By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 September 2016 at 9:15 am
File photo by Tom Rivers: These Little People, which were manufactured when Fisher-Price was in Medina, are pictured as part of a display by the Medina Historical Society in 2014.
The Little People are on the short list to be inducted in the Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester.
The Little People are manufactured by Fisher-Price and for many years were made in Medina until Fisher-Price left Medina in the late 1990s. The company started operations in the Orleans County community in 1970.
The Little People are the first Fisher-Price toy to be a finalist for the Hall of Fame.
Fisher-Price first offered its wooden Little People in the 1959 Safety School Bus. Made of brightly painted wood and fashioned for little hands, the figures help small children imagine big adventures at the Little People school, airport, service station, amusement park, zoo, and farm. During the 1990s, Fisher-Price added arms and legs to the figures.
There are 12 finalists being considered for the Hall of Fame. Two or three will be picked for the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame will announce the winners on Nov. 10.
Other toys that are finalists include: Bubble Wrap, Care Bears, the Clue board game, coloring book, Dungeons & Dragons, Nerf, Pinball, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, swing, Transformers, and Uno. For more on the Toy hall of Fame and the finalists, click here.
MEDINA – Todd Bensley, Medina’s village historian and a member of the Village Board, leads a dedication ceremony on Saturday for the new historical marker at Boxwood Cemetery. The cemetery on North Gravel Road was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Community members, including Mayor Michael Sidari and Cemetery Commission Chairwoman Kathy Blackburn, were on hand for the dedication along with a group of tour goers. Bensley led tours of the cemetery on Saturday and also on Sunday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 September 2016 at 4:54 pm
MEDINA – The Village of Medina and the Boxwood Cemetery Commission will dedicate a new historical marker on Saturday at noon. The marker notes the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
The marker is by the entrance of the cemetery, next to the chapel built in 1903 from Medina sandstone in a Gothic Revival style.
After the marker is dedicated at noon, Village Historian Todd Bensley will lead a tour of the cemetery which opened in 1850. He will discuss funerary art and some of the residents buried in the cemetery on North Gravel Road.
The tour is part of the Orleans County Heritage Festival, which highlights many of the cemeteries in the county, as well as “historic gems,” transportation and agriculture.
For more on the festival, which runs from Sept. 9-11, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 September 2016 at 1:31 pm
Ronan Tynan will perform at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Sept. 17
Ronan Tynan
MEDINA – The Orleans Renaissance Group decided to “reach for the stars” by inviting famed tenor Ronan Tynan to Medina. Tynan will perform at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Sept. 17.
The concert is nearing a sellout with 93 tickets left out of about 650. Some of the concert-goers are coming from out of state, travelling from Massachusetts, Ohio and California to see Tynan, said Chris Busch, president of the ORG.
The group has been high-profile in recent years for its push to revive the Bent’s Opera House on Main Street. The ORG last year also started running a farmers’ market on Saturday in the downtown.
Busch said ORG’s original mission was to bring high-caliber cultural events to Medina. In 2013, the acclaimed group, Anonymous Four, performed in Medina at a concert organized by the Renaissance Group.
“Every couple years we try to do something world class,” Busch said. “We were trying to brainstorm our next move to bring in a world class event.”
Tim Cooper, a local funeral home owner, suggested welcoming Tynan, an Irish tenor who also is a recording artist, physician and champion disabled athlete.
The concert will be at a church that was largely built by the Irish community in the early 1900s. Tynan has sung at the funeral for Ronald Reagan, during the World Series at Yankee Stadium and many concert halls across the United States and internationally.
Busch said St. Mary’s is ideal for a concert with a powerful and majestic voice.
“I’m sure it will be spectacular,” Busch said. “It’s a very live acoustic environment. For a voice like his it will be spectacular.”
A Sony recording artist, Tynan has released more than 10 titles, 4 of which have achieved platinum status. Additionally, between 1981 and 1984, Tynan amassed 18 gold medals and 14 world records while participating in the Paralympics. Nine of his records still stand.
Tynan has performed for four U.S. Presidents including George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Tynan has sung for two Popes, Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica and Pope Benedict at the Concert of Hope.
For more on the Renaissance Group, visit www.bentshall.org.
Photos by Thom Jennings This group tried to solve the clues in the Medina escape room last week. They include, from left: Tracy Jennings, Terry Stephens, Laura Stephens, Chris Dix and Megan Dix.
By Thom Jennings, Correspondent
MEDINA – Medina’s burgeoning Main Street has added another unique stop, Orleans County’s first escape room, Into the Enigma.
For those who are not familiar with what an escape room is, it is a live action adventure game where groups of people try and solve a puzzle and “escape.” The rooms are popular attractions for groups of friends and corporate team building activities.
Into the Enigma is located at 525 Main St., Medina.
Into the Enigma follows the standard model and starts with a narrative before you enter the room to look for clues.
While there are some rules of thumb, just about anything in the room could contain a clue so players must examine everything.
If players get stuck there are opportunities to receive additional clues to help get everyone on track. There are time penalties when you use an additional clue.
Into the Enigma houses one room, and for the sake of reviewing the room I gathered up a group of six players. I was the only person that had ever experienced an escape room.
From my perspective the room was well thought out and extremely challenging. As a group we were able to work together to find clues and while we were stumped on occasion it was never frustrating. The 60-minute time limit went by very quickly because we were having a great time and enjoying the twists.
Facebook: Myke LaVoice, Tim Elliott, and Joe Gould worked together to develop the escape room at Medina. The trio tried other escape rooms in the region. They are pictured after getting out of the Queen City Escape Room on Louisiana Street in Buffalo.
The new business is the brainchild of three people: Mike LaVoice, Joe Gould and Tim Elliott.
The three of them started discussing the idea of creating a Medina based escape room back in May and tried out a number of them in Western New York to understand the model and develop their own room.
The business opens to the public on Thursday and will have one room for patrons to try and escape from, a second room is in the works and should be open by early October and then two more will be developed next year.
Rooms will be revamped periodically, anywhere from eight to ten months. Each room can accommodate from three to ten people at a time.
The number of people does not give you any major advantages, but larger groups will force people to work together, and there are more than enough clues to keep a large group busy.
Whether or not you are good at puzzles really does not matter, the rooms are meant to entertain and engage.
In an era where people are chasing Pokemon with their cell phones, Into the Enigma offers a great opportunity for people to disconnect from technology and have a great time.
MEDINA – Oak Orchard Elementary, under the direction of new Principal Julie Webber, is ready to welcome students on Wednesday, September 7th for a full day.
There will be new procedures in place as students are dismissed from school at 2:20 p.m. Buses will continue to load students in the loop in front of the school. Anyone wishing to pick up their child at the end of the school day will be required to send in a note to the main office on the morning of the pickup stating the full name of the adult picking up the child.
The adult will park, enter the building at 2:25, and show photo identification to sign out the child. In the past, parents were able to pick up students in the front loop prior to bus departures. From now on, cars will not be permitted in the front loop during arrival or dismissal.
“The purpose for this change is ensure the safety of all students and streamline the dismissal process to maximize valuable instructional time for students,” Webber said. “Detailed information is included on the website and will be available to families at the Back to School/Open House night on Tuesday, September 6th at 6 p.m.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 August 2016 at 1:41 pm
John and Mike Sawyer took the lead in building Western New York Energy’s ethanol plant in Medina.
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Orleans County and the Western New York agricultural suffered a great loss with Mike Sawyer’s death a week ago on Thursday.
Sawyer, president and CEO of Western New York Energy, was hiking on a remote trail on Cascade Mountain in the Adirondacks when he collapsed and died at age 43 due a medical condition.
Sawyer was instrumental in developing the $90 million ethanol plant in Medina about a decade ago. He quit a good job in finance in Rochester to work alongside his father, John Sawyer, in building the ethanol plant.
The two men rallied investors, community leaders and elected officials to get behind the project. The ethanol plant opened in November 2007, and remains the largest economic development project in Orleans County history.
John was the company’s first CEO and president. He served in that role until he died from leukemia at age 72 on Oct. 13, 2013. His son succeeded him as CEO and president.
Many of the ethanol plants are financed by giant agricultural companies. The Sawyers used local money to get the project done.
“It was their vision, grit and determination that made it happen,” said Dean Norton of Elba, who is president of the New York Farm Bureau.
The ethanol plant has given local corn growers a major market for corn. Many farmers have upgraded corn storage facilities, and added corn acreage since the ethanol plant opened.
“They were definitely very community-oriented,” Norton said. “They wanted to be good neighbors.”
John and Mike considered other Western New York sites for the ethanol plant. The Medina site at the corner of Bates Road and Route 31A had rail access, low-cost hydropower, and space to develop the complex that turns 20 million bushels of corn annually into about 60 million gallons of ethanol.
John had a successful farming career in Geneseo, where he raised his family. But John grew up in Orleans County, and welcomed the chance to return to his roots. The Sawyers gave $250,000 to the new Hoag Library in Albion, and contributed to many other charitable efforts, from golf tournaments to people battling illnesses.
(On a personal note, soon after Orleans Hub went live in April 2013, Mike called me saying he and his employees enjoyed the news site. He wondered how it would survive financially because it depends on ads to pay the bills for the Hub. Mike offered to take out a monthly ad even though the company isn’t selling its products retail to the community. WNY Energy has been an advertiser ever since.)
I was working for The Daily News in Batavia 12 years ago when the Sawyers starting meeting with local farmers and elected officials to build support for the first ethanol plant in the state.
It seemed then that Orleans County often came in second or third place when companies were looking at mega-projects. You would hear about companies looking at sites in Orleans, but we didn’t often land the big company.
When WNY Energy committed to Medina, Gov. George Pataki came to town to celebrate the news.
Mike and John Sawyer were often side by side at Western New York Energy.
Gabrielle Barone saw first-hand how Mike and his father pushed the make the project a reality. She is vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
“Mike Sawyer brought an abundance of energy and solid business fundamentals to his role as CEO of Western New York Energy that was evident when I first met him during the initial development stages of the project,” Barone said. “I recall how he had the timely knack of bringing the right balance of humor into a conversation just when it was needed. We are indebted to both John and Mike Sawyer – they had the rare ability to see a potential and bring that to fruition to benefit the agricultural economy of Western New York and beyond. Michael was an outstanding successor and I share along with so many others, his untimely passing.”
The company pays about $1.2 million annually in local taxes, providing an enormous boost to the Medina school district, Town of Shelby, Orleans County and even the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.
Despite the big tax bill, the company has been generous with the community.
John was becoming more active in local causes until his death from leukemia. He was especially interested in local history and wanted to help fund a county museum.
Mike became the company’s leader following his father’s death. He would oversee a recent $2 million investment in additional grain storage for 800,000 bushels of corn.
Mike, like his father, also was interested in helping local historical groups.
Mike also had a passion for competitive barbecuing, travelling the country for competitions. The former St. Bonaventure hockey player also loved the outdoors. He was hiking with his wife Andrea last week. He collapsed after reaching the mountain’s summit.
His funeral is this morning at 10 a.m. at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Geneseo, where he was a member of the vestry, and the church’s property and finance committees.
Our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues at WNY Energy.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 August 2016 at 7:50 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers – A farmer heads down Main Street last Friday. The village has experienced a recent upswing in the downtown business district, increasing traffic and a demand for parking.
MEDINA – The Village Board was asked by a downtown business owner to consider ways to make parking more available for people who need to be on Main Street for several hours.
The village has a 2-hour parking limit on Main Street, and that may not be enough time for some customers and visitors to spend time at the many shops and restaurants in the downtown, Rita Zambito of Zambito Realtors told the Village Board on Monday.
She said she is concerned some visitors may get parking tickets for staying on Main Street too long. That would discourage them from coming to Medina again. There are municipal lots just off Main Street but the walk may be too much for some customers, especially at the Canal Basin where there is a hill to climb before getting to Main Street, Zambito said.
Zambito suggested the village look at installing parking meters or have parking passes for people who want to park on Main Street for more than 2 hours.
Deputy Mayor Owen Toale said parking meters would be costly to install and wouldn’t be an option until the village’s next budget year, which starts June 1, 2017. The village didn’t budget for the cost for this fiscal year.
The board could consider extended parking in the downtown to perhaps 4 hours. That would require passing a local law.
Trustee Marguerite Sherman said some of the parking crunch in the downtown could be eased if more people used the municipal lots. She suggested more signage directing people to the municipal lots. Business owners also should use those bigger lots to free up space on Main Street.
Main Street already suffers from “sign saturation,” said Peter Houseknecht, superintendent of the Department of Public Works.
There are already signs about the 2-hour parking limit, but Houseknecht said people don’t seem to see those. Signs pointing to municipal lots might not be noticed, he said.
“I don’t have the answer,” Toale said.
Mark Zambito, Rita’s son and a real estate agent, urged the village to find a solution. He doesn’t want to see downtown visitors get ticketed for spending too much time in Medina. That would give the community a black eye.
Mr. Zambito said many downtown business owners and community leaders have dedicated themselves to downtown’s rebirth the past decade. But that momentum could be lost if customers get parking tickets.
“We’re going to lose everything we’ve worked our butts off for the past 10 years,” he told the Village Board.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 August 2016 at 5:18 pm
File photo by Tom Rivers – An ambulance for the Medina Fire Department heads down East Center Street in January 2015 for a call that was outside the village.
MEDINA – Village officials say they are close to a contract agreement with the towns of Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates where the towns will pay towards an ambulance service.
The Medina Fire Department replaced Rural Metro as primary ambulance provider for western Orleans County in 2007. The Fire Department responds to nearly 3,000 calls a year with many outside the village.
Medina Village Board members have tried to get the towns to contribute to the service, without success in recent years. But Deputy Mayor Owen Toale and Fire Chief Tom Lupo said there is an agreement in principle where the three towns will pay towards the ambulance service.
Lupo said Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates will pay each year based on call volume in their community. The money will be used to help replace ambulances.
Lupo said he would like the Fire Department to get in a schedule of replacing ambulances with a new one every two years. The ambulances costs about $125,000 to $140,000.
Toale declined to say how much the towns are expected to contribute annually.
“It’s very positive for the village,” he said during Monday’s Village Board meeting.
Lupo also shared other good news for the Fire Department. Medina was awarded a $64,000 state grant for a heavy-duty vehicle and trailer that can be used to respond to recreational areas where fire trucks are too big.
The vehicle and trailer will be outfitted with ropes and rescue equipment for incidents at Glenwood Lake, the Erie Canal, Oak Orchard Creek and other spots with rough terrain.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 August 2016 at 2:40 pm
WHEATFELD – Quincy Harper, 18, was known in Medina for a “million-dollar smile” and a heart of gold. Quincy also excelled in sports for the Mustangs.
On Saturday, just after midnight, he was one of two pedestrians killed in Wheatfield. The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office said Carly Marrs, 20, was driving along Shawnee Road at 12:18 a.m. when she struck three pedestrians, killing Quincy Harper and Melanie Aronow, 18 of Amherst.
Quincy Byrd, 18, of Lockport also was injured in the accident and was transported by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center.
The driver of the vehicle was transported by ambulance to DeGraff Hospital in North Tonawanda with minor injuries. She was interviewed by investigators at the hospital and was cooperative, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division and Accident Reconstruction team, along with the District Attorney’s Office are investigating the fatal crash. No charges have been filed at this time.
Quincy Harper attended Medina schools from elementary to high schools. He was raised by his father, Forrest Harper and has many relatives in Medina, Albion, Lockport and Buffalo.
A GoFundMe account has been established to help his family. Click here for more information.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 August 2016 at 5:15 pm
MEDINA – Andy Eaton with DN Tanks applies the second coat of paint on Medina’s 3-million-gallon water tank today.
DN Tank has painted the tank, and also made several repairs, with more to be done. The water tank was built in 1959 on Route 31A.
The Village Board in April accepted a $899,850 bid from DN Tanks for the work. The company is based in Wakefield, Mass.
The big tank had interior cracks that were identified in a previous inspection when the tank was full of water.
The village opted to repair the tank rather than build a new one. The upgrades are expected to give the water tank at least another 20 years of useful.
DN Tanks workers said they have been working on the tank improvements for about 10 weeks. They are trying to have the project done by Aug. 19.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 August 2016 at 3:17 pm
Tom Cox
MEDINA – The Medina Board of Education hired Tom Cox t serve as interim school district superintendent. Cox has served as interim school leader for several local districts, including Lyndonville in 2011.
The board named Cox as interim school superintendent on Thursday evening. He will provide temporary leadership for the district while it works with Dr, Clark Godshall, superintendent of the Orleans/Niagara BOCES, to fill the position.
“Tom has had a long career in education in New York State,” said Wendi Pencille, the board president. “He has held numerous interim superintendent positions since he retired.”
Medina lost its leader on June 23 with the death of Jeff Evoy, who had served as district superintendent for about five years.
A former music teacher and baseball coach, Cox has served in many positions including assistant superintendent, elementary, middle and high school principal and deputy superintendent in many districts. He has served as a school administrator at Wayne Central, Canandaigua Academy, Marion, Ganada, Starpoint, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Warsaw, East Irondequoit and other districts.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 August 2016 at 3:13 pm
137 enjoy 5-course meal on blocked off section of downtown
MEDINA – A first ever Farm-to-Table Dinner event in Medina proved popular this evening with 137 people enjoying the fine dining experience on a closed off section of Main Street.
These types of dinners are more typical in trendy urban areas, but Medina proved an ideal setting with a vibrant downtown with well-maintained buildings.
Before the food was served, the group was engaged in conversation at a long table on Main Street.
Michael Zambito, chef at Medina’s Zambistro restaurant, prepared a full five-course dinner. Each course included pairings from local Niagara Wine Trail wineries, 810 Meadworks and a WNY brewery.
“Medina showed it can pull off these types of events, too,” said Jonathan Oakes of the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina, who was one of the dinner-goers this evening.
He was part of a similar event in Rochester at High Falls where Leonard Oakes provided the wine and Oakes discussed different types of wine with the diners.
The events appeal to people looking to slow things down and enjoy an authentic experience with locally sourced food, Oakes said.
The event was organized by the Orleans Renaissance Group, which is using proceeds to support the Canal Village Farmers’ Market. ORG started the farmers’ market last year. It now draws about 500 people every Saturday at the corner of West Center Street and West Avenue.
The market can use the funds for entertainment, insurance, building improvements and to “make it more welcoming,” said Gail Miller, the market manager.
Glasses are filled with water. The soon-to-open Fitzgibbons Public House is in back.
Zambistro set the table for fine dining right on Main Street. Tickets were $100. The Orleans Renaissance Group hoped it could sell 100. It sold 137 with more people interested.
Chris Busch, ORG president, said there was strong demand for the debut event. He said the proceeds will allow the ORG “to take the (farmers’) market up to the next level.”
Liam Cooper from Zambistros pours water in glasses before the event started.
The event, with a long dinner table on Main Street, provided a backdrop for some iconic images.
The ORG also is preparing for its next big event, a Sept. 17 concert at St. Mary’s Catholic Church featuring acclaimed tenor Ronan Tynan. Busch said 500 tickets have already been sold for the concert with 150 remaining.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 31 July 2016 at 3:00 pm
Contributed Photo – Medina High Athletic Director Eric Valley meets here with members of the new executive board of the Parents Athletic Club in preparation for the next weekend’s annual Alumni Weekend event. The board members include, Margaritte Sherman (President), Joanne Benthin (Treasurer), Melissa Valley (Vice president) and Andrea Lonnen (Secretary). All five are Medina Alumni.
A special memorial 5K run will highlight the sports activities planned for next weekend’s (August 5-7) annual Medina Alumni Weekend.
The Alumni 5K Fun Run will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday in memory of the district’s late Superintendent Jeff Evoy who passed away in June.
The run will start at the Sacred Heart Club, go down the Tow Path to Marshall Road and back.
The weekend’s activities, which are being coordinated by the Parents Athletic Club, will get underway on Friday evening at Vets Park with a Home Run Derby at 6 p.m. and an alumni baseball game at 7.
On Saturday, in addition to the 5K run, there will be a co-ed volleyball tournament at 11:30 a.m. (registration at 11) and a golf tournament at Shelridge at 2:30 p.m. (registration at 2 p.m.).
The activities will conclude on Sunday at Vets Park with a alumni lacrosse game at 4 p.m. and a co-ed soccer game at 7 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 July 2016 at 2:55 pm
MEDINA – Orleans County legislators approved loaning the Orleans Economic Development Agency $100,000 to complete a water and sewer upgrade at the Medina Business Park.
The EDA is managing improvements to the park for Pride Pak, as well as a possible new hotel. There isn’t a firm commitment yet for the hotel, but Pride Pak is nearing completion for a new 62,000-square-foot vegetable and fruit processing facility on Route 31A across from the GCC campus.
Pride Pak will use about 400,000 gallons of water and sewer daily, which will be a big boost to the Village of Medina, said Jim Whipple, EDA chief executive officer.
The water and sewer upgrade will cost about $500,000. The EDA is having some cash-flow issues, Whipple said, and asked for a loan from the county.
The state is expected to come through soon with $80,000 toward the project, Whipple said.
The County Legislature on Wednesday approved the short-term loan for the EDA so the water and sewer improvements can be completed.
“This is not a line of credit,” said David Callard, Legislature chairman. “It’s a one-time shot.”
Pride Pak had looked at the former Bernz-O-Matic site in Medina, which wouldn’t have required new infrastructure. But the company decided to build a new facility. Pride Pak could add two or three additional buildings with future expansions in Medina that would be served by the water and sewer improvements, Whipple said.
Pride Pak officials have said the company would have 85 to 100 employees as part of the first phase. It could have 200 employees in Medina at full build-out.
The Legislature approved the loan with it to be paid back at 2 percent interest within a year.
The marker is by the entrance of the cemetery, next to the chapel built in 1903 from Medina sandstone in a Gothic Revival style.
