Photos by Howard Balaban
MEDINA – Medina High School hosted the Mustang Band’s annual basket raffle Friday evening, with an estimated 500 people attending to bid on about 200 items.

According to raffle volunteers, the event typically brings in between $6,500 and $7,500 for the band, and they estimated this year’s festivities raised closer to the higher amount.

Provided photo  – The Medina Winterguard performs at Lancaster High School on Saturday, an event with 27 guard units.

Medina was the only unit in the Scholastic A class and the Mustangs scored 72.26, another increase for the season.

Medina will host a Winterguard competition this Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. with 19 units from Western New York and Canada. Medina is scheduled to perform at 7:47 p.m.

Medina’s Winterguard uses movement, costumes, acrobatics and spinning flags and rifles to depict the metamorphosis from caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly.

Provided photos – These students are on a toboggan ride, including from left: Hayley Cogovan, Krista Nellist, Coby Albone, Jakob Cotter and Powell Stephens. Waiting to sled are Hallie Seaman and Kati Young.

Press Release, Medina Central School
MEDINA – Students from the Medina High School French Language Program recently spent several days in Quebec City with teacher Julie Webber and some school administrators.

Not only did they get to experience the language and the culture of the predominantly French-speaking province, they got to partake in a lot of activities.

“The students toured the city of Old Quebec, a walled-in city dating back to the 1600s,” says Mrs. Webber. “They also enjoyed tobogganing on historic Dufferin Terrace, a 3- mile dog sledding adventure, observing views of the frozen Montmorency waterfalls, a visit to the winter sports park and enjoyed a traditional meal and dancing at the Sugar Shack.”

Medina students visited Quebec City recently.

Quebec City is the cradle of French-Canadian culture. For the French students it was the perfect place to combine their language skills with cultural activities.

“It was an awesome opportunity for students to use their language skills firsthand,” Mrs. Weber said. “All that they have been studying truly comes to life.”

Provided photo – The Medina Winterguard performs on Saturday at Marcus Whitman. Medina will host its own Winterguard competition on March 14.

Press Release
Kathy Dreyfus, publicity chairwoman for Medina Band

RUSHVILLE – Medina’s Winterguard competed on Saturday at the Marcus Whitman High School in Rushville. The Mustangs were uncontested in the Scholastic A class where they scored 69.19, a 6-point increase from the previous week.

The Medina show “From Cocoons to Wings” depicts the stages of development from a caterpillar to a cocoon and finally into a beautiful butterfly. This metamorphosis is accomplished through some creative costuming.

The community has opportunities to see the show as the Winterguard will compete this Saturday in Lancaster, March 14 in Medina and March 21 in Holley. The championships are April 12 in Brockport.

MEDINA – The water system at Medina Memorial Hospital is back on line and has been deemed safe following testing of water samples from the Orleans County Health Department, said Cindy Perry, media relations director for hospital.

The hospital suffered a water main break Saturday night. The water line was fixed by the Medina Department of Public Works on Sunday.

The hospital used a back-up system, and increased the use of bottled water and hand sanitizer until the regular system was approved for use this morning.

MEDINA – The Village Board approved a formal resolution on Monday that demands a fair formula for sharing state aid to villages, an issue the Orleans Hub has been pushing for more than a year.

Medina only receives $45,523 a year in state Aid and Incentives to Municipalities. The village has 6,065 residents and functions much like a small city with full-time police and fire departments, as well as many other services.

Salamanca in Cattaraugus County is nearly the same size as Medina. Salamanca gets $928,131 in AIM funding for a city of 5,815 people.

Medina passed a resolution that notes New York State provides $714 million in Aid and Incentives to Municipalities each year, with 90 percent of that going to upstate cities. The per capita AIM funding is $277 per city resident and only $7 for residents in towns and villages.

“This is a start in the right direction,” said Medina Mayor Andrew Meier. “We need AIM calculations that are more equitable and stop this obscene disparity.”

Orleans County Legislature Chairman David Callard said the county would like to see every town and village, as well as the County Legislature, pass similar resolutions.

Meier said the current AIM system is particularly punitive to villages with about 5,000 to 10,000 residents. Those villages tend to have the full-time police, and services – and challenges – that mirror cities.

“Villages like Albion and Medina are stuck in an awful purgatory,” Meier said. “We’re not considered a full-fledged city but we’re doing all of the work.”

Here is the text of the resolution approved by the Medina Village Board:

Resolution No. 1
February 23, 2015

WHEREAS, New York State provides $714 million in Aid and Incentives to Municipalities (AIM) each year, and 90 percent of that goes to upstate cities;

WHEREAS, the AIM funding per capita is $277 per city resident and only $7 for residents in towns and villages;

WHEREAS, there are 549 villages with a combined population of 1,918,032 in New York State, including four (Albion, Holley, Lyndonville and Medina) in Orleans County with a population of 14,770;

WHEREAS, many villages wrestle with the same problems as cities, with aging infrastructure, blighted housing, abandoned commercial sites, brownfields and increased crime rates;

WHEREAS, villages are similar to cities with a high concentration of senior citizens and low-income families;

WHEREAS, villages mirror cities as centers for culture, civic and religious life, especially in rural counties;

WHEREAS, villages are like cities with many important community structures – churches, courthouses, schools and other public buildings – that do not pay taxes, shifting the tax burden for those sites to other residents in the village or city;

WHEREAS, the state’s tiny share of AIM funding for villages has put villages at a competitive disadvantage in attracting and retaining businesses and residents;

WHEREAS, the huge disparity in AIM funding between the cities and villages is a form of state-sponsored economic discrimination, resulting in much higher tax bills for village residents and a diminished quality of life;

WHEREAS, the erosion of the village tax base has shifted a greater burden of town, county and school district tax burden outside the village, punishing the outside-village residents as well;

WHEREAS, the high tax rates in the village encourage suburban sprawl, making nearby green space and farm land vulnerable for housing tracts, industrial parks and “Big Box” stores;

WHEREAS, a Village resident is no less a New Yorker than a city resident;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, the Village Board of the Village of Medina calls on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature to adopt a fair formula for sharing AIM funding so Village residents can enjoy municipal services and their homes without being taxed to death; and

RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Village Board shall forward copies of this Resolution to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Senator Robert Ortt, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, and all others deemed necessary and proper.

MEDINA – The chief of the Medina Police Department for the past 17 years will retire at the end of 2015.

Jose Avila made the announcement during tonight’s Village Board meeting. Avila is the second long-tenured village department head to announce a retirement for later this year. Todd Zinkievich, the Fire Department chief, announcedlast month that he will retire this summer.

Avila has earned the respect of village officials and the community, said Mayor Andrew Meier.

“He has been a class act the way he went about the job,” Meier said. “He has definitely served the village with dignity.”

Avila has been more than an administrator for the department. He is active in community policing, whether making arrests or directing traffic during local parades.

“He definitely gets out and engages with a lot of personal interaction with the public,” Meier said. “He is approaching a very well-deserved retirement.”

(UPDATED 2:11 p.m.: The water main break has been repaired.)
MEDINA – Village crews have been working since last night to fix a water main break at Medina Memorial Hospital. A back-up system is in place, and bottled water and hand sanitizer are being used throughout the hospital.

As a result of this event the Orleans County Health Department has been called in for consultation.

“We are working closely with the local water authority, the Medina Fire Department, the Health Department and Orleans County Emergency Management Office to have this situation rectified as soon as possible,” stated Cindy Perry, marketing director for Orleans Community Health/Medina Memorial Hospital. “Our first priority is to secure the safety and well-being of our patients, staff and visitors.”

If there are additional questions, please contact the hospital at 585-798-2000.

State aid was paid over 15 years, instead of 20

MEDINA – The school district has some big bills to pay, nearly $1.7 million a year over four years beginning in 2017-18.

Medina took out $23.8 million in debt service for a capital project around 2000. State building aid would cover $16,763,234 of the project with the local share at $6,609,474. Aid on the costs of the bond issuance would generate another $459,579.

The state payments were to be spread over 20 years because the project was new construction. However, the paperwork with the state Education Department labeled the project reconstruction, which turned it into a 15-year schedule for state aid.

The state has paid its share, but it paid it five years early, David Boyle, the district’s interim business administrator, advised the Board of Education.

The district still needs to pay the final five years of debt service. In 2015-16 and 2016-17, Medina’s local share on the debt service will be $41,480 and then $43,805, respectively, Boyle said.

However, that payment will jump to $1,698,543 in 2017-18, $1,693,350 the following year, $1,668,081 in 2019-20, and then $1,665,625 in 2020-21. Those payments will need to be made without an influx of state aid.

Boyle advised the Board of Education and school officials to take stock of reserve funds and fund balance to help with what he called the upcoming “fiscal cliff.” Some of the higher-than-expected state aid over the 15 years helped the district build up its reserves and fund balance.

The district will also need to factor in those four big debt payments as it plans two budgets before the first large payment is due.

“We caught it now and we can deal with it now,” Boyle said. “We’ll try to ease into the cliff so it’s not a cliff.”

Boyle said the district needs long-range planning for its finances, and a multi-year approach for tackling the debt payments.

Board of Education members agreed and said they would work with the business administrator and Superintendent Jeff Evoy for a long-range plan for finances.

Press Release, Medina Marching Band

MEDINA – The Medina Winterguard competed for the first time this season on Saturday at Victor. Medina is in the Scholastic A class and they took second place with a score of 63.18 while Victor took first with a score of 70.81.

Medina’s Winterguard season began in November with auditions and practices. The Varsity Guard consists of 30 students in grades 7 – 12. Their show this year is “From Cocoons to Wings” with music selections from Aaron Copeland’s “Appalachian Spring.”

Winterguard is part of the marching band program and under the direction of Jim Steele and Cheri Pritchard. The show was designed by Vincent Monacelli and Kristen Costa, choreographed by Kristen Costa and Matt Winans and instructed by Diana Baker. Winans and Baker are both Medina alums.

Medina’s performance schedule includes Feb. 28 at Marcus Whitman, March 7 at Lancaster, March 14 Medina’s Home Show and March 21 in Holley. The championships are on Sunday, April 12, at SUC Brockport.

Brian Bellan and wife Kim welcomed a large family

Photo by JC Photography (Jesse Colmenero) – The Bellan family is pictured last fall at Mount Albion Cemetery. The group includes, front row, from left: EmmaLee and Karina; Second row: MiKayla, Richie, Da’Ron, Austin and Elizabeth; Back row: Briana, Porter, William, Kyson, Bryce, Kim and Brian.

MEDINA – The community is mourning the death of Brian Bellan, a man who opened his heart and home to 12 children, including eight who were adopted.

Mr. Bellan was a civil engineer with state Department of Transportation. He and his wife Kim celebrated their 20th anniversary on Dec. 17.

He and his wife and nine of their children were having their final planning meeting on Monday for a mission trip to the Dominican Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Bellan were leading 21 people from Yates Baptist Church on the trip that was planned for most of this upcoming week.

Mr. Bellan felt sick during that meeting on Monday and was admitted early Tuesday morning at Medina Memorial Hospital. He was diagnosed with pancreatitis and seemed to be on the mend. But Mr. Bellan died on Wednesday morning from a massive heart attack, his wife said.

About 300 people attended his funeral on Saturday at Hartland Bible Church in Gasport, where the family attended before going to Yates Baptist about three years ago.

Several of Bellan’s children spoke at his funeral. The Bellan family is sharing those eulogies.

“My dad was the best. He loved and cared about everyone. Mainly he loved my mom. My dad loved us 12 kids. I was going to have a loving, caring dad who cared about me. My dad and I had a great father and daughter relationship.”- Daughter Karina, 15

Mr. Bellan, 51, moved around a lot as a kid. His father was in the Air Force. After graduating from high school in Ohio, Bellan went on to earn a civil engineering degree from Ohio State University. He was hired by the New York Department of Transportation in 1992, working out of Buffalo.

He didn’t know anyone locally at the time. He was attending a Wednesday night group for single young adults at The Chapel at Crosspoint in the Buffalo area. The group played volleyball and then had a Bible study.

Kim Brigham, a Medina native, attended the group. She was impressed by Bellan.

“The number one thing with him is he wasn’t just looking for a spouse like a lot of the other men there,” she said. “Brian was looking for friends. He gave Godly answers.”

Kim and Brian started dating and the first date lasted 12 hours. Bellan asked her a favorite childhood memory. She said flying kites on Salt Works Road, where she grew up. That first date the couple made a kite together and then flew it at Delaware Park in Buffalo.

The One I Called Dad
The one brought me from disaster to a safe place.
The one who called me his.
The one who truly I will dearly miss.
The one who taught me about God’s merciful grace,
To never stray, but to live your life for God each day.
The one who saw me through
My dad left a true hero, left a legacy behind
Son William, 16

Kim and Brian married and had their first child, Briana, 17 years ago. Twin sons, Kyson and Porter, were born 14 years ago and another daughter, EmmaLee followed 12 years ago.

Kim always wanted a big family. But she had high-risk pregnancies, which included a miscarriage, Briana’s twin sister.

At a Bible camp with her children, Kim met a 16-year-old who was a youth counselor for the children. The counselor had recently been adopted as a teen and was very thankful to finally be welcomed into a home.

Kim was thinking about adoption, but was geared towards adopting younger children, not teens. She prayed about it, and felt drawn to older kids in the foster care system.

She talked to her husband. He was worried about providing for a bigger family. But he, too, prayed about it. They both arrived at a peace, feeling drawn to reaching out to older children in foster care with a goal of adopting.

Kim and Brian Bellan are pictured in the fall 2013.

They reflected on the Bible verse from James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

The Bellans saw that verse as a commandment, not a request, to look after children without a permanent home.

Mr. Bellan believed the family’s needs would be taken care of, through God’s providence and some thriftiness on behalf of the family, his wife said.

Mr. Bellan was an expert handyman. He turned a garage at their home into a living room. He fixed many of their old vehicles, getting 200,000 miles or more out of them.

He repurposed furniture and seemed to find uses for all kids of things. He shared those talents with others in the community, helping single moms with home repair projects, his wife said.

He didn’t watch football or cable television. He wore the soles out of his shoes, and he always came home from work with lots of energy for his children.

“He did without everything that most earthly men would want so that I could be a stay-at-home mom,” his wife said. “He selflessly gave to others.”

Silent Strong Dad
He never looks for praises
He’s never one to boast
He just goes on quietly working
For those he loves the most
His dreams are seldom spoken
His wants are very few
And most of the time his worries will go unspoken too
He’s there a firm foundation
Through all of our storms of life
A sturdy hand to hold to
In times of stress and strife
A true friend we can turn to
When times are good or bad
One of our greatest blessings,
The man we call DAD!
Son Porter, 14

The Bellans have adopted children who came from abusive homes. They adopted three brothers so they could stay together and not be split up.

Mr. Bellan was a calm and steadying force as the children were welcomed into their new family.

“Brian was so laid back,” his wife said. “He could handle it. I told him with every kid we added he became a better daddy.”

The couple not only welcomed children into their home, they were youth leaders at Yates Baptist. They took children and adults on mission trips to Romania and the Dominican Republic. Mr. Bellan led a construction project at an orphanage in Romania and the family was part of bringing food and a Vacation Bible School-type program to poor children in the Dominican.

The Bellans wanted to become full-time missionaries to the Dominican in about five years.

The couple was popular as leaders for the youth at Yates Baptist, said the church pastor, Lyle Drake.

“He certainly was a good role model and example as a family man and youth worker,” Drake said. “The kids here all looked up to him.”

Mr. Bellan won over the teens with sincerity, Drake said.

“The sense of gentleness and humbleness went a long way,” Drake said. “He had a heart for people.”

“Something that wasn’t in my father’s obituary that I want you to take away from today is my father’s heart for God and for his family, and that he was a kind, loving man with a huge heart – so full of love that it burst.”
Daughter Briana, 17

Drake said Bellan was respected by the church and looked up to as an example as a father and husband.

“He showed that a man can have a really big heart, and that loving leaders have a sense of firmness and gentleness,” Drake said. “Brian possessed a firm trust in God. He not only walked the walk, but talked the talk.”

Mrs. Bellan has been flooded with testimonials about her husband’s goodness, including from his co-workers at the DOT.

“He loved numbers,” she said. “I can’t do math homework. That was his specialty.”

The Bellans have been active members of the Medina school community. Many of the their children are in the marching band, drama program, and compete on the swimming, soccer, track and cross country teams.

The Bellan family is pictured on Jan. 17, 2010.

The Bellans were preparing to go for the second time to the Dominican Republic. The flight on Saturday was cancelled because of the weather. Mrs. Bellan and nine of her children will go on the trip, leaving on Tuesday for almost a week of ministry.
When her husband was sick in the hospital, he told his wife not to cancel the trip for the family and other church members.

“That was his heart’s desire,” Mrs. Bellan said, “to be in the mission field. Our mission field is here in our home.”

Mrs. Bellan said it will be difficult raising the children without her husband. She said his love and guidance gave their children, especially the adopted kids, a new direction in life.

“He wanted to break that cycle of dysfunction,” she said.

Her husband didn’t have any regrets about welcoming so many children into the family, his wife said.

“This has been our life’s dream,” she said. “These kids all got a daddy. He rescued them with the love of a heavenly father.”

“I know my dad was a man of great integrity. I believe that he finished the race strong no matter the obstacles that had come his way. So since he lived for Christ, his death was a gain. So don’t be sad that he is gone, rather rejoice because he is in a far off better place.” Son Bryce, 17

A Go Fund Me fund-raising account has been established to assist the Bellan family. Click here for more information.