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.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 August 2017 at 8:50 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Some members of the Medina Board of Education are pictured Tuesday evening with a bench created by carpentry students from the Iroquois Job Corps.
The group includes, from left: Anne Bunch, Lori Draper, Arlene Pawlaczyk, Dave Sevenski, Brenda Lindsay and Wendi Pencille.
Job Corps students presented the bench to the school district last month in honor of Evoy, who passed away at age 50 on June 22, 2016 after battling a serious illness.
Evoy was Medina’s district superintendent for about five years. He championed educational initiatives in the community, including the programs at the Job Corps.
Sevenski, the board president, said the district is planning to establish a memorial garden. The bench for Evoy would be part of that garden.
The Buildings and Grounds Committee is considering where to create that garden.
The bench includes a plaque that reads, “Those that touch our lives, stay in our hearts forever. Each happiness of yesterday is a memory for tomorrow.”
Photos by Tom Rivers: The former Towne Primary School in Medina was sold by the Medina Board of Education today for $900,000 to Rainbow CCX International, a company that provides educational services. Rainbow currently has schools in Toronto and Niagara Falls, Canada.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2017 at 10:30 pm
MEDINA – Towne Primary School was sold today by the Medina Board of Education, about five years after the school closed.
The board accepted an offer for $900,000 from Rainbow CCX International, a company that provides educational services. The company’s name wasn’t disclosed during a public hearing. It wasn’t made public until the board voted to accept the offer after a public hearing and then executive session
Rainbow CCX currently has schools in Toronto and Niagara Falls, Canada.
The board also considered an offer from the Calvary Tabernacle church, which currently holds services in the old Medina High School. Calvary proposed buying the Towne School for an undisclosed amount. The church wanted to use Towne for the Orleans County Christian School and also the Medina Area Association of Churches’s clothing depot.
The board was unanimous in voting for the offer from Rainbow CCX, except for Board President David Sevenski, who abstained. He sells real estate for Zambito Realtors, which listed the property for $1,150,000. The building is 72,814 square feet and the property includes a 16.9-acre lot.
“There are vast and clear differences in the offers,” Sevenski said after the board came out of executive session.
The property will go on the tax rolls and would have stayed tax exempt if purchased by the church. Medina Village Trustee Owen Toale urged the board to accept the offer from the tax-paying entity so the village has more revenue to provide services, including streets in need of paving.
He said Rainbow CCX wouldn’t come to the community without the Towne school, whereas Calvary can continue to provide its services without the Towne site.
David Sevenski, president of the Medina Board of Education, said Rainbow’s offer was much higher than the one from Calvary Tabernacle. “There are vast and clear differences in the offers,” he said. Ann Bunch, the board’s vice president, is at left.
Calvary has sold its building to Roger Hungerford, who wants to develop high-scale apartments in the old school. He is working on designs for those apartments.
The sale of that building put Calvary in a position to pursue the Towne building.
The sale of the old high school should also will put that building on the tax rolls, and generate tax revenue for the local governments, said Bill Carpenter, who spoke in favor of Calvary Tabernacle acquiring Towne.
“We sold our property because it needed repairs we couldn’t afford,” he said.
Linda Strickland, administrator of the Christian School, urged the Board of Education to not just focus on the money in picking between the two offers. She said the Christian School and Calvary wanted to expand their ministries and their impact on the community.
Medina still owes about $1.2 million from Towne for a capital project at the building. The sale price will wipe out most of that debt. Medina also will be spared paying about $50,000 in annual maintenance and insurance at the site.
There was some concern whether a playground and softball field next door would be available for use for the community. The new owner will be asked about that, or whether the field and playground could become owned by the village or town.
Medina Mayor Mike Sidari urged the board to accept the offer from the company that will be paying taxes in the village. Without giving away the company name, Sidari said the company has contacts in the business community that could lead to more investment in Medina.
Medina Michael Sidari urged the board to accept the offer from Rainbow, although Sidari didn’t mention the company’s name. He said he visited Rainbow’s school in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and was impressed by the site. He said the school’s owner has many business contacts that could lead to additional investment in Medina.
The school was listed for sale for about 3 ½ years. After drawing limited interest for more than three years, there were two “very credible offers” for the board to consider, Sevenski said.
When Medina wrestled with closing the school five years ago, Sevenski opposed it back then when he wasn’t on the Board of Education. The board closed the school after years of shrinking school enrollments.
Those elementary grades were moved to the Oak Orchard Elementary School.
Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent, said enrollment continues to trend downward. It’s unlikely there would be demand to reopen the school anytime soon.
Sevenski said he didn’t want to see the Towne School sit vacant for years, and deteriorate.
“I’ve watched the building go downhill for five years,” he said. “It’s hard to watch it.”
He walked around the school at 11 p.m. last night, when he couldn’t sleep.
“We held on hoping something would break and we could justify reopening the building,” he said at the board meeting. “But we’re at a dead end. We have to face reality.”
File photo: Towne Primary School on Bates Road has been closed for five years. The school district is weighing two offers for the building.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2017 at 10:32 am
MEDINA – A former school on Bates Road that has been closed for five years is eyed by two different prospective buyers.
The Board of Education will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. today about selling the former Towne Primary School. (The board meets at the administrative office next to the high school.)
“They are both very credible offers,” said Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent. “Both offers are very intriguing.”
He declined to disclose the offers because of the potential for influencing the sale price.
The school was closed five years ago due to declining student enrollment. The grade levels at Towne were moved to the Oak Orchard Elementary School.
Towne has been on the market for 3 ½ years. The district has been paying about $50,000 annually for maintenance and insurance for the site.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 August 2017 at 7:53 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – The Lois McClure docked in Medina on Wednesday and Thursday and was open for tours. Art Cohn, in back, is a historian on the vessel, which was constructed by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont and launched in 2004. Cohn said building a replica of a boat from 1862, and letting the public tour the boat, is a great way to help people understand life for canalers.
The Lois McClure is making stops along the canal this summer in a partnership with the State Canal Corp., which is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the start of the canal’s construction. It took eight years to build the 363-mile-long canal, which opened in 1825.
A woman uses a Hydro-Bike in the Canal Basin on Thursday near the Lois McClure. The 88-foot-long boat was built like a replica of one from 1862. It doesn’t have an engine and is pulled by a tugboat.
The Lois McClure last visited Orleans County in 2013.
Michelle Tompkins of Medina toured the boat and posed for a photo with the steering wheel.
The boat is set up below deck to resemble the close confines of a shipping boat from the 1860s.
Kay VanNostrand of Medina, right, talk with Paul Smith, a member of the crew, about life on the boat. Smith said a family would typically live on the boat with little room to spare. The top of the boat was typically loaded with barrels of cargo. He praised the industriousness of the canalers for running the boats, often for nine months a year or longer.
This Dachshund is named Josie Wales after a Clint Eastwood character. The dog has joined the crew on the Lois McClure this year. Josie was popular with visitors on the boat on Thursday. She is training to visit patients in hospitals and hospices.
The Lois McClure will be in Lockport on Saturday and Sunday. It’s season on the canal continues until Oct. 9. Click here for more information.
There was a full slate of activities are planned to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the building of the Erie Canal (1817) and the 185th Birthday of the Village of Medina on Thursday.
In addition to the boat being open for tours, Acoustically Sound and Emerald Isle both performed concerts in the Canal Basin.
Tom Grasso of Rochester gave a canal talk at 5 p.m. at the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library on West Avenue. Grasso is an expert on the Erie Canal and will talk about the construction of the historic waterway.
Medina also celebrated its 185th anniversary with a birthday cake served in the Canal Basin.
Festivities concluded with a performance by the Kendall Lawn Chair Ladies.
File photos by Tom Rivers: The Lois McClure passes under the Main Street lift bridge in Albion when the boat was last in Orleans County in August 2013.
An 88-foot-long replica of a Lake Schooner from 1862 is making a 360-mile journey along the Erie Canal this summer in honor of the bicentennial of the start of the Erie Canal’s construction.
The Lois McClure will be in Holley and open four tours from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Holley’s Canal Park.
Then the schooner heads west to Medina where it will arrive at about 2 p.m.
A reception for the captain and crew will be hosted by Mayor Michael Sidari and the Village Trustees in the Canal Basin. The public is encouraged to attend that reception.
On Thursday, a full slate of activities are planned to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the building of the Erie Canal (1817) and the 185th Birthday of the Village of Medina.
The Lois McClure is open for tours beginning at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The general public is invited to come aboard the schooner and meet the crew and hear how life was aboard a canal boat in the 1800s. The Lois McClure will be open to tours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Visitors can also look below deck to get a feel for life on a canal boat in the 1860s.
Beginning at noon, Peddle and Paddle will have rentals of Hydro-bikes and kayaks on the canal until 7 p.m.
At 2 p.m. in the Canal Basin, Acoustically Sound will perform.
At 4 p.m., Emerald Isle of Eden, NY, will give a concert in the Canal Basin, performing traditional Irish music.
Mrs. Ribs – House of BBQ from Middleport will be available from 4 to 8 p.m. and will provide pulled pork sandwiches, sides and drinks for sale.
Tom Grasso of Rochester will give a canal talk at 5 p.m. at the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library on West Avenue. Grasso is an expert on the Erie Canal and will talk about the construction of the historic waterway.
Medina will celebrate the 185th anniversary of the village at 6 p.m. with a birthday cake served in the Canal Basin. Mayor Mike Sidari will officiate, along with Trustee and Village Historian Todd Bensley.
Festivities conclude with a performance by the Kendall Lawn Chair Ladies at 7 p.m. in the Canal Basin.
In the event of rain, the Medina Theater has agreed to host the music and Lawn Chair Ladies.
This event is sponsored by the Village of Medina Tourism Committee, the New York State Canal Corporation and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.
The Kendall Lawn Chair Ladies, shown here during the Kendall Firemen’s Carnival Parade in July 2016, will close out Medina’s celebration on Thursday.
MEDINA – It has come to my attention that there are companies giving out free meal to lure customers into buying fire detection systems in the Orleans County area.
I urge anyone who attends one of these sales presentations to seek out a second estimate. This area has several companies that can do this type work.
The average cost of a combination carbon monoxide, smoke detector with a battery back-up is $49.99. This type of unit plugs into an electrical outlet – in the event of a power outage, the battery takes over. The smoke detectors that are being sold can range in price from $13.99 for a package of three to $19.99. The ten-year lithium battery models can be bought for $23.99 to $60 depending on the features installed.
The average cost to outfit a home with high-end carbon monoxide and smoke detection is $300. This is using combination detectors on all three floors and outside sleeping areas. The price drops to $150 you use just smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors outside sleeping areas.
If you feel you need to have a monitoring system installed. The equipment is usually installed at a reduced cost and the monthly monitoring fee helps defray the cost of this style of system. The alarm companies do an excellent job at transmitting alarms to the proper department. As I said before, have a second estimate for work before any contract is signed.
I know that most Fire Chiefs would be more than happy to look at any proposal for work to be done.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 August 2017 at 10:42 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Two hundred people gather for dinner at The Gallagher, a barn that is an event center on North Gravel Road.
The second annual Farm-To-Table Dinner was moved from Main Street to The Gallagher due to threats of rain. The forecast proved accurate with a thunderstorm passing through the community this evening.
The dinner is a fund-raiser for the Canal Village Farmers’ Market. The Orleans Renaissance Group runs the farmers’ market and also organized the dinner.
Michael Zambito of Zambistro catered the meal along with Leonel Rosario of Mariachi De Oro, Medina’s popular Mexican restaurant. Here Zambito and his staff prepare the first tasting of the five-course meal – skewered shrimp with tomatoes, green onion, bell pepper, cucumber, salsa, sour cream, and micro cilantro.
Zambistro catered the first Farm-To-Table a year ago when Main Street was blocked off. The ORG had 100 tickets available but expanded it to 137 due to demand. This year, the event was expanded to 200 tickets and quickly sold out at $100 a ticket.
A Zambistro employee puts the finishing touch of crumbly goat cheese on a fried green tomato, which included roasted beet aioli, crispy bacon, and field greens.
The ingredients for the meals came from local farms, including many vendors from the farmers’ market.
The meal was also served with locally produced wine from Schwenk Wine Cellars, Schulz Vineyards and Leonard Oakes Estate Winery, beer from RG Brewery, and mead from 810 Meadworks.
Zambistro staff work on course one of the meal. They include sous chef Eric Richmond, left, and Mark Zambito, Michael Zambito’s brother who was volunteering at the event. Zambistro had 20 staff working on the meal.
Chris Busch, president of ORG, welcomes the crowd to The Gallagher and thanked Jenna and Martin Bruning, owners of the site, for making it available for the dinner. Busch said the Brunings “are young visionary entrepreneurs” who have created an “incredible venue” for the community. Since the barn opened about a year ago as an event center, it has hosted 20 weddings.
Leonel Rosario, chef at Mariachi De Oro, prepares plate of pork tamales. Rosario and Mariachi De Oro cooked the tamales, and the brisket for the main meal. Leonel’s wife also shared the recipe for the honey flan that Rosario and Zambito made together. The two restaurant owners are friends and often have meals at each other’s establishments.
“We have different restaurants and cultures coming together,” Zambito said. “This dinner is a platform to showcase Orleans County talent. The wineries, breweries, the mead and the harvest – the majority came right from here.”
Michael Zambito and Leonel Rosario worked together to prepare the food for the dinner.
The diners enjoy a five-course meal and lots of conversation inside The Gallagher.
Cobblestone Inn and Suites: This Cobblestone Inn and Suites hotel opened on May 19 in Greenville, PA. That hotel has 54 guestrooms, flat-screen TVs, pet friendly rooms, microwaves, refrigerators and a variety of suites.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 August 2017 at 10:41 am
MEDINA – A project that has been a few years in the making could reach the Medina Planning Board next month.
Cobblestone Inn and Suites is expected to present a site plan for a three-story building that would have about 50 hotel rooms, Marty Busch, the village code enforcement officer, told the Village Planning Board on Tuesday.
Busch said he expects the company will submit a site plan in time for the Sept. 5 Planning Board meeting.
Busch said he has had numerous phone calls and emails with the company as it works on a design for the project. (The company has also been seeking bids for contractors on the project.)
The hotel is planned for Maple Ridge Road, next to Pride Pak. It would be on land owned by the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
The EDA has been working to bring a chain hotel to the county.
The Orleans Land Restoration Corporation, one of the EDA’s development arms, bought 5 acres of land on Maple Ridge Road for $50,000 in 2015. That property included an abandoned house and overgrown yard. The house has been razed and the land has been cleaned up.
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.
The EDA sees the land on Maple Ridge Road across from GCC as an ideal location because the site already has infrastructure – water, sewer and electricity – within the village.
The chain hotel would be a lift for the area, boosting bed tax for tourism, sales tax for the county and state, and other spending in the community, EDA officials said then.
Cobblestone Inn and Suites has built about 75 hotels with most of them in small towns, typically working with investors in the host community. Medina would be its first in New York.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 August 2017 at 9:37 am
Courtesy of Village Planning Board: This shows how an addition to Takeform will look on the back of the current manufacturing site.
MEDINA – Takeform Architectural Graphics is proposing a 15,500-square-foot addition to its Maple Ridge Road manufacturing site in Medina.
The company presented the site plan for the addition to the Medina Planning Board on Tuesday. The board accepted the site plan as complete and set a public hearing for 7:05 p.m. on Sept. 5 for the plan. That hearing will be at City Hall.
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 in growth mode 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 site plan, Takeform would put on an addition and add 40 parking spaces, as well as at least four trees.
The company’s plan was presented on Tuesday by BME Associates, an engineering firm in Fairport. Takeform is eager to get started on construction, BME said.
The Medina Planning Board referred the site plan to the Orleans County Planning Board for its review on Aug. 24.
