Company in Medina sets new standard for giving to agency

Photos by Tom Rivers – Nelson Patterson, vice president at Baxer International, addresses employees today during a town hall style meeting when employees were recognized for giving to United Way.

MEDINA – Baxter International employees were challenged in September to break last year’s $60,000 in contributions to the Orleans County United Way.

Employees rose to the occasion. Altogether Baxter raised $65,000 for the United Way. A ceremonial check was handed to United Way Executive Director Marsha Rivers this morning, when employees gathered to celebrate a successful fund-raising drive.

“I do want to say thank you on behalf of the people we’re helping,” Rivers said in addressing the Baxter workforce at a town hall style meeting. “Your generosity is tremendous and it will make a huge difference in the lives of a lot of people.”

Marsha Rivers, Orleans County United Way executive director, holds the $65,000 ceremonial check with Dick Barry, a former United Way board member.

Nelson Patterson, company vice president, serves on the United Way board. He has been a big cheerleader for the agency inside the building, paying for gift cards out of his own money as incentives for people to donate for the first time or to raise their contributions. Baxter Credit Union also provided gift cards as incentives.

About 200 employees are donating to United Way for $32,500. Baxter will match those donations for $65,000 total. The company has 580 workers in Medina.

Patterson said he sees more potential to raise even more money for United Way, which allocates funds to about 20 agencies in Orleans County.

Del Alvarez accepts a gift card from Dick Barry after Alvarez’s name was drawn as part of an incentive to encourage employees to donate or to boost their past contributions to United Way. Alvarez works in the company’s quality department.

“It is a great privilege to be a part of the Orleans County community and this company,” Patterson told the Baxter employees. “Each of us plays a part whether we volunteer in the community, whether we give of our money and our earnings, or whether we give of our time to help someone in need.”

In addition to financial donations, Baxter employees volunteer with many local agencies. Patterson said they logged 2,500 volunteer hours with the Community Kitchen in Albion, the Arc of Orleans County and Camp Rainbow, and the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program.

When Patterson arrived in Medina about 2 ½ years ago to lead the Medina manufacturing site, one of his first calls that day was to the United Way. He wanted to be a part of the agency’s efforts in Orleans County.

“It’s an outstanding opportunity to make an impact in the community,” he said.

About 200 Baxter employees contribute to the United Way and their contributions are matched by Baxter.

Baxter manufactures Sigma Spectrum pumps, which utilize smart infusion technology in the medical field. The Medina site inside the Olde Pickle Factory on Park Avenue produces smart-infusion pumps, devices that reduce medication errors by delivering the specific amounts of IV medications and fluids to patients.

Sigma was owned by Roger Hungerford, who sold the company to Baxter. Hungerford also was a big proponent of the United Way, Patterson said.

“Roger emphasized it,” Patterson said. “He is a person with a passion for Medina, for seeing the community thrive.”

Patterson recently accepted a new job with Baxter back at the company headquarters in Deerfield, Ill. At today’s meeting, he praised the generosity of the Medina workers and encouraged them to continue supporting United Way in the future.

United Way and Baxter partnered on a “Route 104” campaign. If employees gave a $1 a week to United Way, Baxter would match that contribution, for $104 total.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MURRAY – About 300 people turned out for the annual Treasure Island fundraiser for Medina Memorial Hospital and Orleans Community Health.

In the top photo, Pam Canham, left, and her cousin Laurel Carney of Oakfield look over some of the items up for bid at Hickory Ridge Country Club. Treasure Island moved from the Sacred Heart Club in Medina to Hickory Ridge in Murray to better accommodate the crowd and the 266 items up for bid. Jerome Pawlak of Albion and Dr. Tom Madejski, an attending physician at Medina Memorial, served as honorary chairmen of the event.

Jim Moody, director of the Orleans Community Health Foundation, addresses the crowd for Treasure Island. He announced $20,000 had been raised for hospital in sponsors for Treasure Island.

He expected the auction would raised another $20,000 to $25,000 for $40,000 to $45,000 altogether. That money will be used to remodel and renovate the emergency room, a project planned for the first quarter of 2015.

The hospital within a month expects to begin on a $300,000 remodel of the front lobby and the area leading to the ER.

Dolores Horvath, President and CEO of Orleans Community Health/Medina Memorial Hospital, addresses the crowd for Treasure Island.

“I am very excited for the system,” Horvath said. “We’ve turned the corner. We’re on the right path.”

Horvath said she was impressed by the big crowd of supporters at the benefit on Saturday.

“Look at all of these people in the room,” she said. “That speaks volumes for the hospital.”

She praised a new affiliation with Catholic Health, based in Buffalo. Catholic Health has two cardiologists working out of Orleans County, and is working on providing telemedicine and an orthopedic program.

“We can help them be stronger,” said Roger Duryea, vice president of planning and business development for Catholic Health.

He was one of eight from Catholic Health who attended the benefit. Bringing healthcare services to the community is part of the mission of Catholic Health, he said.

Catholic Health is only asking for the chance to compete for patients who need higher level services, Duryea said. The organization also has affiliations with hospitals in Springville and Westfield.

Village adds $50 out-of-district surcharge

MEDINA – It will cost more to be transported in Medina ambulance and calls outside western Orleans County will soon be assessed a $50 out-of-district surcharge.

The Village Board approved raising the mileage rate for ambulance transports from $20 to $30. Medina had been on the low end for mileage rates and is now in the middle of the pack, Fire Chief Todd Zinkievich told the Village Board.

“We’re still at a respectable level,” he said.

The Fire Department has seen its calls increase outside its contract area – the Village of Medina and towns of Shelby, Yates and Ridgeway. Zinkievich said the Medina ambulance responds to calls in Albion and central Orleans, and Genesee and Niagara counties. Some ambulance squads will include surcharges for up to $100 for out-of-district work.

Zinkievich said $100 may be too high to start with. He suggested $50 and the Village Board agreed.

Photo by Tom Rivers

People in costume cross East Center Street on Friday during Beggar’s Night in Medina. The village of Medina has set 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for trick-or-treating hours on Halloween, which is Friday.

Medina also is limiting trick-or-treating to children 12 and younger, and advises people to only knock on doors of homes with their outdoor lights on. Residents wishing to participate in Halloween are asked to have their porch lights on at 5:30 p.m. to indicate participation.

Albion has set trick-or-treating hours from 5 to 8 p.m. and Lyndonville will have trick-or-treating from 6 to 8 p.m.

If any other towns or villages have established hours for trick-or-treating, they are welcome to send that information to info@orleanshub.com.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Bill Beach and his fiancée Linda Postle have turned their backyard into a graveyard. Their carriage house is full of skeletons, witches and scary clowns.

They will open up their displays to the community on Halloween. It will be their fourth time welcoming people to their haunted house at 341 East Oak Orchard St. They team with their neighbors, Rich and Lisa Kenward, and other cast and crew for the production.

“Every year it grows,” Postle said.

The carriage house has some characters up high.

Postle started having a Halloween display a few years ago when she lived on Culvert Road out in the country. Her neighbors liked it, but Postle said there weren’t too many trick-or-treaters out there.

There is a big crowd of children in the village on Halloween. She and Beach wear costumes when they greet the visitors and welcome them to see the ghoulish display in the backyard and carriage house. They don’t try to scare little kids, but they admitted they like to push it with the teen-agers. Some high school kids run down the driveway, dropping their candy because of the fright.

“People come in by the carloads,” Beach said. “People when they leave here they say, Excellent, excellent job.'”

New this year includes skeletons playing cards at a bar.

Postle has a series of grave markers with the names of famous horror stars, including Freddy Kruger, Jason Vorhees, Carrie White and Michael Myers.

She smiled as she looked out on the lawn of characters.

“It breaks up the monotony in life,” she said.

Provided photos – Members of the Medina Mustang Field Band poses with their awards after Sunday’s championship show in Syracuse.

MEDINA – The Medina Mustang Field Band took second place in its division on Sunday during the state championship at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, where 52 bands competed in six different classifications.

Medina competes in the SS1 class against six other schools. New Hartford took first place with a score of 92.10 followed by Medina at 89.90. Other rankings include Northwestern in seventh at 83.65, Oswego in sixth at 84.10, Mohonasen in 5th at 84.85, East Irondequoit in fourth with 85.45 and ESM in 3rd with 89.70.

There were more than 5,000 students in the New York State Field Band Conference annual championships. Medina won the state title last year.

Medina started the day at 8 a.m. with the Dome Breakfast put on by the Boosters and the help of many parents as a kind of “pep rally” to bring everyone together. For the seniors it was exciting to be returning to the Dome, but at the same time they knew it would be the last time they would perform their show together. Seniors draw a tear on their cheek for the last show.

Medina this season performed a 7-minute Miss Saigon repertoire including “The Heat is On,” “Please,” “March of the Dragon,” and “Fall of Saigon.”

Band Director Jim Steele said the kids did everything they were asked to do and their performance was outstanding. There are many life lessons to be learned when participating in an activity such as marching band.

As long as you put your best performance out there, whether you come in first or not, that’s good enough, Steele told the students. Before going on the field to perform and after the awards, Steele had the band members form a circle and hold hands with the people around them. No matter what position you win or what trophy you come home with, the people in that circle and the friendships made will still be there, he said.

While the Field Band season is coming to a close the students are preparing for their winter concerts. Winterguard will begin practicing for their show.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Medina Mayor Andrew Meier listens during a discussion at tonight’s Village Board meeting. He is joined by Village Trustee Mike Sidari.

MEDINA – Village residents will get their say on whether or not there will be a village government during a public referendum set for Jan. 20.

The Village Board voted tonight to set the date for the referendum. That followed an Oct. 23 decision by Village Clerk Debbie Padoleski to certify a petition circulated by members of “One Medina,” which wants to see the village government dissolved and the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby merged into one entity.

The dissolution move has been about three years in process since the village and two towns first formed a committee to look at the how to best streamline government services and reduce the cost of government in the community. A committee then suggested village dissolution and a town merger.

The issue on Jan. 20 will focus on the village dissolution and only village residents will be eligible to vote from noon to 9 p.m. at the Senior Center. (Absentee ballots will also be available.)

After Padoleski certified the petitions, the Village Board had 30 days to set a public referendum. That public vote had to fall within a minimum of 60 days and a maximum of 90 days from when the board sets the vote.

Village Trustee Mark Irwin made the motion to set the referendum date. He said the vote 20 days after New Year’s Day “gives both sides a chance to make their case.”

Mayor Andrew Meier has been pushing dissolution, even though it will cost him his job as mayor. He sees it as a best course for the community’s future, by narrowing the tax burden between current village residents and those outside the village in the two towns.

Residents with a house assessed at $70,000 can save about $1,000 a year in taxes if they move outside the village and live in the two towns. Meier wants to reduce the tax incentive for residents and businesses to locate outside the village.

Ridgeway Town Councilwoman Mary Woodruff said dissolution would just be a tax shift to the two towns. She urged the Village Board to educate the public about possible scenarios and tax impacts with the dissolution.

Village Trustee Mark Kruzynski said the public referendum will simply be on whether or not the village government should be dissolved. The vote won’t get into the specifics of a dissolution plan. A planin April was presented by a committee that worked with a consultant, the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester.

That plan would preserve the police and fire departments and other village services. However, officials from the two towns have said Shelby and Ridgeway aren’t obligated to follow that plan.

A potential loss of services worries some residents, including Trustee Marguerite Sherman.

“Residents need to know once it’s gone, it’s gone,” she said about dissolution.

The village would continue for about two more years, even if residents vote to dissolve it. That will give time for an orderly transition to the two towns, and perhaps to form a local development corporation or public authority for some services.

“Medina will still be Medina even if it ceases to be a village,” Irwin said. “The village won’t just vaporize.”

He cited examples of Charlotte in Rochester and La Salle in Niagara Falls, communities that kept their identities even when their village governments faded away.

Woodruff is a village resident and she said she likes having local representatives to share her concerns.

“I want my voice in the government,” she told the board.

She also said the two towns don’t plan on working towards a consolidation.

Ed Weider helped circulate the petitions to get dissolution on the ballot. He addressed the Village Board tonight and said the community should look at the issue as a “reorganization plan.”

“The village won’t just go away with a flip of the switch,” he said. “It will take two years to reorganize and that will require a great deal of cooperation.”

Provided photo

MEDINA – Five people were able to get out of a house on fire this morning at 413 Prospect Ave.

The Medina Fire Department was dispatched to the scene at 3:29 a.m. Two adults and three children were trapped inside. Medina police were also at the scene and put a ladder on the back of the house. That allowed firefighters to safely carry down the three children and assist the two adults.

Firefighters then gained entry to the house and found fire on the staircase to the second floor, said Steve Cooley, a Medina firefighter.

The fire was extinguished in less than ten minutes from the time of dispatch. Crews remained on scene checking for fire extension and clearing the structure of smoke, Cooley said. Village of Medina crews were assisted by Shelby and Lyndonville firefighters.

Two families at the house do not have to be displaced, Cooley said. The damage was limited to the stairs and an area leading to the upper apartment.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by Medina Fire Department, Medina Police Department, and Orleans County fire investigators.

MEDINA – “One Medina” has enough signatures to force a vote on dissolution in the Village of Medina.

Village Clerk Debbie Padoleski certified the petitions this morning. Padoleski deemed 371 of 432 signatures turned in last week were valid. She matched the signatures with an eligibility list from the Orleans County Board of Elections. Some signatures were invalid because the addresses of the names didn’t match the list from the Board of Elections.

The 371 is more than enough. To force a referendum, a petition needs 10 percent of the eligible village voters. A petition would need at least 314 valid signatures out of the 3,137 eligible voters.

The Village Board now has up to 30 days to set a vote. That vote must then occur within 60 to 90 days of the board setting the referendum. The board next meets on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Shelby Town Hall.

Village residents David Barhite, Jim Lustumbo and Ed Weider helped gather the signatures and turned the in the petition on Oct. 16.

They want to see less layers of government and reduced taxes for village residents.

Photos by Peggy Barringer
MEDINA – The Medina Rotary Club had a craft fair and served up chili on Saturday in a benefit for Rotary’s youth programs in Medina.

The event was held at the United Methodist Church in the former Apple Grove Inn at 11004 West Center St.

Bill Bixler and Julianna Duda serve up three varieties of chili (white chicken, sweet, and spicy beer chili). Proceeds of the chili sale benefit the Rotary Club of Medina’s youth programs including scholarships to Medina High School and the foreign exchange student program. Duda said Rotary believes strongly in these programs due to “kids being our future.” The Bread Basket in Medina donated all the bread to go with the chili.

Pumpkins and frog were created by Bubba’s Chainsaw Carvings in Lyndonville.

Vendor Kira Sinclair upcycles used clothing she purchases at the Clothing Depot in Medina and transforms into handmade plush toys.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Hartway Motors welcomed customers for an annual appreciation day on Thursday. The community was welcomed inside to see renovations to the Chevrolet dealership in Medina at 320 North Main St.

MEDINA – A dealership that has been a presence in downtown Medina since 1932 has a new look. It wasn’t easy, but Hartway Motors was able to meet the demands for corporate branding, while preserving the historical integrity of its building at 320 North Main St.

“I think the remodel enhanced what was here and brought it up to date,” said Lisa Hartway Enderby, co-owner of the dealership with her sister Bridget DiCureia and brother Richard Hartway. They bought the business from their father Charles Hartway a decade ago. He remains a frequent presence at the dealership and stopped by for customer appreciation day on Thursday.

The project was completed in June. On Thursday, Hartway Motors had its annual open house, the first time some community members were inside to see the renovated showroom.

A 2014 Chevy Spark is inside the showroom for the annual open house at Hartway Motors.

The most prominent changes are outside with a large blue entry arch, which signifies the site as a Chevy dealership.

Enderby said the building has preserved many of its historical features and now has better lighting and acoustics.

Her grandfather, Frank J. Payjack, first opened the dealership in 1932 across the street. General Motors asked him to upgrade his dealership. He knocked down a house across the street and built the Hartway Motors site in 1948.

Provided photo – Frank J. Payjack, grandfather of the current owners of Hartway Motors, built this site in 1948.

That Hartway building featured a post-war architectural style known as Streamline Moderne, characterized by a lack of decoration with a flat roof, white walls, glass block, and curved, aerodynamic forms, noted Chris Busch, chairman of the Medina Planning Board.

The Hartway site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an example of Streamline Moderne and also for being in the downtown Medina business district.

Enderby worked to satisfy the demands from Chevy for the entry arch and cosmetic changes on the building. She didn’t want to leave the downtown and have a typical suburban dealership.

The Medina Historic and Architectural Review Board said the building’s historic features remain, namely the rounded windows.

“You might be tempted to lump this structure with the proposed changes into the pile with all the other newer suburban Chevrolet dealerships,” Busch said in February while the front sign was under construction. “However, upon closer inspection, you will see that the Hartway structure is indeed different in that it does maintain the essential design characteristics of the original Streamline Moderne.”

The Hartway site also keeps a pedestrian scale and fits in with the neighborhood and other nearby businesses, Busch said.

Enderby believes the project struck a nice balance with keeping the historical flavor of the site while embracing new features.

“With car dealerships the whole idea is moving forward with technology,” she said.