By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Angela Waldriff, owner of Ashlee’s Place in Medina, is pictured inside the store where Waldriff and customers have collected and sent 1,000 bras in the past two years to the Breast Oasis, which shares the bras with battered women’s shelters, teen shelters and rape crisis centers.
MEDINA – The owner of a women’s clothing and boutique store recently hit a milestone when the store and its customers sent the 1,000th donated bra to an organization that gives them to women in crisis situations.
Angela Waldriff, owner of Ashlee’s Place at 116 East Center St., has been collecting the gently worn and new bras for the past two years. Her customers donate many of them.
Waldriff then ships the clothing to the Breast Oasis, which is based in Akron, Ohio. That organizations has now collected over 135,000 bras for women who can’t afford them. Many are donated to women and teens escaping domestic violence.
Ashlee’s Place in Medina is the only site in Upstate New York that accepts the bras. Waldriff became a site for Breast Oasis about two years ago aftershe read a fashion magazine article about the organization and its mission. Waldriff puts inserts about the program in many of her customers’ shopping bags. They often return with donated bras, and many are new with the tags on.
“Our customers have done an exceptional job with the bra contributions,” Waldriff said. “I couldn’t believe it when we counted them up.”
Waldriff sees a trend with breast cancer survivors dropping off gently used mastectomy bras.
“It’s not a huge percent, but it’s enough that we’ve noticed, and we think it’s great,” Waldriff said.
Ashlee’s Place runs an annual Breast Cancer Promotion near Mother’s Day in honor of Waldriff’s mother who battled the disease and won over a decade ago.
“My mom’s cancer free and is in the clear,” Waldriff said.
Ashlee’s will continue accepting donated bras.
“Anyone can drop off gently used or new bras to the store during regular business hours,” Waldriff said. “As soon as our box is full we seal it up and send them off right away.”
For more information on Breast Oasis visit http://breastoasis.org/site/page.php?id=275.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Quick questions
KeyBank branch manager retiring today
Photos by Tom Rivers – Mary Zelazny, fourth from left, is pictured with KeyBank staff in Medina on Thursday. The group includes, from left: Bob Rice, Evie Osborne, Sharlene Pratt, Mary Zelazny, Jacky Organisciak and Tina Sheeler. Two other employees, Laurie Newton and Kathy Kepner, were working at the drive-through on Maple Ridge Road.
MEDINA – Mary Zelazny was 18 and working at Jubilee when she was approached to work at Marine Midland Bank in Medina as a teller. That was 37 years ago. Zelazny also typed loan documents early in her banking career.
She worked her way up through the ranks and became branch manager about a decade ago. Marine Midland would become HSBC Bank and about two years ago KeyBank bought the HSBC sites in Medina at 514 Main St. and also a drive-through on Maple Ridge Road.
Today is Zelazny’s last day at the bank. She is retiring. She will still be a Main Street presence. She will join her husband, Michael Zelazny, across the street at his accounting business. The Zelaznys have two grown children: Jacob works with Michael at the Walter Zelazny and Sons farm and Nicole is the marketing manager for Smokin Joes in Niagara Falls.
The following interview was conducted on Thursday at Zelazny’s office at the bank.
Q: You started as teller and typed loan documents, and then what happened in your banking career?
A: I worked my way up. I didn’t like staying in one spot. I liked learning. I wanted to help the customers. If we were slow at one time and we were idle I would ask if there was something I could do and that’s how I learned.
Q: You’ve been in this building the whole time?
A: I have been here the whole time which is kind of unusual for banking. I raised here. I’ve been here my whole life and I’ve been here my whole career.
Mary Zelazny is pictured outside KeyBank’s historic site on Main Street, a site that was originally Central Bank of Medina.
Q: Were you thinking 37-year career in banking when you started?
A: Absolutely not. I had just turned 18, just graduated and I was working at Jubilee. Ken Sylvester came in and asked if I would be interested in putting my name in. I thought, “Maybe.” I didn’t really pursue it but he came in and asked me again. I thought I’d try it. I put my name in and got hired and I’ve been here ever since.
Ken used to go to the little grocery stores and that’s where he hired a lot of his people because they had cashier’s experience and customer service.
Q: What have you liked about this for 37 years?
A: My customers. I have to say I’ve made some great friends, great relationships along the way. I’ve been on all kinds of journeys of their lives, from going to school, graduating, going to college, getting engaged, getting married, buying a house, having children, going through everything in their lives. That’s been very exciting for me and now the next generation has come up.
It’s just knowing your customers, and not just waiting on them. It’s getting to know your people, building that relationship is what it is about. That’s where you get the trust from the people.
At this bank we’ve always been very family oriented. I don’t just treat them as a customer. I treat them as a family member because that is how I would want to be treated.
Q: It seems like there has been a lot of new technology in banking.
A: When I first started we had what you call scratch pads. You didn’t have adding machines and all that. It was a little scratch pad and you would write the customer’s name on and if they had a check and they were going to make a payment, you would write that down. You would actually do the adding and subtracting right in front of them.
The difference between then and now, you put the information in a computer and it tells you if you owe them money or if they owe you money. It tells you everything now. It was more manual back then.
Some of the other things that are different are your mobile banking today. You can take a picture of the check you are going to deposit, the front and back of it, and it’s automatically into your checking account.
Q: Do you mean take a picture with your phone?
A: With your iPhone. You have to sign up for the mobile banking. You just take a picture. Say you’re out of town and you can’t get to the bank. You just take a picture of it and it credits to your account immediately. That has become quite popular. It’s more for the younger customers.
ATMs, who would have thought years ago that you would drive up to a building and put a card in? You’re going to a wall and money comes out. Who would have thought that? ATMs are huge now.
Your on-line banking, internet banking, bill pay, transferring between accounts. When I first started here that had what they called a microfiche and it was like a screen. Everyday you would put in a fiche, and it would come up on a screen and give you the customer’s account number and the activity they did for the day.
Now you just put their name or account number in and it all comes up on a computer.
Bob Rice, the relationship manager at KeyBank in Medina, has an old piggy bank given out by the Central Bank of Medina, which used to operate out of the site at 514 Main Street. The piggy bank belonged to Rice’s father, Leonard. Technology in banking has evolved in a big way since Leonard Rice was a boy. (KeyBank still gives out piggy banks for kids.)
Q: With all the new technology, it seems like there would be fewer customers who actually come inside a bank these days.
A: There is a lot less traffic now, any bank will tell you that because they are using on-line banking and the ATMs, especially your younger generation.
Q: What do you see the roles being for the branches in the future, and the employees here?
A: They’re going to be here for a while. I’m sure as time marches on there will be changes. I still think you need that personal touch. If you got a problem, you have someone you can come in and see or call.
Banking is a lot different now. When a customer comes in, we look at the entire relationship. It’s not just a checking account. We look at the whole package. We talk to you about insurance, we talk to you about mortgages, refinancing. We’re trying to help you out and save you money.
It used to be you can in for a checking account and that’s all you got. Now we talk to you about your whole entire package: retirement, investing, everything.
Q: What are you doing for your husband’s accounting business after you retire from here?
A: I’m going to be smiling, filing and answering phones.
Q: It’s great that you’ve been able to stay and work here your entire career in the same building given all the changes in the banking industry.
A: I’m very happy I was able to do that.
Q: Do you sense a resurgence in Medina?
A: I think you can see in Medina, at least on Main Street with some of the new shops, you can feel that people are excited again. You have younger people coming in. I like the old in Medina with all of the history and believe it or not I think the younger people do, too. There are not many empty offices or buildings. There is some excitement. I think you will see more.
When KeyBank took off the HSBC sign about two years ago, the original bank sign was underneath.
Q: Wasn’t there something about the sign on the bank, a discovery of some sorts when KeyBank bought the building?
A: When they took off the HSBC logos, one of the engineers got excited to see the original Central Trust sign behind. We wanted to keep it. Key is very much into the community and the history, so we kept it and the people have been very happy about it.
Q: Any other comments?
A: I just want to say thank you, thank you to my staff and my customers.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2015 at 12:00 am
O’Brien’s owner also announces write-in campaign in Medina
Jeremy Hogan – Photo by Erin Townsend
MEDINA – A second write-in candidate has stepped forward today after only one candidate submitted petitions to run on the ballot for the March 18 village election.
Jeremy Hogan, co-owner of O’Brien’s Tavern in Medina, announced his write-in campaign this afternoon. Owen Toale, a former village trustee and retired newspaper editor, also announced a write-in campaign this morning.
Toale was against village dissolution and sees shared services with the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway as a way to reduce taxes in the community.
Hogan thinks it could take a more drastic step to make a significant dent in Medina taxes, which have the highest combined tax rate – $54 per $1,000 of assessed property – in the Finger Lakes region.
Hogan said consolidation of local governments would reduce taxes.
“I supported dissolution as a route to consolidation and a means to bring the Towns back to the discussion on consolidation,” Hogan posted on Facebook. “I did not view the vote against dissolution as a vote for the status quo. Rather I saw, and repeatedly heard, it as a rallying cry. A call to get back together. There is a solution we can all get behind, one that saves us all tax dollars and removes layers of inefficiency and that is consolidation.”
Hogan, 43, worked in the software industry before returning to his hometown four years to co-own O’Brien’s.
He supports the One Medina effort that would see the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway merge into a new “Town of Medina.” The village government would go away with another push for dissolution.
“We ARE Medina,” Hogan writes on Facebook. “Whether you live in Shelby or Ridgeway, you were a Medina Mustang. Your mail comes to Medina, NY. When you’re running errands, you don’t say ‘I’m going to the Village’ you say ‘I’m going into Town.'”
Hogan said he supports Todd Bensley for village trustee. Bensley, a Medina teacher and village historian, is the only candidate who will appear on the ballot.
“I’m not one to play along party lines or get into petty political boundary games,” Hogan said. “We can craft a solution that lowers taxes for ALL of us. Town and Village. We can have a solution that brings ALL of us, together, into the future.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2015 at 12:00 am
File photo by Tom Rivers – Owen Toale speaks on Orleans Radio on Jan. 11 with Village Trustee Mike Sidari, arguing against dissolving the Village of Medina government.
MEDINA – With only one candidate stepping forward with petitions to run for the Village Board, a former trustee has announced a write-in campaign for the board.
Medina has two open positions on the March 18 village election. Both incumbents, Mark Irwin and Mark Kruzynski, opted against re-election.
Only Todd Bensely, a local teacher and historian, submitted petitions signed by at least 100 people to be on the ballot.
Owen Toale, a retired newspaper publisher, has served on the board before. He also was outspoken against dissolution, which was defeated in a referendum on Jan. 20.
“Initially I did not want to become involved in village politics again and had not taken out a petition to do so. Many individuals had approached me to run again but I declined,” Toale said in a Facebook post this morning.
Toale said he wants to help the village address “the taxation issue,” and he believes shared services can make a difference in lowering costs to the village.
“Hopefully, if I get elected, my work on the village board along with the cooperation of the rest of the board and the boards of the towns we can find ways to keep our services and lower the village taxes,” Toale said on Facebook. “It’s a tall order that is going to take some time and effort on all parts.”
Toale thinks the village and town officials can find ways to reduce the local tax burden by more than the $277,000 in savings identified by a Dissolution Committee with help from a consultant, the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester. The two towns and village have combined budgets that exceed $11 million.
“Maybe I’m a dreamer but I believe we can do better on our own,” Toale said.
Toale said Bensley is a good candidate for the board. Toale urged residents to write his name in on the ballot for March 18. Two write-in candidates, Mike Sidari and Marguerite Sherman, last March were elected, getting more votes than Patricia Crowley and David Barhite, whose names appeared on the ballot.
“If you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem,” Toale said in concluding his announcement on Facebook. “I hope to be part of the solution. Thank you.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2015 at 12:00 am
File Photo by Tom Rivers – Dolores Horvath announced today to staff at Orleans Community Health/Medina Memorial Hospital that she is resigning, effective on Friday, to a family obligation that is out-of-state.
MEDINA – The leader of Medina Memorial Hospital/Orleans Community Health is resigning, effective Friday, so she can be available for an out-of-state family obligation.
Dolores Horvath has led the local healthcare organization since mid-2013. She is credited for aligning Orleans Community Health with the Catholic Health System, an agreement that gives local access to cardiologists, and other physicians who would be difficult to recruit to a rural county.
Horvath has also pushed for equipment upgrades and has the healthcare system on course for more upgrades and higher reimbursement rates, said Dawn Meland, vice chairman of the board of directors.
“We love Dolores,” Meland said. “Dolores has accomplished much in her short time with us. She has set us on a positive course to expand and maintain vital healthcare services for our patients and families throughout the area. We thank her for her service and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”
Horvath has technically been an employee with HealthTech Management Services, a firm hired to manage Orleans Community Health in June 2013. HealthTech offered to bring in another leader for OCH, but Meland said the board of directors wants to promote Wendy Jacobson as interim CEO. She has served as the organization’s chief operating officer/chief nursing officer since 2014.
Jacobson started with Medina in 2012 as quality manager. She has proven her work ethic and commitment to the organization, Meland said.
“We have every confidence in Wendy’s ability to lead Orleans Community Health at this time,” Meland said. “Wendy’s knowledge of hospital operations and clinical services will help us make a seamless transition as we continue to work to strengthen healthcare services for the residents of Orleans County, northern Genesee and eastern Niagara counties, our service area.”
Meland said Orleans Community Health is preparing for renovations to the lobby and emergency room, and also is awaiting final state Department of Health approval for Medina Memorial Hospital to be considered a “critical access hospital.” That designation will boost reimbursement rates for Medina.
Catholic Health leaders have offered to help Orleans Community Health during this leadership transition.
“They are willing to be a mentor (for Jacobson) and be a resource,” Meland said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2015 at 12:00 am
It looks like it will be a quiet election for the Village Boards in Lyndonville and Medina.
In Lyndonville, two incumbents – Charles Coville and James Tuk – are unopposed for the trustee positions. The election is on March 18. The election is typically the third Tuesday in March but will be pushed back a day this year because of St. Patrick’s Day is on March 17.
In Medina, only one candidate turned in petitions signed by at least 100 people. Todd Bensley is the village historian, member of the Planning Board and a Medina teacher. He is running under the independent “The Medina’s Future Party.”
Bensley spoke out against dissolution last year during a public meeting in April.
There are two positions open in Medina. Both Mark Irwin and Mark Kruzynski aren’t seeking re-election.
Last election in March two write-in candidates – Mike Sidari and Marguerite Sherman – were both victorious.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 February 2015 at 12:00 am
File photo – Medina and Lyndonville teamed up last year for the production of “Into the Woods.” Here, The Wolf (Christian Hahn) is attempting to lure Little Red Riding Hood (Regan Stacey) into being eaten in the woods.
MEDINA – School district leaders at Medina want to continue a shared service partnership with Lyndonville, and possibly add to the effort.
Lyndonville’s Board of Education approved a two-year extension of the partnership on Monday and Medina’s Board of Education expects to extend the two-year contract on Feb. 24.
Medina officials discussed the program on Tuesday night, saying it has given more students opportunities by strengthening sports, drama and the marching band.
The program is in its third year and allows Lyndonville students to play on Medina’s boys soccer and football teams, and be a part of the marching band and track and field programs. Medina students are welcome to be part of Lyndonville’s musical program.
“Collaboration will be important for these districts to keep moving forward,” said Chris Keller, Medina BOE president.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Medina Board of Education President Chris Keller, right, and Board Vice President David Sevenski see a partnership with Lyndonville Central School, where the districts share some extracurricular programs, as a success.
Both districts have seen enrollments drop significantly in the past decade. Some programs would struggle to find enough students to field competitive teams.
Medina would like to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the shared services. For example, Medina students have to find their own transportation to Lyndonville for rehearsals and shows. The Medina Board of Education wants to look at the costs of providing school transportation for those students to see if that would remove a barrier to student participation and result in more kids in drama.
Medina also wants to look at adding a second drama production during the year, with the second one perhaps offered at Medina school.
If a second show isn’t added, Medina BOE members would like to host some of the productions in the future.
Medina eliminated its drama program after a budget crisis in 2010-11, when the district cut about 30 positions and many programs. But the district is in a better financial position now, board members said.
Keller and Board Vie President David Sevenski urged the board to approve the two-year extension of the shared service contract, allowing Lyndonville to host the musicals if there is only one production. Sevenski said the Lyndonville Board of Education took some heat from the public and continued to honor the agreement, despite pleas to pull Lyndonville boys out of the soccer team with Medina.
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina/Lyndonville players celebrate after claiming the Niagara-Orleans title with a victory over Roy-Hart last Oct. 16.
“Maybe we give a little,” Sevenski said. “They went to bat to protect that agreement.”
Board member Wendi Pencille didn’t see why it was out of line to talk about rotating the site for the musical productions.
“If the tables were reversed and four out of five things were in Lyndonville, we’d want that one thing,” Keller responded.
He thinks a solution might be adding a second production to be staged at Medina, and that show could perhaps be a service learning project with proceeds to go to a local charity.
Board member William Keppler said Lyndonville should also be invited to be part of Medina’s swimming program.
Neither district charges each other for students that participate in programs in the other districts.
Keller is pleased with how well the arrangement has gone. He said shrinking rural schools need to do more partnering with neighboring districts – sharing programs and resources – for students to have the opportunities available at bigger suburban districts.
The local districts also could find themselves in a financial crisis again if the state reduces aid.
“We don’t really know what the future holds,” Keller said. “The governor is introducing a lot of uncertainty in our budget process.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Today is the last day for candidates for village trustees to submit petitions in Lyndonville and Medina. Both villages have two positions open for election on March 18.
In Medina, the trustee positions for Mark Irwin and Mark Kruzynski are both up for election. Candidates need to submit petitions signed by at least 100 eligible voters in Medina to the Village Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. to be on the ballot.
In Lyndonville, the trustee positions currently filled by James Tuk and Charles Coville are up for election. Candidates need to submit petitions signed by at least 30 eligible village voters. Those petitions are due by 4 p.m. today in the Village Clerk’s office.
Albion doesn’t have any open positions for election this year. Next year in March will be Albion’s next election.
Holley has its village elections the third Tuesday in June. Candidates in Holley can pick up petitions beginning March 31 and can submit those petitions to the village clerk between May 5 and May 12. Two trustee positions currently filled by Skip Carpenter and Brian Sorochty will be up for election.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2015 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – Combat and disabled veterans who served in wartime won’t get a discount on their Medina school taxes, the Board of Education voted tonight.
The board was considering offering the minimum tax exemption allowed by a new state law. That would have lowered the taxable assessments by $6,000 for veterans who served in wartime (World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, and Persian Gulf Conflict since Aug. 2, 1990). With $6,000 off the assessments that would save eligible veterans about $140 each.
But in a 5-2 vote, the board opted against the exemption with the majority not thinking it was fair to other school taxpayers who would see an increase in their taxes.
“Our duty is to all of the taxpayers,” said William Keppler, a Board of Education member. “We have to lower everyone’s taxes so all people see a savings.”
Keppler’s father served in World War II.
“I respect the vets,” Keppler said. “I love the vets.”
Board Vice President David Sevenski also opposed the exemption. He thought it was discriminatory towards some veterans, including those in the Cold War and those who are renters and don’t own their own homes.
“The law doesn’t treat all veterans equally,” Sevenski said.
Sevenski comes from a military family. His daughter leaves next week for the Marines. He would prefer to see tax relief for all residents.
“Our goal is to try to reduce the tax rate for everyone,” Sevenski said.
Several veterans attended a Jan. 14 public hearing about the exemption with most speaking in favor of it. Other community members worried about the tax shift, especially on lower-income young families.
The minimum tax exemption for veterans would have raised taxes by $32 for nonveterans for a property assessed at $100,000.
BOE President Chris Keller and board member Carol Heiligenthaler both voted for the exemption.
“I went with the idea that providing it for combat and disabled veterans was do-able in my mind,” Keller said after tonight’s meeting. “That’s a different category of citizen.”
Sevenski said the board wrestled with the issue. Medina is the first Board of Education in Orleans County to bring the exemption to a vote since the state passed a law in December 2013 allowing school districts to offer the exemption.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 February 2015 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – The Village Board voted on Monday to pursue a federal grant to cover the salaries and benefits of two full-time firefighters.
The board has discussed the issue in recent meetings. Medina Fire Department leaders asked the board to seek four firefighters. That would cover the department’s staffing needs and also give Medina a better chance of getting the funding for over two years, said Captain Mike Maak.
The department currently has 13 full-time firefighters and two full-time temporary positions, as well as about 20 call men. The grant could be used to make the temporary positions permanent.
Village Board members said they didn’t want to boost staffing to an unaffordable level after the grant expired.
“It’s certainly in the village’s interest to pursue it and have some of the personnel costs covered even for two years,” Mayor Andrew Meier said. “The question is, ‘Is it sustainable for the long-term?'”
The village received a federal Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grant before, when the department became the primary ambulance provider for western Orleans beginning in 2007.
Medina Fire Department leaders have been pushing the past year to have more staff for the department. The call volume reached 2,986 in 2014, the highest ever. When the department pitched the plan to take over ambulance calls, the projections were for 1,800 calls annually for the department.
The department has raised mileage reimbursement rates for ambulance calls and added out-of-district charges for calls outside western Orleans to try to boost revenues. However, Meier worries if the village can pay the salaries for 17 career firefighters when the grant expires. Right now there are 13 on the payroll, plus the two temporary positions.
Other board members agreed to pursue the grant for only two positions.
“Why hire four when we know we can’t sustain them after two years?” said Trustee Marguerite Sherman.
In other action, the board:
Appointed Tim Elliott to the Village Planning Board, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Rachael Tabelski. The Village Board also appointed Kathy Blackburn as an alternate to the Planning Board, filling the spot by the late Marcia Tuohey.
Accepted the resignation from Krista Bacon as a part-time water billing clerk. Her last day will be Feb. 19.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Some want Lyndonville to field own soccer team
Photos by Tom Rivers – Lyndonville Board of Education President Ted Lewis said the cooperation with Medina Central School has been a positive for both districts.
LYNDONVILLE – Some Lyndonville students and parents want the school to bring back its own varsity boys’ soccer program.
For the past three seasons, Lyndonville students have played with Medina’s team. Lyndonville was down on soccer players, but now there are enough to field a competitive varsity team, Board of Education members were told tonight.
“We could have our own Sectional banner from our own kids hanging up in the gym,” parent Kristen Nicholson told the board.
She believes the school district could build a strong soccer program, starting with elementary “house” programs and working up to JV and varsity.
“You got to give it a chance now for the kids who are here and have the numbers to form a team,” Nicholson said.
One Lyndonville senior said he tried out for the team in Medina and was cut after a week. Another parent said her son, who had played JV, didn’t want to play varsity with Medina so he didn’t try out.
The issue was brought up because Medina and Lyndonville have been talking about extending the inter-municipal agreement for some extracurricular activities. The Board of Education voted tonight to extend a partnership with Medina Central School, where Lyndonville students can play soccer and football at Medina and can also be in Medina’s marching band.
Harold Suhr, a member of the Lyndonville Board of Education, speaks in favor of continuing an agreement with Medina Central School where Medina and Lyndonville share some sports teams and other extracurricular activities, including marching band and the high school musical.
Medina students perform in Lyndonville’s school musicals. Districts also share professional development programs for staff.
“Right now it’s a very positive relationship with Medina,” said Jason Smith, the Lyndonville district superintendent. “They’ve been great working with us.”
Lyndonville faces a declining enrollment, and that reality is forcing the district to be creative to offer opportunities for students. Jim Moody, a board member, said the shared programming may just be in the early stages for the school districts if the enrollments continue to fall.
“The same kinds of issues will be dealt with in the future,” Moody said. “There has been a demographics change in the community.”
Board members Harold Suhr and Michelle Dillenbeck said the student body, even in its declining numbers, needs to be part of more activities at the school to make those programs more viable. They both said boys are spending too much time on video games when they could be part of sports and other programs at school.
The board vote was unanimous to continue the boys soccer program with Medina. Dillenbeck worried if Lyndonville pulled out of soccer, the other opportunities for Lyndonville with Medina would be lost.
Michelle Dillenbeck, a Board of Education member, said it currently isn’t sustainable for Lyndonville to have enough athletes for some sports. She voted to continue partnering with Medina for some sports and activities.
She also doesn’t think Lyndonville would be able to field a competitive boys soccer team long-term, given the school’s declining enrollment.
Board President Ted Lewis said the partnership with Medina has gone well and he wants it to continue.
“The essence is how can we do more sustainable opportunities for our students given the demographics of our county,” Lewis said.
Suhr, a Lyndonville board member, says the cooperation has helped both districts. The new agreement is for two more years and both districts can opt out with 30 days notice.
Suhr said the agreement has allowed Lyndonville kids to play football, be in the marching band and play soccer. Suhr said the Medina soccer coach has cut some Medina students to make room for good Lyndonville players.
He remembers when he was a senior at Lyndonville and the school eliminated football. He transferred to Albion for his senior year and played for the Purple Eagles.
“When one door closes another opens,” Suhr said.
He is thankful for the year in Albion, saying he made many new friends.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
This mural inside KeyBank in Medina shows how the current Blissetts Specialty Shop looked at left more than a century ago. Rotary Park, at right, used to have a commercial building at the corner of Main and East Center streets.
MEDINA – Greg Stanton remembers coming into the former Marine Midland Bank on Main Street after hours and on weekends to paint a mural that stretches more than 20 feet long.
Stanton used panoramic photos of the downtown from about a century ago to create the scene that has now endured inside the bank since 1984. When he painted the mural, the bank was owned by Marine Midland. It was later bought by HSBC, which sold the Medina site in January 2012 to KeyBank.
Stanton created four murals in all for the bank in 1984. Three have been painted over, but the one of the historic downtown endures.
Customers enjoy the painting, and many often to stop to look at it, said Bob Rice, the relationship manager for the bank at 514 Main St.
I hadn’t been inside the bank for several years until Friday. I thought it was Mary Zelazny’s last day and wanted to do a story on her. She has one more week before she retires after 37 years. She is the site’s branch manager.
I hadn’t seen the mural before, and I think it’s an impressive depiction of the downtown. In many ways Main Street hasn’t changed too much, and that is one of the charms of Medina’s downtown.
Stanton was 28 when he painted that mural. He is happy it has remained inside the bank for 31 years and counting.
“I never expected it to last this long,” he said. “It’s something I love doing.”
The Napa Auto Parts building on Main Street used to have a tall tower.
Stanton also created murals of Medina’s coat of arms, the train depot, and he thinks a canal scene. Those ones were painted over.
Zelazny said she hopes the large mural will remain part of the bank.
“It was a fun job,” Stanton recalled. “It was a labor of love.”
He remembers trying to paint the mural during regular bank hours, but people kept talking to him, preventing him from working on the job.
“It’s kind of neat that it has stayed,” he said about the artwork. “Which will live longer, the mural or me?”
The current KeyBank site at 514 Main St. used to be a Post Office.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – The seventh annual Wine About Winter sold out of 750 tickets fast. The Medina Business Association then added 50 more and they were sold quickly. And then another 50 more.
Those 850 wine enthusiasts were in downtown Medina today, sampling wine from 30 locations in the business district. The event drew people from Rochester to Buffalo, including people who had never been to Medina before.
Aaron Slopa of Amherst gets wine from Cheryl Holt in Ashlee’s Place. Holt was pouring “Stiletto” from Midnight Run Wine Cellars in Ransomville.
Slopa said the wine-tasting showed him a vibrant downtown business community.
“It’s good seeing all of the small businesses I wouldn’t have seen before,” he said.
These friends enjoyed Wine About Winter in Medina today.
Slopa was joined by a friend Chris Sheffield of Kenmore, who was in Medina for the first time today.
“I didn’t realize the small-town charm,” Sheffield said. “There is great architecture here.”
The event continues to grow from the 250 tickets that were sold in the debut in 2009.
Sandy Barnes from Schulze Vineyards & Winery pours wine for Michael Buongiorne and his wife Chris inside The English Rose Tea Shoppe.
Barnes said Medina is one of the few vibrant small-town downtowns in Western New York. She said the Medina business district is comparable to East Aurora and Ellicottville.
“Medina has that old-town feel and it’s still a big area,” she said. “It’s your one-stop town.”
The community is ideal for a wine-tasting event because it has so many independent businesses within a few blocks, Barnes said.
Paul Schwenk of Schwenk Wine Cellars in Kent pours Rainmaker Red for wine-tasting participants inside the Wide Angle Art Galery. Kim Keil, co-owner of the gallery, is in back offering chocolate-covered pretzels and other snacks.
Wide Angle also was a host for the Ale in Autumn tasting in September. Keil said the events give the gallery lots of exposure.
“It’s great publicity,” she said. “It’s bringing 850 people in here to see some awesome artwork.”
Angela Waldriff, owner of Ashlee’s Place, also said her business benefits from the events.
“If there aren’t people who shop now, they come back,” Waldriff said.
Many young adults were walking Main Street and the business district for Wine About Winter. The balloons were outside the 30 wine-tasting spots on the tour.
Kathy Blackburn, vice president of the Business Association, said the members will discuss how the event went with the expanded crowd this year. She said the event is serving its goal of giving people a fun outing in the dead of winter while also promoting the local businesses.
“This draws people who have never been to Medina and when they see it they are quite amazed with the variety of shops and historic charm,” Blackburn said. “You don’t find too many downtowns like this anymore.”
810 Mead Works was popular with its tasting room and honey-flavored mead.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 February 2015 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The renderings for the proposed Family Dollar in Medina were on display at the Village Planning Board meeting tonight in City Hall.
MEDINA – The Village Planning Board gave final approval tonight for a new 8,320-square-foot Family Dollar on Maple Ridge Road.
Construction is expected to start in the spring and the new store could open in the fall, said Andy Hart, project manager in civil engineering with Bergmann Associates. Hart met with the Village Planning Board tonight to go over the site plan, which was approved unanimously following several months of review.
Family Dollar will need to work with the state Department of Transportation and utility companies for site work and infrastructure at the site before the building construction can start.
Planning Board Chairman Chris Busch said he was pleased with the final design of the store, which will have a brick appearance and black trim to give the building a more classic look.
Busch has seen other dollar stores in other communities that resemble block and steel pole barns. Medina has design standards for new construction in the commercial and business districts.
“That will be a very nice looking Family Dollar,” Busch said after the board approved the project.
The Planning Board also issued a negative declaration on the project, saying it won’t have an adverse environmental impact.
The site will have 28 parking spaces, and include trees and other landscaping improvements, Busch said,
Family Dollar will move out of the Tops Plaza and go about ½ mile east to a site across from Tim Hortons.
The Durban Group, which is based in North Carolina, is managing the building project at 11300 Maple Ridge Rd. The project includes a 25-foot-high pylon sign and connection into the village’s sewer system.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 January 2015 at 12:00 am
File photo – These trees were planted last year on Gwinn Street. Medina planted 57 trees in 2014 on Gwinn Street.
MEDINA – The village will plant 42 trees this spring with most on Park Avenue. Those trees will finish the planting effort on Park Avenue begun several years ago.
There will also be a few additional ancillary plantings on West Center Street and West Avenue near the Central Business District.
“The main 2015 site plan depicts a return to Park Avenue in the rotation of plantings on main thoroughfares,” said Tree Board Chairman Chris Busch. “As always, the trees have been selected specifically for the needs of this site. The small trees are those considered to be appropriate for underwire plantings by National Grid and are reimbursable by them.”
The Village Board approved the tree planting plan on Monday. Most of the cost is covered by donations and the National Grid reimbursements.
One village trustee, Mark Irwin, voted against the plan. He would like to see more trees planted on the east side of the village, especially along East Center Street.
The National Arbor Day Foundation has given Medina a “Tree City Growth Award” and has designated the community a “Tree City USA” for its commitment to planting trees every year.
