By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 October 2018 at 8:42 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Bob Hiller, manager of The Medicine Shoppe, wears a pirate costume and his wife, Lee Hiller, is dressed up as a doctor while the hand out candy to children for Beggar’s Night in Medina on Friday. There was a big line of kids and their parents behind the downtown stores while they waiting for the event to start at 5:30 p.m.
Organizers say at least 800 kids were dressed up in costumes for the event.
Amina Baity, 7, of Medina gets candy from a dinosaur at Kathy Bogan’s law office.
Kathy Bogan dressed up as a stormtrooper and her husband Kevin was Darth Vader. Kathy is holding their dog, Daisy, which was Chewbecca from Star Wars.
Many teachers wore costumes and passed out candy at Rotary Park. Lisa Pavlak (mermaid) is an elementary art teacher, Anne Downey (Groucho Marx) is the elementary school nurse and Mark Fitzpatrick is a seventh grade social studies teacher.
Karen Jones, a high school English teacher, passes out candy to one of the kids. She was also promoting the We Read program.
This group from ATB Staffing includes from left: Bonnie Seelbinder, Barb Dunham, Mary Lou Blount and Bob Blount.
Jack Dougherty, 4, of Brockport is joined by his father Jarrod Dougherty at the start of Beggar’s Night. They are chatting with Police Chief Chad Kenward and Kathy Blackburn, who dressed as Snow White.
Bruce Deyarmin of Medina and his son Austin, 2, get in line for the candy processional. Austin wanted to be a firefighter for the event.
Amanda Mank and her daughter Chloe pass out candy at The Fringe, which is owned by Vanessa Lhommedieu, who dressed as a safari guide.
Cindy Robinson, president of the Medina Business Association and owner of the English Rose Tea Shoppe, greets kids on the sidewalk in front of her store.
MEDINA – Addison Carr, 9, of Medina has been selected to perform in Moscow Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” next month at the Historic Palace Theatre in Lockport.
Addison is a fourth grader at Clifford H. Wise Middle School. She has been dancing since she was 3 at the Dancenter in Medina. She was chosen to perform in “The Nutcracker” after auditioning this past spring.
Bright-eyed and full of smiles, Addison was so excited to be selected. Rehearsals started on Sept. 30 with the performance on Nov. 17. She will be playing the part of a snowflake.
“Addison has beautiful stage presence for such a young dancer,” says Stephanie Szklany, owner of the Dancenter. “Her natural ability to perform no doubt caught the eye of the judges.”
Addison is currently taking Pre-Pointe and Jazz classes from Miss Stephanie at the Dancenter.
Addison is the daughter of Jeremy and Kristy Carr.
Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker includes world-class Russian artists, hand-painted sets, Russian Snow Maidens, and jubilant Nesting Dolls. The “Dove of Peace Tour” will be in more than 100 cities across North America.
Tickets for the Lockport performance are available at the Palace Theatre Box Office or online at lockportpalacetheatre.org.
File photo by Tom Rivers: Many Medina officials would like to improve access to the Medina Waterfalls near the Erie Canal, just west of the State Street bridge.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 October 2018 at 2:12 pm
MEDINA – The committee working on a waterfront plan for Medina wants to hear from residents and visitors how Medina could turn its waterfront resources into a bigger asset.
The village is fortunate to have the Erie Canal, Glenwood Lake and Oak Orchard River. Medina also has sizable open spaces near the canal, Glenwood Lake and the Oak Orchard.
The Village of Medina has initiated a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program to better utilize the waterfront for economic development, recreation and tourism.
The committee had a public meeting last week to update the community on the program and to get their ideas for waterfront projects.
The group is also doing an online survey for local residents and will have one available for visitors to fill out. (Click here to see the survey for residents).
The surveys also will be printed and available in the downtown.
Photo by Ginny Kropf: The Lois McClure, a replica of a canal boat from the 1800s, pulls up to the Canal Basin in Medina. A planning committee is seeking ideas from the public on how to make the basin more appealing.
The survey asks local residents how long have they lived in Medina, and why do they live in Medina (proximity to family, work, low cost of housing, accessibility to Buffalo or Rochester, other reasons).
Other questions include: How often do you utilize village parks? Which village parks — Butts Park, Gulf Street Park, Lions Park, State Street Park, Canal Port Park or Rotary Park — do you visit most often?
How often do you utilize the Erie Canal Heritage Trail? How often do you access the Erie Canal, Glenwood Lake, and/or Oak Orchard River?
How do you interact with the Glenwood Lake, Oak Orchard River and Erie Canal? — scenic viewing, boating, kayaking or canoeing, fishing, other (please be specific)
Would you like to see additional recreational amenities around the Erie Canal or in village-owned parks? If yes, what would you like to see?
What kind of amenities would you like to see in Medina?
If you could implement one improvement project around the waterfront (that would have the greatest impact) what would it be?
The village received a state grant to cover most of the cost of the project to develop the waterfront program. That plan is expected to be finished in mid-2019, in time for Medina to apply for funding for state grants.
Samantha Herberger, a planner with Bergmann Associates in Rochester, leads a discussion about Medina’s waterfront during a meeting last Wednesday at the Medina Central School district office.
Members of the committee and the public held a public meeting last week to discuss the waterfront, including potential projects and obstacles to bringing them to reality.
Improved public access to the Medina Waterfalls was cited by many as a top priority. Those waterfalls are currently dangerous for the public to access. The waterfalls are visible from the towpath by the canal, but a better vantage point could make the falls a bigger attraction for Medina.
“The Medina Waterfalls isn’t just underutilized, it’s unknown,” said Jim Hancock, the tourism chairman for Medina.
The group at last week’s meeting also said the waterfront plan should include more amenities by the Canal Basin, including more lighting to make the area feel safer in the evening and at night.
Allison Harrington, an urban planner with Sustainable Planning Design, said Medina has a thriving historic commercial district right next to the Erie Canal.
Medina has lots of open land near its waterfront by the canal, the Oak Orchard River and Glenwood Lake, said Allison Harrington, an urban planner with Sustainable Planning Design. She did an inventory of the assets and opportunities by the village’s waterfront property.
She sees the presence of open and 35 acres of parks as assets that could be enhanced to enhance the quality of life for village residents and also draw more visitors and tourists.
“When you look at a community with a declining population, what are some of the things we can do to keep them here?” Harrington asked about 40 people at last week’s meeting.
She said the Medina downtown and some of the other historic sites in the community give Medina “tremendous architectural resources.”
The downtown is clearly cared for by the building owners, and the interpretive panels and historical markers show there is pride in the community for the downtown and Medina’s history, she said.
“You have this real intact fabric of a downtown that is representative of a canal community,” she said.
Harrington also cited a few underutilized spots on Main Street, including the former Starlite Cleaners. Starlite was leveled and that open lot could be an asset to help the business district.
Residents and committee members at the meeting last week said a better developed trail system, linking the waterfront assets should be developed.
Specifically, residents and committee members at the meeting noted projects that would boost Medina could include a brewery in the Canal Basin, a community center in Medina, and more backside facades such as the one at Fitzgibbons Public House that faces the canal.
The planning group said it wants to add the “wow factor” to Medina’s waterfront, which they say is currently missing.
The consultants for the project will reach out to Medina leaders and other stakeholders in interviews to get their ideas about waterfront development and revitalization.
The planning committee wants to identify specific projects in December. It is pushing to have the planning initiative complete by mid-2019 in time to pursue state funding for some of the projects.
Photos courtesy of Medina Fire Department: Don Marchner was honored on Saturday for his 50 years of service to the Medina Fire Department. He was recognized during the Brian Kwiatkowski Ball, put on by the Medina Firefighters & Police Benevolent Associations.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 October 2018 at 12:46 pm
Don Marchner is shown in this undated photo during the early days of his service as a Medina firefighter. He also has been an active firefighter for the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company.
MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department honored a long-time member on Saturday, and also presented awards for firefighters who made life-saving actions in the past year.
Donald Marchner was honored for 50 years of service to the Fire Department. He started as a volunteer callman, and was a career firefighter before becoming a Medina police officer. He has remained an active volunteer for the fire department, responding to about 200 calls a year. He also is active with the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company, and responds to about 200 calls for Ridgeway.
Mayor Michael Sidari declared Saturday to be “Donald Marchner Day” in Medina “for recognition of his loyalty and service to the populace of our great village,” according to the proclamation from the mayor.
Marchner was recognized during the Brian Kwiatkowski Ball, put on by the Medina Firefighters & Police Benevolent Associations. About 130 people attended the event at the Sacred Heart Club.
Marchner is a regular every morning at the Medina firehall, joining firefighters for coffee and often on fire and ambulance calls.
Marchner received this ceremonial ax in appreciation for a half century of service.
The Medina Fire Department also presented the following awards on Saturday:
• “Code Save” Award to firefighters Bradley Mahnke, Joseph Simmons, Rich Jenkinson and Mike Young. This crew responded to a cardiac arrest and was able to successfully resuscitate the patient and transport the person to Buffalo General Hospital for further treatment. That patient was discharged home from the hospital with no deficits.
• Meritorious Service Award to firefighters Timothy Miller and Adam Vanderheite for their lifesaving efforts at an off-duty get together. A small child began choking on a soft drink bottle cap and both men attended to the child and successfully removed the airway obstruction by use of the Heimlich maneuver.
• Firefighter Jacob Crooks received the Brian T. Kwiatkowski Award for all the work he does for the Benevolent Association, the Union and the Fire Department as a whole. The Brian T. Kwiatkowski Award isn’t given out every year. It goes to someone “who goes above and beyond for the department to make it better,” said Stephen Miller, the awards chairman.
• Firefighters Stephen Miller and Dan Scanlon received a “Stork” pin for delivering a baby this past year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 October 2018 at 11:23 am
Photos courtesy of Evette Phillips
BUFFALO – Caliyah Boston, 7, of Medina is shown with some of the donated food she brought to Buffalo on Sunday to give to We R Buffalo Strong, an organization led by Medina native Evette Phillips.
For the past five years Phillips has been taking food to homeless people in Buffalo, often bringing grills and cooking meals with them.
Caliyah’s family heard about the organization through social media and wanted to collect food to be be donated to We R Buffalo Strong. Caliyah’s second grade classmates and others at Oak Orchard Elementary School helped with the effort, which resulted in three carloads of food and clothing.
“Caliyah’s classroom also made cards for the homeless which brought some to tears, including me,” Phillips said.
Caliyah Boston is pictured with Evette Phillips, leader of We R Buffalo Strong on Sunday. Caliyah helped to give away the food to homeless people in Buffalo.
Phillips last year was named the “Humble Humanitarian of the Year” by Compass House of WNY, which runs a shelter for homeless children ages 12 to 17.
She typically meets the homeless on the street behind the Buffalo public library.
“I’m just a single mom of four who wants to make a difference in my town,” Phillips said during a phone interview today.
She was impressed by Caliyah’s good heart and motivation to help the homeless. Phillips didn’t realize the Medina connection until Caliyah showed up Sunday wearing a Medina Mustang sweatshirt.
Caliyah Boston shows her Mustang pride while unpacking a trunk full of food and clothing on Sunday
“For someone to be all the way from Medina to come to Buffalo that really resonated with me,” Phillips said. “I’m from Medina. It’s so small and everybody knows everyone.”
Phillips said she doesn’t just hand out food. Sometimes there are tail-gate parties, cookouts and TV’s hooked up to watch the Bills games together.
“It started off as just trying to make a difference in the community and it really took off,” she said. “It’s just giving the people a sense of normalcy and love without judgement.”
Caliyah made donation boxes for food and clothing, which she took to Buffalo on Sunday.
File photos by Tom Rivers: Takeform Architectural Graphics in Medina won the grand prize in in the 2017 Parade of Lights by creating a scene of Medina on a flatbed trailer.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 22 October 2018 at 8:20 am
MEDINA – It’s not too early to start thinking about a float in this year’s Parade of Lights, scheduled Nov. 24 in downtown Medina .
This will mark the 10th anniversary of the spectacular parade, and the planning committee has been busy for weeks coming up with special features to honor the event.
Provided photo: The committee planning this year’s Parade of Lights is encouraging everyone to start thinking about entering a float in this year’s parade Nov. 24. Special prizes and features will celebrate the parade’s 10th anniversary. Seated from left are chairman Jim Hancock, Trudi Schwert and Reinhard Rogowski. Standing are Dave and Gail Miller, Kathie Valley and Dave Schwert. Committee member Betty Rogowski took the picture.
The parade was an idea of Jim Hancock, who chairs the event. His former pastor at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church , the Rev. Emily Frank, told him about the small town in Michigan where she came from that had been doing a parade of lights for more than a decade.
“I thought if that small town can do it, why can’t Medina,” Hancock said.
He put together a committee and the rest is history, he said.
The parade has continued to grow in support and participation. Each year the committee solicits donations from corporations, individuals and other organizations, who have continued to be very generous, Hancock said.
“I am amazed at how the number and beauty of the floats has grown,” he said. “People from all over our state have seen pictures online and marvel at the floats.”
Hancock is assisted by Dave and Trudi Schwert, Dave and Gail Miller, Reinhard and Betty Rogowski, Kathie Valley, and Duane and Pat Payne. Mark Irwin has also been involved.
This year’s parade will feature four bands – the Medina Mustang Marching Band, Downbeat Percussion (who play during halftime at Buffalo Bills’ games), Mark Time Marchers and Prime Time Brass.
Trudi Schwert said the Downbeat Percussion band is from Syracuse and approached Medina to be in the parade.
In honor of the 10th anniversary, Dave Schwert said each parade entrant is asked to incorporate the number “10” in their float somehow.
Another change is this year the judges will come to the assembly area at the Pickle Factory to talk to entrants and pre-judge the floats.
Matt CM Contracting won the Star Award for a candy cane themed float in 2017.
The grand prize this year for the best overall float will be $1,000. Other prizes will also be awarded to floats in various categories, which include Commercial/Business, Not-for-Profit, Religious, Service Club/Organization, Fire Company, Little Elf Award, Star Award, Community Spirit Award, Santa’s Pick and Other.
“One thing, we know it takes time and effort to construct a float, so we are asking early to give everyone time to develop a float and work on it while the weather is still good,” Dave Schwert said.
The Parade of Lights caps off Medina ’s Olde Tyme Christmas celebration and the arrival of Santa Claus that day. The celebration features children’s activities, food, entertainment, lighting of the Christmas tree in Rotary Park, and fireworks at 5:45, prior to start of the parade at 6 p.m.
The Boy Scouts sell hot beverages, hotdogs and chili at the staging area, and each entrant will receive a $5 coupon toward food.
The parade will leave the Pickle Factory and head down Park Avenue to Main Street, then turn north on Main Street to Pearl Street .
All information, including entry blanks, are available online at www.ChristmasinMedina.com or by calling Hancock at 798-2118.
ORCHARD PARK – The Medina Mustang Marching Band traveled to Orchard Park on Saturday to compete for the last time before the state championships.
Twelve bands competed at Orchard Park, with inclement weather forcing the show indoors. Normally a band performs in competition on an entire football field complete with their entire band, guard and props. In this case the band and guard are crowded into a gym without props and do a “stand still.” They play all the music but are not able to convey their show with all of its formations. Subsequently there are no numeral scores given out but instead are given ratings.
In SS1 Medina was given a rating of “Outstanding.” The bands in SS3, Jordan Elbridge, Pioneer, Falconer-Frewsburg and LeRoy were rated at “Excellent.”
In LS3 Hilton was “Excellent” with Greece rated at “Outstanding.” In LS2 Jamestown, Orchard Park, Webster and West Seneca were “Outstanding.” Lancaster was the only National Band and was rated “Superior.”
The NYSFBC are Sunday, Oct. 28, at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. There will be a total of 53 bands performing in 6 divisions starting at 8 a.m. Medina performs in SS1 at 6:54 p.m.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Three buildings were inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Thursday. Representing the James Prendergast Free Library in Jamestown includes Tina Scott, library director, and Ned Lindstrom, a member of the library’s board of trustees; Representing St. John’s Episcopal Church in Clifton Springs is Andrew VanBuren, the church's rector; Representing Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church/Lafayette Lofts in Buffalo are Paul Meyer, a member of the Session, and Diane Poleon, a member of the church.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 October 2018 at 7:35 am
Buildings inducted from Jamestown, Buffalo and Clifton Springs
MEDINA – Three buildings that were built in the late 1800s from local Medina Sandstone were inducted Thursday afternoon into the Medina Sandstone Society’s Hall of Fame.
The new inductees include the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church/Lafayette Lofts in Buffalo, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Clifton Springs and the James Prendergast Free Library in Jamestown.
The Medina Sandstone Society started the Hall of Fame in 2013 and has now inducted 27 structures into the exclusive club. There are plaques for the inductees inside City Hall at the main meeting room.
The Sandstone Society accepts nominations each year. So far, 54 places have been nominated. Don Colquhoun, one of the Hall of Fame Committee members, said many other prominent sites worthy of induction have yet to be nominated.
Colquhoun and Jim Hancock, president of the Sandstone Society and chairman of the HOF Committee, said there will be new inductees for many years to come.
“We’re not even close,” Colquhoun said about honoring all of the awesome Medina Sandstone sites.
The Sandstone Society wants to recognize well-maintained buildings and other sandstone sites that are unique and architecturally significant. The society has inducted churches, public buildings, private buildings and ornamental buildings/structures.
“We have truly been amazed at the multitude of buildings from this seemingly indestructible building material,” Hancock said.
The new inductees include:
• Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church/Lafayette Lofts in Buffalo
Paul Meyer, left, is a member of the Session at Lafayette. He listens to the citation from Don Colquhoun about the church and its loft apartments.
The Lafayette Presbyterian Church had the building constructed at the corner of Lafayette and Elmwood avenues in 1894.
The church is a sterling example of the use of Medina Sandstone in the Romanesque Revival style with a large cruciform floor plan and an attached rear chapel. Lafayette was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
More recently, the rear of this historic church building was repurposed into the Lafayette Lofts, offering a number of modern living spaces, culinary center, the office and meeting spaces without compromising the original architectural design and beauty.
“It is a great example of historic preservation at its best,” said Don Colquhoun, a member of the Hall of Fame Committee.
• St. John’s Episcopal Church in Clifton Springs
Andrew VanBuren, rector at St. John’s, said the congregation takes great pride in the church building.
Construction of this church on Main Street in this Ontario County village was completed in 1883, after the cornerstone was laid in 1879.
The church’s Belgian Gothic style makes this edifice remarkably unique. The Medina sandstone was brought by barge from Medina along the Erie Canal to Port Gibson and transported by wagon or sleds to the build site.
“If you visit Clifton Springs and drive down Main Street, heading east and look up, you’ll see this beautiful Medina Sandstone church silhouetted on the horizon, welcoming you to this historic village,” Hancock said.
Andrew VanBuren, the rector at St. John’s the past 3 ½ years, said the church of 35-40 attendees faced a $50,000 project to repoint stones. The congregation raised the funds and is determined to not let the building fall into disrepair.
“It’s important for us to have a structure that welcomes people,” he said.
He praised the generations before him that have worked so hard with the building.
• James Prendergast Free Library, Jamestown
The Prendergast family donated the money to build a library in Jamestown in memory of James Prendergast, son of this Chautauqua County city’s founder. Architect A.J. Warner of Rochester was given $65,000 to design and build a 127-foot by 100-foot structure that was completed in 1891 after 11 years of effort.
Tina Scott, Prendergast library director, accepts the award.
This sturdy-looking building was built of rock-faced Medina sandstone in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
The use of contrasting gray and red sandstone, curved arches over the entrance and a lovely turret on the southeast corner give the library a uniquely enchanting appearance.
In the 1960s, an expansion and modernization project added 16,500 square feet to the library, but the Medina Sandstone south side entrance and interior rooms remained largely unchanged and still retain all the charm that the Prendergast family would have appreciated.
Tina Scott, Prendergast library director the past 10 years, said the sandstone building is so sound it was once used as a bomb shelter. She loves the marble floors inside and the alternating sandstone colors, the red and gray.
The building is a source of pride in the Jamestown community, she said.
“It was built to last,” she said. “You don’t see them built like that these days.”
Scott said she didn’t known there has a Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame until recently when she was notified the Jamestown library would be inducted. She praised the organizers for their local pride and for recognizing the outstanding sites.
“It’s awesome because you’re keeping the history of your town alive,” she said.
Jim Hancock, president of the Medina Sandstone Society, gives the welcome message during the Hall of Fame program. He stands in front of a revamped display of all the inductees since 2013.
Takeform Architectural Graphics in Medina has donated all of the plaques in the Hall of Fame. The local company also did a redesign of the display, which was running out of room for new inductees. The new display has room for another four or five years, Hancock said.
Bill Hungerford, president of Takeform, has been a Sandstone Society supporter and member since the group started in 2004.
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By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 October 2018 at 2:48 pm
File photo by Tom Rivers: The former Bernzomatic plant is pictured in 2014 after it was closed by its last tenant, Worthington Cylinders.
MEDINA – A new owner has purchased the former Bernzomatic complex from Newell Operating Company, a subsidiary of Newell Brands.
The manufacturing plant has 160,000 square feet and has been vacant since 2014. It was last used by Worthington Cylinders, which had 174 employees in Medina. The company closed the Medina plant in mid-2014 and shifted those operations to a Worthington site in Wisconsin.
Worthington bought Bernzomatic in 2011. Bernzomatic had operated in Medina since 1969, making torches.
Worthington makes cylinders for the torches in Wisconsin. The company closed its site in Medina and shifted the torch production to Wisconsin, where the company said it could do everything at one site, saving in transportation costs.
The building has sat empty for more than four years.
It has been purchased by Kyle Brent through his B360 Holdings LLC. Brent plans to upgrade and rehab the former manufacturing site.
“The entire site will be completely modernized so the building and complex can again accommodate a fully-functioning manufacturing operation and warehouse, if that’s what a tenant needs, and there will still be plenty of flex space for separate offices or a call center,” Brent said in a news release from the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
The main building is 160,000 square feet with ceiling heights ranging from 14 feet to 22 feet. There are two grade-level doors and 12 truck doors with levelers.
“The former Bernzomatic facility was designed and built to accommodate manufacturing,” said James Whipple, CEO of the Orleans Economic Development Agency. “There are very few buildings around anymore with high ceilings, multiple truck docks, rail access and expansion potential like this complex. And Kyle Brent knows exactly how to turn this property into a prime development site.”
There is rail access to the 33.85-acre site located at 1 Bernzomatic Drive in the Village of Medina, which is situated in both the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby.
“Kyle Brent’s restoration of the entire Bernzomatic complex means Medina will have more options,” said Medina Mayor Michael Sidari. “There continues to be a lot of interest in Medina as a place to do business. The village is committed to working with Kyle to implement his vision for the property. We want to do everything we can to work with him to bring more opportunities and jobs here.”
The location has been primarily used for industrial purposes since 1915. It was operated as a cannery and food processing center when it was purchased in 1969 by Birds-Eye. Bernzomatic, a division of Newell-Rubbermaid, later acquired the site to manufacture and distribute hand-held torches for soldering, welding and brazing.
Zoned industrial, with available infrastructure and access to low-cost hydropower, the site is located along Bates Road near the Medina Business Park, the largest shovel-ready business park in Western New York and the Finger Lakes.
“Having worked with Kyle on this project for quite some time, there is a lot to be optimistic about,” said Gabrielle Barone, Orleans EDA’s vice president of development. “With this complex sold and under the control of a successful businessperson like Kyle, I am confident this project will pay off with significant economic development.”
Kyle Brent’s company Brent Industries, home of KJ Motorsports and Outdoor Furnace Supply, will remain on Mountain Road in Middleport.
“The last two years of this acquisition have been a marathon, now it’s time to tackle modernizing Bernz,” Brent said. “This next phase is something I’ve really been looking forward to.”
Provided photo: Oak Orchard Elementary School Principal Julie Webber and Mrs. Lehman’s third grade class are pictured with Medina firefighters Steve Miller, Joe Simmons and Matt Jackson.
Press Release, Medina Central School
MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department recently spent some time at Oak Orchard Elementary School talking to students about fire safety and allowing them to explore the Orleans County’s Emergency Management Office’s fire safety training trailer.
The 35-foot-long trailer is available to all 12 fire departments in the county and was paid for with a $75,000 state grant from State Sen. Robert Ortt. The trailer is used to help children and families develop a fire escape plan.
“We were lucky enough to have the trailer for the whole week,” says Oak Orchard Principal Julie Webber. “We like to get the community into the school as much as possible and this lets the children know that the fire department is here to help them. Our students, grades first, second and third got to visit the trailer. Pre-K and kindergarten had a traditional fire safety talk in the classroom. It was very cool. They practiced crawling on the floor to exit the trailer. It’s a real-life experience for them. They also got to practice calling 911.”
The trailer is set up with a kitchen area, hallway and a bedroom. The firefighters talked about how to handle pots and pans on the stove and kitchen fires. They also discussed the importance of touching the doors to see if they are warm before opening them.
“We had the trailer the week before Fire Prevention Week to showcase this to the school,” said firefighter and paramedic Steve Miller. “We pumped fog into the trailer to simulate smoke and we talked to the students about having two ways out of their home. We also talked about the importance of changing your batteries in your smoke detectors twice a year and overall fire safety and what to do in the case of an emergency.”
One of the features of the trailer is that the doors can be controlled to get warm to the touch from built-in heating elements. There is a window at the back of the trailer with a ladder that the students practiced getting out of.
“We tell them when there is smoke you want to get nice and low because smoke rises,” Miller said. “We explained the importance of when they get outside to have a meeting place for their family so everyone can be accounted for. Our purpose is to provide fire safety tips to the children and make it fun for them. It’s a great tool for us to use.”
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Wendy Oakes Wilson and her brother Darrel Oakes stand next to the tractor which takes wagons full of visitors through the orchards and vineyard at LynOaken on the Ridge. The family farm will be honored by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce as Agricultural Business of the Year at the annual awards dinner Thursday night at White Birch Golf Club.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 15 October 2018 at 10:21 am
MEDINA – Darrel Oakes and his sister Wendy Oakes Wilson are the third generation to operate the family farm started by their grandfather Leonard Oakes in 1919.
On Thursday evening, LynOaken Farms will be honored as the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s Agricultural Business of the Year.
File photo by Tom Rivers: Chris Oakes, orchard manager at LynOaken Farms and the fourth generation to work on the farm, holds a Redfield apple, a variety that was developed in 1938. The apple has a red flesh and pink seeds. It’s one of the heirloom varieties in a U-Pick orchard at the farm.
The award is not only a tremendous honor, but a perfect preview of the events leading up to celebration of LynOaken Farms 100th anniversary next year, Wilson said.
“We don’t know who nominated us for the award, but we were pleasantly shocked and honored,” Wilson said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Leonard Oakes had just gotten certified in poultry service from Cornell when he purchased land at the corner of Alps and Platten roads in the town of Yates.
“There were apple trees on it, but he wanted to raise chickens,” Wilson said. “He also had row crops, tart cherries and cucumbers.”
When Leonard died in 1951, his son James and new wife Wanda came back from Purdue to run the farm.
“Wanda was just pregnant with Darrel at the time,” Wilson said. “Our father was not into raising livestock and poultry, but was more interested in fruit, so he started planting cherries, apples and peaches.”
James ran the farm until the early 1980s, when Darrel took over.
Wilson at the time was still a teenager. She graduated from high school and went to the University of Michigan, intending to pursue a career in international business. She spent a year in Brazil and a year in Spain as an exchange student.
When Darrel offered her a position on the farm as treasurer and head of sales, she accepted.
Wendy Oakes Wilson pours a glass of wine in the wine tasting room at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery, 10609 Ridge Rd., Medina. LynOaken Farms, run by the Oakes family, has been named Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s Agricultural Business of the Year.
She is to first to admit she does not have a green thumb and the only thing she has been able to nourish is her husband and son.
“I’m the first employee who is not responsible for anything in the orchards,” she said. “But what I brought to the table was experience in business and accounting, and the ability to sell.”
In addition to the home farm in Lyndonville, the Oakes branched out to Ridge Road, Medina, where they opened a market and gift shop. Since Wilson joined her brother, they have a presence in 90 different locations in Western and Central New York where they sell apples and peaches.
File photo: Jonathan Oakes, the wine maker at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery, serves up some Steampunk Cider from the tasting room in August 2014 during the annual Steampunk Festival at the winery. Oakes dressed up for the festival.
In 2004, they built a controlled atmosphere storage; in 2008 they planted a heritage U-pick orchard with 300 varieties and started a winery; in 2013, they began picking in the heritage orchard and added a pavilion to the property.
This year they have built a new packing facility, which will be up and running in a few weeks and will allow Oakes to do six times more what they currently do, Wilson said. It will also allow them to facilitate the promotion of private label to retailers and to sort peaches on that line as well.
Leonard Oakes Estate Winery will also be operating a new tasting room, called Bar Cultivar, at the Barrel Factory in Buffalo’s Old First Ward.
The Oakes are not content to rest on their laurels, and are talking about expanding the U-pick orchards and remodeling, expanding and repurposing the existing retail building to take advantage of new opportunities, Wilson said.
From Leonard Oakes’ one-main operation in 1919, the family operation grew to seven full-time employees in 2001 and 28 full-time year-round now. Eighty-nine are currently employed during the peak harvest.
The fourth generation of Oakes are heavily involved in the business.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Blissett’s has expanded under the ownership of Jaye Sullivan, who will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award Thursday by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 15 October 2018 at 9:08 am
‘That’s how a small business survives – by adapting to changing times. The biggest challenge has been competing with the big box stores.’ – Jaye Sullivan
MEDINA – Jaye Sullivan can’t remember in her lifetime when there was ever nothing to do.
Sullivan is the third generation of her family to own Blissett’s Specialty Shop in Medina.
On Thursday night, Sullivan will be honored by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce as recipient of their Lifetime Achievement Award.
Blissett’s was started in 1941 by Sullivan’s grandparents, Chester and Beatrice Blissett, who opened their first store in Albion.
Around 1950, they opened a second store in Medina, Blissett’s Children’s Shop, in space they rented in the S.A. Cook Building.
After experiencing a serious accident, the Blissetts closed the Albion store.
Their daughter Glenyce Stilwell bought the business in the 1970s, and the family all worked there, Sullivan said.
“From the time we were little – even as young as 3, we were in the store,” Sullivan said. “We also had a working farm. There was never not anything to do.”
Bridal wear for the entire party can be found at Blissett’s in Medina, in addition to First Communion dresses. Owner Jaye Sullivan, shown here with a selection of children’s gowns, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce at its awards dinner Thursday night. The store was started by her grandparents 77 years ago.
She grew up in a three-generation house, where she helped hoe acres and acres of cabbage and helped to tend 200 pigs.
“We would come to the store every day after school,” Sullivan said. “I count myself lucky being able to work and play with my family.”
“When a grandmother comes in to buy a gift for her grandchild in California, I realize how lucky I was to grow up with my grandparents,” she said.
Sullivan’s sisters, Jackie and Jan, worked in the store while growing up, but chose other careers.
Jan was involved in the store until their mother purchased the building at the corner of Main and East Center Street in 1996 and moved Blissett’s there.
After Sullivan graduated from high school in 1971, she moved to California, then returned to Rochester to work at Sibley’s for a year and a half. In 1983, she married Tim Sullivan, and they have a daughter Mackenzie Smith and grandson Jack, 3.
“If Jack ends up helping me here, he will be the fifth generation,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan took over the store in 2004. She said she gradually had to adapt the business from a children’s store, starting 30 years ago with a small selection of bridal wear. She began added more specialty items, such as christening and prom dresses.
“That’s how a small business survives – by adapting to changing times,” Sullivan said. “The biggest challenge has been competing with the big box stores.”
Sullivan is thrilled to be honored by the Chamber, because she said her grandparents would be so proud.
“My mother also loved this store more than life itself,” she said, a little of which may have just rubbed off on her.
Sullivan has served her community, as a member of the school board and an officer in the Medina Business Association for years and years. She is still a member of the Decorate Medina Committee.
“I’m very grateful to this community and the customers we’ve had through the years – from Buffalo, Syracuse and even Ohio,” Sullivan said. “I’m honored to be chosen for this award, and I will accept it for my grandmother and my mother.”
The Victor Marching Band hosted a competition on Saturday with 11 bands performing on a chilly but dry night.
In SS1 Medina earned 1st place with a score of 84.45 followed by East Irondequoit in second with 81.50.
Other winners were Marcus Whitman in SS3 with 68.50; Hilton in LS3 with 74.50; Webster in LS2 with 79.85 and Cicero-North Syracuse in the National class with 89.50.
Medina will next perform on Oct. 20 at Orchard Park.
The state championships at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse will be on Sunday, Oct. 28. There is still time to get a seat on the spectator bus by contacting Jim Steele at 585-317-9389.
For true marching band enthusiasts there will be 53 bands performing in 6 divisions starting at 8 a.m. Medina performs in SS1 at 6:54 p.m.
The other divisions are SS3 starting at 8 a.m., SS2 at 10:15 a.m., LS3 at 1 p.m., LS2 at 2:50 p.m., SS1 at 6:15 p.m. and National at 8:10 p.m. As an added treat the University of Buffalo performs in exhibition at 5 p.m. and the Syracuse University at 9:54 p.m.
Tickets for the Dome are available at the door for $19 for adults and $13 for Seniors and children 12 years and under. Parking is $10. There is a new Dome policy which prohibits backpacks or purses. Only allowed bags are clear plastic vinyl and cannot exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12″ or you can use a gallon plastic bag. Additional info can be obtained at NYSFBC.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2018 at 9:56 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – More than 100 people walked 2 miles on Saturday, including a stretch along the Erie Canal, to raise funds to support people battling Alzheimer’s.
The Walk to End Alzheimer’s returned to Medina on Saturday. Last year the walk was in Lewiston. The event was expected to raise $20,000 for Alzheimer’s care, support and research, said Lynn Westcott, the director of development for the Western New York Chapter.
The money funds programs in Orleans County, including support groups, care consultations, educational programs and a help line (1-800-272-3900).
Some of the walkers pass the canal bridge by State Street Park and head to the towpath by the Erie Canal.
Signs at the park offer stark statistics about the disease.
Randy Bushover, right, served as emcee of the kickoff rally at State Street Park.
This group heads up Route 31 to State Street Park to conclude the walk.
Sienna Garcia Mathewson of Albion carries a purple flower which signifies she has a lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s.
The different colors of the flowers have different meanings. Blue flowers represent a person battling the disease. Purple is for a person who lost their battle with the disease. Yellow signifies a caregiver. Orange is for a general supporter of the cause. Personal messages were written on the flowers.
Mary Lou Tuohey hugs her daughter Nicole after Nicole cut the ribbon to kick off the walk. Nicole sold about 1,500 paper links at $1 each to create a chain for the starting line. Nicole raised money through her mother Mary Lou’s business, Case-Nic Cookies in Medina. They sold elephant cookies that added a new link to the chain. Nicole raised the money in memory of her grandma and grandpa.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2018 at 8:48 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Isabel Casewell, 12, of Medina makes a scarecrow on Saturday at Forrestel Farms, which hosted the scarecrow festival. The Medina Lions Club organized the event. For the first time in 10 years, the event was hosted by Forrestel.
The new venue allowed the Lions to offer more activities and games, and for participants to also tour the horse farm and see other animals.
The Shelby Volunteer Fire Company served chicken barbecue dinners. Other agencies were part of the event, including the United Methodist Church at the food booth, Boy Scouts, the Sheriff’s Department offering child IDs, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and GCASA.
Chance Sochia, 11, of Medina works on his scarecrow.
Pete Kaiser of the Lions Club helped with the assembly of many of the scarecrows.
Many of the clothes come from the MAAC Thrift Shop.
Students in Medina High School art classes painted the faces on the scarecrow heads. Iroquois Job Corps students made the stakes for the bodies, with the wood for the stakes is donated by Matt Mundion.
A scarecrow is put together on one of the operating tables.
Skye Rotoli, 15, of Medina welcomed the public to meet this llama named Peaches.
Kim Smith of Barre had many baked goods available at the festival. She has a commercial kitchen out of her home on Eagle Harbor Road.
