Mike Dreyfus, a substance abuse counselor, says band teaches commitment and discipline

Mike Dreyfus

MEDINA Mike Dreyfus has watched the Medina Mustangs perform hundreds of times. He still gets caught up in the emotion of the music and choreography of seeing 100-plus kids performing in unison.

“I still feel smitten by it all,” Dreyfus said. “I still get goose bumps when they hit on impact.”

Dreyfus has been an active band booster for nearly two decades. He won a guest conductor contest and will lead the marching band on Monday’s parade that begins at 11 a.m. The band will go from the former Fisher-Price on Park Avenue to Main Street and then to State Street Park. It’s about a 2-mile route.

Community members paid $1 to vote for one of five guest conductors. Dreyfus emerged the winner. He has been an active fund-raiser and vocal cheerleader for the band.

His son Kip joined as an eighth grader and graduated in 2003. Mike and his wife Kathy have stayed band enthusiasts even after their son graduated.

“In band there is a sense of family,” Dreyfus said. “It’s a giant trust exercise.”

File photo – The Medina Mustang Band is pictured in last year’s Memorial Day parade.

No one sits the bench in band, Dreyfus said, and boys and girls share leadership roles.

“These guys and gals are friends,” Dreyfus said. “Everybody is equal. It’s positive competition and it’s gender neutral.”

Dreyfus sees other benefits with a demanding program such as the band. He has worked 40 years with people who struggle to be law-abiding citizens in his roles as probation officer for 20 years and then as a substance abuse counselor for two decades.

The band connects students to the community, teaching them discipline and drawing them away from temptations with drugs and alcohol.

“It is the best prevention program there is,” Dreyfus said. “I’ve seen the value of this whole program for the kids involved. The band program screws the kids’ heads on straight. It teaches them commitment. It teaches discipline and focus.”

Dreyfus played football in high school and college. He admitted he’s a little nervous about leading the band on Memorial Day.

“I know nothing about this,” he said about conducting. “The only thing I play is the stereo.”

Barbara Barnes

MEDINA – How do you remember an incredible person, friend and teacher such as Barbara Barnes?

That is the question the staff and students have been pondering since her tragic passing on Sept. 29 on the way to a job that she loved. Barnes was killed in a car accident on Lake Road in the Town of Newfane.

Her colleagues, students and loved ones gathered on May 14 at Clifford Wise Middle School as Barbara’s two sons unveiled the new sign above the school’s library. The site will now be officially known as the Barbara Barnes Memorial Library.

Barnes taught special education at the Clifford Wise Middle School for 18 years.

The plaque with Barbara’s photo that read in part, “Her contagious smile, her caring eyes and her amazing sense of humor; no one who knew Barbara Jean Barnes will forget her beautiful spirit. Barbara Barnes cherished being part of the Medina School Community, and she thought of Wise as her second home and its faculty, staff, and students as her second family. We are blessed to have known her, as a teacher and a friend.”

Contributed photos – The library at Clifford Wise Middle School was rededicated as the Barbara Barnes Library last week in honor of a teacher killed in a Sept. 29 car accident. Pictured, from left, include: Joe Byrne, Medina Teacher Association President; Troy Barnes, Barbara’s son; Bruce Barnes, Barbara’s husband; Braidy Barnes, Barbara’s son; and Bridget Barnes, Braidy’s wife.

Joe Byrne, Medina Teacher Association president, said that Barnes was cherished by everyone who had the pleasure of interacting with her.

“She loved being a teacher and being part of the students’ lives,” Byrne said. “It seemed very fitting to her memory and her legacy to name the library after her so that for years to come that everyone walking through the door here will know how much she was loved and admired and how much of an impact she has made on us all.”

MEDINA – Residents gave overwhelmingly support today for a proposed $34,802,870 budget that increases spending by 0.94 percent but keeps taxes the same.

The budget passed 376-46. That’s an 89.1 percent approval rate.

The budget maintains existing programming and will increase enrichment offerings in the elementary and middle school.

The budget includes vehicles purchases, which used to be a separate proposition. Taking those out of the regular budget would show a $25,124 decrease compared to the 2014-15 budget, Medina school officials said.

The district will have a new member on the Board of Election. Brian Koch had the second-most votes with 264 of the five candidates seeking three-year terms on the board.

There were three open positions. Two incumbents were re-elected with Ann Bunch getting 305 votes and Renee Paser-Paull receiving 246.

Two other candidates were not elected. Former board member Virginia Nicholson received 209 votes and Danielle Class, 147.

Photos courtesy of Chris Busch – The former Baughn’s Shoe Store is getting a makeover as “a lily and a sparrow.”

MEDINA – A storefront that was a shoe store since 1960 on Main Street in Medina is getting a new look. The former Baughn’s Shoe Store is getting a new façade.

Baughn’s closed last year after being a downtown mainstay for more than a half century.

Laura Gardner bought the building at 438 Main St. and moved her shop there. Gardner is owner of “a lily and a sparrow,” a women’s clothing, jewelry and fragrance store.

Gardner opened the store in 2010 at 510 Main St. The former shoe store gives her more room for the business.

Chris Busch, chairman of Medina’s Planning Board, said the new look will give the downtown a boost.

“That whole job will be transformative for the building,” Busch said.

MEDINA – The proposed STAMP site across the Orleans County line in Alabama could become the Village of Medina’s largest sewer customer, using up to 3 million gallons a day at the village treatment plant.

The Village Board agreed on Monday to a memorandum of understanding with the Genesee County Economic Development Corporation. The village would provide sewer for the Science Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park, with GCEDC paying for running sewer lines to the 1,250-acre STAMP site.

GCEDC would pay the current village rates, although a deal could be made for a break in sewer charges in exchange for a host community agreement with money going to the village’s general fund.

“This will help stabilize the sewer fund for years to come,” said Medina Mayor Andrew Meier.

There isn’t an immediate impact because a tenant hasn’t committed to the STAMP site yet. GCEDC is lining up service providers for infrastructure.

The Medina sewer plant is currently permitted for 4.5 million gallons a day. Medina typically treats 1 to 2 million gallons a day, depending on the weather. If there is a big storm or snow melt, the plant sees more use.

Although the plant has a 4.5 million gallon permit capacity, it could treat least 7 million gallons a day, Meier said. The village is tackling some improvements at the plant to increase the capacity to about 10 million gallons.

Even with the agreement for STAMP, Medina still has plenty of excess capacity to serve development projects in the village and Medina area, Meier said. The final agreement still needs to be approved with GCEDC, and Meier said the deal will allow reserve capacities for Medina to serve businesses in the Medina community.

The final agreement could also include a provision for money for the village’s general fund through a host community agreement. That would generate money for the village’s general fund, and ease some pressure on Medina taxpayers.

If the host community agreement is in place, GCEDC could get a break in the sewer rate.

“We’re still working on the details,” Meier said.

The Village Board wants to support the STAMP project, which could bring an estimated 10,000 jobs to the site in full build out over an estimated 15 years or more, GCEDC officials said. They anticipate another 50,000 jobs from STAMP in the region. Meier said Medina is ideally situated for “feeder industries” that would work with companies at STAMP.

The sewer plant with all of its unused capacity is a major asset for Medina, Meier said.

“It’s a huge economic development resource we have in Medina,” he said.

The route from Medina to Alabama for the sewer lies hasn’t been determined yet. That is being studied by engineers.

File photo by Tom Rivers – The Medina Fire Department heads down East Center Street on an ambulance call in January, a call that was outside the village.

MEDINA – The Village of Medina could do better boosting revenue for its ambulance service by getting more uncollected money from patients, and also by insisting other municipalities help pay for the service, according to the State Comptroller’s Office.

The Comptroller’s Office reviewed ambulance service billing records from Jan.1, 2011 to Sept. 10, 2014. It found Medina is due $1,012,326 in outstanding bills from patients, a number that rose each year from $186,125 in 2011, $194,194 in 2012, $241,832 in 2013, and $390,175 in about eight months of 2014.

The Medina Fire Department has been the primary ambulance provider for the towns of Yates, Shelby and Ridgeway since 2007. As part of that contract, the towns were supposed to reimburse the village on a quarterly basis for any uncollected bills for ambulance calls to the three towns. The three towns also agreed to an administrative fee incurred by a third-party billing agent for each bill prepared. That fee is currently $38.25 per bill.

The village never sent the towns an invoice for these bills, the Comptroller’s Office said.

Comptroller staff reviewed the bills and found the three towns owe the village $53,036 for uncollected bills in the three municipalities, plus $21,573 to the billing agent. That $74,609 breaks out to $33,809 for the Town of Yates, $13,935 for the Town of Shelby and $26,865 for the Town of Ridgeway.

The comptroller said the towns need to be billed regularly, and their bills reviewed by village officials. Medina needs to work to ensure “that village taxpayers are not subsidizing the cost of providing ambulance service to the towns,” according to the comptroller report.

Medina Mayor Andrew Meier responded to the Comptroller Office in an April 10 letter that the village works diligently to collect unpaid bills. However, Meier said the village doesn’t want to take residents, including many senior citizens on fixed incomes, to small claims court or subject residents to “significant harassment” from bill collectors, he said.

Medina has an 86.8 percent pay rate, which rates slightly better than average for the 18 municipal clients served by Medina’s ambulance billing provider, Meier said. Medina also receives an average of $434.20 per bill, which is about $20 higher than the municipal average, the mayor said.

The Village Board welcomes contributions from the three towns for the ambulance service, Meier said. However, he said there would be “extreme difficulty” in calculating each town’s share based on the original formula.

“Indeed, the current agreement seems fair in theory, but is unworkable in practice,” Meier said. “The Village has brought this to the attention of Shelby and Ridgeway officials at joint meetings, yet both have indicated an unwillingness to modify the agreement. The Village will continue to address this matter with the towns.”

To see the report, click here.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Congressman Chris Collins meets with Medina firefighters, including Captain Jonathan Higgins, on Thursday. Collins toured the firehall and saw how the bigger fire trucks barely fit into the building.

MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department welcomed Congressman Chris Collins to the fire hall on Main Street on Thursday, a building that is tight for space for fire trucks, ambulances and other equipment.

Captain Jonathan Higgins told the congressman the Fire Department is the primary ambulance provider for western Orleans County, and is increasingly called to the Albion area and eastern Niagara County.

“We’re the hub for the surrounding departments,” Higgins told Collins.

The department’s call volume has jumped from about 300 a year a decade ago to 2,986 in 2014, the most ever in the department’s history.

The fire department has an aging equipment fleet, with a ladder truck at 20 years old, a fire engine/pumper at 25 years old and another engine/pumper at 8 years old, Higgins told Collins.

The department has four ambulances and should replace one every year. It last replaced one in 2013.

Higgins said the department and Village Board are sensitive to the tax burden on village residents. Medina village residents pay the highest combined tax rate for village/town/county/school taxes in the Finger Lakes Region.

The Fire Department is pursuing federal grants to help add two paid firefighters to ease overtime and ensure reliable service to the community. The Fire Department is also seeking about $90,000 in federal funds to replace fire hoses, nozzles and a thermal imagining camera.

“We’re trying to exhaust every option possible before we have to go to the local taxpayers,” Higgins said.

Collins said he and his staff would connect the department to funding options, and monitor the current grants that have been submitted.

Congressman Chris Collins meets with Medina firefighters in their cramped fire hall on Thursday.

Higgins said the department should be looking to replace the ladder truck. That could cost $1 million, compared to $500,000 about 20 years ago. Medina’s fire hall gives less than a foot of clearance from the top of the current fire truck. The new ladder trucks are taller and wouldn’t fit in the fire hall unless the truck was customized. Higgins said that would drive up the costs of the ladder truck.

A better option may be putting on a taller truck bay next to the existing fire hall, Higgins said. But that would have a cost and would have to meet historic preservation standards because the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The space for ambulances also is a tight fit as those vehicles get bigger.

Collins noted how compact the vehicles were inside the building. “You’re double-stacked in here,” he said.

Higgins said the space and financial issues are difficult to solve for the village, which he told Collins only receives a tiny amount of state aid compared to similar size-cities. The small share of state revenue plus local sales tax shifts most of the tax burden on the village residents, Higgins said.

“We have huge issues here, but we can’t go to the taxpayers and ask for more money,” Higgins told the congressman.

Collins also spent time on Thursday on the Iroquois Job Corps Center in Shelby and the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in Basom.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – After winning honors for creativity, teamwork and problem solving in local, state and regional tournaments, the Medina High School has earned the right to travel to Destination Imagination’s Global Finals. It is the largest creative thinking and problem solving competition in the world, to be held May 20-23 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Medina’s team members from the 10th grade team include: Kristian Snyder, Aedoon Cayea, Sarah Granchelli, Nicholas Bogan, Madeline Winters and Martha Gardner. Nicole Goyette is the coach.

Team members from the 8th grade team include: Jessica Granchelli, Alissa Blount, Margaret Griffin, Ray Paull, Kody Leno and Brandan Heschke. Lois Donovan is the coach.

They will compete with other teams in the Making Waves and Improv Games challenges. There are seven open-ended challenges that require young people to apply science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), in addition to improvisation, theater arts, writing, project management, communication, innovation, teamwork and community service.

“I am so proud of the teamwork and dedication these kids show to all aspects of their lives,” said Team Manager Nicole Goyette. “They are great kids!”

The Medina teams were lucky to each receive a grant from ThermoFisher in Rochester to cover the costs of their trips to compete. The remaining funds were provided by a grant from Baxter Inc. in Medina.

Destination Imagination has had a positive impact on more than 1.5 million young people and adults who have benefitted from taking part in its acclaimed Challenge Program. This year, another 100,000 young people have competed in tournaments throughout the U.S. and in 30 countries to earn a spot at the Global Finals competition in May.

The Medina teams will be among more than 16,000 students representing more than 1,400 teams that will advance to Global Finals, which is being sponsored by Disney and will be held at the University of Tennessee.

“The Destination Imagination Program allows students kindergarten through university students to learn and experience the creative process,” said Chuck Cadle, CEO of Destination Imagination. “Quantitative reasoning, problem solving, risk taking, collaboration, presentations and thinking on your feet are some of the important skills learned in the program.”

This year, vocal pop group The Exchange will kick off Global Finals with a performance at the Welcome Ceremony on May 20. The band members will also host a vocal skills workshop for participants and perform at the annual 3M Duct Tape Costume Ball during the four-day event.

This year’s Global Finals Innovation Expo will house dozens of hands-on exhibits from NASA, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, National Geographic, Oracle Academy and many other innovative companies. In addition, students and families will have the opportunity transform their surroundings in an all-new Scotch Imagination Treehouse exhibit, sponsored by 3M and Scotch.

Destination Imagination participants and attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in more than 100 skills workshops ranging from 3-D printing to Broadway dance to computer science.

Destination Imagination is an educational program where student teams are immersed in the creative process needed to solve open-ended Challenges, and then present their solutions at regional and state tournaments. If they win at those levels, they may receive an invitation to Global Finals.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Chris Busch, chairman of the Medina Tree Board, spent a good part of today trimming more than 100 trees in the village.

This tree, a hackberry on Gwinn Street, was planted three years ago and has doubled in size since then. Busch removed some of the lower branches so the tree wouldn’t obstruct pedestrians or have low-lying branches out into the road.

Trimming the tree also help funnel energy into the top of the tree, which will make it grow taller, faster, Busch said.

Besides the trees on Gwinn Street, Busch also trimmed trees in downtown Medina.

He estimated the village has planted about 600 trees in the past decade. Most of those have been on main arteries in the village. The Tree Board has years of work ahead as it looks to plant trees on more side streets, Busch said.

The National Arbor Day Foundation has awarded Medina “Tree City USA” designation for its commitment to community forestry.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Rob Rezabek, an employee with Gold Crown Service in Foxboro, Mass., works on installing a new synthetic bowling surface at Medina Lanes today.

Gold Crown will replace the 20 wooden lanes with new lanes covered with a synthetic material that will better retain its finish, giving bowlers a more consistent lane with less maintenance and need for resurfacing by Medina Lanes staff.

Gold Crown started on the project last Friday by removing the gutters. The project should be done early next week.

The new lanes have excited local bowlers, said Eric Greenleaf, general manager for the bowling alley on Maple Ridge Road.

There are already 22 teams committed to summer bowling leagues, a big increase from last year, Greenleaf said. There are about 250 regular bowlers that participate in leagues at Medina Lanes, he said.

He credited the owners – Dr. David Stahl, Gerry Allen and Chris Bacon – for a series of improvements at Medina Lanes in recent years.

“They’re not afraid to spend money,” he said. “Every year they try to do something.”

The owners have upgraded the bar area, the floors inside and made other equipment improvements.

Jim Foss, a maintenance employee at Medina Lanes, works on putting down one of the new synthetic lanes today.

Provided photo

MEDINA – The Medina Mustang Band Boosters held its elections on Monday. These individuals will serve the organization for the 2015-2016 school year.

Sitting, from left: Trisha Laszewski/President; Karen Furness/Student Accounts; Mindy Kenward/Vice President; Kathy Dreyfus/Publicity; Kelly Allen/Treasurer.

Standing, from left: Alan Bilicki/Delegate; Julie Granchelli/Secretary; Kelly Squires/Delegate; Julie Keller/Delegate; Diane Grosslinger/Uniforms; Karey McMullen/Delegate; Doug Waild/Transportation; and Amy Strickland/Chaperones.

Even though the school year is coming to a close, the Boosters will hold meetings during the summer to begin organizing the fundraising events scheduled through the summer and fall.

These meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. in the band room on June 8, July 6, Aug. 3 and Sept. 8. While these people are elected to head up the various committees, the Boosters always welcome parents and friends to join the effort.

MEDINA – Lee-Whedon Memorial Library will have its annual meeting at 7 p.m. May 11 at the library, 620 West Ave.

Library leaders will present the budget for 2015-16, which keeps the tax levy at $520,641. Because there is no increase in taxes, the budget doesn’t need a public vote.

“The board is sensitive to the pressures felt by taxpayers, particularly in the Village of Medina,” said Maryellen Dale, president of board. “As fiscal stewards, we constantly strive to balance increased operation costs with a conservative revenue request. We are proud of our staff and our high standards of service.”

Besides the presentation of budget, the annual meeting on May 11 will include voting on a trustee position and the presentation of the annual report.

Trustee Cynthia Kiebala is seeking re-election as a trustee for a five-year term. Qualified residents of Medina Central School District (18 and older and a resident for at least 30 days) may vote for the trustee vacancy.

The library’s service area includes Medina Central School District, and district residents are welcome to attend the meeting.