Wendi Pencille has been on the BOE for 5 years

Photos by Tom Rivers – Wendi Pencille was elected the new president of the Medina Board of Education during an organizational meeting on Wednesday.

MEDINA – The Board of Education has a new leader after Wendi Pencille was elected president on Wednesday.

Pencille has served five years on the board. She has been active in the community for many years, volunteering for three decades as a wildlife rehabilitator and leading the recent fight by Citizens for Shelby Preservation against a new quarry in Shelby near the Wildlife Refuge.

Pencille has two children in the school district and she said Medina has provided many opportunities for her sons, Noah, 15; and Jaden, 12.

The board picked her as its leader. She replaced Chris Keller, who served in the role the past 1 ½ years. Keller is a teacher at Albion and the newly elected union president for Albion teachers. He said he didn’t have the time to serve as both union and BOE presidents.

The Medina BOE is in good hands with Pencille serving as president, Keller said.

“She is Cornell educated and very personable,” Keller said. “She’ll be outstanding.”

Keller said it was an honor to serve as board president. He is especially grateful for the chance to hand his son Chris his high school diploma at last Friday’s commencement.

Wendi Pencille, owner and handler of Humphrey, poses with the trained therapy dog at the Medina school administration office in this file photo from March 2013. Humphrey, a 125-pound Landseer Newfoundland, has visited Medina classrooms. It’s another way Pencille has volunteered with the school district.

Pencille came on the Board of Education during a stressful time for the district. State aid cuts forced the board to eliminate about 30 positions and some programs her first year on the board.

The district is in a stronger financial position now, and has been making gains academically.

“I want to keep going in the direction where we’re going,” she said. “We’re really doing good things here and I’m proud of what Medina graduates are doing.”

Pencille works as a market development specialist for IBM in Williamsville.

The board re-elected David Sevenski as vice president and welcomed Brian Koch as a new board member. Koch works for Hewlett-Packard in sales. He has two kids in the school district.

Koch and Pencille both work out of the site owned by Ingram Micro in Williamsville, where several technology companies are based.

Pencille’s family attended Wednesday’s swearing in. Her mother, Janet Vullo, was the president of the Board of Education in Starpoint.

The board voted to change its monthly meeting schedule. Instead of meeting the second and fourth Tuesdays, the board will meet the first Tuesday and last Tuesday each month. That will allow Pencille to attend Shelby Town Board meetings on the second Tuesday each month.

The board on Wednesday also accepted the resignation of Tim Ames as director of facilities. He oversaw recent building and campus upgrades.

District Superintendent Jeff Evoy said Ames will be missed.

“I’d like to thank Tim for his many years of service to the Medina School District,” Evoy said.

Photos courtesy of Chris Busch – These Medina graduates pose for a photo at commencement on Friday. The trio includes, from left: Jacob Roeseler, Brian Bogan and Samuel Busch.

MEDINA – The 115 members of the Class of 2015 will begin the next stage of their lives with accomplishment.

Jeff Evoy, the district superintendent, noted that 63 percent of the class earned Regents diplomas with 29 percent at Advanced Regents (Honors).

“In the fall, our graduates will leave us with a strong foundation built here in Medina,” Evoy said at commencement on Friday.

Nearly two thirds or 65 percent of the class will attend either two- or four-year colleges, about 10 percent will be off to trade schools, 5 percent have joined the military and 20 percent will search for employment opportunities, Evoy said.

The superintendent highlighted five students who joined the military: Victoria Carter, Air Force Reserves; John Derting, Air Force; Nick Erway, Army; Brett Pecoraro, Marine Corps; and Jacob Covert, Marine Corps.

Students will be pursuing degrees ranging from neurosciences to cyber security. Evoy said Medina’s Class of 2015 is heading to Canisius College, Clarkson University, Pace University, Wells College, Houghton College, RIT, Nazareth College, Hamilton College, Kent State University, George Mason University, the University of Buffalo, Buffalo State College, Elmira College, Case Western Reserve, SUNY Oneonta, Rensealear Poly Technical Institute, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Oswego, Niagara University, Ithaca College, University of North Carolina, Hilbert College, Roberts Wesleyan College. A number of students will attend the following community colleges: Alfred State, NCCC, GCC, ECC, Sandy Hills CC, Canton and Bryant and Stratton.

The Class of 2015 includes 115 graduates, who received their diplomas on Friday at the Medina High School Auditorium.

In his message to graduates, Evoy focused on the importance of persistence and hard work.

“If you get knocked down you must rise again and come back twice as hard,” Evoy told graduates.

He shared the example of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, whose life was featured in the movie, Rudy. Ruettiger dreamed of playing football for Notre Dame. After high school, he worked for his father in a steel mill. Rudy was undersized and suffered from dyslexia. He decided to attend Holy Cross by Notre Dame to boost his grades. It took four tries before Notre Dame accepted him as a student.

With the help of dedicated teachers and tutors and his commitment to his school work, Rudy got the job done, Evoy said. Rudy played on Notre Dame’s scout team and appeared in a game, sacking the quarterback to end the contest.

“Think about how his life may have turned out had he not believed in himself,” Evoy said. “I can guarantee that you will have many struggles in life, but it is how you react to adversity that will determine success or failure. Work through these struggles and learn from them. The difference between success and failure, more often than not, is a little extra effort. When you face adversity battle it with tenacity and always believe in yourself.”

Medina juniors carry the 54-foot-long Daisy Chain into the auditorium for commencement. The Daisy Chain is a lot of hard work. It takes about two days to build it. It’s a Medina tradition going back about a century.

Earlier this month at the Top 10 dinner for the graduates from four Orleans County school districts, Aaron Knights addressed the group. Knights grew up on a farm in Medina. Today he is an attorney in Washington, D.C.

Knights discussed the importance of hard work with the Top 10 graduates.

“He told the audience that he knew coming from a farming family that he would never be outworked,” Evoy said. “He applied this hard work ethic to his chosen profession, law.”

Medina graduates are joining thousands in the region and millions around the country in accepting diplomas and starting a new phase of their lives.

“Nothing will be given to you and your work ethic may be the one thing that separates you from the crowd,” Evoy said. “Simply put, there is no substitute for hard work.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – Western New York Energy wants to add 800,000 bushels of grain capacity to the plant at the corner of Route 31A and Bates Road.

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board backed a plan to boost the grain storage capacity for the ethanol plant in Medina by 800,000 bushels.

Western New York Energy submitted a site plan for a 105-foot wide by 142-foot high steel silo. A conveyor system at the top of the bin would increase the height to 155 feet.

The added space would increase grain reserves from 17 days to 30 days, providing greater capacity when deliveries could be impeded by inclement winter weather, county planners said.

The project will cost about $2 million, Michael Sawyer, WNY Energy chief executive officer, told the Orleans Hub during a previous interview.

Construction for the project is expected to run from July through September. It will be on existing developed land that is south of the current corn silos that have 1 million bushels of storage space with two 500,000-bushel grain bins.

In other action last Thursday, the Planning Board:

Approved the site plan for James Lustumbo of Medina to build a 49-unit storage facility on West Avenue, bordering Maple Ridge Road.

Lustumbo wants to build the units in two phases, with 25 in phase one and 24 in phase two. The units would be 150 and 200 square feet. He plans to call the business, Lakewood Storage Facility.

Recommended the Town of Albion approve the site plan, permit request and setback variances for Michael Donnelly to operate a motor vehicle repair shop at his home at 3406 Eagle Harbor Rd.

Donnelly plans to use an attached garage to operate the business, including snowmobile, ATV and small engine repair.

Donnelly needs a 0.5 foot variance from the 15-foot minimum residential setback, a 14.2 foot variance from the minimum 50-foot canal right of way setback and a 19-foot variance from the 20-foot minimum for a driveway setback.

Planners said there is no practical remedy for reducing the variances short of abandoning the project.

Photos from Medina Marching Band – Cheri Pritchard attended the first field band practice on June 23 and said her good byes to the students and parents. Many tears were shed from both sides.

Press Release, Medina Marching Band

MEDINA – Cheri Pritchard, Medina Middle School instrumental music instructor and co-director of the Medina Mustang Marching Band, will be leaving Medina and accepting the high school band director position at the Orchard Park Central School District.

Pritchard graduated from Orchard Park and after college came to Medina
to teach and co-direct the marching band. She was 22 when she came to Medina.

Being a part of the Mustang Band family for 7 years has been a life-changing experience, Pritchard said. She’s proud to be a part of winning multiple state championships, several Gorham championships and many deserving trophies.

While those are exciting experiences, she said the intangibles are what make Medina special: the value of tradition, the many students and their parents who have participated in the program, the community and district support, the high standard of excellence – striving for 100 percent from each student that marches with the band uniform on. These values, in combination with the strong family atmosphere, is what makes this program special, Pritchard said.

The Marching Band program wishes Pritchard the best in her new endeavor. Medina will see her again when Orchard Park performs at Medina’s home show and again when Medina travels to Orchard Park for that show.

Medina’s Class of 2015 includes 115 members who graduated on Friday evening.

Photos and article by
Howard Balaban, Correspondent

MEDINA – The Medina High School Class of 2015 was encouraged to be unique at its graduation ceremony Friday night.

Salutatorian Regan Stacey addressed those in attendance by recalling a phrase by one of the class’s math teachers.

“We are all non-bananas,” she said, explaining how the 115 graduates will be stepping into a plethora of life roles later this summer.

“I’m especially amazed at those up here who will immediately start to contribute,” Stacey noted, adding that the world always needs farmers, construction workers, and military servicemen and women, for instance, to allow the rest of us to eat, live, and do so in a free society.

Graduates prepare to enter the auditorium.

Valedictorian Alexandra Markle took to the podium next, and she marked the closing of the high school chapter of life with a simple message: “Run.”

In encouraging her classmates to “get as far away from Medina as possible,” Markle said doing so would allow them all to grow in ways they never dreamed imaginable. The world, she said, is a “huge, daunting place” but meeting new people in new places can open some eyes.

“I don’t care where you go, as long as you’ve never been there before,” she said. New experiences for her and her classmates will only help them grow, Markle added.

“You can learn so much by listening,” Markle remarked. She added that through it all, the people who helped the Class of ’15 get to Friday night’s stage would be there to help.

“We are fortunate to come from a place like Medina,” she stated. She described Medina as a community where people care, and where values like respect, kindness, compassion, and mercy were instilled in the class by teachers and family alike.

Members of the junior class carry the Daisy Chain. Eighteen students worked on the 54-foot-long chain over two days.

While many in the class may not have firm plans for their future, Markle said that was not a problem because “sometimes the journey teaches us about the destination.”

Plus, as Stacey said, “We are not all from the same mold…we have amazing opportunities to be different.

“Discover who you are…Keep an open mind. Be the unique non-banana you were meant to be.”

Photos from field courtesy of Andrea Lonnen – Brad McPherson, left, and Zachary Harris were out hunting for daisies on Thursday on Blair Road in this field owned by Bill and Sue Keppler.

Hannah Lonnen picks daisies. Hannah and 17 other Medina juniors filled 90 buckets with the flowers to build the Daisy Chain for tonight’s graduation ceremony.

Photos and article by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – When 16 Medina juniors carry a 54-foot-long chain of daisies into Medina High School Auditorium this evening, it will be the continuation of a nearly century-long tradition at Medina.

The Daisy Chain is a chance to honor the top 16 girls in the Junior Class. They are escorted by the top two boys in the class.

They will have spent two full days picking daisies and assembling the long chain that will be placed in front of the stage for graduation.

“Every year people joke you ought to buy plastic daisies,” said Eric Hellwig, a teacher and the advisor on the Daisy Chain’s construction. “It’s nice to have traditions and history.”

Meghan Allen wraps a new row of daisies on the long chain of flowers early this afternoon at Medina High School.

Caitlyn Davies works on the Daisy Chain, which will be carried inside the auditorium this evening in two 27-foot-long chains.

Besides Hellwig, two other teachers, Marguerite Sherman and Kathy Boje, also are advisors on the project, including the dress for graduation. The girls wear white dresses and gloves and the boys will wear tuxedos with red vests.

Hellwig said the attire adds a formal air to commencement.

He said the district can trace the Daisy Chain back until at least the 1920s.

Medina students spent hours assembling the Daisy Chain, spacing flowers about an inch apart in each row.

The flowers are taped and wrapped closely together to build the chain.

Students picked flowers for two to four hours on Thursday, filling 90 buckets at about a bushel apiece.

Meghan Allen admitted it was tedious and tiring work, but she saw symbolism in the that task with doing well in school.

“You have to work hard four your grades and work hard at this,” she said while building the Daisy Chain.

Michaela Cardone was grateful for the chance to work on the Daisy Chain and be part of a a revered Medina tradition. She said the project was good bonding with her classmates.

“Doing this gets more people involved in graduation and it looks nicer,” she said.

Hellwig said the Daisy Chain remains a popular tradition for the school. He expects it will continue to endure.

Michaela Cardone wraps some daisies in the Daisy Chain today. It will be unveiled during graduation at 7 p.m. today.

The Daisy Chain members for 2015 include Zack Harris and Brad McPherson, and the following: Meghan Allen, Alexis Barcena, Allison Bensley,Michaela Cardone, Davina Birch, Haylee Cogovan, Caitlyn Davies, Emma Gardner, Hannah Lonnen, Amanda Lunden, Liz Newman, Stella Russo, Carlin Sanders, Alyssa Shortridge, Abi Smith and Emma Wilson.

File photos – “Wild” Bill McDonald, center, of Batavia performs with the Ghost Riders last summer during a concert series in Holley. McDonald and Kay McMahon, left, will play a concert in Medina from a boat on July 12 as part of the Traveling Towpath Troubadours.

By Howard Balaban, Correspondent

MEDINA – In just a few weeks, the Medina Village Tourism Committee will start to hit its summer stride.

At Monday night’s Village Board meeting, Jim Hancock, the committee chairman, briefed the trustees on upcoming events.

In conjunction with the Cycle the Canal Event in July, Medina’s stop will feature two entertainment spots. He noted how the annual ride passes through Middleport, Albion, Fancher, Holley and heads east to Rochester. The Tourism Committee wanted to be sure that the stop in Medina offered “the possibility for cyclists to do something.”

With that in mind, on July 12 at Canal Basin Park the Traveling Towpath Troubadours will put on a concert from 2 to 3 p.m. That will be followed by Teresa Wood, of Tonawanda, telling canal stories in the same venue.

The next day, at 9 a.m., there will be a Culvert Road display panel dedication. Hancock said that panel is something a long time in the making and will mark a truly unique spot along the Erie Canal.

Just a few weeks later, on August 8, the Concert by the Canal Series will feature Blind Leading the Blind at 2 p.m. and the Mercury Blues Band at 4 p.m., both in the Canal Basin. In the event of rain, the concert series will move indoors to the Medina Theater.

Also on August 8, Hancock said Medina’s Wide Angle Art Gallery will put on a display in the Canal Basin, and there will also be a Bad Ash Barbecue.

Jena Hemphill gives out cheesecake samples at Celebrity Day Spa last August during the first Sweets in Summer event, when businesses offered samples of desserts and treats.

Finally, he gave a plug for the Medina Business Association’s Second Annual Sweets in Summer event, being held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 8.

The Tourism Committee is also going to once again be in charge of Christmas in Medina, featuring the Parade of Lights in November.

As he wrapped his presentation to the board, Hancock made note of plans to host a Canal Opening Celebration on May 7, 2016, to coincide with its refilling.

Also, he said the Erie Canal Corporation will soon be adding panels to the Canal Basin to educate passersby along the Erie Canalways Heritage Corridor. Those signs will be managed by the corporation, he noted.

By Howard Balaban, Correspondent

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board on Monday awarded Blue Heron Construction with the winning bid for wastewater treatment plant improvements.

The bid of $1.07 million was the lowest of three proposals on the project, with all three being reviewed by Larsen Engineers. That firm has worked with Blue Heron in the past and Chelsea Bajek, an environmental engineer with Larson, said the company was comfortable recommending Blue Heron to the village. Blue Heron is based in Jordan, NY, near Syracuse.

Bajek also said Larsen Engineers suggested the village should approve an additional 10 percent of the bid as a contingency. However, the village has already bonded $1.02 million and is paying that back via a 30-year, zero-interest loan. The difference in costs could be made up by dipping into existing reserves, according to Pete Houseknecht, Public Works Superintendent, and could be approved as needed.

The work on the plant was estimated to be done by the end of next year.

Once completed, the upgrades will make Medina’s water plant more efficient and give it more capacity, which will help make it more attractive as a provider as the Genesee County STAMP project continues to move forward and the Medina Business Park seeks to add industry.

Zinkievich

By Howard Balaban, Correspondent

MEDINA – During the latter stages of Monday night’s Medina Village Board meeting, outgoing Fire Chief Todd Zinkievich addressed the trustees in what was his final meeting as chief.

“This is very bittersweet for me,” he said. “I’ve learned some valuable life lessons in my time as chief.”

Adding that he also learned the same kind of lessons from his father – including “speak your mind” – Zinkievich took a few minutes to look back on his time as chief and his interactions with the village board during that time.

“I’ve been here a long time and seen a lot of different board members come and go,” he said, noting that some were quite obvious with their personal agendas. “I know for a fact that you all have the best interests of the village at heart, and it’s really an exciting time for the village.

“The residents here voted a couple months back to stay a village, and there’s an opportunity in front of you to prove why we should,” Zinkievich continued. “I also know there’s a lot of work ahead to make and keep us feasible as a village.”

Each member of the board praised Zinkievich’s work and expressed gratitude for his time with the Medina Fire Department.

Mayor Andrew Meier said Zinkievich should be “commended and lauded” for how well the department has run. Trustee Owen Toale, recalling his previous stint on the board almost a decade ago, told Zinkievich he remembered when the department took over ambulance services and how well the chief handled that operation.

“You’ve set a high standard,” Toale said.

Zinkievich led the Fire Department through a momentous time in its history, particularly when the department replaced Rural Metro in July 2007 as primary ambulance provider in western Orleans County.

The Department grew from six full-time firefighters to 13 now, plus two temporary full-time positions and about 20 call men. The call volume has jumped from about 300 a year a decade ago to 2,986 in 2014, the most ever in the Fire Department’s history.

Trustees Todd Bensley and Margueritte Sherman added their thank yous, and Mike Sidari slyly warned Zinkievich about his “plans for your last day at the station.”

As the lighthearted and heartfelt discussion came to a close, the board named Captain Mike Maak the officer in charge of the Medina Fire Department starting July 4.

Zinkievich’s last day is July 3, and he will be officially done with the department about two months later after using up vacation time.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Preach Freedom (center), a former member of the acclaimed band Rusted Root, performed in Medina on Saturday night at the beegarten. Freedom was joined by Marla Harris and Steve Davis at the concert in Medina.

That venue is in an open-air courtyard in the back of the R.N. Newell shirt factory building at 111 West Center St. The site the previous three years welcomed musicians as the Boiler 54.

The former Boiler 54 performance venue is now “the beegarten.”

It looked like there wasn’t going to be music at the spot this year, until 810 Meadworks owners Bryan and Larissa DeGraw pushed to keep the space open for the season.

“This space is unbelievably unique and to let it sit here and not be used was very frustrating to me,” Mr. DeGraw said. “People in years past who did the work to make the space what it is I just feel blessed to use it.”

Preach Freedom and Connect perform at the beegarten.

For more on the band Preach Freedom and Connect, visit www.preachfreedomandconnect.com. Freedom is singing, “No Woman, No Cry,” a reggae song originally by Bob Marley.

Thom Jennings of Albion put together the concert series, drawing on his contacts and musician friends. Jennings reviews concerts for The Niagara Gazette and also has promoted and organized concert series.

His son, Thom Jennings Jr., met Preach Freedom at a concert a few years ago and gave him a ride to Freedom’s home in Buffalo. Preach has stayed in contact with the Jennings family. During a Rusted Root concert in North Tonawanda in August 2013, Freedom welcomed Thom Jr.’s brother Trevor to the stage to play the drums in an encore with the band.

Preach Freedom and Connect perform in downtown Medina.

The lineup of musicians at the beegarten includes Eliot Lewis on July 22. He is the keyboardist for Hall & Oates. The series continues every Saturday evening until Aug. 15.

DeGraw and his wife own 810 Meadworks. They will produce meads, which are alcoholic drinks made by fermenting honey with water and often fruits, spices, grains and hops.

DeGraw hoped by continuing the concert series he could introduce more people to mead, and he said that has been working.

“I feel like we’re part of Medina and entertaining Medina,” DeGraw said. “We want people to feel at home here and decompress from life.”

To see the concert lineup, click here.

Marla Harris sings to the crowd at the beegarten.

Photos by Marsha Rivers

MEDINA – After rain forced cancellation of the Friday night cruise-ins the first two weeks of June, organizers were squinting happily as they welcomed dozens of antique and classic cars to the Canal Basin tonight.

Event coordinator Dave Green (pictured above) counted about 70 cars by the official start time of 5:30 p.m. He said he expected 10 or 20 more would join the party.

Green is pictured greeting Vern and Brenda Wetherbee of Holley with their two-tone green 1957 Chevy.

Elizabeth Gallo (standing) chats with cruise-in participants Rick and Donna Miller of Hilton.

“It really is a social event,” said Gallo, who with her husband Terry was showing two classic Ford Mustangs at the show, as well as helping organize other entrants. “We enjoy the beautiful cars, but it’s the people who are the icing.”

Gallo sells 50/50 raffle tickets at the cruise-ins, with the proceeds benefiting United Way of Orleans County. The event recurs every non-rainy Friday through Aug. 26, which is the culminating Super Cruise-In night throughout downtown Medina.

Sisters Autumn and Bailey Lusk of Medina get a peek inside the 1941 Cadillac Coupe owned by Rick and Donna Miller of Hilton.

Organizers expected to welcome 80-90 cars in tonight’s Canal Basin Cruise-In.

Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Historical sites, walking tours, restaurants, lodging and other sites. Volunteers at the Medina Visitor’s Center are willing to point people towards amenities and attractions.

“It’s important to have a place for people to be welcomed and learn about our village and some of the things to do,” said Jim Hancock, chairman of Medina’s Tourism Committee and head of the visitor center.

The center is in the main lobby of City Hall on Main Street. The center moved there in 2011 after the former Chamber of Commerce building was sold.

The lobby at Medina City Hall is stocked with brochures, maps and Medina merchandise. Jim Hancock sits at the desk, ready to take questions about the community.

The center started in the Chamber building in 2009 and volunteers were there in the afternoons. Staff from the Chamber and Red Cross were available in the morning to pass out brochures and answer questions about Medina.

When the visitor center went to City Hall, it went to a largely empty building. There weren’t other agency staff in the same spot. So Hancock and volunteers stepped up to be available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Mondays through Fridays.

The center has menus from local restaurants, maps for bike tours and walking tours, lists for local lodging and attractions.

The Right Rev. R. William Franklin, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, visited Medina on Wednesday and stopped by City Hall to see the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame, which is in the main meeting room. Franklin, left, chats with Jim Hancock after Franklin signed the guest book. About 100 visitors, from 28 states and five countries, signed the guest book last year.

There are 14 dedicated volunteers right now. Hancock welcomes more. He would like to add some hours on Saturdays.

“The more the merrier,” Hancock said about the volunteers.

For more information, contact Hancock at (585) 798-2118.

By Howard Balaban, Correspondent

MEDINA – Elijah Howard, former commissioner of Medina LOYAL Football and Cheerleading, was arraigned Monday in Ridgeway Town Court on charges of grand larceny in the third degree. According to the Orleans County District Attorney’s Office, Howard allegedly embezzled $6,000 from the youth league.

The charges were brought forth after a several-month-long joint investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and the Major Felony Crimes Task Force. According to the Sheriff’s Office, a person associated with the league alerted them to possible wrongdoing, and the investigation led to Howard’s arrest in connection with fraudulent purchases made with the league credit/debit card.

Howard was remanded on $6,000 bail, which he posted. He is scheduled to appear in Ridgeway Town Court again on Friday at 10 a.m.

Regarding the alleged crime, District Attorney Joe Cardone said it is not uncommon for such organizations.

“When you have groups or associations that have inadequate accountability, it’s not unusual to have something like this happen,” he said. “You need to have checks and balances in place.”

As for LOYAL Football and Cheerleading, the organization put a new board of directors in place this past December in an effort to turn the tide and make things right.

“We’re moving forward,” said Lucas Silversmith, the new commissioner. “No one from the previous board is on it now.”

Silversmith explained that anomalies in the league’s finances were first brought to his attention by LOYAL Baseball commissioner Chris Goyette. The leagues operate separately, but file taxes jointly.

Goyette said LOYAL’s roots were in a number of youth sports and the organization had one main governing board and several sport-specific boards. As the original group slowly saw its children age out of the programs, most of the sports were left to run themselves, with football and baseball the last two standing and left to report to only themselves.

“The first year I became heavily involved in baseball I noticed there was a problem with our taxes,” Goyette recalled. “The state had changed the regulations for non-profit organizations.”

He explained how certain monetary thresholds had changed without anyone realizing it, leading to LOYAL Baseball having to get its house in order. It has and has recouped almost all of the money it lost during that time.

That experience is what led Goyette to alert Silversmith and the new board of the issue on the football side of things.

“Last May I needed to sign off on the taxes,” he stated. “Football’s hadn’t been filed and I was disturbed because I didn’t want our organization in trouble again.

“I noticed activities where I didn’t expect to see activities, and saw what I thought were a favorable amount of questionable uses of the ATM,” Goyette said.

Once made aware of the possible issue, Silversmith said he made it his priority to fix things.

“It was the first thing we did as a new board,” he said, referring to a review of league finances. Silversmith added that he reached out to the Sheriff’s Office regarding the issue, but found out that it was “already under investigation.”

He noted, “They just asked me to give them permission to look into our accounts, and we’ve cooperated fully. As a non-profit organization we should have nothing to hide.”

An official from the Sheriff’s Office did note the “totally cooperative” nature of LOYAL football during the investigation.

Silversmith said one of the problems with the prior LOYAL Football boards may have been the lack of access to league accounts.

“That was also one of the first things we did – go over our bank statement at every board meeting,” Silversmith noted. “The statement is available to our officers because we need to see what we’re doing, what we’re approving.”

While Silversmith said he is unsure how far back the problem went, he also was quick to point out that the league’s efforts in the past several months have led to an increase in registered participants and a decrease in equipment costs.

“Financially, we’re probably the best we’ve been in a long time,” he said. “My wife, Monica, has been in charge of fundraising this year and we’ve done some things that haven’t drained parents.”

Among those have been some dances at Medina’s Wise Middle School, “giving kids something to do and parents a chance to maybe go out to eat,” Silversmith said.

The new financial model of the league has allowed the board to purchase some new helmets and put itself in position to purchase more as they need replacing.

“The old equipment guy always told me the league didn’t have the money, but we’re raising it now, getting new top-of-the-line concussion helmets,” Silversmith stated. “The new board is really stepping up.”

Moving forward, Silversmith said the biggest thing he can offer to the public as a show of trust is transparency in league accounting. “We want to make sure we don’t let this happen again and that we have every dollar accounted for,” he said.

As for the league itself, the final day of registration is Sunday at Junior Wilson’s on Bates Road from noon to 2 p.m. Registration costs are $60 per child as opposed to $75 last year.

The equipment costs for football have dropped a little, while cheerleading equipment costs have been slashed by almost two-thirds thanks to the fundraising efforts of the past six months.

“It’s great to have so many people come forward to right a wrong, because the whole thing is about the kids,” Silversmith commented. “We need to keep our focus there, and that’s one of the reasons we wanted lower prices – to get more people involved.

“We play teams like Batavia and Newfane, and compared to us those teams have money,” he continued. “We lose a lot of kids who are great athletes because they’re priced out of playing.”

Regarding the lost money, Silversmith simply stated, “I hope we can recover it.”

Press Release, Sheriff Scott Hess

MEDINA – A Town of Ridgeway man has been arrested after he allegedly misappropriated several thousand dollars in funds belonging to the Medina L.O.Y.A.L. (Lake Ontario Youth Athletic League) Youth Football Program.

Elija H. Howard, 41, is accused of making numerous transactions using the program’s debit/credit card for purchases that were not legitimate. This occurred over a lengthy period of time during which Howard was the league commissioner. This was a joint investigation conducted by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and the Major Felony Crimes Task Force.

Howard was charged on Monday with Grand Larceny 3rd Degree, a D Felony. He appeared before Town of Ridgeway Justice Joseph Kujawa and was subsequently released on bail. His next scheduled court appearance date is June 19.

The incident investigation and subsequent arrest was conducted by Investigator C.L. Black of the Task Force and Investigator K.M. Strickland Jr. of the Sheriff’s Office.

Daniel Kestel, aka Paul A. Bambanek, will be extradited to Texas

Daniel Kestel, pictured in 1992

ALBION – A Medina man is accused of kidnapping his infant son 23 years ago in Lorena, Texas. Daniel Kestel has been wanted on a warrant since 1992. He was arrested on Friday by the FBI and today he appeared in Orleans County Court, where he waived his rights to fight extradition, choosing not to challenge his return to Texas.

Orleans County Court Judge James Punch said authorities from Texas will pick up Kestel, also known as Paul A. Bambanek, within 30 days.

Kestel, now 58, is paying on a mortgage on a house at 579 East Ave. He told the judge he owes $46,000 on the mortgage for a house assessed for about $60,000. The judge assigned the public defender’s office for Kestel’s arraignment on a fugitive warrant.

Kestel acknowledged in court he has been using the alias of Paul A. Bambanek.

District Attorney Joe Cardone said he was notified by the FBI on Friday of Kestel’s arrest. Cardone doesn’t have information on how long Kestel has been living in Medina or the whereabouts of Keskel’s son, Justin, who is now 24.

The Waco Tribune-Herald interviewed Justin’s mother in a story published June 26, 2012 on the 20th anniversary of the abduction.

Karen Hunter said Dan Kestel became enraged when they were setting up the baby’s room. He threw a hammer at her 7-year-old son at the time, according to the newspaper.

Hunter moved out and the couple would divorce. Kestel moved to the Dallas area and worked in hotel maintenance. He was granted supervised visits with his son twice a month, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.

He allegedly abducted his son when Justin was 13 months old. Hunter didn’t see him after June 21, 1992.

Cardone said the FBI received a tip that Dan Kestel was living in Medina.

Kestel appeared in court today. He still has long hair, similar to his photo from 1992.

Cardone speculated that Kestel used a last name that was similar to Laurie Bembenek. She made national news in the early 1980s. Bembenek was a Playboy bunny, who became a police officer. She was convicted of murdering her husband’s ex-wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on May 28, 1981.

Bembenek gained national attention as “Run, Bambi, Run” after she escaped from prison and was recaptured in Canada. Her story inspired a TV movie.