By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 January 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Judith Villavisanis spent a month in Medina creating a new children’s entrance at the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library. The public art project resembles a giant book, and Villavisanis created characters and wrote a poem on two pages for the book.
She finished the project just before Christmas. The library sought submissions from artists for the project. Lee-Whedon picked the proposal from Villavisanis, a former Albion resident who now lives in Florida.
Villavisanis created illustrations first for the two giant pages and will then added the words from a poem.
The back side of the book resembles a book cover. Wilbur from “Charlotte’s Web” is one of the characters on the cover.
The portals in the book cover are spots for people to place books.
Villavisanis picked a few popular characters in children’s literature for the art project.
Villavisanis is shown working on the project in mid-December.
MEDINA – After four months of taking shape at the corner of Maple Ridge Road and South Gravel Road, a Dunkin’ Donuts opened this morning in Medina.
Dunkin’ opened at 8 today but will be open at 5 a.m. beginning on Wednesday.
The seating area includes a television.
The store is located at the southeast corner of the routes 31A and 63 intersection. JFJ Holdings, based in North Andover, Mass., is the owner of the new store. The company opened a new Dunkin’ in Albion on Aug. 23.
Doughnuts and baked goods are ready for customers.
Both the Medina and Albion stores are 2,000 square feet. The Medina store includes 27 parking spaces with most on the west side of the building.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 December 2014 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – School officials will have a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Jan. 13 to hear from the community about a tax break for veterans who were honorably discharged from the service.
The Board of Education will share more details at the hearing about the possible exemptions for veterans, including percentage of discount and who would be eligible.
The hearing will be in the board room at the district office, next to Medina High School at 2 Mustang Drive.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Salma Huzair, 15, sings “If I Were A Boy” by Beyoncé during a concert Saturday night at the Medina Theatre.
Huzair performed at the concert in preparation for her audition for “The Voice” singing show on NBC. She will travel to New York City on Jan. 25 for the blind audition, when singers perform for four celebrity judges.
Salma’s parents, Bilal Huzair and mother Alana Ross, picked front-row seats to watch Salma perform on Saturday.
Salma sings “Little Things” by One Direction. She is a sophomore at Lyndonville Central School. More than 100 people attended her concert, which included raffles to help cover the cost of the trip to New York City.
The marquee at Medina Theatre urges the community to support Salma in “The Voice.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Village officials push forward several projects
File photo by Tom Rivers – The former Starlite Dry Cleaners has been vacant on Main Street in Medina since a fire damaged the building a decade ago. Environmental concerns have been a holdup in the site’s redevelopment.
Editorial
MEDINA – One of the things I feared with the dissolution talk and impending vote in Medina is the Village Board would use it as an excuse to stand down and not push forward any projects.
Thankfully, the Village Board isn’t sitting around twiddling its thumbs, waiting for the results of the Jan. 20 vote. Whether the village government is dissolved or not on Jan. 20, important projects need to tackled and the current board is engaged in many issues.
It is in talks with the Genesee County Economic Development Center about providing sewer services to the STAMP site in the Town of Alabama. The village’s sewer plant is vastly underutilized and the STAMP users could be a major revenue windfall for the sewer plant, whether it’s owned by the village in the future or another government entity.
(If dissolution is approved, the village government would continue anyway for two years while some or all of its services could transition to the towns of Shelby or Ridgeway, or non-for-profit local development corporations.)
The talks with the Genesee County economic development officials are important. The STAMP site is about 1 mile south of the Orleans County border.
The 1,250-acre site will accommodate nanotechnology companies including semiconductor 450mm chip fab, flat panel display, solar manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing. The site, in full build-out, is expected to employ 10,000 people with many making $100,000 or more. Another 50,000 jobs will be created in the region to support the companies at STAMP.
The companies at the site will need sewer, and Medina has several millions gallons of excess capacity. Besides working on a deal with GCEDC, the village plans to spend $1.2 million upgrading equipment and adding more capacity for the sewer plant.
Boxwood Cemetery has been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.
Medina’s downtown has enjoyed a rebirth in the past decade with many new businesses joining Main Street mainstays. The downtown is drawing notice as a destination for visitors. But there are some empty storefronts, including two problem spots at 331-333 North Main St.
Environmental concerns have prevented redevelopment at the sites, Mayor Andrew Meier said. The village has paid for environmental audits of the sites and is trying secure state funding to help with remediating the properties, which would include a partial takedown of the former Starlite Cleaners, a building that was damaged in a fire a decade ago.
These sites are in the Town of Ridgeway, Orleans County and Medina Central School District, as well as the village. The Village Board deserves credit for committing money and effort on these sites. They’ve largely been acting alone, trying to address two spots that are blemishes on the downtown.
Village Historian Todd Bensleyalso deserves praise for working with the State Parks Department to have Boxwood Cemetery nominated for the state and national registers of historic places. The designation would give the cemetery long overdue lofty status and could bring in resources for projects in the historic burial grounds on Route 63, north of the village.
The 20-acre cemetery is considered a distinctive example of several cemetery movements. It was originally established in the Rural Cemetery manner in 1850. The cemetery grew in size, and later sections were added in the Lawn Park and Memorial Park styles.
Village officials see the cemetery as a great resource in the community, and one worthy of state and national recognition.
Some of the village efforts in recent months should pay dividends for years to come, whether dissolution passes or fails.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Lawrence Nelson, owner of Just Right BBQ, is pictured with chef Sheila Holley at the new food establishment, 701 South Main St.
MEDINA – Lawrence and Juanita Nelson opened a new barbecue business last month in Medina, wanting to showcase the cooking talents of their friends, Johnny and Sheila Holley.
Just Right BBQ features chickens and ribs, and will expand its menu next month, likely adding pulled pork, and side dishes of green beans, and macaroni and cheese.
“I enjoy it, giving people what they want,” Mr. Nelson said. “I’m not going to go cheap on them.”
Nelson is retired from Harrison Radiator in Lockport. The Albion resident also is a Vietnam War veteran.
He has long been impressed by the Holleys and their cooking skills. Mr. Holley is temporarily sidelined due to an injury. His wife has been handling the bulk of the food preparation, slow-cooking the chicken and ribs.
“I enjoy meeting the people and getting their ideas and thoughts,” Nelson said. “There’s a lot of different people that come in and out of here.”
He and his wife put a new kitchen in the business. Mrs. Nelson juggles time between Just Right BBQ and her job at Baxter International in Medina.
The business is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on Mondays and Thursdays. Nelson said later hours will likely be added in early 2015.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 December 2014 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – This home at 204 West Center St., Medina, was one of the houses in the village to receive matching funds for improvements through a grant administered by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber will soon accept applications for a third round of $200,000 grants.
MEDINA – A third round of grants for new coats of paint and other beautification improvements will soon be available to Medina home and business owners.
The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce is administering the program. The funds are provided by an anonymous donor.
This will be the third year for the program, which has provided $200,000 annually for building improvements. About 50 homes and 15 businesses have received money through the project, said Kathy Blackburn, the Chamber executive director.
“It’s having an impact,” she said. “Some of the homes just look fantastic.”
The matching grants provide up to $10,000 per project within the Village of Medina. The applications are expected to soon be available on the Chamber website. Blackburn said there will be an informational meeting in mid January with applications due in February.
The projects are all reviewed by the Chamber’s Façade Grant Review Committee, which is expected to approve the grants in March.
Eligible projects include exterior painting; woodwork and architectural metal repair, cleaning, restoration, painting or replacement; masonry repairs and tuck pointing; window and door repairs or replacement; cornice or parapet projects; awning work; and exterior lighting fixtures.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 December 2014 at 12:00 am
‘Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols’ celebrated
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Readers and a choir with members from several churches in Albion, Lyndonville and Medina joined together on Saturday night for “A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.”
In the top photo, The Rev. Dean Willich reads one of the nine lessons. Willich is pastor of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Medina.
About 200 people attended the ecumenical service at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Medina.
Aaron Grabowski directs the choir in the balcony at St. Mary’s. About 20 people from several churches joined for the festival choir.
Robert Waters, a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Medina, serves as one of the readers at Saturday’s service.
Provided photo
The Rev. Daniel Fawls, pastor of the Holy Family Roman Catholic Parish in Medina, joins the procession at the beginning of the service. There was a free will offering to benefit the charitable works at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Medina.
Photo by Tom Rivers
St. Mary’s hosted the service. The church has many stained-glass windows.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Firefighters delivered boxes of toys, food and clothes to about 100 Medina families and senior citizens this morning. The delivery was the last step in annual toy and gift effort coordinated by the Medina Area Association of Churches.
In the top photo, Medina firefighters, including Guy Scribner (center), load a truck with boxes that would then be distributed in the community.
Don Marchner, lower left, has been helping deliver the boxes of toys the past 45 years. Marchner, a member of the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company, said firefighters look forward to the delivery each year.
“We’re helping people that need it,” he said. “It’s just giving back to the community.”
Mike Kelly (with box in center) is president of the Ridgeway Fire Company. Firefighters from Ridgeway, Shelby, East Shelby and Medina all helped deliver the boxes to families and senior citizens this morning.
“For us, we’re usually going to house fires or EMS calls,” Kelly said. “Today we get to bring joy to the families.”
Paul Wengrzycki, a Medina firefighter, carries a box with toys and food to a truck this morning. He has helped deliver the holiday boxes the past 11 years. He works as a school bus driver and he said he sees the need in the community.
“It’s tough for a lot of families,” Wengrzycki said. “They don’t have money to go out and buy stuff for Christmas.”
The MAAC includes 16 local churches. They put out 29 barrels and residents filled them with toys, food, clothing and other donations. Volunteers spent much of the week sorting the donations and putting them in boxes for the families and senior citizens.
Ridgeway firefighter Rick Tuohey, in back, follows a line of fireifghters in loading up a truck with holiday boxes. The Medina United Methodist Church at the former Apple Grove Inn served as the staging area for the MAAC holiday initiative.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 December 2014 at 12:00 am
World Life Institute runs program serving 400-plus
Photos by Tom Rivers – Ibrahim Shakoor helps sorts food that would be given away this morning by the World Life Institute, which is based in Waterport.
MEDINA – Medina area residents, many of them senior citizens on fixed incomes, started lining up at 8:30 this morning outside the Old Mill Run Restaurant on Route 63. Some of them would stand for more than 2 hours, waiting for the food from Foodlink to be set up on tables by volunteers and given away.
Many of the people walked from nearby Ricky Place, pushing small carts. Others carried bags and boxes.
For more than a year, the World Life Institute has worked with Foodlink on the food giveaway. About 200 people come for the food the first and third Saturdays of the month. A Foodlink truck arrives with the food, and about 15 to 20 volunteers then break the boxes of food into smaller containers.
A crowd gathers in the parking lot at the Old Mill Run Restaurant in Medina in this photo looking under a Foodlink truck.
Another 200 to 400 people who aren’t in the line also usually receive some of the food. Family and friends in line will take it to them, or some of the WLI volunteers will deliver it.
The effort started in November 2013. Bilal Huzair, owner of the Old Mill Run and a WLI member, was willing to use his restaurant and parking lot as a distribution point.
“We didn’t have an expectation,” Huzair said this morning. “We just knew there was a need.”
Bilal Huzair stacks up some frozen pizzas.
Some of the people in line were younger adults, struggling to get a job. Others had jobs that didn’t pay enough to cover all of their bills. The first people in line were senior citizens.
Several said they are on fixed incomes and have seen their medical costs rise with healthcare and prescriptions. One woman has a husband with cancer. She sought assistance through social services but was denied.
“They said I make $2 too much,” she said.
Harris Lieberman, left, and Jacob Zimmerman help set up a table with fruits and vegetables.
One man stood in the parking lot for more than two hours, with the outside temperature in the mid 20s.
“When you’re a senior and on Social Security, you either eat or take your medicine,” he said. “I’m here because every little bit helps.”
An anonymous donor has been paying Foodlink for the food that is given out with help from the World Life Institute.
“These are people who genuinely need things,” Huzair said.
Ali Carter from the World Life Institute helps unpack the food this morning.
Marie Scott also volunteers helping to get the food ready.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – George Bidleman, owner of Orleans Ford, donated a Ford Expedition for the K-9 unit at the Medina Police Department. Bidleman, left, is pictured with Kye the K-9, Sgt. Todd Draper and Medina Police Chief Jose Avila.
MEDINA – Sgt. Todd Draper and K-9 Kye today are moving from a Crown Victoria police car with 181,000 miles to a Ford Expedition with less than half that mileage.
The dog will have more room in the Ford Expedition, a donation made possible by George Bidleman, owner of Orleans Ford. Bidleman spent about $15,000 buying the vehicle, having it repainted from white to black and white, decaled and upgraded with new tires and brakes.
It may be the biggest donation in the police department’s history. Bidleman has worked in Medina for 27 years. He said police have always been responsive for his business. Orleans Ford has little vandalism or other problems, and Bidleman credited the police presence for helping the car dealership.
“They do a great job and they’re somewhat underappreciated in Orleans County,” Bidleman said about the Medina Police Department.
Bidleman said he spent about $15,000 to purchase the vehicle, have it repainted, decaled, and upgraded with new brake and tires.
The police department has had a K-9 team since the fall of 2012 when Kye, a Belgian Malinois, joined the department, working with handler Sgt. Todd Draper. The Medina Business Association paid for the dog, and Tops and Tractor Supply pay for the dog’s food.
“It wouldn’t be possible without the Business Association,” Medina Police Chief Jose Avila said.
He praised Bidleman for the generous donation.
“He realizes money is tight and he wants to help us provide a valuable tool like Kye,” Avila said.
The dog has proven valuable to the department for narcotics detection, tracking and patrol, Draper said.
Kye is very social and easily connects with children and others in the community. Draper brings the dog to preschools, basketball games, senior centers, churches and other community events.
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Kye, the Medina Police K-9 dog, makes some new friends at a Medina boys basketball game last January at Medina High School. Kye is a Belgian Malinois that works each day with his partner/handler Sgt. Todd Draper.
“The dog helps us bridge the gap, especially with children,” Avila said. “We’re not just here to arrest people, but to help people.”
Draper brings the dog home with him and spends a lot of hours off the clock working with the dog, Avila said.
Draper sees how the dog draws in people while he’s out in the community. Kye also calms down situations where there could be fighting or other tension.
Draper hands out cards with Kye’s photo and some information about the dog’s background and skills. He jokes that he is “just the guy on the end of the leash.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – There will soon be about 250 signs out in Medina, urging village residents not to support dissolving the village government on Jan. 20. This sign is on East Center Street.
MEDINA – Dissolution opponents are stepping up their efforts to sway village residents not to support a dissolution vote on Jan. 20, saying the village will lose critical services and won’t see promised tax savings.
About 20 people, many of them village employees, met to distribute yard signs and talk strategy on Tuesday night at the Knights of Columbus. The group said they expect to soon have 250 signs out against dissolution.
They will be going door to door, and may put out a mass mailer.
Cindy Troy, president of the CSEA union for Orleans County employees, was at the meeting in Medina. She wants to see the village government stay intact.
“You can lose the things that make you identifiable as a community,” she said. “The Village of Medina could lose control over things they hold dear. They have a density of population. They have needs the people in the country do not.”
She worries if the dissolution goes through, other local villages will follow.
“We as a whole community need to be concerned about this,” she said about the dissolution vote. “Medina won’t be the last to look at it.”
A second anti-dissolution sign also has been put out.
A dissolution plan put together by a committee with help of a consultant suggested many of the village services be taken over the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway. The committee also proposed a new debt district, two lighting districts, a water/sewer local development corporation, and a new fire district. Ridgeway would take over a town police force that would be contracted to include Shelby, according to the committee’s report.
Mike Maak, a Medina firefighter, said there is no guarantee the town officials would put that plan in place. He is among the dissolution opponents.
The dissolution plan sees $277,000 in cost savings and $541,000 in additional state aid for $818,000 in overall benefit. But with combined budgets of more than $10 million, the $277,000 is seen as a small amount in operational savings.
Village Trustees Mike Sidari and Marguerite Sherman both oppose the dissolution. Sidari is running a Facebook page – “Medina, This Village Matters.” Sidari also is helping to get anti-dissolution signs to residents. He said some of the signs have been stolen or damaged.
Sidari and Maak both would like to see the village push for other revenue without disrupting the village government and services. They want to see Medina press for more state aid and county sales tax dollars. Maak said the village should work to become a city, which would significantly boost its state aid and also spare village residents from paying town taxes.
The state hasn’t allowed a new city since the 1950s. Medina Mayor Andrew Meier sees little chance in the state approving Medina as a city, and the county has shown no openness to giving more local sales tax to villages.
Dissolution is one way to secure more state aid, and also run a more efficient local government, said Meier, who is part of the “One Medina” group that would ultimately like to see the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway merge into one town – “Medina.”
“One Medina” has had many signs out for months. The group also has a Facebook page with Dean Bellack and Meier fielding questions from the community, and trying to provide them with answers.
Meier sees dissolution as a way for village residents to shape their destination, without pleading for aid from the county and state, assistance that Meier thinks is unlikely to materialize if the village government remains. The state is providing incentives for dissolution, but gives very little to villages for “Aid and Incentives to Municipalities.” Most villages get less than $10 per person in AIM funding, while the state gives most cities at least $100 per person.
Maak thinks the county and state could be swayed to share revenue with the village.
“We haven’t tried,” he said about that effort. “With dissolution, we’re cutting our nose off to spite our face.”
Owen Toale, a former village trustee, believes the village and towns of Shelby and Ridgeway could reach sizable tax savings by sharing services and consolidating services. He faulted the village for setting a dissolution vote while there was still the prospect of shared services for the trio of municipalities.
“One Medina pushed for the vote while they were still in the middle of the (shared services) process,” Toale said. “That to me is poor.”
He is helping to get out the anti-dissolution signs.
“I’m interested in helping my village,” said Toale, a retired newspaper publisher.
Many village residents have been called in the past two weeks by PAF Opinion Research in Albany. The firm asks a series of questions about dissolution, seeking residents’ opinions.
Meier and “One Medina” say PAF makes many misleading statements. The firm, in a taped phone call to a local resident, says it was hired by “one of the larger unions in the state.” CSEA has denied hiring the firm. Orleans Hub hasn’t been able to verify who hired the firm.
In phone calls to village residents, PAF tells villagers that they will lose their local police. The service might be picked up by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, but response times will more than double. PAF attributes that claim to Meier.
The mayor said he never said that. He was on the Dissolution Committee that recommends a town-wide police force.
PAF makes a number of claims about the future of the village in a dissolution goes forward. The firm tells villagers there won’t be any tax savings if the village government dissolves.
“In villages that voted to dissolve themselves, the promised property tax savings never happened,” a survey worker told a village resident in a phone call. “Does hearing this make you lean against dissolving Medina or for dissolving Medina?”
A CSEA representative said the union didn’t put out the phone messages. However, the union said it knows about the phone calls and sees them as a way to gauge public opinion, and not influence village residents with their vote.
Meier has decried the calls as “push polling,” an attempt to intimidate and confuse residents into voting against dissolution.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Orchard Manor, a 160-bed nursing home and rehabilitation site on Bates Road, celebrated an expanded rehab site on Tuesday.
Orchard Manor knocked out walls from next-door office rooms and enlarged the area for rehabilitation services. The expanded space also has new equipment for physical therapy and exercise.
Joining in for the ribbon-cutting include, from left: Kathy Blackburn, executive director of the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce; Greg Forsey, chief operating officer for Global Health Care (owner of Orchard Manor); Randi Scholes, clinical liaison; David Denny, Orchard Manor administrator; Medina Mayor Andrew Meier; Jamal Hussain, rehab director; Benjamin Addura, regional director of rehab; and Heidi Smith, director of nursing.
Orchard Manor has about 40 of its 160 beds in a dedicated rehab unit where people usually stay for a short time and receive services to come back from a broken hip, stroke or other injury.
“The main reason we did this is to help people get better so they can go home,” said Heidi Smith, the director of nursing.
David Denny, Orchard Manor administrator, thanked the staff and community for embracing the recent changes at Orchard Manor.
Orchard Manor about two years ago was sold by Medina Memorial Hospital to Global Health Care.
Besides the expanded rehab unit, Global has switched the site to electronic health records, added touch-screen kiosks for staff to report care provided and the status of residents, redone the lobby and hallways, and added new equipment.
Medina Mayor Andrew Meier addressed a crowd of more than 100 people at the celebration on Tuesday. He praised Global and the Orchard Manor leadership for the many improvements at the site.
“This is indeed a community asset providing services to the elderly and people who need services,” Meier told the crowd. “This institution has become a greater asset since you’ve taken over.”
Meier told the group Orchard Manor has a special place for his family. His father and grandmother both received care at Orchard Manor.
Santa Claus stopped in for the celebration at Orchard Manor. He is pictured with Macenzie Sword of Medina. Her mother Corina Sword works as a certified nursing assistant in training at Orchard Manor.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Volunteers will be busy this week sorting presents for families and senior citizens in the Medina Central School District.
In the top photo, Sue Metzo (left) and Sylvia Riviere are pictured inside the Medina United Methodist Church at the former Apple Grove Inn, which has become the headquarters for the annual present sorting. The two are members of the Medina Area Association of Churches.
Metzo is president of MAAC and Riviere is serving as chairwoman of the toy and gift initiative. MAAC for at least 30 years has coordinated gift donations from the community, matching those gifts with local families and senior citizens.
MAAC and Medina firefighters placed 29 barrels in the community at churches, businesses, schools and the library. On Monday, firefighters collected the barrels – some overflowing with gifts – and delivered hem to the church where the gifts were sorted by age group.
The number of families that signed up is down this year, from 149 in 2013 to 82 this year. Metzo said there will be extra gifts and then will be shared with Community Action, which manages a gift-giving program for central and eastern Orleans County.
MAAC starts signing up families in September for the toy drive. Families will receive gifts for each child at their age level, as well as a book, board game, puzzle and stuffed animal. Each family also receives a ham dinner, and socks, mittens, scarves and hats.
“A lot of the people are who we call the ‘Working Wounded,'” said Metzo, a member of the First Presbyterian Church. “They’re working they just aren’t making enough.”
Metzo said many of the recipients of the presents have their extra cash drained with unexpected medical bills, or furnace and car repairs.
The community comes through with the donations. Metzo said the generosity inspires the 30 core volunteers who will work this week sorting the gifts and preparing them for Saturday’s delivery. Firefighters from East Shelby, Medina, Ridgeway and Shelby will deliver the toys and gifts on Saturday morning.
“It’s overwhelming to see the contributions and the peoples’ giving,” said Gerry Grimes, the retired pastor at Faith Covenant Fellowship, one of 16 churches in the MAAC.
Chad Wirth, pastor at Faith Covenant Fellowship, arranges coloring and activity books.
Grimes was volunteering today in organizing the presents by age group. Faith Covenant filled a barrel and then some with presents.
Chad Wirth, the church’s new pastor, challenged the congregation to be generous with the MAAC toy campaign.
“Jesus Christ took care of the orphans and the widows, meeting their physical needs first,” Wirth said. “God is love, and one of the greatest ways to show love is to help people.”
In addition to the gifts for families, about 50 senior shut-ins will receive poinsettias and fruit baskets.
Metzo and Riviere thanked the community for contributing to the effort again this year.
“The people of Medina have supported this ministry for years,” Metzo said. “The people are awesome. We can’t thank them enough.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 December 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Judith Villavisanis takes a break from painting to pose with a new entrance leading to the children’s section. The library is having the entrance resemble a giant book.The portals in the book cover are spots for people to place books. The pig is Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web.
MEDINA – Winnie the Pooh, Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web, fairies, elves and other characters are all taking shape in a new entrance leading to the children’s section at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.
Artist Judith Villavisanis has been working on the project for about three weeks. She is painting book sides of a book-shaped entrance. The cover faces the children’s section. The front or the pages in the book includes illustrations and famous characters from children’s literature, including Winnie the Pooh.
Some details from the front of the entrance, which resemble illustrations on a page.
Villavisanis, a former Albion resident who now lives in Florida, also wrote a poem and those words will be painted on the book pages. She submitted her proposal after reading an artilce in August on the Orleans Hub, where the library sought artist submissions.
The project has sparked lots of questions and interest from library patrons. Many stop and chat with the artist, and each passing day more details emerge. Villavisanis is hoping to have the project completed by this Sunday.
Villavisanis needs to add the text from a poem she wrote. She is doing the illustrations first and will then add the words from this poem:
All you wishers and dreamers,
pretenders and schemers,
Come in!
Pass through this portal
to enchanted forests
With fairies and
elves aplenty.
Or musical waters
where mermaids play
and treasures are
so many
Please do come in!
Walk through this book
and sail to worlds you have never been.
Come in!
This door will transport
you to towers of learning,
bending space and time.
Discover the moon and
stars and how they
all align.
Come in!
Magic awaits you
The Adventures are
Many, not costing a penny.
It can only begin
When you
Come in!
Villavisanis works on an illustration for the art project. Library Director Catherine Cooper is pleased with project and the public’s reaction.
“It’s a public piece of art,” Cooper said. “Everyone walks over and makes a comment. The creation of this will be part of people’s memory.”
Cooper said the project is part of interior renovations at the library, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2016.
