Event is kickoff of Fire Prevention Week

MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department held its annual open house Sunday, featuring a display of firefighting equipment, activities for children, training for adults and a visit by Mercy Flight. The open house is in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week.

Firefighter and paramedic Steve Miller said they had a good turnout of visitors before rain in the early afternoon brought activities to a close.

The fire department had all of its equipment on display, including ambulances, fire trucks and the new small rescue truck and boat.

Steve Miller, left, Medina firefighter and paramedic, and Jason Bessel, deputy chief of Ridgeway Fire Department, watch Bessel’s children Olivia, 8, and Jonathan, 4, climb out of the fire safety trailer at Medina Fire Department’s annual open house on Sunday.

Jason Bessel, deputy chief with Ridgeway Fire Department, drove Ridgeway’s antique fire engine, a 1977 Pierce, and stayed throughout the day with his two children. Another antique truck on display was Medina’s old No. 10, a 1946 Mack owned by Timothy Cooper.

Boys Scout Troop 28 had a booth set up to serve refreshments. Activities included checking out a fire safety trailer and hose competition, where youth could try their hand at aiming a water hose at a target.

Inside the fire hall, there were games and treats for children, and Stop the Bleed training and CPR for adults.

Families head inside the fire house during Sunday’s open house at Medina Fire Department. In addition to activities and displays outside, there were games and treats inside for children and Stop the Bleed training and CPR for adults.

Devin Kinne, 13, of Medina stands by the fire safety trailer on display at Medina Fire Department’s open house Sunday. Devin visited the fire department, where he tried his hand at hitting a target with a fire hose. He also went through the fire safety trailer, where he learned how to put out a fire.

Justin McAdoo, 15, took this picture of Medina Fire Department’s ladder truck during the fire department’s open house on Sunday. Justin can’t wait until he turns 16 in April, so he can join Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department, where his mother is a paramedic and assistant chief.

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MEDINA – The first toy show sponsored by Medina FFA on Saturday morning will most likely become an annual event, according to FFA adviser Todd Eick.

The show at Medina High School was held in honor of lifelong Medina farmer, the late Lee Roberts, who was an avid collector of farm toys.

The day began with a pancake breakfast, during which Eick presented Ginny Roberts with number one in a set of 50 collectible Steiger Panther 111 PTA-310 tractors. The remaining 49 will be sold, Eick said. He plans to obtain a set every five years and then auction them off.

“All the money will go to benefit FFA,” Eick said.

Todd Eick, adviser of Medina’s FFA, presents Ginny Roberts of Medina with number one in a series of 50 toy Steiger Panther 111 PTA-310 tractors during a pancake breakfast Saturday at Medina High School. The remaining 49 will be sold to benefit FFA projects. Roberts’ late husband Lee was a collector of farm toys.

He said the kids will decide what is needed most for the miniature farm the FFA maintains on the southwest side of the high school property.

In the high school gymnasium, nearly a dozen vendors were set up with their massive collections of farm toys.

Les Segrist of Waterloo has been collecting toys since 1985.

“I got started after seeing a friend customize a piece of equipment, and the bug bit me,” he said.

John Seifert of Lyndonville started collecting farm toys about 10 years ago, after retiring as a farmer. His favorites are four-wheel drives, and he said his collection fills his basement and den. He attends four toy shows a year, including those in Brockport, Pavilion and Geneseo.

Nick Adams of Medina goes all over to toy shows. He has been collecting for the last 15 years and his collection includes race cars and semi-trucks. Two of his favorites are a 1965 and 1969 Mustang convertible.

William Nice of Medina got started collecting toys in 1979 because of a joke.

“I had a 50-acre farm across from the fairgrounds, but I didn’t have any equipment,” Nice said. “I had to borrow from other farmers, and I started telling everybody it would nice if I had some equipment of my own. So for Christmas that year, everyone gave me toy tractors.”

His collection includes John Deere, International, Allis-Chalmers and Massey Ferguson. A favorite of his is a Farmall Super M.TA tractor.

Nice owns a construction business, and spends six months in Florida and six months in Medina. He transports his collection back and forth and attends a four-day event in Florida which features 240 acres of vendors.

Donna Wolfe is one of the few women vendors. Her collection includes railroad cars, miniature buildings, army tanks and airplanes. She has been collecting for 10 years.

Saturday’s event also spilled over into the high school parking lot, where several vendors from the weekly farm market were set up. A display of antique vehicles included Farmall and John Deere tractors, a Jeep and fire truck.

The toy show was the result of a lot of work and planning by Eick, the FFA students and FFA alumni, including Cliff Barber, who one vendor said was instrumental in lining up vendors for the show.

William Nice of Medina was one of the vendor’s at Medina FFA’s first toy show Saturday. Nice holds a Farmall Super M.TA, his favorite toy in the collection.

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MEDINA – The PLAY/GROUND art show at the former Medina High School attracted 4,100 people from Friday through Sunday, more than double the attendance during the event’s debut last year.

The immersive art experience included works by 34 artists, who encouraged people to interact with the pieces.

Talis Equity and the Hungerford family worked to put on the show with Resource: Art in Buffalo. The school is currently mostly vacant and will be turned into apartments. Right now Talis and the Hungerford family are working to redevelop Bent’s Opera House.

The preview party on Friday was sold out with 750 people, many coming by shuttle from the Hotel Henry in Buffalo.

“There is excitement in the air,” said Medina artist Tom Zangerle, who attended the show on Saturday afternoon. “This is just fantastic.”

In “Newton’s Clock,” artist Michael Bosworth used the elements of a pinball machine to create a series of interactive works.

Amanda Besl set up “Persphone,” an ethereal forgotten greenhouse at the bottom of the stairs. “Are the contents languishing within or bursting to escape their confines?” participants were asked.

In “Rolling Thunder,” by Tom Holt and Quincy Koczka, skateboarding ramps were painted and turned into artwork.

Sara Di Donato painted life-size images of girls from different eras for “If These Walls Could Talk.” The installation was in a bathroom. Di Donato, a painting and drawing professor at Brockport State College, wanted to show “the performance of girlhood in the present is a reverberating echo of the past, yet constantly fluid and changing.”

Kari Achatz made “Betwixt,” patterned passageways and shadows. She wanted participants “to be seen and unseen at the same moment.”

“Into the Void”  was a popular installation, with many people posting images of the space on social media. William Quintana and Christa Trautman made a set of six telescoping, brightly colored boxes to replace the traditional four walls. “The bright hues are meant to entice users to explore the space further and immerse themselves in the unknown well of color.”

People check out “Medina Green,” by artist Nate Hodge of Brockport, in a former locker room in the school.

The art show included a Medina artist, Kathryn Granchelli. She created a Zen garden-like  installation. She filled the room with sand and paper-clay sculptures. She said the exhibit was inspired by her travels in the deserts. She runs a nanny referral agency for families in New York City, Los Angeles and abroad. She is also is an accomplished artist.

Granchelli welcomed the chance to be part of PLAY/GROUND in her hometown.

“I really think it’s great for Medina to experience something outside the norm,” she said.

Ani Hoover created the “Shade Garden” in a stairwell. She made the display out of plastic bags, thrifted lampshades and lighting hardware. She sought to take neglected materials and transform them into “an unconventional oasis of light and shadow.”

Julian Montague expanded on the murals in the hallways he started last year.

People check out “Safe Space,” created with cardboard and white plaster by Rich Tomasello with help from 150 students at Kenmore, Town of Tonawanda and Starpoint schools. The installation addresses the anxieties of growing up in American schools where lockdrown drills are commonplace.

Marquis Burton and Tara Sasiadek’s “Wave and Shore” installation was popular. The artists encouraged participants to pause and take in fresh sensations.

Carina and the Six String Preacher perform in the auditorium at the school on Saturday afternoon. Musicians performed in the space over the weekend.

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MEDINA – In 2016, the Orleans Renaissance Group reached out to famed Irish tenor Ronan Tynan to see if he would be interested in performing at St. Mary’s Church in Medina.

He was not only interested then, and performed to a sold-out audience at St. Mary’s Church, but reached out to ORG again about returning this year.

“He genuinely enjoyed his experience in Medina,” said Chris Busch, president of ORG. “Of course we said ‘yes’ to his return. Since we saw him last, he sang at the bedside and funeral of President George H.W. Bush.”

Tynan will again appear at St. Mary’s Church at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5.

Ronan Tynan performed to a sold-out crowd of 650 at St. Mary’s on Sept. 17, 2016.

In a telephone interview this week, Tynan said he was impressed with Medina and looking forward to his return.

“It is a quaint town,” he said.

Tynan is no stranger to Western New York, he said. He used to sing for the Buffalo Sabres when Tom Golisano was owner.

Although he has sung for presidents at their funeral and inauguration; decorated veterans; at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Carnegie Hall and the Washington National Cathedral; and across the National Mall and for popes at the Vatican, Tynan still prides himself on singing music which appeals to audiences of all ages.

His previous appearance at St. Mary’s Church was one of the most incredible events Busch said he has ever witnessed, certainly in Medina.

“He has an amazing presence,” Busch said. “Never have I seen an audience so thrilled and so moved.”

Tynan credits his amazing life to having wonderful parents.

“They always supported and encouraged me,” he said.

Born on a farm in County Kilkenny, Ireland, Tynan was born with lower leg deformities. Despite this, his parents never let his disability stand in his way. He attended an all-boys school and vigorously competed in athletic activities. A motorcycle accident at the age of 21 resulted in both his legs being amputated below the knee. Out of this tragedy came triumph, as Tynan went on to compete as a double amputee and win 18 gold medals and set 14 world records in the Paralympics Games from 1981 to 1984.

Then, Tynan decided to study medicine and became a medical doctor, specializing in orthopedic sports medicine. By the time he pondered singing, his life was already one of incredible accomplishment. He was 30 years old in 1993 and in his fifth year of medical school when he began to study voice.

By 1998 he had established himself as an award-winning tenor and joined Irish tenors Anthony Kearns and Finbar Wright. They went on to legendary fame across the globe. He left the group after six years and began his now legendary solo career.

In addition to thrilling sold-out audiences with his incredible voice, Tynan is one of the most sought after motivational speakers in the United States.

“We have amassed a very credible track record with serious artists over the years, including some world-class artists, such as Anonymous 4 and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra,” Busch said. “We’ve also hosted the Genesee Symphony Orchestra, Genesee Chorale (whose director is Ric Jones of Medina), Fredonia Trombone Choir, BPO Brass, Greycliffe String Quartet and Buffalo Tango Orkestra. We’re quite proud of the talent we’ve brought to Medina, and apparently, Dr. Tynan felt we were credible, as well.”

The 2016 concert by Tynan was an idea of Timothy Cooper, local funeral director, whose Irish family heritage and love of Ireland are well known in Medina.

“Tim travels there often, and once wondered aloud to me if ORG thought Tynan might entertain at an event here,” Busch said. “So we reached out and he accepted. Tim was thrilled when he learned the great tenor had said yes, and generously helped sponsor the event.”

“I always remember my parents talking about Bill McGrath, a Medina native who became a great tenor,” Cooper said. “It left an impression. It’s not often you have talent like that in Medina. Ronan’s is an amazing story, how he became disabled yet went on to become a doctor.”

Busch said Tynan would be a hit anywhere he performs.

“But think about it – to have one of the world’s great tenors perform in the soaring beauty of St. Mary’s Church, an old Irish parish,” Busch said. “How could an event such as that be anything else but an epic, world-class event. To have our small town and parish host a voice, not once, but twice, which has performed for popes and presidents is quite remarkable and an endorsement to our little village. Not since the heyday of Bent’s Opera House has talent of such international renown come to Medina.

Tickets are available online at www.medinaalive.com, or at the door if not sold out.

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