Eliot Lewis will play at Bee Garten

Photo courtesy of Eliot Lewis – Eliot Lewis will do a solo show Wednesday in Medina before playing with the Daryl Hall & John Oates band in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Thursday.

MEDINA – The concert series at the Bee Garten in Medina will feature a high-profile musician on Wednesday when Eliot Lewis, from the Daryl Hall & John Oates band, plays a solo show.

Lewis will play the following night in Niagara Falls, Ontario, at Fallsview Casino Resort. He welcomes a chance to share his music, including in small towns.

“I love trying out new places and having new experiences,” Lewis said by phone. “There’s been a lot of great surprises.”

Lewis plays the guitar, keyboard, bass, and drums, and he is a rock, R&B, and soul singer, a songwriter and producer. He joined Hall & Oates in 2003. He was a member of The Average White Band, a Scottish soul band, from 1989 to 2002.

“Playing with Hall & Oates is an amazing day job,” Lewis said. “They have so many great songs.”

Lewis has his own music, with five albums to his credit. He has played in major venues all over the world, as well as on The View, The Voice, Conan O’Brien, Today Show and Jimmy Kimmel.

Lewis is a featured performer on the award-winning TV show, Live From Daryl’s House with Daryl Hall. Lewis said Live From Daryl’s House has been a big boost for his career.

In Medina, he will share his own music following a question and answer session with the audience. He said he will talk about some of his musical experiences. Tickets are also available for dinner with Lewis before the show. For more on tickets and the Bee Garten, click here.

Thom Jennings is coordinating the concert series at the Bee Garten, the former Boiler 54 at 113 West Center St. Jennings writes concert reviews for the Niagara Gazette. After reviewing a Lewis concert last year, Jennings and the musician stayed in touch. Jennings reached out to him about performing in Medina.

Lewis said he is happy to play at the Bee Garten.

“I want to support anywhere that supports live music,” he said. “I’m always open to new musical experiences.”

For more on Eliot Lewis, click here.

Jordan Gailey

A Medina High School graduate was killed in a hit-and-run accident on early Sunday morning in South Carolina.

Jordan Gailey, 29, was walking along U.S. 17-A in Summerville when he was struck around 3 a.m. on Sunday. The driver fled the scene.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is asking for the public’s help in investigating the fatal hit-and-run accident. Police do not information on the type or color of vehicle that was involved.

Gailey grew up in Orleans County and was working in construction. He recently moved to Summerville.

He was known as a free spirit and his fun-loving ways, a family member said this morning. Gailey’s Facebook page includes many tributes from his friends, saying he was unforgettable as the life of a party.

After being struck by the vehicle on Sunday, Gailey died about seven hours later at the Medical University of South Carolina Hospital in Charleston.

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.

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.

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.