Photo by Cheryl Wertman
MEDINA – At halftime of the Medina/Lyndonville football game vs. Riverside, the Mustang band plays music from its fall show, “Circus sole’ with a touch of magic.”
The Medina/Lyndonville team and Riverside are playing for the first time tonight at Vets Park. Check local sports on the Orleans Hub later for coverage of tonight’s football games and other local sports.
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Laura Gardner worked more than two decades as an accountant before opening her own women’s clothing store, a lily and a sparrow, in downtown Medina five years ago.
Gardner drew local shoppers and out-of-towners for the durable designer clothing from designers in Turkey, Israel, India and the United States. She sells blouses, jackets, trousers, skirts, tunics and boots.
Gardner also has an array of leather handbags, perfume, jewelry, vintage glassware and note cards.
The business has been doing so well that Gardner purchased her own building on Aug. 29, 2014. She bought the building at 438 Main St., a site that had been home to Baughn’s Shoe Store since 1960.
She and her husband Tom worked with contractors to remove walls, pull up orange carpeting, remove drop ceilings, gut the walls to the bare bricks and create a radically different space. They put in new drywall, a new HVAC system, new electrical and plumbing, and a much different façade.
“What she has done is absolutely amazing,” said Kathy Blackburn, executive director for the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber is presenting Gardner with the “Phoenix Award” during an awards program on Friday (Sept. 18) at Tillman’s Village Inn.
Blackburn said “a lily and a sparrow” draws people to the downtown, including some customers from outside the area.
“It’s fantastic to be that innovative,” Blackburn said about Gardner. “She’s put a lot of effort in that store.”
Gardner said she has about 1/3 more space in the renovated storefront compared to her former location at 510 Main St.
“It’s made for a better experience for the customers,” she said.
For more on the store, click here.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Greg Budd, general manager of the Hinspergers Poly Industries plant in Medina, stands by some of the solar blankets the company sells for swimming pools. Budd has been general manager of Hinspergers since the company came to Medina in 2002.
MEDINA – In 2002, a Canadian-based company bought the former Jamestown Container manufacturing building on West Oak Orchard Street.
Peter Hinsperger, owner of Hinspergers Poly Industries, was looking for an American location for the business. He looked at several sites from Wisconsin to West Virginia and settled on the spot in Medina.
Hinsperger prefers small towns. He grew up in a small town in southern Ontario.
“He likes giving people an opportunity, by giving them a paycheck,” said Greg Budd, general manager of the Hinspergers plant in Medina.
The Hinspergers plant has twice been expanded since the company moved to Medina in 2002. The building has gone from 25,000 square feet in 2002 to 83,000 square feet since the last addition in 2008.
Budd was the first hire for Hinspergers in 2002. The company was up to 17 employees in 2003, and 10 of them remain with the company today.
After two expansions of the facility and steady sales growth, Hinspergers now employs 70 in Medina. The company has been named the “Business of the Year” for 2015 by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.
Hinspergers is part of the “Canadian Cluster” in Orleans County. Other companies with Canadian headquarters include Brunner in Medina, Freeze-Dry in Albion and the newly opened BoMet Recovery in Albion. (Pride Pak also is looking to build a new vegetable processing plant in Medina.)
Greg Budd is pictured inside Hinspergers, where he said the big production space with wide walls works well for manufacturing pool covers.
Peter Hinsperger, company owner, not only likes small towns. Budd said the Orleans Economic Development Agency put together an attractive incentive package for the company.
The former Jamestown Container site also had wide enough production rooms for the company to produce custom-made pool covers that can spread out beyond 40 feet.
The plant has been expanded twice since 2002, going from 25,000 square feet then to 83,000 square feet since the last expansion in 2008.
Ken Mulcahy runs a machine that cuts covers, one of the steps at Hinspergers for creating pool covers. The company manufactures about 50 pool covers a day in Medina.
Because swimming pools vary so much in size and shape, Hinspergers has a C.A.D. team that will uniquely design the specifications for each pool cover. Each cover made in Medina since 2002 has its own serial number.
The company can look up that serial number for the specifications if a new cover is ordered for the same pool. A new cover will include tie-down straps in the same location as the old cover.
The serial number also allows the company to trace the cover through the sales and distribution process.
The range of sizes has “China proofed” the business for Hinspergers, Budd said. The covers can’t easily be mass produced by China.
Hinspergers also has two sites in Canada. It prides itself on a quick turnaround time for the custom orders, another reality that would be hard to beat by manufacturers in China, Budd said.
Kim Rutan sews the outside edge of a pool cover. She has worked at Hinspergers for 12 years. “It’s a nice clean place,” she said. “There’s not a lot of people so we all get to know each other.”
For a manufacturing site in its busy season, Hinspergers is relatviely quiet. The whir of sewing machines is one of the loudest noises.
Budd gives tours of the plant to distirbutors and local service clubs. They all comment how clean the floor is, and how there aren’t banging noises or smells of melting metal or rubber.
Budd walks the floor and he greets many of the employees by first name.
Hinspergers employees spread out a pool cover and check for any imperfections.
“It’s a nice clean, bright and airy environment,” he said.
The pool covers can be made in several colors. Hinspergers uses woven and extrusion coated polyethylene, which has tremendous strength, reduced weight, a range of colors and relatively low prices.
The mesh material allows some water or snow to drip through. Hinspergers has covers with a tighter mesh that blocks out debris and sunlight, reducing algae growth.
For customers in the South, Hinspergers’ pool covers tend to be solid because they don’t have to worry about letting some melting snow seep through. Those covers may have some smaller mesh patterns to let through water in some spots.
Greg Budd discusses production with Scott Galley, the plant supervisor and an employee since 2003.
Hinspergers made a big investment in Medina in 2008 when it put on a 33,000-square-foot addition and also added a 14-by-70-foot machine that makes the solar blankets for swimming pools.
The pool covers, however, remain the core business for the Medina plant, and Budd said the company has made them “in thousands of shapes and sizes.”
Hinspergers has been honored by the Chamber before. In 2003, the company was named “New Business of the Year.”
It will receive the “Business of the Year” award during a banquet Friday at Tillman’s Village Inn.
Photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Garett Smith stretches during a class at Kwandrans Tae Kwon-do in Medina on Monday. Garett, 12, takes Tae Kwon-do classes twice a week.
He said the classes help him feel better and healthier. He has cystic fibrosis. Tae Kwon-do helps move the mucus in his lungs, keeping them clear.
Garett started taking Tae Kwon-do a year ago.
“They work very well with him,” said his mother Melody. “They’re very accommodating to his needs.”
Photo by Tom Rivers
Garett, a Middleport resident, is a seventh-grader at Roy-Hart. He said he likes to move during his Tae Kwon-do classes.
In May, Garett attended Disney World in Florida for a week with his family, including four brothers. Garett and his family were picked for the trip through Make-A-Wish Western New York.
The family was treated like royalty, given a ride to the airport in a limo.
His classmates and instructors at Kwandrans were happy Garett went on the week-long excursion. The group at Kwandrans decided to raise $8,500 so another kid in Western New York could go on a Make-A-Wsh trip.
Provided photo – Garett is pictured with his brothers at the Jurassic Park display at Disney World. The brothers include, from left: Hayden (14) , Bradley (9), Logan (8), Garett (12), and Grant (3).
Kwandrans has already put on several fund-raisers, including a kick-a-thon, car wash, bake sale and candy bar sales. The Tae Kwon-do students and instructors have raised $4,000, a little less than half of the goal.
“Garett told us all about it after he went to Disney in May,” said Debbie Farfaglia, manager and instructor at Kwandrans. “It inspired us to want to do that for a family.”
Provided Photo – Garett jumps into a pool on the trip to Disney World.
The group is pushing more upcoming fund-raisers to reach the $8,500 goal, including a chicken barbecue on Sept. 26 at Medina United Methodist Church from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
There will be a 5K run/walk on Oct. 31 in Albion. Participants are urged to dress up in Halloween costumes and then complete the course.
A spaghetti dinner and basket raffle is scheduled for Nov. 21 at the Medina United Methodist Church from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
For more on Make-A-Wish Western New York, click here.
Provided photos
MEDINA – Orchard Manor Rehabilitation & Nursing Center celebrated the re-opening of its Meadows Rehab Dining Room on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The top photo shows, from left: Medina Deputy Mayor Michael Sidari, Orchard Manor Administrator Dave Denny, Assistant Director of Nursing Katy Owczarczak, and Food Service Director Richard Pizzuto.
This group includes, from left: Donna MacCowan; Katy Owczarczak, assistant director of nursing; Josephine Seitz; Dave Denny, administrator; and Emma Fleming.
After undergoing some construction, the Dietary Department is now able to serve meals restaurant-style, providing residents with a more pleasurable dining experience.
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Terry Buchwald, an Elvis impersonator, sings and dances from a stage on Main Street during the Super Cruise which included classic cars and a big crowd in downtown Medina.
Buchwald rides a motorcyle to the stage. He was scheduled to perform in Medina last Wednesday but the show was cancelled when his wife had a baby boy named Brooks. The weather was also much better this evening compared to the cold and drizzle a week ago.
Medina blocked off part of Main Street for the Super Cruise, which included this 1964 Pontiac.
This 1941 Dodge pickup is parked in the middle of the street.
Medina Rotary Club members Jennifer Hill and Gary Lawton serve hamburgers and hot dogs. The club also had clams for sale.
The cars brought out lots of people in a festive environment.
Buchwald, pictured on stage by Napa Auto Parts, is a crowd pleaser. He has returned several times to conclude the classic car series in Medina.
Lynne Menz shared this photo from the third floor of the Bent’s Opera House. This was early in the Super Cruise, before the street was packed with people.
This 1947 Cadillac includes a fairy tale message.
ALBION – The Cavalry Tabernacle Church, which has owned the former Medina High School for the past 20 years, is looking to leave the site on 324 Catherine St. for a new building to be constructed on Maple Ridge Road.
The church would like to start construction on some of the site work this fall with the building to go up next year. Pastor Vince Iorio said the church would like to move in next fall, 2016. The congregation is still raising funds for the entire project.
Cavalry Tabernacle has the old school for sale for $150,000.
“We’re looking for buyers,” Iorio said after Thursday’s Orleans County Planning Board meeting.
The church wants to build a 9,306-square-foot building on Maple Ridge Road near Salt Works Road in the General Business District. The wood-framed structure would be on a 34-acre parcel. About 3 acres would be disturbed with the project, which would include a parking lot for 58 vehicles.
The church would have a stormwater retention pond on the property.
The Orleans County Planning Board voted for the project on Thursday and recommended Shelby officials OK the new construction. Shelby should require lighting for the project that would “minimize any ambient light pollution on neighboring residences,” county planners said.
Iorio said there are no immediate plans for much of the other vacant land owned by the church, but some of it could perhaps be used as ball fields in the future.
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA One of the area’s most iconic barns has been a landmark on North Gravel Road for about 150 years.
The barn, with large painted letters WM J. GALLAGHER FARMS, will find new life as a events center for weddings, parties and other special events.
Jenna and Martin Bruning have been working to clean up the property, including the landscape and the building in recent months. They have two weddings booked for next year. They have a lot more work to do, but they see the site as a destination for the area.
The couple grew up on dairy farms. Jenna’s parents, Mike and Cyndi Van LieShout, own a dairy farm in Barre. Martin grew up on a dairy in Waterport. The couple was married in a barn at the Van Lieshhout farm.
“We were married in a barn and it was beautiful,” Mrs. Bruning said on Thursday during an open house at the site.
The barn will be repainted to match the original colors of white with green trim.
The Orleans County Planning Board recommended the Village of Medina approve the site plan and a special use permit for the Brunings to operate the business.
Planning Board member Joe Sidonio said the project is a way to bring a new use into a historic agrcultural property, while drawing more people to the community.
The property is in the village on the north side. The Brunings said the project has the potential “to provide a grand entrance into the village.”
Medina community members take a tour inside the Gallagher barn on Thursday.
The barn has a rustic look with a lot of space that the Brunings believe will be popular for weddings and other events.
The barn dates back to the Civil War era.
The Brunings plan to call the site “The Gallagher” and hope to have it available for events in June.
The property includes this stately brick house that the Brunings said would also be available for dinner parties and other events.
“The house is a monument of Medina and a gorgeous complement to the setting,” Mrs. Bruning said.
The Gallagher is close to the canal, and the Brunings expect visitors to The Gallagher will enjoy other spots in Medina.
The couple both have full-time jobs with Mr. Bruning working as a milk truck driver and Mrs. Bruning serving as a district manager for Aldi.
They have had help from friends and family with clearing brush, redoing masonry work, installing new support poles and tackling many other projects.
The Medina Historical Society has this portrait of William J. Gallagher, who was known as a local eccentric, a businessman who liked to portray a clown.
Mrs. Bruning said she has heard stories about Mr. Gallagher from community members.
Gallagher, former owner of the Gallagher property, is pictured hamming it up for the camera as a clown in the 1930s.
Gallagher appears to be missing his front teeth in the photo and his hair is wild. He has a wide grin and expressive eyes.
File photo by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – The Super Cruise planned for today on Main Street in Medina has been pushed back a week because Elvis’s wife had a baby, a little early, today.
Terry Buchwald, an Elvis impersonator, has been providing entertainment for the finale of the Cruise In series at Medina for several years. He arrives on a motorcycle and sings from a stage on Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m.
Buchwald and about 300 classic cars will be ready for the Super Cruise next Wednesday with cars arriving at 4 p.m. and Buchwald at 6, said David Green, coordinator of the series.
MEDINA – Will Medina’s next fire chief have at least 8 years of experience as a career firefighter or 10 years?
Will the chief have at least 2 years in a supervisory role, as a captain or perhaps an assistant chief?
Should the Village Board insist the next chief be required to live in the village?
These are some of the criteria the board is debating as it gears up to fill the fire chief position. Todd Zinkievich has retired from the position, effective Sept. 28. Michael Maak, a captain with the department, is the current officer in charge.
Trustee Marguerite Sherman wants to see how other fire departments with paid staff have filled the chief’s position. She said insisting on at least 2 years experience as a captain could prevent potential outstanding candidates from applying.
Trustee Michael Sidari said at least 2 years experience in the captain’s or deputy chief’s role should be a requirement for the next chief.
“I want someone with leadership experience,” Sidari said at Monday’s Village Board meeting. “It’s hard to go from being a firefighter to leading a department.”
Sidari said fire departments structure their leadership in different ways. Medina, for example, doesn’t have an assistant chief or lieutenant position. It has two captains: Michael Maak and Jonathan Higgins.
Village Board members said they would continue to discuss minimum qualifications for the fire chief, including a valid intermediate EMT card.
The fire chief leads 13 paid firefighters and a roster of call men that respond to about 3,000 calls a year.
In other fire department news, the board declared a 1977 pumper truck as surplus. That truck has been out of service for about a decade and is currently stored in Knowlesville at the Ridgeway fire station. Maak said he thinks it could fetch at least $2,000.
The board also accepted the resignation from R.J. Morgan as a call man and removed Albert Thompson from the call men roster. He is in the Navy.
MEDINA – Medina Memorial Hospital, which was recently highlighted in a report by The Buffalo News for a high rate of hospital-acquired infections, has significantly reduced those health care-associated infections, hospital officials said today.
“I am proud of our staff efforts and the very significant 71.4 percent decrease in infections,” said Wendy Jacobson, President/CEO of Orleans Community Health, parent organization of Medina Memorial. “We work diligently every day to provide the best possible patient experience in all aspects of their stay with us.”
A national ranking by Consumer Reports of acquired infections at hospitals put Medina Memorial Hospital far below average in preventing five infections, based on data from October 2013 through September 2014.
The Buffalo News reported on that data, and said Medina’s infection rate was the highest of 13 hospitals in Western New York.
The data generated an intensive performance improvement review to identify the source of the high numbers, Medina Memorial officials said.
One key finding was that patients entering the hospital with an existing infection did not have blood tests ordered on the day of admission but on the second or third day. This resulted in the infections being reported as a hospital acquired infections, even though they were not, Medina Memorial said in a news release today.
The hospital’s infection control protocol was reviewed. This includes the use of standardized protocols, performing blood cultures on admission to identify and begin treatment of exiting infections, following correct hand-washing procedures, cleaning of equipment such as blood pressure cuffs etc. between patients, the types of disinfectant being used, staff and patient education, and ongoing monitoring.
“We have taken an aggressive approach to infection control,” says Karrie Mikits, registered nurse and infection control manager. “It has resulted in a very significant 71.4 percent decrease in hospital acquired infections. We changed our approach to doing blood cultures on admission, changed to a more effective type of disinfectant being used to clean equipment, improved communication with staff and physicians, and increased staff education and accountability. I also communicate with the wonderful staff at the Orleans County Health Department as needed.”
File photo by Tom Rivers – Congressman Chris Collins, right, visits with Captain Jonathan Higgins at the Medina Fire Department on May 8. Collins announced today the department will receive $77,837 for equipment.
MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department has been approved for a $77,837 grant for new fire hoses, nozzles and a thermal imaging camera.
Congressman Chris Collins (R-Clarence) announced the funding for Medina, as well as a $160,000 grant for the Naples Fire Department. The grants were allocated through the Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which is designed to help first responders improve their capability to respond to fires and emergencies of all types.
“Providing the necessary funding for our first responders is an excellent and prudent use of federal money,” Collins said. “Our local heroes need the proper resources to do their jobs and protect our communities. Many small fire companies and emergency medical service providers are unable to purchase necessary equipment upgrades due to financial limitations.”
Collins said the funds will help “create more efficient and effective first responders.”
Medina will replace hoses and nozzles that are 25 years old, said Jonathan Higgins, a captain with the department.
“The fire department will add a thermal imaging camera on our first due fire engine that could be used to locate trapped victims or firefighters in structure fire and has a multitude of uses in the fire service,” Higgins said. “This equipment will enhance our ability to provide better protection to the residents in our community as well as the surrounding towns and villages. The Village of Medina Fire Department would like to thank Congressman Chris Collins for his assistance in securing this grant for our community and our fire department.”
MEDINA – The Board of Education voted on Tuesday to lop another 1 percent off school taxes for the 2015-16 year.
The Board in April approved a budget that kept the tax levy unchanged at $8,863,394 compared to 2014-15. District residents then supported the $34,802,870 budget in a May public vote.
However, the board on Tuesday noted some cost savings with personnel, giving the district some added flexibility in reducing the tax levy by $88,634 to $8,774,760.
District residents will see the tax rate fall from $23.31 to $23.01 per $1,000 of assessed property.
“This will be the third year in a row the school board has voted to reduce taxes thereby offering some relief to taxpayers,” District Superintendent Jeff Evoy said. “This will be the lowest tax rate for the MCSD since 2002-03.”
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Firefighters from Orleans and Genesee counties witnessed a powerful “rotator” move a school bus that was tipped within inches of a crushed car.
Rusiniak’s Service in Buffalo brought the machine with a 360-degree boom. It can grab vehicles that weigh up to 115,000 pounds and swing them out of the way so rescue personnel can work on patients or free trapped people in a vehicle.
Rusiniak’s did the demonstration at Lyons Collision in Medina, and used a mini crane to move the bus.
Jeff Lyons of Lyons Collision said the “rotator” is a great asset to help firefighters.
“You can work off the side of a scene,” Lyons said. “You don’t have to back up and be directly behind the vehicle. It’s amazing to me that you can pick up that much weight and swing it around.”
The rotator has no trouble lifting a 25,000-pound school bus.
Dave Czumaj, right, of Rusiniak’s controls the crane. It can gently and precisely move massive weight at a scene. Jeff Lyons is at center. He said Lyons Collision and Rusiniak’s work together on some calls.
Cory Vercruysse of Lyons, right, helps guide the school bus while it is moved away from the car. Rusiniak’s does many demonstrations for firefighters in Western New York, showing the “rotator” in action.
The school bus is close to being set down on the other side of the rotator.
Barre firefighters Karl Driesel (left), Pat Lamka, and his daughter Sarah Lamka were among the firefighters to see the demonstration.
After the demo, firefighters worked on extrication drills on some of the vehicles at Lyons.
MEDINA – The Orleans Economic Development Agency is stepping up its efforts to bring a chain hotel to the county.
The Orleans Land Restoration Corporation, one of the EDA’s development arms, bought 5 acres of land on Maple Ridge Road for $50,000 last month. That property includes an abandoned house and overgrown yard.
The house will be razed and the land cleaned up, said Jim Whipple, EDA chief executive officer. The EDA will need to do an asbestos survey on the house before it comes down. The house was bought in a bank foreclosure sale on July 15.
The property sits between Takeform Architectural Graphics and a proposed spot for Pride Pak, a Canadian company that is looking to spend at least $10 million for a vegetable processing facility.
The abandoned house and overgrown property “looks bad” when the EDA shows potential developers the Medina Business Park and other land available for development, Whipple said.
The EDA has been working to facilitate construction of a new hotel on Maple Ridge Road in Medina. The EDA has talked with Cobblestone Inn and Suites about a project in Medina. That company has built many hotels in small towns, typically working with investors in the host community.
Whipple said an investor is interested in a Medina hotel, but first is working to finish another project. Whipple said he expects that investor will make a decision about whether to pursue a project in Medina this fall.
The EDA hired a consultant to study the market for a hotel in Medina. Interim Hospitality Consultants concluded last October that a small hotel with 41 to 49 rooms would be profitable in the community.
The EDA sees the land on Maple Ridge Road across from GCC as an ideal location because the site already has infrastructure – water, sewer and electricity – within the village.
The chain hotel would be a lift for the area, boosting bed tax for tourism, sales tax for the county and state, and other spending in the community, EDA officials said.
It would also be a plus for businesses to know they would have an option for visiting professionals, consultants and staff to stay in a local chain hotel without having to go out of county.
“Right now they’re not staying here,” Whipple said. “There’s a level of hospitality we don’t offer in Orleans County. We want to encourage a hotel and we’re investigating ways to help.”
The EDA’s Land Restoration Corporation bought the house and land in Medina with some of the funds from the $176,000 sale of an Albion warehouse to BOMET, which is based in Cambridge, Ontario. That company has upgraded the warehouse and will use it as a base for recycling electronics.
