Photos by Tom Rivers: This stone carving of a face is part of the Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia, which was named to the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame in 2017.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 May 2021 at 8:16 am
MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame cancelled last year’s induction due to Covid-19 restrictions which made the committee reluctant to travel around the state and into Pennsylvania for site inspections.
The committee also didn’t feel right inviting the owners of the sandstone sites for a celebration, while Covid was so prevalent in the community.
But the Hall of Fame committee is ready to accept nominations again and to go on site visits. An induction ceremony is planned for 2 p.m. on Oct. 21 in Medina’s City Hall.
The Hall of Fame committee is seeking nominations for prominent buildings made of Medina Sandstone that are well-maintained and architecturally significant.
Since the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame was created in 2013, the society has inducted churches, public buildings, private buildings and other ornamental buildings/structures, such as the Civil War Memorial at Mount Albion Cemetery. There have now been 29 inductees and 59 nominees into the exclusive club.
This year’s class could include nominations from previous years not already selected, and any new nominations received by June 30.
Criteria for consideration shall include age, beauty, longevity, structural soundness, and architectural uniqueness. If possible nomination information should have full background and documentation, and, at the very least, should give a name and phone number to be contacted for further information or a website.
The Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia opened in 1889. It was built of Medina sandstone. The site utilizes gray Medina sandstone and red sandstone from Albion. It was built in a Richardson Romanesque style, with rounded windows and arches.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 11 May 2021 at 7:15 am
Marc Shurtz speaks at annual Twig banquet; Twigs donate $8k for new oven
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Georgia Thomas of Medina,, a member of Laurel Twig, holds a hanging basket she won at the Twig banquet Monday night at Zambistro’s.
MEDINA – The 29 members who attended Medina Memorial Hospital’s Association of Twigs banquet Monday night was by far the smallest number in the organization’s 68-year history.
News, however, shared by Orleans Community Health CEO Marc Shurtz and Foundation director Heather Smith reflect a much bigger picture.
Shurtz and Smith were guests at the annual banquet which used to highlight the dedication of Twig members in supporting the hospital. Due to Covid, however, and many programs and services being cut back, there were no achievement awards to be announced this year.
Twig president Jeanne Crane welcomed members and guests, saying that although their numbers were sparse, they still managed to get together.
Orleans Community Health CEO Marc Shurtz is introduced by Association of Twigs president Jeanne Crane at the Twig banquet Monday night at Zambistro’s. Shurtz announced several areas of growth at the hospital.
Crane, who retired in 2003 as Risk manager and Infection Control manager at the hospital, was called back to work during Covid, to assist the Orleans County Health Department in administering vaccine at its clinics.
She praised the members for their past dedication, saying, “Service to humanity is the greatest form of art.”
Shurtz told the members he was nearing the end of his first year as CEO, a year he called “an exciting one.”
He announced the culture inside the hospital is shifting.
“The hospital has shrunk for a lot years, but now we are working on growth,” Shurtz said.
He said patient satisfaction is a big focus, but to make it work, they first have to make sure their employees are satisfied.
The recently announced closing of Lockport hospital opens up new opportunity for Medina, Shurtz said.
“Lockport is planning to build an ER with 10 rooms behind Home Depot on Transit Road, and any patient needing hospitalization will be shipped to Mount St. Mary’s in Lewiston,” he said. “That opens the door for us to be the community hospital. We will now be the closest by mileage and time for EMS responders from Barker and Newfane. Our focus now is to be ready for this growth.”
Editor’s Note: Catholic Health said the 10 in-patient beds will allow people to be admitted for care. If patients need surgery or a higher-level care they would be transferred to another hospital.
Shurtz said Medina is already seeing Lockport care providers sending patients to them for lab work and tests. Medina has had a daily census of about eight patients per day, with a goal to expand to 18 to 20 a day.
“The sky’s the limit for us,” Shurtz said.
Medina Memorial Hospital opened a Wound Care Center a year ago, whose operator has one of highest healing rates in the nation.
Orleans Community Health is expecting to bring cardiology back into the area, starting in June or July.
Shurtz said Medina surgeon Dr. Misiti had donated his practice to the hospital and they plan to expand general surgery by including Dr. DiBenedetto.
Two empty wings on the south side of the hospital will be turned into a patient waiting area, as part of the hospital’s $350,000 improvement project. This includes installation of an elevator going up to the first floor.
“We are excited to get Medina Memorial Hospital back to growing again,” Shurtz said.
Smith added a list of projects for which the Foundation has been trying to raise money.
“We were working on the money for late nurse Nancy Albanese’s memorial, when Covid hit and we had to stop,” Smith said. “We have the money totally raised and hope to start work again.”
The $350,000 in renovations and improvements is spread across the entire Orleans Community Health, Smith said. Some of the money will be raised by the golf tournament, Treasure Island and a mega drawing. Projects include $10,000 for privacy walls for the registration area; $8,000 for a new oven in dietary; $40,000 for new signage for the hospital and dialysis; three new patient care beds at a cost of $10,000 each; and a bariatric bed at a cost of $25,000.
The Pharmacy Department is in need of new monitor system for temperature control, which can alert personnel at home on their cell phones. They can also regulate the device from home, eliminating the need to drive from the city in the middle of the night.
Smith said the Pharmacy hasn’t had new cabinetry since the 1960s, and it is in need of new windows, all at a cost of $95,000.
The hospital also needs new IV pumps, for which they are looking for a grant.
As was customary for Twig when it was fully operational, the membership Monday night voted on a donation to the hospital. They chose to donate the $8,000 for the new oven in dietary, as that is something which would benefit patients and employees.
The evening concluded with a drawing for six hanging plants. Winners were Jean Benson, Ethel Valentine, Pat Rizzo, June Bush, Georgia Thomas and Janet Blount.
KNOWLESVILLE – The New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists that the bridge carrying Route 31 over the Falls Road Railroad in the town of Ridgeway is expected to close Tuesday, May 11, to accommodate construction that includes bridge deck repairs, joint replacement and slab reconstruction to enhance safety.
The bridge is expected to be closed to traffic through the end of June. A signed detour will be in place for motorists to use Route 98, Route 31A, Route 63 and Route 31. Local roads near the bridge will be accessible during construction. This is the bridge just west of the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.
Motorists are reminded that fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. In accordance with the Work Zone Safety Act of 2005, convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver’s license.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2021 at 10:44 am
Village will take overall look at parking after request for ADA parking spot by Bent’s Opera House
Photos by Tom Rivers: As Bent’s Opera House prepares to open its doors to the public, following a major restoration of the building, the owner of the site has requested a designated ADA parking space in front of the building, near the traffic light on Main Street.
MEDINA – The Village Board is going to review the overall parking availability and layout in the downtown after a request for an ADA-designated parking spot on Main Street in front of Bent’s Opera House.
This would be the fifth ADA spot on Main Street, north of the Center Street intersection. However, the other four spots are a block or more away down the street.
Bent’s is expecting to draw big crowds for a new restaurant, events center and boutique hotel. Bent’s has a designated spot behind the building on Proctor Place.
Bent’s Opera House would like the parking spot on the left to be designated as an ADA spot for people with mobility issues. The lines for the spot would need to be painted blue with a sign near the curb noting the parking space.
But that is far for people to walk with mobility issues or who are in wheelchairs, said Charlie Spencer, project manager with LeChase Construction, which has worked more than two years on the restoration of the Bent’s Opera House.
Spencer requested the ADA spot last week during the Village Board meeting. Board members said there would likely be backlash from other Main Street businesses who don’t want to see another spot be designated for handicapped accessible only.
Owen Toale, a trustee on the board, said the spot would be good for Bent’s and for Medina. However, he said some people will see another ADA spot as a net loss of one parking spot in a downtown that has been on a resurgence in recent years.
Spencer said the parking spot will be a net gain for Medina, putting one near the four corners where the two biggest roads intersect.
Not having a spot there will be a turnoff for many people who come to Bent’s and other attractions in Medina, but can’t park close to their destination, Spencer said.
“There are handicapped people coming to this community,” Spencer told the Village Board. “There is a need for it.”
Trustee Jess Marciano said she took an informal count of vehicles with handicapped accessible tags and said there were far more than she expected.
Lionel Heydel, the chef for the new restaurant to open at Bent’s, also attended the meeting. He Bent’s will have heated sidewalks during the winter, providing a “clean sidewalk” that will be less likely to be slippery than other sidewalks.
The ambitious restoration of Bent’s is nearly complete. Roger Hungerford has led the development of the project.
“I’m thinking the opera house will bring in a ton of people into the village,” Spencer said. “We want to be welcoming to everyone.”
Mayor Mike Sidari said the demand for parking is a good issue for Medina to wrestle with.
“A parking problem is when you have nobody parking on Main Street,” Toale said.
The Village Board opted not to decide on the ADA parking spot yet for Bent’s, until looking at the overall parking availability in the downtown, including the municipal lots and on-street spaces.
The mayor said the public may also need to adjust its expectations and be willing to walk a little farther. He said when people go to the mall or the big box stores, they walk far from the lot to the store, and they have to move through cavernous interiors of those buildings.
Bent’s also is paying to put pull-off spots on West Center Street by Bent’s where people can safely exit and enter vehicles by the building. Those spots aren’t for parking, just for quickly dropping off or picking up passengers for a vehicle.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 5 May 2021 at 8:13 pm
MEDINA – Medina Lions have made the decision to go ahead this year with their community yard sale, flea market and chicken barbecue.
The event, which had to be canceled last year due to Covid, will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 5.
The day features numerous yard sales throughout the Medina community, and a flea market and chicken barbecue at the Olde Pickle Factory at 711 Park Avenue.
The format has been changed to observe Orleans County Health Department guidelines for Covid. Vendor spaces will be appropriately spaced further apart. Any potential vendor may still reserve a 20’ x 30’ space for $10 by contacting organizer Sherry Wheatley at (585) 735-5135.
Residents wishing to advertise their yard sale in a special brochure must call the Lake Country Pennysaver to purchase an ad. The sales will be printed on a map, which Lions’ members will start handing out on the four corners downtown at 8 a.m.
Chicken barbecue tickets may be purchased for $12 from any Lions member or by following the instructions on their website and clicking on the chicken barbecue link. They may also be ordered by called Jim Hancock at (585) 590-1248 or Tim Moriarty at (716) 417-0079. Dinners will be available from 11 a.m. until sold out. Those not picked up by 1 p.m. will be resold.
Proceeds from Lions’ events help them support many community endeavors, such as Powder Puff baseball, food kitchens, YMCA, eyeglasses for the needy and many other charities in Orleans County.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 May 2021 at 8:32 am
MEDINA – The Board of Education has adopted a $39,323,374 school budget for 2021-22 that doesn’t increase taxes for the 10th straight year.
The budget, however, maintains all existing programs and will help students catch up in learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Next year’s proposed budget accounts for the challenges schools have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic, and will allow the district to do everything possible to address the learning loss that has happened during the recent school shutdowns,” Mark Kruzynski, district superintendent, wrote in a letter to the community.
The tax levy, what the district collects in taxes, remains at $8,641,861. Medina now has not increases taxes in 13 of the last 14 years.
The budget vote will be May 18 from noon to 8 p.m. in the District Office Board Room.
The budget was adopted by board on April 21. It maintains all academic and extra-curricular programs, including modified sports, gifted and talented opportunities, and clubs.
Medina’s overall state aid is up $1,265,391 or by 4.6 percent from $27,494,499 to $28,759,890. The district’s Foundation Aid is up $539,981 or by 3.0 percent from $17,999,389 to $18,539,370.
The budget is down more than $1 million from the $40,491,733 in 2020-21. The proposed spending plan eliminates one clerical and three teaching positions through attrition.
The budget includes the purchase of two large buses. It eliminates one contract bus run and returns it to the district, resulting in $74,800 savings, Kruzynski said.
The budget also includes a new Bobcat vehicle for the Buildings and Grounds department. The district superintendent also said a 2010 capital bond has been paid off.
There are also three seats up for election in Medina this year. There are two 3-year terms and 1-year term that will assume duties on May 19. None of the incumbents – Ann Webster Bunch, Lori Draper, or Brian Koch –submitted petitions to be on the ballot.
Two people – Corrine Ryan and Alissa Bruce – submitted petitions and will be on the ballot. This means at least one of the three vacant seats will be filled by write-in candidates.
People who need an absentee ballot for the budget vote and election should contact District Clerk Julie Kuhn at 585-798-2700 or via email at jkuhn@medinacsd.org.
Photos courtesy of Alicia Vanderwalker: Boy Scouts in Troops 28, 35 and Cub Scouts in Pack 35 pose around the apple in Lions Park along the Erie Canal, where they were clearing debris, raking and cleaning up on Saturday morning.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 1 May 2021 at 8:58 pm
MEDINA – Cleaning up their community is part of the program for Medina Lions and local Cub and Boy Scout groups.
For more than 20 years, the groups have participated in a cleanup day in Lions Park, near the lift bridge in Medina.
Don Colquhoun has organized the Lions’ efforts for 25 years, he said this morning, while Frank Berger with the Boy Scouts Iroquois Trail Council has organized participation of Cub and Boy Scouts.
Scouts spread mulch under the shrubs in Lions Park Saturday morning, as part of United Way’s Day of Caring on Friday, when they couldn’t participate. In the background, Tim Winters uses the lawn tractor to bring in the mulch.
The day was an extension of United Way’s Day of Caring on Friday, when a dozen or so of the youth and volunteers couldn’t attend, and a celebration of Earth Day, which was April 22. Scouts pledge to “Keep America Beautiful,” and efforts like this help them achieve that goal.
Colquhoun issued a special thanks to Sons of the American Revolution Squadron 204 who did their part by previously cleaning up the south side of the canal from the American Legion on North Main Street to Bates Road. They landscaped, mulched and picked up trash along the way, he said.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Charlene Walsh, a member of Medina Lions, rakes along the bank in Lions Park this morning.
Don Colquhoun, organizer of the Medina Lions’ cleanup efforts on the canal bank and Lions Park, carries a box of supplies to volunteers cleaning up the grounds this morning.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 1 May 2021 at 7:54 pm
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Kathy Blackburn, left, president of the Medina Tree Board, shows third-grader Elizabeth Dresser, with the little shovel at right, how to throw the first shovel of dirt around the tree being planted in front of Gwinn Street Park.
MEDINA – Students in the third grade at Oak Orchard Elementary School got to learn first-hand how to plant a tree and the benefits of trees, during a special presentation Friday morning in Gwinn Street Park.
Planting trees in the park and along Gwinn Street has been a long-time project of the village and its Tree Board. This year they hope to achieve that goal.
On Friday morning, Mayor Mike Sidari and Tree Board members Kathy Blackburn, Bob Sanderson and Jake Hebdon created a special presentation for third-graders at Oak Orchard Elementary School.
Sidari read a proclamation from the village declaring Medina an official Tree City, USA.
The event celebrated Arbor Day, which was first established in 1872 by the Nebraska Board of Agriculture as a day to plant trees.
Arbor Day is now observed throughout the nation and the world.
The mayor read how trees are beneficial by combating climate change by reducing erosion of topsoil by wind and water; cutting heating and cooling costs; moderating the temperature; cleaning the air; producing life-giving oxygen and providing a habitat for wildlife. He added trees are a renewable resource, giving us paper, wood for our homes, fuel for our fires and countless other wood products.
Medina Mayor Mike Sidari reads a proclamation on Arbor Day to third graders at Oak Orchard Elementary School on Friday morning, during a ceremony at Gwinn Street Park organized by Medina’s Tree Board.
Sidari added that trees in a community increase property values, enhance the economic vitality of business areas and beautify the area.
Trees, wherever they are planted, are a source of joy and spiritual renewal, he added.
He hereby proclaimed April 30 as Arbor Day in the city of Medina and urged all citizens to support efforts to protect the trees and woodlands, and to plant trees to gladden the heart and promote the well-being of this and future generations.
After his proclamation, Tree Board members conducted a little exercise with students, asking them questions about trees.
In a special presentation, Tree Board members were given a plaque of a tree made by the third graders, in which they created a tree by using their thumbs to make the leaves.
The ceremony concluded by Elizabeth Dresser throwing in the first shovel of dirt around a tree which the village was planting in front of the park.
Third-grade students at Oak Orchard Elementary School created a special painting for Medina’s Tree Board, by making a tree, using their thumbs to make leaves. Presenting it to Tree Board members Kathy Blackburn, Bob Sanderson and Jake Hebdon are, at left, Julie Webber, principal; Katie Toub, third-grade teacher; and students Kaia Hamilton, Hendrix Jones and Philip Shannon.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 1 May 2021 at 7:19 pm
Photo by Ginny Kropf: NAPA operated out of this historic building on North Main Street for nearly a century.
MEDINA – Friday was the last day for the NAPA store on North Main Street in Medina, after corporate Genuine Parts Company based in Atlanta took it over. They also acquired CarQuest and moved operations there in Tops Plaza.
Retiring wasn’t in Craig Lacy’s immediate plans, he said Friday in a phone call from his Florida home.
Lacy confirmed his Medina Parts store on North Main Street has been taken over by corporate Genuine Parts Company from Atlanta.
Lacy said he knew he would some day sell them the business, which has been owned by his family for 95 years. His sons are the fourth generation to run the business, started by his grandfather M. Cady Lacy in 1921.
Early last week, Craig said he got a call from NAPA headquarters saying they were moving up their purchase and Saturday would be his last day. He flew home from Florida on Thursday to break the news to his employees, all of whom are being allowed to stay with the business, except Craig.
Genuine Parts Company has also taken over CarQuest in Tops Plaza and are in the process of moving everything to that location, according to Craig.
The Medina Parts building at 345 North Main St. is a historical building, listed on the National Register. Built in 1833, it burned in 1861 and was replaced by owner Botsford Fairman. There were numerous changes of ownership, including Jonathan A. Johnson of Lyndonville in 1869, who converted it into a hotel in 1873. Another fire in 1923 destroyed the top floors of the building, which had been the White Hotel.
M. Cady Lacy and Charles Haak had lost their jobs when the Central Foundry closed in 1921, and they needed a job. They bought the burned building in 1925, reduced the walls to two stories and rebuilt the building. They added a section on the canal side for their machine shop, Medina Cylinder Grinding, and started selling auto parts.
Craig said originally the auto parts business was just a little corner of the building, but they gradually expanded and were the first NAPA jobber in all of Western New York, and probably New York State. NAPA itself started in 1925, and Medina’s store was the first in the Buffalo area.
“We were in on the ground floor,” Craig said. “It’s sad it’s going to end like this. But we had a nice run.”
Initially it was reported that NAPA had taken over stores in Albion, Batavia, Brockport and Warsaw. However, Dan DeCarlo, the owner of Arnold’s Auto Parts NAPA store in Albion, said Saturday morning they have not taken his store. He will be conducting business as usual.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 1 May 2021 at 7:29 am
Photo by Ginny Kropf: A vehicle which skidded off the road at 7:45 a.m. April 21 left a path of broken and dislodged headstones in Sacred Heart Cemetery on North Gravel Road.
MEDINA – A driver lost control of a BMW on April 21, and damaged about six gravestones at Sacred Heart Cemetery on North Gravel Road.
The driver lost control of the vehicle at about 7:45 a.m. The driver was northbound on the road, which was covered in snow.
The driver lost control on the slippery road and left the pavement on the east side of the road, driving through a fence and striking half a dozen tombstones.
There were no drugs or alcohol involved and neither the driver or passenger were injured. No charges were filed, said State Police public information officer James O’Callaghan.
Father Bernard Nowak, pastor of Trinity Parish which oversees the cemetery, said he had little knowledge of the incident, other than the driver’s insurance was expected to pay for the damages.
“Our main concern is taking care of the families involved,” he said. “We want respect for the deceased and their loved ones.”
Provided photos: A worker cleans up broken headstones in Sacred Heart Cemetery which were destroyed when a car went off the road April 21 during a snowstorm.
