Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Jamestown Red Raiders presented a show called, “Crazy Train,” during Saturday’s Fall Festival of Bands at Vets Park in Medina.

There were 13 bands that performed for about five hours at the Fall Festival of Bands. The competition attracted about 800 spectators.

The Medina Mustang Band enters the field for competition. The band is celebrating its 50th anniversary this school year. There will be a 50th anniversary performance and reunion on May 29, 2017. Click here for more information.

Here are the scores from Saturday:

• Small School 3: 5th place – 59.9 – Falconer; 4th place – 61.05 – Marcus Whitman; 3rd place – 62.8 – Girard; 2nd – 64.3 – Pioneer; 1st place – 67.55  – Jordan Elbridge.

• Small School 2:  1st place – 74.15 – Northwestern.

• Small School 1:  1st place – 79.6 – Medina.

• Large School 2: 3rd place – 75.19 – Orchard Park; 2nd place – 75.75 – Webster; 1st place – 80.4 – Cicero-North Syracuse.

• National: 2nd place – 80.1 – Jamestown; 1st place – 80.55 – Lancaster.

Andrew Roof, drum major for Jamestown, leads the band before a big crowd at Medina.

The band from Cicero-North Syracuse gets in position at Vets Park. Cicero-North Syracuse had the top score, 80.4, for bands in the Large School 2 class. Only Lancaster, in the National class, had a higher score during the competition at Medina.

Cicero-North Syracuse presented a show called “Wild, Wild West.” Students travelled back in time to the Wild, Wild West with saloons, cowboys, outlaws a legendary sheriff who maintained law and order. Stephen Schermerhorn is drum major for the band.

The Mustangs take their positions on the field. Nick Bogan, back to camera, is the back field conductor, staying in sync with Drum Major Madison Holland.

Medina band members make their first move of the show, getting in position as a matador. This year’s show is called “The Matador.” The band took spectators to “the coliseum” to witness a bull fight.

The band used colorful props, flags and Colorguard costumes while playing fiery and exciting Latin compositions to tell stories of bullfighters. Madison Holland, on platform, is drum major for the Mustangs.

Medina Band Director James Steele is joined by his son Robert in leading the band onto the field. They have blowpops in their mouths because staff are not allowed to yell instructions to the band once the show starts.

Randy Allen serves as announcer for the competition and gives the Medina Mustangs and enthusiastic introduction.

Orchard Park performed a show called “Labyrinth.” The band marched in patterns as if attempting to get out of a maze. Student Alyssa Strade, far left, is drum major.

Orchard Park performs at Medina. The band finished third among in the Large School II Class.

The Webster Marching Band, led by Drum Major Bella Altieri, performs a show called “Autumn Sky Sketches.” Webster came in second among the large schools.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Katie Bilicki and Kristian Snyder, right, were crowned king and queen of Medina Homecoming. Jake Cotter and Elena Wilson-Drury, left, were members of the court. They were introduced during halftime of the Medina football game against the University Prep Griffins.

Madison Holland, drum major, leads the Mustang band during its halftime show.

Maverick the Mustang entertained the crowd during the football game. The mascot was played by Medina senior Matt Hann.

Kristian Snyder, after being introduced as king, joined the Medina band during a performance at halftime. Medina hosts the Fall Festival of Bands on Saturday at Vets Park beginning at 6 with Medina expected to perform at 8:30 p.m.

Katie Bilicki, the Homecoming queen, also joined the band for the halftime show.

Alexandra Strong, a flyer with the cheerleading squad, is up high during a halftime routine.

Kali James, left, and Keara Pitts help to fire up the home crowd during the football game.

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Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Orleans Renaissance Group welcomed famed Irish tenor Ronan Tynan to Medina for a performance Saturday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The concert sold out with 650 in the historic church. Extra chars had to be retrieved from the balcony and other rooms to accommodate everyone.

Tynan’s powerful voice filled the church, and he had the audience laughing with some of his stories. He was joined by his accompanist, Bill Lewis.

The tickets for Ronan Tynan were popular, drawing many local residents and people outside the area.

The ORG said it could have sold more tickets for the concert featuring Tynan, a world-class performer who has sung for four U.S. Presidents and as single soloist at the funeral of President Ronald Reagan. He has sung for Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica and Pope Benedict at the Concert of Hope.

Tynan is pictured as a silhouette in this photo looking through the front doors of the church. Tynan has appeared in concert halls across the United States and internationally. (He can now add St. Mary’s, a historic church built in 1902, to the list.) He is a Sony recording artist who has released more than 10 titles, 4 of which have achieved platinum status.

Jan-Mikael Erakare of Erakare Studios in Albion set up the sound system for the concert on Saturday.

Kathie Valley, left, and Elizabeth Passarell served as ushers at the concert.

Chris Busch, president of the ORG, welcomes the crowd to the concert. He is joined upfront by the Rev. Daniel Fawls, pastor of St. Mary’s and the Holy Trinity Parish.

The Orleans Renaissance 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. The 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.

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Photos by Tom Rivers: Ken Daluisio is pictured inside The Print Shop, which expanded to the former Bernie’s Laundry at 124-126 E. Center St., Medina. Daluisio will the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s Phoenix Award during an awards program Friday at Tillman’s Village Inn.

MEDINA – The downtown in Medina has enjoyed a renaissance in the past decade with many new businesses tackling major renovations and building projects in recent years.

But one building, the former Bernie’s Laundry, was in shambles. The building is high profile on East Center Street, one of the first structures that people see heading west in the downtown.

Ken Daluisio, owner of The Print Shop, eyed the building for several years of expansion. But the site was difficult to get, due to tax liens and a complicated chain of title from bankruptcies with past owners.

But Daluisio was persistent, and with help from the Orleans County government, was able to get the back taxes cleared up.

On March 19, 2015, he took possession of the former laundromat building. One year and one day later, a vastly improved building was ready for The Print Shop.

When doing renovations for the expansion, Daluisio needed 13 dumpsters to haul out laundry machines and dryers, as well as the old floor, ceiling, partition walls and other debris.

These photos show 124-126 E. Center St. in Medina after major renovations and before Ken Daluisio tackled the project. 

It took seven dump truck loads to remove bricks and dirt from the basement. The building was stripped down to four bare walls and then rebuilt with new floor, a roof, electrical system and other upgrades. Daluisio’s brother John managed the construction project.

Ken Daluisio holds a T-shirt with a four-color design that was printed in the basement of The Print Shop.

“This is an area that was just dilapidated,” said Kathy Blackburn, owner of Meggie’s Moos, down the street from The Print Shop. “Ken’s revamping of the building just helps everybody. The building was falling in. I’m surprised he could save it.”

Blackburn is the grants manager for the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, which is presenting Daluisio with the “Phoenix Award” on Friday.

Daluisio opened The Print Shop in 2004. He was crammed for space before the expansion, which gives him 3,000 additional square feet. He has added two high-speed digital production machines.

Photo courtesy of Ken Daluisio: It took seven dumptruck loads to remove debris and dirt from the basement.

In the basement he can print 4-color T-shirts and 4-color signs.

He has a dedicated local clientele, but also is subcontracted by many print shops in the region for special order jobs. He also handles big contracts, including the sole printer of custom fortune telling cards for Zoltar and Esmeralda fortune telling machines.

Even in the age of the Internet, Daluisio said his business has been growing.

“Many of the print shops with older equipment have died off,” he said. “But print is still very much alive.”

The Internet has allowed new businesses to start, and they often need stickers and signs, Daluisio said.

He and his five full-time employees and two part-timers print many books, signs, banners, and other products.

“We’re a one-stop shop for anything that would have your name on it,” he said.

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Provided photo: Jordan Burroughs, an Olympic champion wrestler, is pictured with two Medina wrestlers in the modified program: Dominick Callara, left, and Logan Callara.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – Two Medina students, Dominick and Logan Callara, had a chance to meet a wrestling legend recently.

Jordan Burroughs is an Olympic gold medalist, world champion and national champion. He was recently at a wrestling clinic at the University at Buffalo where the two boys, who are in the modified wrestling program at Medina Clifford Wise Middle School, had the chance to meet him and get his autograph.

Christian Held, coach of the modified team, says that the modified program is for 7th and 8th graders and has 20 athletes participating this year.

“Modified wrestling teaches basic wrestling skills and the rules of wrestling,” he said. “They compete in shorter matches, but follow all standard wrestling rules. Our main goal of our modified program is to prepare new and young wrestlers to compete at a varsity level when they get to high school.”

Held invited all of his athletes to attend the wrestling clinic at UB where Burroughs spent two hours showing wrestling moves and answering questions from the audience.

Dominick Callara was thrilled to have the champion sign his headgear.

“It was a great clinic,” Held said. “It was an honor to learn new things from one of the greats in our sport. Most consider Mr. Burroughs to be the greatest wrestler in the USA right now.”

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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.

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Provided photos

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.

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.

Press Release, Oak Orchard Elementary School

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.”

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.

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.