Provided photo and article from Medina Central School
MEDINA – Medina Teacher Association members spent a fall day cleaning up Maple Ridge Road. The teachers have been doing this for 20 years and adopted the stretch of highway which they clean in the spring and fall every year.
The 23 participants who took part this year stayed socially distanced as they cleaned up the roadside.
Todd Bensley, a high school social studies teacher, said it is a great opportunity for them to give back to the community.
“It’s a way to support the MTA’s efforts in the community and give myself and my colleagues a chance to see each other outside of the school day and connect with teachers in other buildings at our district,” Bensley said. “We even found a $20 bill!”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2020 at 9:44 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – The traffic light at West Oak Orchard Street and Gwinn Street was changed to a flashing red light. The Village Board on Monday voted to make the intersection a four-way stop. The signs will be added soon.
The Village Board voted to experiment with a flashing red light to start this school year and board members say it has worked well.
Medina built a new road through the campus and that has moved a lot of traffic, including some buses, away from the West Oak Orchard-Gwinn intersection, making it no longer necessary to have a traffic light, said Police Chief Chad Kenward.
The village will keep the flashing light in place for as long as it keeps working. The unit is an older light and the village said it is difficult to find parts if it malfunctions.
• In other action, Medina Fire Chief Matt Jackson said the department has four vacancies and will be interviewing nine candidates this week.
Cody Doran, a career firefighter, announced he is resigning from Medina FD to join the Henrietta Fire District. His last day in Medina is Nov. 16. He thanked the Medina community for the opportunity to serve the community as a firefighter. Doran said he is leaving Medina due to a residency requirement.
There would be five vacancies but the Village Board welcomed back Bob Urtel, a former Medina firefighter who is leaving the Lockport Fire Department to return to Medina.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Medina Lt. Todd Draper and Kye, the department’s K9 the past 8 ½ years, walk down the driveway at Oak Orchard Elementary School during a retirement sendoff for Kye.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 October 2020 at 8:59 pm
Kye will call it a career on Nov. 13 after 8 ½ years with Medina PD
MEDINA – They lined the sidewalks along the bus loop at Oak Orchard Elementary School today at about 1 p.m., holding signs with hand-drawn images of Kye and messages of love for the Medina Police Department’s retiring K9.
Kye, a Belgian Malinois, has been a part of the department since 2012, working with handler Todd Draper, a lieutenant with the Medina PD. Draper and Kye stop by the school every year with Draper reading the book, Officer Buckle and Gloria, a story of a school safety officer upstaged by his canine partner.
About 275 students made posters with messages for Kye.
Draper would typically read the book in the auditorium to a large group of students. This school year, so far larger group gatherings aren’t allowed due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Draper instead recorded a video of him reading the book that was shared with students last week. He and Kye attend many community events and have met many of the students, teachers and staff at the school over the years.
“He has been our special guest every single year at Oak Orchard,” Julie Webber, the school principal, said about Kye and Draper.
Kye and Lt. Todd Draper were popular guests at the school this afternoon.
She wanted the school to show their appreciation to Medina’s K9 team. The students were out on both side of the bus loop to say goodbye to Kye. There are 275 students in grades Pre-K to 3 at Oak Orchard this year, not counting the students who are full time remote learners.
When Draper let Kye out of the police vehicle at the start of the bus loop, the school played “Who Let the Dogs Out” on the loudspeaker. Then the school played “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang.
Draper kept the dog in the middle of the bus loop where he couldn’t be petted by the students, another Covid restriction.
Draper had Kye did some tricks with his Kong toy and a rolled towel to the delight of the students.
The community can say goodbye to Kye and meet the new K9, Phoenix, from 3 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 13 at the Medina Dog Park on North Gravel Road. The new K9 handler will be Medina police officer Jacob Reeves.
Nov. 13 will be the last official day for Kye. Reeves and Phoenix will start that day as the new K9 team.
In his retirement, Kye will stay with Lt. Draper and his family, but no longer will be joining Draper at work.
Draper said he has built many relationships with Medina students and community members through Kye. Kye’s main duties have been tracking, drug detection, building searches and criminal apprehension. Kye and Draper have attended many public events and visited local schools and done many demonstrations for the community.
“There’s no doubt I’ve been able to have many positive interactions with kids and adults because of Kye,” Draper said. “They don’t know my name but they know Kye’s name.”
These students included artwork with their posters for Kye.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 October 2020 at 9:04 am
Village accepts construction bids for water line, sewer plant upgrades
MEDINA — The Village Board on Monday evening approved three construction bids for about $4 million to upgrade infrastructure in the village.
Most of the work will be at the wastewater treatment. Medina awarded two bids for the sewer plant.
Villager Construction of Airport was approved as the low bidder for phase 2 of an upgrade project at the sewer plant for $2,845,000. The company was about $164,000 less than the next lowest bidder.
The other project is for electrical upgrades at the plant. Medina accepted the low bid of $438,000 from the Concord Electric Corporation in Rochester. There were four other bidders ranging from $459,310 to $647,835.
Medina is adding a new ultraviolent disinfection system to the plant as part of this project. It will have a new concrete chamber between the Gravity Thickener Building and Secondary Clarifiers to house the new UV disinfection system.
The project includes re-routing existing sludge piping, combined effluent piping, and storm water piping that is currently in the location of the proposed UV concrete chamber.
Villager Construction will need to remove existing grit concentrator, piping, fittings, and associated equipment located in the Grit Removal Room.
The company will install a new grit concentrator and associated appurtenances including piping,
fittings, valves, control panel, accessories and all appurtenances.
Villager will need to modify the microscreen filter area for the new filter system, provide modifications to existing water system piping to accommodate installation of new
filter system, provide and install new filter system, blowers, accessories, and appurtenances, as well as other upgrades.
Village Board urged to reject low bidder for East Avenue project
The board also accepted Milherst Construction Inc. of Clarence Center as the low bidder on the East Avenue forced main extension and pump station rehabilitation for $533,880. That was $34,835 less than the next lowest bidder, Villager Construction. There were six bidders on the project, with the highest at $880,875.
Wendel, an engineering firm hired by the village, discussed the project with Milherst and reviewed other municipal project done by the company and recommended Medina accept the bid.
Medina officials were urged to reject Milherst as an irresponsible bidder. Matt Kent, an analyst with New York Foundation for Fair Contracting, said Milherst has a prior felony conviction for defrauding New York State in an 8-year unemployment insurance scheme that defrauding the state $79,616. The company had workers collect unemployment while they worked off the books. Milherst pleaded guilty to grand larceny in 2016.
The company was forced to pay back the $79,616 and a penalty of $12,461 to the state Department of Labor.
Company leaders also haven’t always disclosed that conviction in questionnaires to municipalities when they submit bids on construction bids, Kent said.
Village officials said Milherst has settled with the state for the grand larceny and the company receives strong reviews for its construction work.
Owen Toale, Medina’s deputy mayor, said rejecting Milherst would mean Medina would have to spend about $35,000 more on the project.
“Wendel has recommended them. They do quality work,” Toale said. “My responsibility is to the 6,000 residents of the Village of Medina – $35,000 is a lot of money.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 October 2020 at 10:42 am
MEDINA – The Medina Area Partnership was able to work out the details this morning for having Beggar’s Night on the Medina school campus this Friday from 5 to 7 p.m.
Orleans Hub this morning had an article that the location would be at the Olde Pickle Factory. That gave the Medina Area Partnership an option after the Orleans County Health Department shared its concerns about having the event at Rotary Park.
Having the event at the school will reduce potential neighborhood impacts. MAP didn’t want a long line of vehicles backed up on a residential street.
Motorists on Friday should enter the school campus on Maple Ridge Road and will exit on Gwinn Street.
Scott Robinson, MAP president, said the Medina Police Department recommended the school, saying it would be much easier to manage the traffic.
Families participating in Beggars’ Night should stay in their vehicles. Medina merchants and MAP members will be handing out about 600 take-home boxes or bags of candy.
Medina also is allowing trick-or-treating on Halloween from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the village.
MEDINA – Lee-Whedon Memorial Library has been selected as one of 20 U.S. libraries to participate in Community Connect: Digital Access at Home, an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) and Capital One that offers cash grants to help rural libraries offer internet access and financial education for their patrons.
“We are so proud to be selected from a pool of more than 170 applicants to bring Community Connect to Lee-Whedon Memorial Library and the Medina community,” said Samantha Covis, Lee-Whedon assistant director. “Internet access is so important at this time for distance learning, remote working, and tele-medicine visits. We are also excited to offer online banking and money management resources.”
Five Verizon WiFi hotspots will be available for check-out beginning in January 2021. Lee-Whedon will also receive a $2,000 cash grant to support programs on financial literacy, online banking, and to enhance our collection of money management resources. For more information and a calendar of upcoming library programs, visit www.leewhedon.org.
As the past year has shown, people across the country are increasingly reliant on internet for essential services like education and tele-medicine, but rural areas often lack at-home internet access.
“Lee-Whedon has extended the reach of our onsite WiFi and purchased Chromebooks for students to use at the library,” Covis said. “This grant allows us to further strengthen our digital resources by giving people internet access at home.”
Lee-Whedon also offers WiFi access for the community from the library parking lot on West Avenue.
Alpaca items will be auctioned through Facebook live
Provided photos: Medina FFA members Kiana Cleveland and Lily Carpenter are ready for the annual citrus sale which includes some alpaca wool products.
Press Release, Medina Central School
MEDINA – Medina High School’s FFA chapter is rolling out their annual Citrus Sale virtually this year.
FFA advisor and teacher Todd Eick said that due to Covid protocols the sale is being held a little differently this year.
FFA advisor and teacher Todd Eick and Zach Fike, Medina FFA president, are pushing for a successful fundraiser for the FFA.
“This year we have a very limited online only selection,” explains Mr. Eick. “We didn’t want to completely get rid of it and the company we always use gave us this option, so we took advantage of it. Now instead of coming to the school to pick up your order, it will be shipped directly to our customers’ house.”
Mr. Eick says it has opened up options to serve family, friends and supporters across the country.
“We have people buying from as far away as Alabama and far east of us as Schenectady,” Eick said. “We also have a lot of support from our local area with more than half our sales. We are so grateful to everyone who is helping us raise money for our FFA. It means a lot to us.”
For all of those who have ordered before and enjoyed the alpaca goodies, Mr. Eick and his students have been hard at work making them.
“We are going to hold a live Facebook raffle for a one of a kind gift basket for everyone who has bought from our sale,” said Mr. Eick. “We want to thank everyone for their support.”
For more information on the FFA’s citrus sale, click here or scan the QR code on the Medina Chapter of the FFA Facebook page. The fundraiser will run until Nov. 30.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Heather DiGiacomo, owner of the Village Spin, moved the gym and exercise equipment to the Medina Theatre which is owned by the Cardone family at 603 Main St. The site has more room to spread out the indoor cycling bikes and other equipment to meet Covid-19 guidelines from the state.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 October 2020 at 2:38 pm
Heather DiGiacomo uses a TRX straps for a stretching exercise. With the TRX straps people use their bodyweight to develop strength, balance, flexibility and core stability.
MEDINA – On March 16, Heather DiGiacomo was forced to close the Village Spin for indoor exercise classes due to restrictions put on gyms from the state during the Covid-19 pandemic.
DiGiacomo has since adapted the business in many ways, including recently moving Village Spin to the Medina Theatre at 603 Main St. That location offers much more space for exercise bikes and equipment than her previous location on Main Street. The state allowed gyms reopen on August 24, but the guidelines require exercise machines to be spaced out for social distancing.
DiGiacomo kept the business going throughout the pandemic, leading classes online and outdoors. She opened Village Spin three years ago.
In her regular job, DiGiacomo is the instructional tech coach at the Buffalo school district. She used that knowledge to launch online classes on March 17 after the state closed indoor gyms.
She rented out bikes and exercise equipment, and led online classes that sometimes had 70 participants.
“We were thinking it would be a two to three week thing,” DiGiacomo said about the pandemic restrictions. “We wanted to keep them physically and mentally strong.”
In her previous location, she had room for about 15 people in an indoor class.
In late spring, summer and fall Village Spin also set up the cycling bikes and exercise equipment outside for classes. The Canal Basin was a popular spot and the alleyway between the Presbyterian Church and KeyBank.
On Oct. 1, Village Spin relocated to Medina Theatre. With the spacing restrictions from the state for gyms, DiGiacomo would have been limited to eight cycling bikes at her previous location.
Heather DiGiacomo and other instructors lead classes from the stage at the Medina Theatre. DiGiacomo likes the setting at the Medina Theatre. It feels like a gym in a night club.
At Medina Theatre, she can easily fit in 20, as well as other exercise equipment, including a spot with TRX straps for stretching exercises and also to build strength and flexibility. Village Spin also has free weights and BOSU ballast balls. And there is a “pound class” with weighted drum sticks. The classes are for 45 minutes or an hour.
“This is a nice opportunity for us to grow,” she said about the new location.
Village Spin offers classes at the beginner, regular and advanced levels. The class participants range from children to senior citizens. DiGiacomo leads many of the classes and also has six instructors.
There are classes early in the morning at 5 and 6 a.m., mid mornings and in the evenings.
“We’re here to build a healthy community and to do healthy social fitness,” DiGiacomo said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 October 2020 at 1:40 pm
Cheyenne Farewell
LOCKPORT – Two teen-agers, ages 16 and 17, have been arrested and charged with murder in the second degree for the death of Cheyenne Farewell, 20, of Medina. She was shot and killed on Saturday at about 12:20 a.m., at a Halloween party on Niagara Street.
Five other people, ages 15 to 21, also were shot. Those victims are from Medina, Lockport and Corfu.
The two juveniles were arrested at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. They were arraigned in Youth Court in Niagara Falls today. Because of their ages their names aren’t being released publicly.
They have also been charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. They are being held on $500,000 cash bail and $1 million bond. They are due to next appear in court on Oct. 26.
Caroline Wojtaszek, Niagara County district attorney, spoke at a 1 p.m. news conference in Lockport today. She said the two juveniles likely will face additional charges including murder with a depraved indifference to human life for firing a gun into a closed garage door knowing there are people behind the door.
Wojtaszek said Farewell and the other victims weren’t targeted. The two juveniles were acting on a grudge that didn’t include the people who were shot.
“Cheyenne Farewell was not part of this dispute,” Wojtaszek said. “She was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Lockport Police Chief Steven Abbott said multiple law enforcement agencies worked around the clock since the shooting on Saturday to make the arrests early this morning.
Abbott and Wojtaszek said law enforcement has more work to do. They welcome more assistance from the public, including people who attended the party. Law enforcement wants to know what people saw at the party and what was shared on social media, including Snapchat.
Wojtaszek said assistance from the public is “essential” in building the case and getting a conviction.
“We need your courage to come forward with any information to help us,” the district attorney said. “This is a tragedy beyond words.”
Farewell, a 2018 Medina graduate, was a student at Brockport State College. Her family had calling hours on Tuesday at Cooper Funeral Home in Medina.
“Cheyenne deserves justice,” Wojtaszek said. “Her family deserves justice. This community deserves justice.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 October 2020 at 9:40 pm
‘People just loved her. She had the most joyous laugh.’
MEDINA – Rochelle Horner hugs Destiny Satkowski during a candelight vigil this evening at State Street Park in honor of Cheyenne Farewell, who is Horner’s daughter and a close friend of Satkowski.
Cheyenne was shot and killed at about 12:20 a.m. Saturday during a Halloween party on Niagara Street in Lockport. Five others were wounded by gun shots including two current Medina High School students.
“People just loved her,” said Satkowski, who graduated with Farewell in 2018. “She didn’t care what color you were, who you liked or where you were from. She treated everyone the same. She was a friend you could count on. She had the most joyous laugh.”
More than 300 people gathered for the vigil at the park beginning at 6:30 p.m. The vigil lasted until after 8 p.m.
Satkowski played soccer with Farewell, and said Cheyenne was a big reason when Destiny started playing. Destiny continues to play soccer at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania.
Horner in the top photo is wearing her daughter’s red soccer jacket from Medina.
Horner and Cheyenne’s father, Jeff Farewell, both thanked the community for the support and for all the love they showed Cheyenne over the years.
Horner said her daughter connected her to so many of her friends, making her feel like she has many daughters and sons in Medina.
This is looking at the other side of the crowd that was gathered next to the bandstand.
Lockport police are looking for information in the crime, where two people approached a metal door of a garage and one of them opened fire on the closed door. They two they took off running and haven’t been apprehended. Anyone with information is asked to contact Lockport police detectives at (716) 433-7700, or the confidential tip line (716) 439-6707.
Mark Sanders, pastor of the Refuge Temple in Lockport, said the crime was an act of cowardice. He asked God to bring justice for the family. He urged anyone with information about the crime to reach out to the police.
Sanders said he has spoken with teens at the party and they are devastated by the loss of Cheyenne and the carnage they witnessed.
“These kids have experienced something no kid should ever have to experience,” he told the group at the vigil. “They have experienced something no adult should ever experience.”
This woman holds a candle during the vigil at the park in Medina.
‘These weren’t troubled kids or bad kids – they were just kids having a good time. Right now they are broken over nonsense, ignorance and cowardice.’
Sanders urged the Medina community to continue to support Cheyenne’s family in the years ahead.
The kids at the party don’t bear fault for what happened, Sanders said.
“These weren’t troubled kids or bad kids – they were just kids having a good time,” he said. “Right now they are broken over nonsense, ignorance and cowardice.”
Cheyenne was a student at Brockport State College, where she was studying to become a therapist and writer. She was open about her mental health struggles in the past.
She wanted to break down those barriers and urged more people to talk about mental health and get help, Satkowski said.
Anastasia Smith, another 2018 Medina graduate, said Cheyenne shared about fighting depression and was a strong advocate for wellness.
She was very accepting of others, and if they made mistakes she didn’t cast judgement on them.
“Cheyenne was a completely radiant person,” said Smith, 19, an English major at Saint Bonaventure University. “She lit up every room she went into. She loved everybody and wanted the best for everyone.”
Mourners place candles on a sidewalk at the park in memory of Cheyenne Farewell.
Smith said she Farewell stayed in touch through Snapchat and text messages. She was very encouraging to others and would find time for everyone.
“When she smiled at you it was like the Sun,” Smith said.
She wants to see the perpetrators brought to justice very soon.
“It was a totally senseless crime,” Smith said. “There was no motivation. They just went there to hurt people.”
Mark Kruzynski, the Medina district superintendent, said grief counselors will be at the school district on Monday, including counselors from other districts and BOCES to support students and recent graduates.
He was grateful to see the big turnout at the vigil.
“This is where they can connect with each other and lean on each other,” Kruzynski said. “That’s why something like this is so important.”
These balloons were released near the end of the vigil. “We love you, Cheyenne,” one of the mourners said as she let go of the balloon.
