Photo by Tom Rivers: A banner for Frank Berger hangs in the gymnasium at the Orleans County YMCA on May 19, during a reception before the banners were put out in Medina before Memorial Day. Banners for Bruce Burns, left, and Kenneth Edward Baehr are next to the one for Berger. Medina displayed 38 banners last year of veterans, with 63 more to be added this year.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 January 2020 at 12:24 pm
ALBION – The village is working to add Hometown Heroes banners this year in the downtown with a goal to have up to 40 in place by July. The banners would stay up until after Veterans’ Day in November.
Albion is following the example of Holley, Medina and Brockport in honoring veterans from the community. Albion is working to finalize the details for the program. The banners would be a maximum of $200, to be paid for by family or friends of a veteran. The cost may be less if the village can use existing hardware to secure the banners. That expense may drop to $150, said Mayor Eileen Banker, who is managing the program for Albion.
She has seen the banners in Holley, Medina and Brockport and said the display of portraits sends a powerful message.
“We should honor our veterans, the ones who are serving now and who come before us,” she said. “They made this country.”
Banker wants to know if there is interest from the Albion community in honoring veterans with the banners. People interested could send her an email at ebanker@villageofalbionny.com or call or text her at (585) 356-0686. She is aiming for late February to early March to submit an order for the banners. They would by 2 ½ feet by 5 feet, the same size as the ones in Medina.
Albion is capped at 40 spots for the banners on Main Street between Beaver Street to just past the Erie Canal, as well as on Bank Street, between Platt and Liberty streets.
There will be a form at the Village Office beginning on Jan. 22 for people interested in the program. Banker said they will go to people “on a first come, first served basis.”
In Medina, the banners go up just before Memorial Day. Albion has banners up promoting the Strawberry Festival until after that event the second Friday and Saturday in June. After the Strawberry Festival, the banners of veterans will be displayed. This year it likely won’t be until July.
Medina will add 63 more banners this year
The banners have been very popular in Medina. Last year, there were 38 displayed in the first year, with 63 more coming in May. The program is organized by Mary Woodruff, a Ridgeway town councilwoman.
The banners last year included current and previous soldiers from the community, with some going back to World War II.
The new group of banners this year includes one veteran from the Civil War. The banners will continue in the downtown on Main Street, and East and West Center streets, and on Park Avenue. New locations will be added this year farther down on East and West Center streets, Park Avenue, Pearl Street, West Avenue and South Main Street.
Woodruff said there likely will be a reception in May at the YMCA with the banners hung in the gymnasium.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 January 2020 at 11:54 am
MEDINA — The Medina Police Department had a busier year in 2019 compared to the previous year, according to an annual report by Police Chief Chad Kenward.
Last year the Police Department received 7,637 calls, compared to 7,138 in 2018, 6,790 in 2017 and 6,197 in 2016.
Medina police officers made 542 arrests in 2019, compared to 454 in 2018, 551 in 2018 and 466 in 2016.
Last year, the Medina PD made 30 arrests for driving while intoxicated, which was up from 20 in 2018. The department made 43 DWI arrests in 2017, and 26 in 2016.
In terms of vehicle and traffic infractions, the Medina PD issued 1,029 tickets in 2019, 988 in 2018, 1,046 in 2017 and 807 in 2016.
Medina officers also made 110 drug-related arrests (unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of a controlled substance) in 2019, compared to 57 in 2018, 71 in 2017 and 47 in 2016.
Kenward said the department is responding to new state laws for discovery and bail reform which will likely reduce the amount of time officers are on patrol. Kenward said just last week an officer had to wait with a defendant for an hour and half to be arraigned while an attorney from the Public Defender’s Office was located and needed to travel from Brockport.
Officers are also spending more time downloading body cam video and working with records as part of the discovery requirements, Kenward said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 January 2020 at 11:22 am
MEDINA – The Village of Medina was encouraged by an Orleans Economic Development Agency official to improve signage and the gateways leading into the village.
Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the EDA, spoke at Monday’s Village Board meeting. She presented board members with photos showing faded signs or signs leaning in odd directions.
She also said several prominent properties along Route 63 are rundown.
The signage near the Medina Business Park on Maple Ridge Road and Bates Road needs attention, Barone told the Village Board.
“It looks terrible and I don’t see any of them being worked on,” she told the board.
Barone said businesses are looking at the Business Park and the signs and gateways are important in selling the community to prospective companies. The signs and entrances make important first impressions on people considering Medina as a place to live and work.
“We have to look at it or we can’t get people in,” Barone said.
Medina Mayor Michael Sidari and Joe Perry, the DPW superintendent, said the village will be replacing some signs. Perry said they can be costly with 9 stop signs at about $800.
Sidari said the board will look to increase the spending for signs in the 2020-21 village budget.
The board also discussed signage in the downtown with some building owners out of compliance with the regulations and design standards in the historic downtown.
The board voted to back the Planning Board’s decision to oppose a new sign for the back entrance at Ashlee’s Place.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Tom Lupo, the outgoing chief of the Medina Fire Department, pins the chief’s badge on Matthew Jackson after Jackson was sworn into office this evening at the Medina Village Office. Lupo is retiring and Jackson will take over the department’s top leader.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 January 2020 at 10:29 pm
MEDINA – Medina appointed a new fire chief today who is no stranger to the Medina Fire Department.
Matthew Jackson, 42, has been a full-time firefighter in Medina the past 13 ½ years, including the past 2 ½ years as a captain, the department’s second highest leadership post.
Jackson was appointed by the Village Board to succeed Tom Lupo, who is retiring after four years as chief. Lupo has served in the role for 30 hours a week while also working at the Lockport Fire Department.
The board also promoted Lieutenant Michael Young to captain, and firefighter Jacob Crooks lieutenant.
“This place is poised to do great things,” Lupo said after this evening’s Village Board meeting, when the promotions were approved. “These guys are the backbone of a great fire and EMS system here.”
A crowd gathered inside the Medina Village Office to watch Matt Jackson take the oath of office as Medina’s new fire chief. Tom Lupo administers the oath. Lupo has served as the department’s chief the past four years.
Lupo, who officially retires on Jan. 18, said Jackson has pushed himself to be the fire chief for a department that includes 21 full-time firefighters who also respond to EMS calls through the fire department’s ambulance service. There are also callmen who respond to fire calls.
Jackson will be working alongside Lupo during his final week at the Medina Fire Department. Lupo had planned to retire about a year ago but agreed to postpone his retirement. Due to changes in state law regarding qualifications for fire chiefs, Jackson needed a fire officer level 3 training course to be eligible for the position. He completed the class last month.
He also completed a month-long supervisor school with the City of New York Fire Department for first line officers. At the New York State Academy of Fire Science in Montour Falls, Jackson completed level 1 and 2 courses for fire officers and instructors.
The three newly promoted leaders in the Medina Fire Department are pictured inside the fire hall after taking their oaths of office. From left include Captain Michael Young, Fire Chief Matt Jackson and Lt. Jacob Crooks.
Lupo said Jackson has the respect of the department and treats everyone fairly.
“He leads by example,” Lupo said. “He leads from the front, and he’s so level headed.”
Jackson, a Lyndonville native, was a volunteer firefighter in Lyndonville for 11 years before he made firefighting his career in Medina. He said he is grateful for the chance to lead a department that responds to about 3,000 calls annually.
“I’ve had an opportunity to move up,” Jackson said. “It’s a chance to serve these guys. I look forward to empowering them. This is a good department where everybody works hard and everyone is continuously training.”
(Click here to see a video of Jackson taking the oath of office.)
Medina Fire Chief Matt Jackson puts the captain’s pin on Michael Young, who was a lieutenant in the department.
Young joins Jonathan Higgins as one of the department’s captains. Young has been a member of the Medina FD for 13 years, including the past year as a lieutenant. Jacob Crooks joined the Medina FD eight years ago as a career firefighter.
The department operates with four platoons of five firefighters, plus the chief.
In addition to the promotions approved this evening, the Village Board hired two probationary firefighters: Tyler Harrington and Matthew Reddy. Harrington will be assigned to the 1st Platoon and Reddy will work with the 3rd Platoon.
One firefighter is filling the vacancy created by Lupo’s retirement and the second firefighter is being hired to fill another vacant spot on the roster.
Fire Chief Matt Jackson administers the oath of office to new Medina FD Lt. Jacob Crooks.
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By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 January 2020 at 9:02 am
File photo by Tom Rivers: The former Starlite Dry Cleaners site on Main Street in Medina has been knocked down and removed. This photo is from 2014. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has more work to do on the land.
MEDINA – The state Department of Environmental Conservation will have a public meeting on Jan. 22 to discuss the next steps with the cleanup of the former Starlite Dry Cleaners site at 331 North Main St.
The DEC is proposing a $490,000 remediation for the next phase which includes removing 8 feet of soil and other work.
The DEC has already taken down the building at the site, which was badly damaged in a fire in 2004. The location is a State Superfund Site and is listed as a Class 2 site in the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites. A Class 2 site represents a significant threat to public health or the environment, with action required, the DEC said.
The meeting on Jan. 22 begins at 6:30 p.m. at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, 620 West Ave. DEC staff will discuss the remedy proposed for the land.
The DEC plan includes:
• Excavating contaminated soil to approximately 8-feet below surface grade in an approximately 300-square foot area;
• Disposing offsite an estimated 90-cubic yards of contaminated soil;
• Importing clean material that meets the established Soil Clean-up Objectives for use as backfill;
• Treating contaminated soil and groundwater through injection of a chemical reducing agent 10-ft above and 10-ft below the top of bedrock;
• Collecting and analyzing end-point soil samples and post-remedial groundwater samples to evaluate the effectiveness of the remedy;
• Implementing a Health and Safety Plan and Community Air Monitoring Plan during all ground intrusive activities;
• Implementing a Site Management Plan for long term maintenance of the remedial systems;
• Recording of an environmental easement to ensure proper use of the site.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 7 January 2020 at 11:53 am
Provided photo: Scott Robinson and Alix Gilman are the owners of the Shirt Factory in Medina. Mr. Robinson is the president of the newly formed Medina Area Partnership.
MEDINA – The Medina Business Association has been dissolved and a new organization, Medina Area Partnership, has been formed to help grow and promote the greater Medina area.
Scott Robinson, who owns Shirt Factory Café with his wife Alix, has been named acting president of Medina Area Partnership. He said MAP will be an official 501c6.
MAP will also include both members from within the 14103 zip code and several outside businesses which have a vested interest in the continual progress of the area, such as Takeform and Leonard Oakes Estate Winery, Robinson said.
Cindy Robinson (no relation to Scott) has served as president of Medina Business Association for the last 14 years. She said for more than a decade the MBA has represented the Medina business community through events, communications and marketing.
“The Medina Area Partnership will create new ways to promote our area, while continuing successful events like Ale in Autumn and Wine About Winter,” Cindy said.
Cindy said she is more than willing to take a step down and spend more time in her store, the English Rose Tea Shoppe.
She explained the MBA had always operated since its inception under the umbrella of the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, and the membership decided it was time to be on their own.
“We have the funds and the manpower to stand on our own,” Cindy said. “This will allow us to apply for our own grants.”
“MAP aims to expand our focus while continuing to place an emphasis on the growth and success of our downtown business community,” Scott said. “The leadership, reputation and success of the MBA over several decades has allowed us to graduate into this new organization. There’s a reason the Buffalo News, Step Out Buffalo, Buffalo Spree and countless blogs have written about Medina in recent years. Our small community is a giant in the area, pulling together many voices with a common goal of being better tomorrow than we are today. What we’ve known about Medina for years is no longer a secret to those outside the area.”
The decision to end the Medina Business Association in favor of a new independent organization came after several informational presentations to the membership throughout the fall of 2019, leading to a vote by members to dissolve the MBA as an organization. This action will allow MAP to take over previous successful events, while continuing to add a focus on the greater Medina area.
Jim Hancock, head of Medina’s Tourism Committee, said he thinks this new direction will be very favorable for the village and the surrounding area. He has had conversations with MAP on how they and the Tourism Committee can work together more closely for the betterment of Medina. In the past, the MBA and Tourism Committee have worked together to sponsor events such as the annual day-long Christmas celebration and visits by the schooner Lois McClure to the Medina Canal Basin.
“We are all alike. We promote Medina,” Hancock said. “I think MAP may attract more companies located outside the village. It’s good to broaden our scope.”
MAP aims to provide a network for collaboration, education, growth and profitability, Scott said.
Cindy added the Chamber of Commerce was also all in favor of the dissolution.
“It’s a lot off my shoulders,” she said. “MAP is in good hands.”
Scott and his wife are both avid promoters of Medina. Cindy explained that Scott and Alex are both Medina natives who moved to Washington, D.C, where they met. After they married, they wanted to come back to their home town. Scott is also in marketing, which Cindy said will be a definite benefit for MAP.
As membership continues to grow, MAP is proud to announce the continuation of the successful Wine About Winter event, which is scheduled the first Saturday in February. Tickets can be purchased at www.medinaap.org/events.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Patricia Greene cuts the ribbon in a ceremony Friday to celebrate the opening of her new store, the Quiet Eye, at 121 East Center St., Medina. From left are Green’s husband Alex; Barry Flansburg, who represented Assemblyman Steve Hawley; Patricia Greene; Orleans County Chamber of Commerce director Darlene Hartway; Diane Blanchard, who heads the Microenterprise Assistance Program class which Greene took; and Sam Campanella with SCORE, who works with Microenterprise participants.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 7 January 2020 at 9:03 am
Site by canal also created as a ‘spiritual space’
MEDINA – Patricia Greene has never wanted to be anything but an artist, but opening her own studio has been a long time coming.
On Friday, Greene celebrated the grand opening of The Quiet Eye at 121 East Center St., the building she and husband Alex have spent three years renovating.
Alex Greene, who did the work renovating his wife’s new studio, shows the antique door he acquired for the bathroom. He also made the floors from old pallets, which he cut and arranged in a herringbone pattern.
Darlene Hartway, director of the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, welcomed those in attendance and congratulated the Greenes on their new venture. Barry Flansburg, representing Assemblyman Steve Hawley, presented Patricia with a certificate.
“You’ve done a beautiful job here restoring this place,” Flansburg said. “This is a wonderful addition to Medina.”
Sam Campanella with SCORE added his congratulations. He mentors members of Orleans Economic Development Agency’s Microenterprise Assistance Program, which Patricia took in the spring of 2017. Program leader Diane Blanchard said Patricia will do a wonderful job here.
Greene grew up in Syracuse and graduated from Buffalo State College with a bachelor of arts degree. She and Alex moved to Medina in 2001.
The first time Patricia saw the small building on East Center Street, she said it looked like a shack, but she wanted it. As far back as 60, 70 years ago, it was a monument store and a law office. Several other entities have operated there over the years, including a church.
Patricia was curious what the building originally looked like and went to Lee-Whedon Memorial Library to see if they had a picture. Library director Catherine Cooper went to her computer and brought up a picture which had recently been sent to her by a distant relative of a Medina resident who lived in Australia. The person said she thought the picture belonged in Medina. It was a picture of the building in the 1930s.
Patricia Green relaxes in the space she will use to do readings at her new business, The Quiet Eye.
Alex said remodeling the building was fun, and they used antique furnishings as much as possible. The floor is made from slats from old wood pallets, which Alex laid in a herringbone pattern. Patricia painted the walls with eight layers of alternating processes, including stencils, sponging, painting and washing.
The sign over the door identifies the studio as a “Fine Art, Creative & Spiritual Space.”
In addition to art classes, Patricia will also offer private spiritual readings, something in which she became interested many years ago. In fact, as a child she made her own set of tarot cards, before she even knew what tarot cards were.
Gina Miller of Carlton admires an hourglass her husband Terry made for Patricia Greene to use when she does readings.
“Although I had these abilities, I never considered myself a medium,” Patricia said. “After my father passed away seven years ago, I encouraged my sister to further her education. Then a voice in my head said, ‘What about you.’ I always thought I’d be a massage therapist and decided to go to massage school. Then the night before I was supposed to go sign the papers for school, my spiritual mentor called and told me not to do it. ‘You’re supposed to go to metaphysical school.’”
She followed that advice and spent two years studying prophecy and healing at the Fellowship of the Spirit at Lily Dale in Chautauqua County.
She almost went in business with someone in Buffalo, but she wanted to be in Medina.
“I had seen this building and I wanted it,” Patricia said. “One of my teachers had given me a reading and said one day I would own my own place. It will be 15 minutes from your house and when, at the end of the day, you put your feet up, you will be overlooking water.”
The Quiet Eye is located in front of the Canal Basin, overlooking the Erie Barge Canal.
“I am blessed,” Patricia said.
Patricia will offer morning classes and workshops in oil paint and mixed media. She will do readings by appointment on Mondays and Fridays.
She can be reached by calling (585) 798-5860, on Facebook at TheQuietEye or by e-mailing PatfGreene@gmail.com.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 1 January 2020 at 11:38 am
Members at Medina post reflect on their military service
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Fred Heschke of Medina was in the Navy from 1961 to 1967, serving with an anti-submarine squadron off the coast of San Diego. His service included helping at officers’ training school and being an aviation ordinance man on an A4 Skyhawk.
MEDINA – The year 2019 was a very significant one for American Legions nationwide, as it marked the organization’s 100th anniversary.
Frank Berger of Medina, a dedicated veteran, shared an article in the September 2018 issue of American Legion Magazine, in which the history of the American Legion is documented. It tells about 20 non-career officers who were personally selected by Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of future president Theodore Roosevelt, and ordered by American Expeditionary Forces Commanding General John Pershing to report to a YMCA office in Paris on Feb. 15, 1919.
Their purpose was to address the declining morale among cold, wet, miserable troops awaiting passage home from World War I, the war that was supposed to end all wars.
Interestingly, nine of those 20 officers who formed the American Legion had trained at the Plattsburgh Training Camps in upstate New York.
The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans’ organization. Its first national commander was Franklin D’Olier, who never trained at Plattsburgh, but did grant leave to employees of his mercantile business so they could attend.
A drive to recruit members ensued and by July 1, 1919, less than a thousand posts were formed. By Aug. 1, the number had more than doubled, and by Sept. 1, it had quadrupled. On Oct. 1, the number of Legion posts had grown to 5,670.
Frank Berger
Membership in the American Legion quickly grew to more than one million. Although membership has declined in recent years, numbers listed on an American Legion website indicate there are still nearly 2 million members in more than 12,000 posts throughout the United States, making it the largest wartime veterans service organization.
Berger provided additional information which indicated there are 3.35 million members nationwide, including the Legion, Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion.
Orleans County has four American Legion posts – the Sheret Post 35 in Albion (one of the earliest to be formed) with 81 current members; the Jewell-Buckman Post 529 in Holley with 143 members; and the Houseman-Tanner Post 1603 in Lyndonville with 41 members.
In Medina, American Legion Post 204 listed 79 members when it received its charter on Aug. 8, 1919, and was originally named the James P. Clark Post. There were 266 members when the name was changed to the Butts-Clark Post July 19, 1954, to honor 2nd lt. John E. Butts of Medina, who was killed during the Normandy Campaign in World War II.
The Butts-Clark post observed several historic events during its centennial year.
The first, on Memorial Day, was participating in the dedication of a World War I-era cannon at State Street Park after the cannon had undergone a complete restoration. This followed with a birthday cake at the Post on North Main Street, where many members had gathered.
Frank Berger is shown in his Navy uniform in the 1950s.
On Sept. 30, the Post was honored to welcome the family of Lt. James P. Clark, in observance of the 100th anniversary of Clark’s death while fighting in France during World War I.
Clark is one of two Medina veterans for whom the Medina American Legion Post was named. Both lost their lives fighting for their country.
Clark was a Medina resident who trained with Company F at the Medina Armory, along with his brothers Leslie and Seth. All three were at the Hindenburg Line in France on Sept. 27, 1918, where James was shot Sept. 29 and died.
Butts was one of five brothers to serve in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions above and beyond the call of duty during the Normandy Campaign.
Today the Butts-Clark American Legion Post has 170 members and continues to be active in community events.
Among the causes and organizations the Butts-Clark Post supports and/or participates in include sponsoring a pizza party in November at the VA Medical Center in Batavia (this was previously a picnic in June but was changed at their request); contributing with the 8th District American Legion to the Christmas fund at the Batavia VAMC; recognizing a Legionnaire of the Year; providing bingo games, snacks and canteen books at the VAMC; and sponsoring summer baseball for Cubs and Powder Puff leagues in the summer.
Tony Vicknair of Medina served with the Army in Vietnam.
Also, they sponsor an 11th grade student to American Legion Boys State and a student to American Legion Oratorical Contest; fire rifles at ceremonies at all veterans’ memorials, plus the county memorial on Veteran’s Day; place flags on veterans’ graves in May; fire rifles during observances at cemeteries, memorials in the area and participate in the Memorial Day parade; present American Legion Award certificates to two eighth-grade students; and provide a rifle squad and color guard for an average of 45 military funerals in the Medina area.
And, lastly, they send delegates to monthly county Legion members, the Eighth District American Legion six times a year and the State Department of New York American Legion Convention in July; ring bells at Christmas time for the Salvation Army; participate in Orleans County Joint Veterans Council meetings once a month; join with other county veterans’ organizations for a 9-11 ceremony in Albion; deliver up to 56 Christmas packages to shut-in veterans and those in nursing homes in December (this year the number was 75); provide an honor guard for Wreaths Across America ceremony in Boxwood Cemetery each December; participate in a Four Chaplains Service in February in Holley; and observe Flag Day June 14 with flag burning ceremonies with the Boy and Cub Scouts.
Gene Hart of Albion was a canine handler during his stint in the Army during the Vietnam era. He sits here with his dog during a gathering at the Butts-Clark American Legion Post.
Members of the Butts-Clark Post meet the first Tuesday of every month at a local restaurant and every other Tuesday at the post to have coffee and donuts.
Its members have varied military backgrounds.
Berger served in the Navy during the Korean War aboard the battleship Missouri and the heavy cruiser Macon in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Gene Hart of Albion was a truck driver at Fort Dix, until being sent overseas. He became a canine handler in the Army, serving from February 1967 to November 1968 in Vietnam. A member of the 24th Infantry, Hart said he patrolled the ammo dumps and missile sites with guard dogs.
“The German Shepherd dogs were all trained, and they trained us,” he said. “We could work 24 hours without sleep, but the dogs could only work four.”
Tony Vicknair of Medina was an Army veteran who served a year in Vietnam. He tells of driving a jeep north, almost to the Cambodian border, using infrared lighting and binoculars to scan for the Viet Cong. He saw the C-130, Puff the Magic Dragon, with gatling guns under its tail. As the plane banked, all he could see was tracers.
Randolph Wells of Medina served from 1973 to 1990 in various duties, including a supply warehouse clerk in Okinawa and working at a MARS radio station in Vietnam.
Randolph Wells of Medina served from August 1973 to 1990. He was sent to Okinawa where he was a supply warehouse clerk and served in emergency and reconnaissance. He also spent three months in Alaska putting up radio stations and emergency first aid tents. He was then sent to Honolulu, where he did the same thing, followed by Camp Pendleton and Vietnam, where he worked in a MARS radio station. He was part of the group which brought refugees back from Vietnam.
He loaded rockets on planes and served aboard the flattop aircraft carrier Oriskany. He spent nearly eight months aboard ship before his tour ended in 1967.
Peter Huth of Medina was an Army veteran from 1963 to 1966, serving in Germany with the Mounted Police.
Peter Huth is shown in his Mounted Police uniform.
“When I got drafted, everyone was sent to Vietnam, but I went to Frankfort, Germany,” Huth said. “We were the lucky ones. The day I was supposed to leave was the day President Kennedy was assassinated.”
Dave Morien of Medina was 25 years old when he went in the Marines, where he served from 1966 to 1968. He spent time in Quantico, Va., working as an office clerk for a major.
Glenn Whitmore of Gasport had an illustrious career with the Navy, serving from 1962 to 1966 as an aircraft handler on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier, USS Forrestel in the Atlantic in Europe. He moved planes as they landed and took them off and put them on the catapults.
He helped prepare the ship for Vietnam after it had been in drydock.
Glenn Whitmore of Gasport, commander of the Butts-Clark American Legion Post is shown on the deck of the USS Forrestel when he was invited to take a final cruise on the ship before it was decommissioned.
“I was very fortunate,” Whitmore said. “After I got off the ship, they had the biggest disaster since World War II. The ship blew up when a Zuni missile accidentally came from the bow of the ship and went down the stern to the aircraft armed and ready to take off. Senator John McCain was on the flight deck in one of those planes. He was lucky. He then transferred to the USS Oriskany. If I had been there, I’d be dead. One of my comrades was killed. I’m not sorry I went in the Navy. I did what I had to do.”
Whitmore was later honored when he was invited to go to the White House in October 2018, and laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery.
“My heart was beating like a drum,” he said.
In 1992, Whitmore was one of 75 sailors who served on the Forrestel who were invited to go on a week-long cruise prior to its decommissioning. They sailed from Jacksonville to Pensacola, Fla. and Whitmore said it was a highlight of his life.
The ship was then taken to Brownsville, Texas, where it was dissembled and Whitmore received a piece of a bulkhead as a souvenir.
Jim Freas
Jim Freas of Medina was born in Philadelphia and joined the Marines in 1956, at age 18, right out of high school. After basic training at Camp Lejeune, he was sent to Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va. and then Okinawa with the Special Services Division. Next he went to Parris Island, S.C. and then Phoenix, Ariz., where he was a supply sergeant for recruiters.
In 1968, he was sent to Vietnam where he ran supplies between DaNang and Quang Tri.
Dave Higgins
What he remembers most is the night the commander of his guard got a call to bring a doctor to sick bay. There, on the floor lay a nine-foot, 400-pound tiger.
“The Green Berets on patrol said the tiger was following them and if it had attacked, it would have given away their position.”
Dave Higgins was drafted in 1968 and was an artillery truck driver. He did advance training at Fort Sills, Okla., and then went to Vietnam, where he said he was the “lamb.”
“I was the target in a convoy, driving ammunition and supplies,” Higgins said. “It was my job to draw fire from the enemy so they would show themselves and our helicopters could fire on them.”
When he returned from Vietnam, he went back to Fort Sills, where he was a training officer, teaching soldiers how to operate Howitzers.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 January 2020 at 10:05 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Mile 303, a bar on Main Street in Medina, hosted a New Year’s Eve party on Tuesday night that culminated with a ball drop. (Click here to see a video of the ball drop.)
The ball is perched above Main Street just before midnight.
A section of Main Street was blocked off to traffic beginning at 11:30 p.m.
Mile 303 released light-up balloons from the upper floor windows and handed out glow sticks. Prior to the ball drop, Mile 303 hosted a collaborative tasting dinner with Sourced Market & Eatery and Bent’s Opera House.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 December 2019 at 4:07 pm
Provided photo
MEDINA – One Church of Medina and Akron donated $13,000 towards a new ultrasound machine at Care Net of Greater Orleans. Wende Swick, Care Net executive director (center), accepts the check from One Church leaders.
One Church started in Medina on Christmas Eve two years ago at the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Ann Street.
Another anonymous donor has contributed $12,500 towards the ultrasound machine. The new equipment will be delivered during the week of Jan. 7-10, Swick said.
Care Net is located at 168 S. Main St., Suite 2 in Albion. Care Net provides free services which include pregnancy and STI testing, limited ultrasounds, classes in parenting, Bible study and life skills, material aid, and an “Earn While You Learn” program.
