Brushstrokes Studios celebrates grand opening

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA Tim and Crystal Elliott, owners of Brushstrokes Studios, celebrate the grand opening of the business today at 409 Main St.

The business opened on Nov. 28 during Medina’s Old Tyme Christmas festival. Brushstrokes has been busy since then, hosting parties, classes and other people who paint their own ceramics or create glass fused art.

“It’s entertainment whether you are 2 years old or 100,” Mr. Elliott said. “You can create a memory.”

Brushstrokes celebrated the grand opening with a ribbon cutting. Pictured, from left, include: employee Jamie Whitmore, Crystal and Tim Elliott, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Deputy Mayor Mike Sidari, and Kathy Blackburn, executive director of the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.

The business is located in what was once the long-time home for The Journal-Register, Medina’s community newspaper.

“It’s unique,” said Blackburn, the Chamber director. “It’s another thing for children and people to do.”

Customers can paint their own ceramics, such as this frog. It is then glazed, dried and put in a kiln, bringing out vibrant colors.

Brushstrokes also has a glass kiln for artwork and pieces made with glass fusing.

The Elliotts say they already have many dedicated customers, and people interested in classes to learn techniques and hone their skills or just have fun.

“People want something new to do,” Mr. Elliott said. “You get a tangible item to take home.”

Crystal Elliott holds one of the glass fused pieces at Brushstrokes. With glass fusing, glass plates and strings of glass are melted in a design and then can be bent with curves.

Crystal is an elementary school teacher currently working as a long-term substitute teacher at Lyndonville.

She has been working on Brushstrokes for about 2 1/2 years, wanting to give families an activity they can do together. She completed a small business class through the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

Tim Elliott fills a palette with paint at Brushstrokes. Elliott, after working a corporate job, has bought and managed properties in the Medina area, in addition to now owning Brushstrokes with his wife.

The Elliotts have created a High Five Hall of Fame for some of their customers. The blue handprint was made by Madelyn, their 6-year-old daughter. Assemblyman Steve Hawley added his handprint to the display today.

For more on Brushstrokes, call (585) 735-5953 or visit the business’s Facebook page by clicking here.

MEDINA – Orleans Community Health, the parent organization of Medina Memorial Hospital, is eliminating four full-time positions from nursing, care management and registration.

The job cuts represent about 1 percent of the overall staff of 422 workers. The layoffs are effective Feb. 14, said Wendy Jacobson, CEO and president of Orleans Community Health.

“OCH expects to minimize the actual number of reductions by offering impacted associates the opportunity to apply for other vacant positions within the health system,” she said today.

Medina Memorial, like many other hospitals, saw a decrease in patient volume in 2015, Jacobson said.

“The reductions and reassignments also come at a time when area health providers are facing increasing pressure to find operational efficiencies amid continued state and federal cutbacks in healthcare reimbursement and an overall weak economy,” she said in a statement.

Medina Memorial in April was designated as a “Critical Access Hospital” by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

“Operational efficiencies are imperative for designated Critical Access Hospitals and those efficiencies are closely monitored by State and Federal regulatory bodies,” Jacobson said.

The Critical Access designation should bolster the hospital’s chances for grants. Jacobson said she is awaiting notification on one grant that would be great news for Medina Memorial.

Provided photo – Medina posters winners Jaxon Phillips, left, and Logan Meacham are pictured with Medina Lions Club President James Hancock.

Press Release

MEDINA – Every year, Lions Clubs around the world sponsor the Lions International Peace Poster Contest in local schools.

The contest encourages young people to use their artistic abilities and create a poster that represents their vision of peace. Millions of children participate worldwide every year.

This year the Medina Lions Club recognized two Clifford Wise Middle School students for their artwork. Logan Meacham, a sixth grader, took the top honor and sixth grader Jaxon Phillips received an honorable mention.

Physical education teacher Travis Phillips is a Lions Club member and organizes the contest for the club, who had a record number of entries this year.

The school’s art teacher Judy Light says it was great exercise for her students.

“I find the contest to be a good challenge for my students,” Light said. “It is unusual that there is no slogan or logo. The students have to create their image about a message of peace using only symbols and pictures and no words.”

Provided photos – Charles Slack, left, and John Slack were recognized for their many years of service to Medina Savings & Loan on Monday.

MEDINA – Charles Slack and his cousin John Slack both were recognized on Monday during the board of directors meeting at Medina Savings & Loan.

The two are retiring from their positions with Charles serving 37 years on the board, including 25 years as chairman. John gave 27 years to the organization.

Charles has worked in the insurance business and is co-owner of Slack Insurance with his son, Martin. John worked at Fisher-Price and is currently an adjunct professor for GCC in business and marketing.

Medina Savings & Loan has been in the community since 1888.

“We’re one of the few community-chartered banks left,” said Don Colquhoun, who was picked as the board’s new chairman on Monday. “The whole industry is getting rid of the little guy.”

Medina S & L serves Orleans County, eastern Niagara and northern Genesee. Colquhoun said the bank is in “very sound financial condition.”

Colquhoun, a retired executive director for The Arc of Orleans County, prefers the smaller banks to the bigger corporate conglomerates.

“In a small community, small is better,” he said. “We take the money the people deposit and invest it locally. It all stays local.”

The board of directors for the bank are pictured, from left, bottom row: Tim Moriarty (president), Katherine Bogan, Charles Slack, John Slack and Don Colquhoun. Top row: Jeanne Whipple, Craig Lacy, Kathleen Boice, James Gardner, Richard Barry and Ed Fancher.

Provided photo – Medina Mustang Band student leaders are pictured at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse for the New York State Field Band Conference Championship. Students include, from left: Alexis Neuman (Guard Captain, Andrea Toussaint (Assistant Drum Major), Amanda Lunden (Drum Major), Tristan Sanders (Assistant Drum Major) and Brittani Goodin (Guard Captain).

MEDINA – The Medina Mustang Band is going to Disney World. The band, which finished second in the state championship in Syarcuase on Nov. 1, will be performing a compilation of Disney Music at the Grand Parade at the Magic Kingdom on April 22.

The band is looking forward to this once in a lifetime trip and what the new season will bring.

Band Director Jimmy Steele said he is very proud of the band for its accomplishments in the fall season.

“We did a magic show called ‘Illusions.’ The kids did a great job and we were really thrilled with the progress of the little ones from day one of band camp to the end of the season,” he said. “The growth of the kids and how they felt about their performance was great. Overall it was a great season.”

The Medina Band Boosters have been raising money so the cost to students has been reduced to $275 a person. The Boosters are doing another pizza sale on Jan. 30. The last one sold 1,800 pizzas in six hours.

Route 104 Redemption Center also is offering a 6-cent return on bottles and cans that are received to be credited to the Mustang Marching Band.

Nevaeh Roberts

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – When Clifford Wise Middle School teacher Karen Pane heard that one of her students, Nevaeh Roberts, was ill and needed a bone marrow transplant, it saddened Pane and the fourth graders in her class.

The students wanted to do something to help Nevaeh and her family and decided to sell cookies and have a fundraiser to offset some of her medical costs. It was no surprise that students and staff in the Medina School District, who consider themselves family, showed up in a big way.

Natalie Miles shows off one of the 100 cookies she sold.

When all the cookies were sold, Mrs. Pane was able to donate over $1,500 to Nevaeh’s family.

“The students didn’t stop there either,” says Mrs. Pane. “They donated toys, games and activities for her to pass the time when she was receiving treatment in the hospital. They also made cards, wrote notes and created a book to show Nevaeh how much they loved and supported her in her battle. Her mother shared with me how humbled and thankful her family is for everything the district has done for her family. The best part of all is that her bone marrow transplant was a success and Nevaeh should be returning to school in March.”

MEDINA – Firefighters were dispatched to a kitchen fire at 7:08 p.m. today. Firefighters arrived at 105 Starling Drive to smoke coming from a one-story house.

Crews encountered and quickly extinguished a fire in the kitchen that had extended into the cupboards and wall area. The resident of the house was evaluated by EMS crews on scene and refused transport to a hospital, said Steve Cooley, a Medina firefighter and public information officer.

Damage to the structure and contents is estimated at $20,000. The cause appears to be accidental but remains under investigation at this time by Medina fire investigators with assistance from the Medina Police Department. The resident is staying with relatives at this time.

Also assisting on scene were the East Shelby and Lyndonville fire companies.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Wreaths were set by veterans’ gravesites at Boxwood Cemetery.

MEDINA – Two years ago, Boxwood Cemetery took part in Wreaths Across America, a nationwide effort to recognize deceased veterans during the holidays.

There were seven veterans’ graves with wreaths and colorful red ribbons in late 2013, the debut of the program at Boxwood. It grew to about 20 graves in 2014 and last month it reached 60.

“They really look nice out there,” said Kathy Blackburn, volunteer coordinator of the program at Boxwood. She also is a member of the Boxwood Cemetery Commission.
She would like to see 100 graves have wreaths next year and eventually all of the veterans’ sites in the cemetery.

The wreaths cost $15 each and are ordered online throught the Wreaths Across America website (click here). Local vetetrans’ organizations participated in a service at Boxwood on Dec. 12.

“This was our third year and it just keeps growing,” Blackburn said. “We hope to cover more of the cemetery next year.”

For more information, give Blackburn a call at 585-734-5801.

MEDINA – An anonymous donor will continue to make money available to Medina property owners working on painting their buildings and other exterior improvements, including facade work.

This will be the fourth year the funds are available in the matching grant program administered by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.

The grants are available for up to $10,000 in a match for sites in the Village of Medina. People need to apply for the funds and a committee reviews the proposals. The money is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

There will be an informational meeting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 13 at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, 620 West Ave.

The anonymous donor gave $200,000 in each of the first three years of the program, and is making $100,000 available in 2016.

For more information on the program and to see an application for the funds, click here.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A fire this morning in a third-floor apartment in Medina injured at least one person with another sent to Medina Memorial Hospital for evaluation. One of the residents had burn injuries and was taken by Mercy Flight to a hospital.

Firefighters were dispatched to 510 West Ave. at 7:46 a.m. There was heavy smoke coming from the third floor. The fire was contained to the one apartment, said Jonathan Higgins, captain with the Medina Fire Department.

Higgins said the fire is under investigation.

Medina Firefighter Ashton Lang climbs the ladder to the top floor of the apartment house, which is owned by Ryan Macdonald of Batavia.

There are about a dozen residents in the building, and most of them relocated next door to the First Baptist Church while the fire was being put out and the building ventilated from smoke.

Marty Busch, Medina code enforcement officer, said he would call the Red Cross for assistance for residents today while the site was ventilated and cleaned up.

Busch said Macdonald has improved the property.

“It’s in the best condition it’s been in in 20 years,” Busch said.

Medina firefighters were assisted at the scene by Lyndonville, Shelby, Ridgeway, and East Shelby firefighters, with Albion and Middleport firefighters and Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance all on standby.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Firefighters are pictured outside a large apartment house in Medina at about 8:30 this morning.

MEDINA – The fire this morning at a 12-unit apartment house in Medina caused about $20,000 in damage, with $10,000 in damage to contents of the apartment and $10,000 to the rest of the structure, Medina Fire Department officials said.

Firefighters were called to the fire at about 7:45 a.m. Smoke was coming out of a third floor apartment. A second alarm was requested due to the building size as well as the high occupancy of the building.

Bystanders on scene advised fire crews of the location of the fire and advised that there was a person trapped, said Steve Cooley, a firefighter/paramedic and public information officer for Medina Fire Department.

Crews quickly located and extinguished the fire while simultaneously removing the resident from the burning apartment. That resident was transported by the Medina ambulance to the Mercy Flight landing zone and then flown to the Emergency Department at ECMC. That resident was admitted to the Burn Unit at ECMC for smoke inhalation and possible airway burns, Cooley said. As of this afternoon, the resident is in stable condition.

Medina firefighters were assisted on scene by several local fire departments. The fire investigation is being handled by fire investigators with the Medina Fire Department along with assistance from the Medina Police Department.

Photos by Tom Rivers – The Masonic Temple on West Center Street will be sold to the World Life Institute which will turn it into a headquarters with educational and humanitarian programming, including the possibility of a college.

MEDINA – Alan Kozody has visited many Masonic temples in Orleans and Niagara counties, and Kozody doesn’t think any are more beautiful than the lodge for the Medina Masons on West Center Street.

The site is a former church, used by the Mormons before the Masons bought the building about a dozen years ago.

Kozody said the building was ideal for giving a sense of reverence and respect as a meeting place for the rituals for the Masons. However, the building’s steep stairs and limited parking are a challenge for the Masons’ older members.

The lodge in Medina dates back to 1854. Kozody is the lodge’s master, functioning as president. He said there are about 60 to 70 members, but only eight to 14 make the regular meetings and consistently volunteer with activities. The diminishing number prompted the group to cease its week-long sausage booth during the Orleans County 4-H Fair last summer. Kozody said the Masons did that for many, many years.

The group also didn’t have its booth during the Parade of Lights in November.

“Our membership is declining,” Kozody said.

That is why the lodge is selling the Masonic Temple at 229 West Center St. to the World Life Institute, a non-profit organization that runs many humanitarian programs in the community, from educational efforts to a program during the summers for war orphans. Word Life Institute plans to make the Masonic Temple into the international headquarters for World Life Institute.

WLI also wants to use the site to host lectures and other events for the community.

The sale was scheduled to close today but was pushed back. Kozody said he expects it will close soon once all of the paperwork is in order for the lawyers. The Medina Masonic Lodge will have use of the building for three months after the sale.

That will give the group time to remove its possessions and find a temporary meeting place. Kozody said the Masons in Middleport have welcomed the Medina Masons to the lodge on Main Street in Midelport. Kozody said he expects the Medina group will meet there for six months until deciding it’s future home.

The stained-glass windows in the lodge will be removed, but Kozody said the windows will stay in Medina.

The stained-glass windows inside the lodge will find another home in Medina, Kozody said. He isn’t sure where yet. Masons toured the Bent’s Opera House recently and the windows could eventually be displayed there, he said.

“We will store them and get them back out in time,” Kozody said. “They are beautiful and we want them to stay in the village.”

One of the World Life leaders, Dr. Asaf Durakovic, is a member of the Medina Masonic Lodge. He sees the building as an opportunity for World Life to expand its humanitarian work in the community and in the world.

He approached the Masons about the sale. Kozody said he is pleased the building will be put to good use by World Life Institute. The organization is developing a college, language school and other educational programs.

“I wish them the best,” Kozody said. “I think it’s a wonderful thing. The more I hear about their mission, I think it’s a good thing.”

Kozody said the Medina Masons may look to partner with other lodges to continue the organization’s traditions, while welcoming new members.

“Our motto is we take good men and make them better,” Kozody said.

Provided photo – Tessa Biesinger and Brianna Stewart from Medina both attended the roller skating night on Dec. 29 at the Orleans County YMCA and won i-pod shuffles.

Press Release, Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition

MEDINA – Through collaboration with Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition, the Orleans YMCA, and Medina Area Association of Churches, “Free Roller Skating” had a great turnout on Dec. 29. This event has been very successful for many years, and organizers hope for it to continue to grow.

Free Roller Skating is an event that takes place at the end of December, giving students on school break an opportunity to participate in a family friendly, fun event. This year on Dec. 29, more than 150 school-aged kids and parents laced up and showed off their skating skills. Two lucky winners received an i-pod shuffle.

Without the support from these organizations as well as the children and parents, this event would not have been nearly as successful. The Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition is very grateful for all of the assistance provided to give youth a healthy, fun and safe experience.

For more information on the Drug Free Communities Coalition, click here.