of Medina”

“Things in Life Do Not Come In A Box”

“Thankful For My Mommy, Daddy And Two Babies”

“For A Healthy Family And The Wonderful Life”

“Snow Storms That Look Like Snow Globes”

“Mustang Pride”

“Open Your Heart To The Goodness Of The Holiday”

“My Family, Sheep & Goats”

“Medina, A Hallmark Hometown – We’re So Lucky”

“Stay Safe, Love Each Other”

Medina RR Museum welcomed 20,000 riders past three weekends

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Nineteen-year-old Robert Kennedy of Rochester surprises his grandfather James Kennedy during a ride on the Polar Express Saturday. Robert was in basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. and told his family he wouldn’t be able to make it home.

MEDINA – The 2021 run of Polar Express at Medina Railroad Museum is one for the record books.

Nearly 20,000 people rode the train during the past three weekends, taking passengers to the “North Pole” and back. Along the way they enjoyed hot chocolate, a train Christmas cookie, Christmas carols and a visit by Santa, who gave every child a bell.

During this year’s event, one family held a surprise birthday party on the train and one man proposed to his girlfriend, but it was on the last train Saturday the biggest surprise took place.

The Kennedy family from Rochester has traveled to Medina to ride the train every year. This year, however, was going to be different. Nineteen-year-old Robert Kennedy had joined the Army in September and was in basic training at Fort Benning, Ga.

Robert Kennedy, center, poses with his parents Jaime Kennedy and Matt Peer after surprising the family on a ride on the Polar Express at Medina Railroad Museum Saturday.

He decided to surprise his family, telling them he wouldn’t be able to make it home and they would have to ride the train without him. But, in fact, he did finish basic training, and he shared that news with his parents. His father drove to Georgia and brought him home, not telling the rest of the family.

Robert rode the next-to-the-last train of the day, then hid in the storage room on his family’s coach. After they boarded and the train was headed to the North Pole, Robert got in line behind the staff serving hot chocolate. As they served his family, Robert popped up and revealed himself.

Robert Kennedy’s brother and sister were among nearly a dozen family members he surprised during a ride on the Polar Express Saturday.

There were a lot of gasps and cheers as one-by-one, the family realized it was really Robert.

First to get a hug was his grandfather James Kennedy, himself a veteran, who was Robert’s inspiration to join the military. Then there were hugs from grandma Rosann, his parents, brother and sister, aunts uncles and cousins.

Robert said he always wanted to be like his grandpa and serve his country. He plans to make a career of it.

The Polar Express is an attraction owned by Rail Events. They hold 45 Polar events annually throughout the United States, 10 in the Ukraine and a new one this year in Australia, according to Edward Rozycki, licensing manager, who visited Medina Railroad Museum on Saturday.

Some railroads have been doing Polar Express events since the book came out in 1985, Rozycki said. The movie came out in 2004, and Rail Events received a license from Warner Brothers to run events in 2007.

Most events were canceled in 2020 due to Covid, but in 2019, nearly 1.4 million people rode the Polar Express, Rozycki said.

The Medina Railroad Museum will be closed until March 1 as it makes upgrades and repairs to the building and coaches.

The Museum has already scheduled a return of Day Out with Thomas for June 10, 11 and 12 and tickets will go on sale online after the first of January.  The event will have a new look and new features.