Provided photo: Medina High School Student Association members are excited for this Friday’s Food Truck Carnival.
Press Release, Medina Central School
MEDINA – Medina High School Student Association will be holding their Food Truck Carnival this Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. It is a community event and all are welcome to attend.
The event will be held, rain or shine, at the Clifford Wise Middle School by the pool entrance and will be featuring food trucks from Bad Ash BBQ, Buffalo’s Original Fried Dough, Barton’s Parkside Hots and Lugia’s Ice Cream.
There will also be carnival games to be played for 50 cents per ticket where you might have a chance of winning a prize. The games are sponsored by different student groups at the high school such as FFA and the Yearbook Club.
It should be a great night to enjoy with your family and friends and stick around to watch Medina’s own Mustangs take on the Barker/Roy-Hart team at 7:30 p.m. for the big homecoming game.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Some of the Rosario family members who work at Mariachi De Oro Mexican Grill include, front row, from left: Leonel, Dolores, Isabel and Gladys. Back row: Sergio, Kevin and Donato.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 September 2017 at 9:24 am
Chamber names popular restaurant ‘Business of the Year’
MEDINA – Six years ago the Rosario family opened Mariachi De Oro Mexican Grill on Maple Ridge Road, following nearly a year of renovations.
Six brothers – Francisco, Sergio, Martin, Pablo, Donato and Leonel – plus their sister Elba transformed the site. They rebuilt and expanded the kitchen and gave the dining area and grounds a new look. The restaurant showcases their Mexican culture.
The family members had all worked for years at local farms. They wanted to try their own business. Mariachi has been a stunning success, Orleans County Chamber of Commerce officials said in naming Mariachi its “Business of the Year.” The Rosarios and other Chamber award winners will be celebrated Friday during an awards banquet at the White Birth in Lyndonville.
The business has grown since it opened on Sept. 9, 2011, putting on an addition for a bar and bathrooms, an outdoor patio, and continued additions to the menu. Mariachi is waiting for its outdoor liquor license to cater to customers on the patio. Mariachi hired artists for Mexican-themed murals inside the restaurant, and has a mariachi band perform monthly.
Mariachi De Oro Mexican Grill is located at 11417 Maple Ridge Rd.
The restaurant draws many out-of-county visitors to Medina for the authentic Mexican cuisine. Mariachi has been featured in very positive reviews from The Buffalo News and Buffalo Spree.
“Everything is fresh, that is our secret,” said Leonel Rosario, co-owner of the restaurant and the head cook and manager.
Mariachi has Mexican staples – burritos, tacos, fajitas – and much more, from seafood, to steak and pork dinners. They make their own fresh tortillas. Many of the spices used in the kitchen are imported from Mexico. Leonel uses many of his family’s recipes from the state of Oaxaca.
“When people ask me about Mariachi, I tell them we are a Mexican restaurant, but we are more than a Mexican restaurant,” said Leonel, 35, the youngest of the brothers.
Some of the family continues to work in local agriculture. The family also runs Monte Alban, a Mexican grocery and clothing store that opened about a decade ago on Route 31 in Medina. There is also a taco stand behind Monte Alban’s.
Leonel is a steady presence at mariachi. He is often joined by his wife Dolores and their children, Leonel Jr., 16; and Galilea, 15.
He was interviewed on Tuesday after the lunch rush.
Question: Are you surprised by the Chamber award?
Answer: Yes. When I found out I was really happy and excited. In the first year that we opened and I was back there cooking, sometimes we didn’t have any customers for a couple hours. You feel like, ‘What’s the point being back there?’ And then you keep pushing more, and doing more things and you start seeing more customers. You get better at things. When you see these kind of achievements happen, it makes you feel really proud and thankful. It gives you more energy to do things that you’ve already been thinking about.
For me it was like a payoff for 80-hour weeks. I’m used to being inside the kitchen.
Leonel Rosario is pictured at Mariachi De Oro with the main dining room behind him.
Question: Eighty hours a week for six years?
Answer: Yes. You get time off here and there. But like any other business owner you can never leave your place.
Question: You and your family are really quite a success story. I am impressed with the Rosarios. You guys seem to get along well, too.
Answer: For us it hasn’t been uphill all of the time. We have always run businesses together. We have respect for the older siblings. That’s a main reason why we’re able to work so well together. And also because we lived together as brothers and sisters with no parents.
There is plenty of Mariachi merchandise available at the restaurant.
Question: You mentioned you were working on an outdoor liquor license. How much more can you do here?
Answer: I want to have Mariachi del Oro be a place where you can have a real authentic Mexican meal plus have an awesome experience with what’s happening. I want us to have more than food. I want to bring my culture and our traditions into the place and share it with everybody.
We’re bringing in a mariachi band and let people come in and learn about other cultures. The mariachi band comes every month. I want to do more music. I want to do more events just so people can have fun.
Question: I noticed you do many public events, with dancing and food, despite a busy schedule.
Answer: That was always one of things that helped me to get out of my self zone and achieve more because I studied my dancing and the sharing of the Oaxaca and Mexican culture. Anytime they ask, I always go for it. It’s one of the things I also enjoy a lot. Dancing will always be one of my biggest hobbies.
Leonel and Dolores Rosario perform a Mexican folk dance in March 2016 at the “The Colonnade.” That site is the former Masonic Temple now used a cultural center by the World Life Institute.
Question: It’s pretty high energy dancing. You got to be in good shape to do that.
Answer: Yes. Before I could dance like it was nothing, but now that I’m 35, I’m started to feel it a little more. Me and my wife we have always loved dancing.
Question: Why has Medina worked for you, especially at this site?
Answer: I think Medina is the type of community where everybody is starting to think and bring so many more ideas that it is helping the town to bring people in from miles away. They are doing a lot of events, which I think is really nice for all of the business owners in the community. The MBA (Medina Business Association) comes up with all of these ideas.
With us, we wanted to join them and share with them what we can offer to help bring people into Medina.
Kevin Rosario cooks a big pot of pork on Tuesday for the dinner crowd at Mariachi’s. His cousin Sergio is in back working as the grill cook.
Question: It seems like this location by creek has also worked out well for you?
Answer: Yes. We found this place. We saw it and we liked it. We went for it. I think it’s a beautiful spot. We get people from the city.
Question: The name Mariachi De Oro, what does that mean?
Answer: The Golden Mariachi. That’s what it means. When we were thinking about what to name it, some us love mariachi music. I love mariachi music. We wanted to always bring a mariachi band to play. So that’s why it’s Mariachi De Oro.
The bar stools have saddles to sit on at Mariachi Del Oro.
MEDINA – Jalin Cooper leads the Mustangs onto the field Friday night in the first game played at the newly renovated Vets Park, which featured new turf and a large scoreboard.
The combined Medina/Lyndonville football team lost 34-6 to Newfane. (Click here to see highlights of the game and other local high school sports.)
The new scoreboard is much bigger and brighter the the former one at Vets Park.
Newfane sends the opening kickoff to the Mustangs.
A good-size crowd turned out for the game in Medina. The Mustangs will host Lackawanna on Sept. 22 and Roy-Hart/Barker on Sept. 29.
Courtesy of Village Planning Board: This shows how an addition to Takeform will look on the back of the current manufacturing site.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 September 2017 at 10:21 am
New pizzeria also proposed for former K & K Food Mart in Medina
MEDINA – The Village of Medina Planning Board gave its final OK to a 15,500-square-foot expansion for Takeform Architectural Graphics at 11601 Maple Ridge Rd.
The company is expanding its Maple Ridge Road manufacturing site. During a public hearing for the project, there was no opposition. Jim Whipple, chief executive officer for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, said the agency supports the project and the type of development sought for the Medina Business Park.
“We are fully supportive of Takeform’s project,” Whipple said.
Takeform moved to the former Trek building in Medina as part of an expansion about four years ago at 11601 Maple Ridge Rd. The company continues to grow and is looking to add 50 jobs over the next three years, village officials said.
Takeform specializes in signage design and architectural graphics, including wayfinding design and interior & exterior signage for healthcare, offices, educational institutions and other customers.
As part of the new expansion, Takeform will add 40 parking spaces. It will also plant 10 trees.
• Planners on Tuesday also accepted the site plan application for a pizzeria at 11360 Maple Ridge Rd., the former K & K Food Mart and gas station.
Marc Massaro and James Bitsas are working to establish Cusimano’s Pizzeria at the site, which is owned by Reid Petroleum at the intersection of West Avenue Extension.
Massaro and Bitsas are proposing to add an awning to the building that has been vacant for several years.
The project goes to the Orleans County Planning Board for review and is back to the Village Planning Board on Oct. 3, which includes a public hearing at 7:05 p.m. at City Hall.
• The Planning Board also approved a certificate of appropriateness for a vinyl window sign for Donna and Clark Bryant’s business, the Goddess Muse, on Main Street. The business will be an alternative healing boutique with gifts.
Courtesy Medina Planning Board: The proposed 58-room hotel in Medina will look similar to this Cobblestone Suites hotel in Pennsylvania.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 September 2017 at 9:26 am
Cobblestone Suites proposes 58 rooms on Maple Ridge Road
MEDINA – The Village Planning Board has received the initial application for a new Cobblestone Inn and Suites hotel on Maple Ridge Road, next to Pride Pak and almost across the street from Genesee Community College.
The 3-story hotel includes 58 rooms with a 10,557-square-foot building. This will be Cobblestone’s first project in New York.
“This will be more of a hotel than we expected,” said Chris Busch, chairman of the Village Planning Board.
The board accepted the application as complete during its meeting on Tuesday. But the project needs a review from the Orleans County Planning Board. It also needs a height variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The village code limits buildings to 35 feet in height in the industrial district. The Cobblestone hotel peaks at 55 feet.
The Medina Planning Board set a public hearing for the site plan for 7:10 p.m. on Oct. 3 at City Hall on Main Street.
Cobblestone Inn and Suites has built about 80 hotels with most of them in small towns, typically working with investors in the host community. An investor from Pennsylvania is leading the effort to build the project in Medina.
The proposal includes 65 parking spaces, an outdoor patio, sidewalks and a dumpster enclosure.
“We’re at the first stages for what we’ve all been waiting for,” Michael Sidari, Medina mayor, said after Tuesday’s meeting.
The new hotel should keep visitors in the community longer, helping local businesses, he said. Many visitors currently just make day trips for events such as Thomas the Train, Wine About Winter and other activities. Overnight stays will make it easier for visitors to check out more sites in the community, Sidari said.
The Orleans Economic Development Agency has been working on enticing a developer to the county for several years.
The hotel would be built on land owned by the EDA. The EDA hired a consultant in 2014 to study the market for a hotel in Medina. Interim Hospitality Consultants concluded that a small hotel with 41 to 49 rooms would be profitable in the community.
That study was critical in convincing Cobblestone to come to Medina, said Janice Tata, vice president of development for BriMark Builders, which oversees construction of the Cobblestone hotels.
Photo by Tom Rivers: Stuart Sell, president of construction for BriMark Builders, goes over the site plan during Tuesday’s Village of Medina Planning Board meeting. He is joined by Janice Tata, vice president of development for BriMark.
BriMark also sees the activity in Medina, with a bustling downtown business district and other thriving manufacturing sites in the community. (Takeform Architectural Graphics, for example, is working on a 15,000-square-foot expansion on Maple Ridge. Pride Pak also opened its new facility a year ago.)
“There is so much going on in the community,” Tata said.
BriMark and Cobblestone also were welcomed by Medina and county leaders, she said. Sidari and EDA officials attended a grand opening celebration in Pennsylvania a year ago for the Cobblestone hotel.
Gabrielle Barone, the EDA’s vice president of business development, also has attended Cobblestone conferences, trying to connect with a developer for a project in Orleans County.
The Orleans EDA has wanted a chain-style hotel in the community. It’s something business leaders notice when they visit the community, Barone said.
“It’s been a disadvantage not having one,” she said.
Having a new hotel should result in visitors spending more money in the community, boosting revenues for businesses, and sales and bed taxes for the county.
The study for the hotel also identified potential customers as people visiting the area for weddings, reunions, and family events, as well as people working in sales and working short term for some local companies.
Stuart Sell, president of construction for BriMark Builders, discussed the site plan with the Planning Board. Sell said BriMark wants to work with local suppliers and contractors on the project.
He expects it will take seven to eight months to construct the hotel, once construction starts.
Speaking with a reporter after the meeting, Sell didn’t want to put out a construction time frame publicly, for when the project could start and be done. BriMark and Cobblestone need to secure the local approvals for the project.
“It comes down to the weather,” Sell told the village planners. “We can work through the winter once the foundation is in.”
MEDINA – U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $530,661 in federal funding for the Village of Medina Fire Department in Orleans County.
The money was allocated through the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program.
This funding will allow the Medina Fire Department to hire 4 new firefighters, and support the department’s “Fast Team,” who are responsible not only for fires in Medina but also address fires outside of their district within Orleans County. The funding will also help Medina staff engines with more than two people.
The Fire Department has 14 full-time firefighters as well as some call men who respond to about 3,000 calls a year. Medina is the primary ambulance provider for western Orleans (Shelby, Ridgeway, Yates, Medina and Lyndonville) but is seeing more mutual aid calls outside that area.
“The addition of these positions will add to our operational readiness, enhancing our ability to provide Fire and Emergency medical response to the Village of Medina and the Greater Orleans County area,” said Fire Chief Tom Lupo. “The SAFER grant program has a direct effect on public safety and is the kind of bi-partisan program that reach everyday people on a personal level.”
The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER), established by FEMA within the Department of Homeland Security, was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase the number of trained, “front line” firefighters available in their communities.
“Whether it’s a fire, flood, car accident, or when disaster strikes, we depend on these local heroes to keep us safe, and they depend on us to give them the resources they need to do their jobs effectively,” said Senator Schumer. “This funding will allow the Village of Medina Fire Department to grow its ranks and will help ensure that the Village of Medina Fire Department can respond to any situation quickly and efficiently. I’m proud to announce this grant and will continue working to make sure New York’s first responders have what they need.”
The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response, and operational standards established by the National Fire Protection Association and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“These federal funds will allow the Village of Medina Fire Department to hire additional firefighters, which will improve response time and help keep our communities safe,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Every day our first responders risk their lives to protect us, and I will always fight in the Senate to make sure our local fire departments have the support they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 August 2017 at 11:45 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – The Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God has provided 48 backpacks for Medina students for the second year in a row. KeyBank in Medina is filling the backpacks with school supplies.
School leaders are pictured this morning with representatives from the bank and church. From left include: Dan Doctor, community outreach liaison for the school district; Julie Webber, Oak Orchard Elementary School principal; Jacky Organisciak, personal banker at KeyBank; Leanna Ohol, KeyBank manager in Medina; and Vince Iorio, Calvary’s pastor.
Doctor said the school will reach out to families who need the backpacks with supplies.
The first day of school for Medina is Wednesday.
“It’s very helpful,” Webber said about the donations. “There are a lot of students and families in need.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 August 2017 at 6:44 pm
MEDINA – The Medina Police Department announced today the village has hired two police officers.
Officer Trevor Jones was recently hired and completed his Phase II Police Academy in Niagara County. Jones is currently working on completing the Field Training Program. He will be riding with a Training Officer until near the end of the year, the Medina Police Department said on its Facebook page.
Officer Ricky Messmer will be riding along on the day shift until he begins the Police Academy next month in Niagara County. He will graduate in February and then come back to Medina for his Field Training.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Brandon Johnson is pictured with some of his dance students who are practicing for a performance in October at Disney.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 August 2017 at 5:02 pm
Brandon Johnson opened the studio 15 years ago
MEDINA – Brandon Johnson, 34, was 19 when he opened his own dance studio in Medina. A decade ago he bought a building at 425 Main Street, and Dance Theater has been a fixture in the downtown, a part of the business district’s renaissance. (Many of the parents will go to restaurants and shops on Main Street while their kids take classes.)
Johnson works with about 130 children, including 25 in a competitive dance group. Those 25 will be going to Orlando, Fla. in October for the Disney Performing Arts Program. The Dance Theater group will perform in three age levels: minis are 7 to 9 years old, while juniors are 9 to 12, and seniors, 13 to 17.
(Some of his dancers have competed at national events at Atlantic City; Hershey, Pa; and Wildwood, NJ. They have brought home national titles through StarQuest and DanceXplosion.)
Johnson sat down for an interview recently before a high-energy rehearsal with his dancers, who are getting ready for Disney.
Question: I wonder how you got into dance and were you thinking this would be your career?
Answer: I started performing at the age of 8. I got serious about performing in my junior year of high school. I was actually going to go to college to be an art teacher but that changed a few weeks before classes started and I decided I wanted to be a dance major. So I auditioned and was accepted into the dance program at SUNY Brockport. The opportunity came to open a studio here because a couple of studios had closed. So I jumped in and opened it. When I opened it, I didn’t imagine I’d be where I am today.
Question: Did you get your degree at Brockport?
Answer: Yes.
Question: You juggled that while doing this business as a 19-year-old?
Answer: Yes. Looking back I’m not sure how I did it, but I somehow did it and was able to graduate.
Question: You graduated in 4 years?
Answer: I did.
Brandon Johnson leads a dance class at the Dance Theater, which he opened when he was 19.
Question: I know you are also the talent show chairman at the Orleans County 4-H Fair.
Answer: Yes, and I am the entertainment coordinator overall for the fair so I book all of the entertainment on the grounds, so it’s not just the talent showcase – the miniature horse show, the magic show, all of the bands.
Question: Why are you willing to do that? Were you in 4-H as a kid?
Answer: I was in 4-H when I was younger. And then the opportunity came to join the Fair Board and I kind of just fell into the entertainment chairperson’s spot. It’s different from running a dance studio and I enjoy it, but it’s still the same realm of entertainment.
Question: How long have you been doing that?
Answer: I think this is year 8 or 9.
Question: What do you like about that role?
Answer: It’s meeting a lot of entertainers from across the U.S. who have similar interests in the entertainment industry, and hearing their stories.
Provided photo: Dance Theater students are shown performing at Disney World in July 2014.
Question: Are you the teacher/choreographer at your studio?
Answer: Here I would call myself the studio director, and I do choreograph some dances, but I have staff because I am not Superman. There is no way I can teach and choreograph classes six days a week for two studios. We have two rooms running here. There is no way I could choreograph that many dances on my own. I do have a staff that works under me to help me out.
Question: Were you a one-man show when you first opened?
Answer: For a while I was. When I opened I was very, very small, but as the years grew, my reputation grew and I am where I am today I feel because of that reputation I have. I knew I couldn’t do it on my own so I hired staff. They staff I have now I’ve had for four or five years now.
Question: How many people do you have on staff?
Answer: I have six people on staff, including myself.
Question: Why do you think you’re successful?
Answer: It’s a passion. With a passion it’s something you enjoy doing, and you put your all into it. Performance is something I’ve always done.
Question: I notice there are some studios that really push for excellence and want to win competitions, including at the State Fair.
Answer: I think it’s a matter of preference. Some kids may go to dance for fun. Some kids may come to dance for fun, but they want a little extra, so that’s why I have recreational classes and competition classes. Those competition classes are for kids that want a little extra and want to push a little harder, and strive for a little but more.
To be on the competition team isn’t mandatory for anybody, but the kids on the competition team want to be there, they want to work towards that extra step towards perfection.
Question: How does the competition season work?
Answer: Each competition season kicks off in February-March. We do three regional competitions that we keep local, usually Buffalo-Rochester-Niagara Falls-Syracuse. We also do a Nationals competition every summer and this year we did Lake George. But we’ve done other Nationals in Wildwood, New Jersey; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Pennsylvania; Ohio; it just depends where we travel.
Brandon Johnson gives tips to his dancers who are working on a lift, one of the many moves for their competitive dance program.
Question: How many on the competition team?
Answer: The competition team is 25.
Question: I think you’re unusual being a man who owns a dance studio. Maybe I’m wrong about that.
Answer: I would say I’m one of very few. I think you see it more often today than 15 years ago. But I would say I’m one of very few in the area who is a male studio director.
Question: It seems like 95 percent of the kids in dance are girls.
Answer: That is correct. To find a male dancer is very rare. A lot of male dancers you find at ages 4 or 5 because mom and dad wanted them to try something different. And then as they get older that kind of dwindles out because dancing for boys isn’t as popular as baseball, soccer or football. But when you think about it agility-wise, if you take a dance class and pair that with sports, the coordination you get with dance would definitely help your agility with other sports you’re playing. I don’t think a lot of people realize that and that is something to think about.
Question: I’ve heard that from other athletes, who said dance helped them to be better in sports.
Answer: It helps with flexibility and coordination, muscle movement and muscle memory. You get a little bit better recognition of your body and the way your body works and moves. It can definitely help you on the field and with whatever sport you’re playing.
Question: I wonder how you got into it as a kid?
Answer: I had a couple friends who were males who got into dancing. I decided I wanted to dance, too. So I joined a dance class. They dwindled out and I stuck with it.
Question: Why did you keep going?
Answer: I think it was the artistic portion of it. I’ve always been an artistic kid who was interested in art. When I was in high school I took a lot of art classes. I think dance is one way to express yourself in an artistic fashion. That is one reason why I stuck with it because I’ve always been an artistic person.
Brandon Johnson bought the building at 425 Main St. a decade ago.
Question: Did you get any flak or pushback for being a trailblazer locally?
Answer: I got some flak but dance was something I enjoyed doing and I wasn’t going to give that up based on something someone else said. If it was something I didn’t enjoy, I wouldn’t be doing it and I wouldn’t be doing it today. It’s something that brought me to where I am today. I really don’t regret any decisions I’ve made in the past to bring me where I am today.
Question: Were you tempted to work in a city as an artistic person?
Answer: That very well could have happened, but I opened here and the opportunity to teach was here for me so I didn’t need to go anywhere else. You can only be at one place at one time especially with running a studio and keeping things running smooth here. There’s not a lot of room for you to be in two places at once.
I do judge for two national talent competitions across the East Coast right now but that’s because I have a great staff behind me here. So when those opportunities come up for me to go judge for one weekend, I have a staff here who can take care of the business for those two or three days that I’m gone.
Question: What makes a dance team good? What are you looking for as a judge?
Answer: Technique – good dance technique. Great training. And just entertainment on stage. You can tell when you’re watching a dance number on stage and there’s a group of dancers that just love what they’re doing, and when there’s a group of dancers up there because they have to dance. There’s a huge difference between that.
The kids that compete really, really love what they’re doing, and they go up on stage every time and give a great performance. You can tell that’s what they enjoy.
That’s not to say our recreational kids don’t enjoy what they’re doing, but they just want to come and dance and not be pushed as hard as the team kids are pushed.
I will admit my teams kids are here two to three times a week in classes for four, five, six, seven hours at a time, learning extra choreography, and technique, and jumps and turns to make sure when they go out on stage they are showing the judges they are getting a very good dance education.
Question: What about all these trophies in here?
Answer: They’re from all the different competitions we’ve been in. And we have a display window in front as well.
Question: Looks like you guys do pretty well.
Answer: We’ve won some pretty big awards. I train them but they go out and win the awards. I give them the passion I have. I’m giving them what I enjoy doing: performing. Growing up I performed and I competed, and I’m just passing that on to them.
Question: Is this a tough business?
Answer: Yeah, I think so because every town has a dance studio or dance studios. There are several dance studios here in Medina. There are several in Albion. There are studios all over. People have a choice with where they want to go, just like with the airlines – they have a choice. I think my reputation speaks for itself and people come here for a reason. I have a huge following of students who come back year after year and I’m grateful and humble for that. I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing and what I enjoy doing, with the hope to keep it going another 15 years.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 August 2017 at 5:34 pm
Provided photo
MEDINA – Medina Savings & Loan celebrated a ground-breaking on Tuesday for an addition to the bank at 11182 Maple Ridge Rd. Pictured, from left, include: James Gardner, chairman of the MSL Facilities Committee; Don Colquhoun, chairman of the board; and Tim Moriarty, president of MSL.
The 768-square-foot addition will go on the western edge of the existing 3,480-square-foot building. Construction of the new addition should be complete in late October, with redecorating inside of the bank to be done next spring.
The bank dates back to 1888 in Medina. It has two branches – Maple Ridge Road in Medina and inside the Wal-Mart on Route 31 in Albion.
The addition allows Medina Savings & Loan to develop more customer privacy, as well as update and reorganize existing operations because of substantial growth, bank officials said.
The growth has come from adding numerous services over the last two decades, including commercial loans, commercial checking, various types of consumer loans, home equity lines of credit, growth in the bank’s residential construction program, and expanded depository services.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 August 2017 at 9:05 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Charlie Crumb of Albion wipes rain off his 1969 Camaro, which he parked in the middle of Main Street in Medina for the Super Cruise on Wednesday evening.
After some early rain, the sun came out and the cars showed up. There were about 200 classic cars at the event.
“This is a good one because there are a lot of people here,” Crumb said.
Bill Bixler and Wendy Jacobson, members of the Medina Rotary Club, served clams, hamburgers and other food during the Super Cruise.
Terry Buchwald, an Elvis impersonator, once again performed for the crowd. Buchwald arrived on a motorcyle with an “Elvis” license plate. He sang from a stage and also went into the crowd for several songs.
Buchwald praised the organizers of the event, and all of the car owners for creating a fun evening in Medina.
A 1964 Chevy was among the many cars on display in a closed off section of Main Street.
David Green, left, is one of the leaders of Medina’s cruise nights, along with Donna Bushover. Green is pictured with Vern Weatherbee. They were selling raffle tickets to benefit the United Way in Orleans County.
Art Hill of Medina gives his 1956 Ford a final polish before the street was full of people.
Hundreds of people brought lawn chairs to watch the Elvis impersonator.
Downtown buildings are reflected on the hood of a 1973 Triumph Convertible.
Mark Irwin and the Medina Lions Club also served up many items from the grill.
A 1936 Pontiac was parked on Main Street for people to check out.
Provided photo: Oak Orchard Elementary School students happily participate in an Arbor Day celebration in 2013. Medina includes elementary school students in the program every year, with students sharing essays and poems about Arbor Day. They also help plant some of the trees.
Posted 18 August 2017 at 10:25 am
Tree Board sees significant progress in Medina with more trees to be planted in coming years
Press Release, Medina Tree Board
MEDINA – 2017 marks an important milestone for the Village of Medina because the village has earned the designation of Tree City USA for ten years.
“We’ve come a long way and have accomplished many great things with urban forestry here in Medina.” said Christopher Busch, Chairman of the village’s Municipal Tree Board. “It’s so much more than planting a few trees. We have a comprehensive urban forestry program in Medina and are very proud of what goes into achieving our Tree City status.”
Busch has been the chairman since the board’s inception in 2005, authoring the village’s Municipal Tree Ordinance with the help of Dr. Nina Bassuk, Department of Urban Horticulture, Cornell University.
The Municipal Tree Board was formed as a response to a NYS Pass-Through Project: the reconstruction of Routes 31, 31A, 31E, and 63, including Main Street and other major thoroughfares within the village.
“Many trees were being removed in preparation for this massive road project prompting citizen concern,” said Busch.
“We had lost hundreds of mature trees over the last 30 years through old age, storm damage, and disease and were losing more with the pass-through project. Without an ordinance and a tree board, the village had little if any control over what was being done.”
With those concerns in mind, former Mayor Howard Lake gave the go-ahead to investigate a tree ordinance and formation of a tree board and with the help of Dr. Bassuk, an ordinance was researched, drafted, reviewed, and adopted in time to effect the final stages of the pass-through.
“We have made and continue to make incredible progress,” said Busch. “Throughout our community evidence of that progress can be seen along many of our major thoroughfares. The Mayor and Board of Trustees are very supportive of the Tree Board’s efforts, and are committed to the process of reforesting our community and maintaining Tree City status.”
Photo by Tom Rivers: Chris Busch, the Medina Tree Board chairman, joins elementary school kids on April 27 during an Arbor Day celebration at Rotary Park. This was the 13th year Medina held an Arbor Day event. Busch and the Tree Board presented a “Friend of the Urban Forest” award to Oak Orchard Elementary School for their participation in the Arbor Day program. Busch said the Tree Board will keep planting about 50-60 trees a year in the foreseeable future.
According to Busch, citizens too have been supportive as well through Memorial Tree donations and by purchasing trees through the Village and donating them for right-of-way planting in front of their homes.
“Every year we have an increasing number of citizens who donate trees for planting via memorials or simply because they’d like trees replaced in front of their homes. Despite an aggressive planting program, some areas on side streets won’t be planted in the immediate future, so residents help us reach those areas of need via donations.”
Medina has had some large donors as well.
“In recent years, some community members have made extremely generous donations towards reforesting the village,” said Busch. “One of those people is long-time Medina resident, Robert Sanderson.”
Sanderson is vice president of marketing and a managing partner at Candlelight Cabinetry, and has been recognized two years in a row as a “Friend of the Urban Forest” in Medina.
At the 2016 Arbor Day Celebration, Bob Sanderson spoke to hundreds of school children as he accepted his award. “Both companies (Kitchen World/Candlelight Cabinetry) make their living in the woodworking industry; therefore it is fitting to be making this Tree Donation to State Street Park and the Village of Medina.”
As the students applauded, he said, “We are very proud to have a part in keeping Medina’s reputation as ‘the Village with all the trees.’”
Photo by Tom Rivers: Bob Sanderson receives the Friends of the Urban Forest award during the Arbor Day celebration in 2016.
A big part of attaining Tree City status is establishing an annual Arbor Day observance. In Medina, Nicole Goyette is the Arbor Day Coordinator. Goyette is the Gifted and Talented Coordinator in the Medina schools and a member of Medina’s Tree Board.
“Local schools are a largely untapped community resource,” Goyette said. “From our students will come the next generation of Tree Board members, DPW tree planters, community tree organizers, homeowners, mayors and trustees. They are the future of the community’s’ urban forest.”
Medina bills its Arbor Day celebration as “the biggest and best in Western New York” and Goyette defends that claim.
“As a Tree City USA, we feel that our Arbor Day observance needs to be something very special,” she said. “Our celebration is attended each year not only by dozens of citizens, but by 500-600 hundred school children as well. There may be another community doing that in WNY, but if there is, I’m not aware of it. Our celebration is a big community event!”
For some time, the villages’ Municipal Tree Ordinance and Arbor Day Celebration have been a model for several other communities looking to establish a board and planting program.
“We receive contacts every year from municipalities across the state, seeking advice,” Busch said. “It’s gratifying to know that we’re doing something so well, that others have noticed.”
Busch notes that the Tree Board has been described as a “working board” and a “hands-on board.”
“We have a wide array of responsibility,” he said. “We work hand-in-hand with the DPW, Code Enforcement Officer, the Mayor and Village Board and together, I think we do a great job. There’s a lot involved in getting it done right. We earn our Tree City USA status every year.”
Busch said some of the responsibilities associated with an on-going urban reforestation program include annual planting/pruning/shaping, site assessment and plan development, planting coordination, mulching/weeding, identification and removal of dead/dangerous trees, training tree handlers, updating & maintaining Risk Survey and inspection of trees for disease, damage, etc.
The list of accomplishments amassed over the past fourteen years by “Tree City Medina” is impressive by any standard. As of summer 2017, the Medina’s Municipal Tree Board has:
Written and adopted a comprehensive municipal tree ordinance that has been a model for other communities.
Established a working Municipal Tree Board.
Established policies and procedures for the care, maintenance, and reforesting of the village.
Established a web site that has been held up by forestry professionals as an example to the forestry industry.
Reforested the major portions of the main thoroughfares and Central Business District in the village.
Participated as presenters in a Genesee-Finger Lakes Regional Planning Conference session on municipal trees.
Established a comprehensive risk survey of the village forest and subsequent maintenance priority schedule, resulting in a safer environment and minimal storm damage due to maintenance and removal of dangerous trees.
Established a comprehensive risk survey of the forest in Boxwood Cemetery,and subsequent maintenance priority schedule.
Established a viable memorial tree program with a memorial tree garden at City Hall.
Developed forms and process whereby residents can request a ROW tree planting at a reasonable cost.
Developed forms and process whereby a memorial tree can be purchased at a reasonable cost.
Annually undertaken site plan assessment, developed site plans, and selected plant material for planting of 60-80 trees.
Annually pruned several hundred young trees (Tree Board members do much of this)
Developed and disseminated press releases on the forestry related achievements of the Village of Medina.
Developed an informational brochure.
Established a widely recognized Arbor Day celebration with hundreds of school children in cooperation with the Medina Central School District.
Established Medina as a nationally recognized Tree City USA with annual recertification. • established Medina as a nationally recognized Tree City Growth Community.
Established Medina as an active annual participant in National Grid’s 10,000 Trees and Growing Program, often more than $1,000 in annual reimbursements for appropriate and approved underwire tree plantings.
Jack Feltz is the Senior Forestry Supervisor for the National Grid West Genesee Region and has worked with Medina’s Municipal Tree Board for many years. Feltz always points to Medina as a model Urban Forestry program wherever he goes.
“Over the last fourteen years, the Village of Medina has implemented an aggressive plan to remove and replace high-risk street trees. Silver maple was the predominant species in the village,” said Feltz.
Provided photo: This shows the West Center Street treescape.
Like many villages in WNY, streets were planted with hundreds of stately Silver Maple decades ago. While beautiful at maturity, they quickly degrade and become dangerous. Hundreds of 80-foot tall trees with weak wood and insect infestation is a tough problem. In Tree City Medina, National Grid has played an important role in mitigating that problem.
“In cooperation with National Grid Forestry, the village has removed hundreds of over-mature, at-risk trees, and done an outstanding job of backfilling those planting locations with site-compatible species,” Feltz said. “Chris Busch and the Village Tree Board have set the bar at the highest standard and have put a huge amount of thought and foresight into selecting a variety of species and cultivars, avoiding the historical practice of planting a monoculture.”
Over those 14 years, Feltz has also worked hand-in-hand with the village DPW and gives them high praise for their urban forestry efforts and Tree City USA status.
“A special thanks should be given to former DPW Superintendents Paul Nowak and Pete Houseknecht for their cooperative spirit in this lengthy process,” said Feltz. “I cover a large service territory and deal daily with our DPW Superintendents and our local government leaders. If they ever have a question(s) about how to re-forest there community, I vehemently suggest that take a ride to Medina, NY and put eyes on a forward and progressive Urban Forest Plan.”
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.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Marine deputies with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office – Jim DeFilipps, left, and Jim Burke – arrive in a boat about 9 p.m. That boat was at Lake Alice in Carlton.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2017 at 9:28 am
MEDINA – There was no dive team available, or boat with a working sonar.
But law enforcement was determined to get a black truck out of the dark water of the Erie Canal.
It was a tough task done in front of a crowd of onlookers, some standing for five hours before the truck was finally pulled out of the water at 12:45 a.m. last night by Lyons Collision. It also was raining for much of the recovery effort, including a downpour at times.
Law enforcement wanted the truck out of the canal to limit the hazardous fluids leaking into the water. They were also concerned the bottom of a boat might hit the truck with the vessel becoming damaged.
With the Niagara County dive team unavailable, local officials turned to three experienced volunteer scuba divers, including John Olinger, left, his fiancé Laura Bentley and their friend Eric Watson.
Devin Pahuta, a sheriff’s deputy, drags a rope with a magnet through the water, trying to find the truck. At first the magnet latched on to a rock. That proved to be a half hour waste of time as divers tried to find the truck in the dark water. The divers said they could only see about a foot underwater.
The boat search back and forth on the canal about 200 yards east of the lift bridge on Route 63. A current would push the truck about 100 yards from the lift bridge.
Eric Watson, John Olinger and Laura Bentley work together to try to find the black pickup.
A crowd stood for several hours watching the recovery efforts.
Medina firefighter Chris Seefeldt watches from the canal bank.
With no working sonar on the boat, deputies dragged this magnet through the water, trying to find the truck.
At 10:45 p.m., the deputies were ready to call off the search and resume this morning. But Jeff Lyons from Lyons Collision asked to have a chance.
Jeff Lyons is pictured on the boat at about 11 p.m. After Lyons got on board, it took about 25 minutes for Lyons and the deputies to locate the truck.
Then it proved difficult to attach cables onto the sunken vehicle. It was another hour before Lyons Collision could start pulling the truck to shore.
The truck was pulled out at about 12:45 a.m.
The driver has been charged with driving while intoxicated. Medina police haven’t released the driver’s name. The driver wasn’t injured and able to get out of an open window through the driver’s door.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 August 2017 at 1:58 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – This Dodge 1500 Ram was pulled out of the Erie Canal at about 12:45 a.m., more than five hours after it plunged into the water, just east of the lift bridge on Route 63.
The driver of the vehicle has been charged with driving while intoxicated, Medina police said. The department didn’t release the driver’s name last night. The driver wasn’t injured and declined medical treatment at the scene.
The driver was observed driving erratically on North Gravel Road (Route 63) from Ridge Road before driving into the canal. Rob Wagner, an Albion police officer, was off-duty and driving behind the pickup. He said the truck was in the opposite lane several times. He called the county dispatch to report the drunken driver.
Medina police officers and firefighters watch as the truck is pulled from the canal. One of the officers has worked for the department for 10 years and said this is only the second time he could recall when a vehicle went into the canal in Medina.
Lyons Collision pulled the truck out of the water. There was a strong smell of gasoline when the vehicle was pulled to the edge of the canal and then out of the water.
Several beer cans, a tool box, a wallet and other items also floated out of the truck.
Jeff Lyons has worked with Lyons Collision for 32 years. He said this was the fourth time he helped retrieve a vehicle from the canal water.
Lyons had to stop about every foot the truck was pulled higher to allow water to come out of the truck.
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office sent its marine patrol with a boat that was at Lake Alice in Carlton.
The truck proved hard to find in the dark water. The Medina Police Department called for the Niagara County dive team, but that group didn’t come. Three volunteer scuba divers – Eric Watson, Laura Bentley and John Olinger – helped to search for the truck. They said they could only see about a foot in front of them in the dark water.
The marine patrol and the divers nearly called off the search at 10:45 p.m., following more than an hour of searching for the vehicle. Jeff Lyons went on the boat and used a magnet tied to a long string to finally find the truck about 75 yards east of the bridge, right in the middle of the canal. That was about 11:10 p.m.
It then took about an hour to hook a cable onto the truck to pull it close to shore.
A crowd of people stood through a downpour, with some staying about five hours, to watch the recovery effort with the truck.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 August 2017 at 4:28 pm
MEDINA – Lee-Whedon Memorial Library will host a viewing of the eclipse on Monday afternoon.
The library has 40 pairs of eclipse glasses and all have been claimed through a preregistration process.
“It’s a rare occurrence,” Catherine Cooper, library director, said about the eclipse. “There is no school and this is a chance to observe a natural phenomenon.”
Lee-Whedon will start its program at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
“We are going to make Nebula Jars and Galaxy popcorn plus go over what the eclipse is and why we need special glasses before the eclipse reaches its maximum around 2:30,” said Kristine Mostyn, the library’s assistant director.
At 2:30 p.m., the group will go outside to observe the eclipse with their special glasses. (People shouldn’t look at the eclipse without the proper glasses or else they could injure their eyes.)
Nebula jars are sealed containers with water, paint, glitter, and cotton balls mixed together to look like a nebula. Galaxy popcorn is regular popcorn covered in candy melts in the colors of the sky with edible stars.
Monday will be the first total eclipse since 1979.
