NYSUT President Karen Magee and Medina Teachers’ Assoc. President Joe Byrne.

Provided Photos – Karen Magee meets with teachers at Oak Orchard Elementary School.

MEDINA – The president of the New York State Union of Teachers visited Medina teachers on Tuesday. Karen Magee met with teachers and Medina Teachers’ Association leadership.

State union officials, including Magee, were in Buffalo for the Champions of Public Education Reception, honoring State Sen. Tim Kennedy and several members of the State Assembly for their dedication to student advocacy.

Magee said she was very impressed by the district and the services available to Medina Students. She toured Medina High School and Oak Orchard Elementary School, meeting with teachers at both locations. She was struck by the sense of community in the district, having walked the halls of the high school and elementary schools decorated for Homecoming. Ms. Magee mentioned how impressed she was with the use of technology in the classroom.

The teachers, in preparation for the NYSUT president’s visit wore “Our Classroom Matters” buttons, advocating for the education of students as people, not test scores.

“The president’s choice to visit Medina is a proud day for the union and serves as testament to teachers’ hard work in the classroom and their continuing support as advocates for the children of Medina,” said Joe Byrne, president of Medina Teachers’ Association.

Photos by Sue Cook – The color guard dances and waves flags around the lined up marching band.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to say Band Boosters offer scholarships and help fund the annual spring trip. The band program is open to all students, regardless of their ability to pay.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

MEDINA – The Medina Mustang Marching Band won first place Saturday when it hosted a New York State Field Band Conference competition. Seven other bands joined Medina at Vets Park.

Medina marches out in preparation to take the field.

Brenda Waild’s daughter Nicole plays marching machine, chimes, cymbal and bass drum in the marching band.

Brenda commented that Nicole loves the band, saying, “She’s very musical and really enjoys it. She enjoys the friendly atmosphere that we have here. She also enjoys the competitions and going out to other schools.”

Chad Kenward said he and his wife motivated their daughter Madison Kenward to join the band.

“Her mother and I were in band together,” he said. “We encouraged her to join and she loves it. She participates in concert band, jazz band and field band. She plays mellophone.”

Medina moved through various formations during their performance.

“It’s long and hard for those kids,” said Herb Grosslinger.

His daughter Keala Grosslinger is a member of the color guard and works with the rifles and flags. The color guard practices with the band twice a week as well as performing during games with them.

“She practices every night twirling rifle,” he said of Keala’s dedication. “She really likes it and these kids work really hard for what they do.”

Many of the parents stated that the kids in marching band and color guard operate like a very large family. Parents and band members work together raising money for the program so it is open to all students, regardless of their ability to pay.

For the Festival of Bands in Medina, the school performed a Miss Saigon repertoire including “The Heat is On,” “Please,” “March of the Dragon,” and “Fall of Saigon.” There are 105 band members and 25 color guard performers.

At the end of the performance, the band ran behind the Miss Saigon display boards as a huge flag was carried across the field by the color guard.

While waiting for the results to be read, the drum majors were all asked to entertain the audience by dancing to some Beach Boys music. The Medina students were happy to oblige.

Medina classified as a Small School 1 band and won first place in its category with 81.35 points against Northwestern from Albion, Penn., which scored 76.55.

At the end of the night, when the 50/50 raffle drawing was done, Wendi Pencille, a member of the Medina Board of Education, won $468 and immediately donated it back to the marching band.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A fire in the laundry room in the back of a house at 584 East Ave. was quickly brought under control by firefighters just before noon today.

The fire caused minimal damage and remains under investigation, said Todd Zinkievich, Medina fire chief.

There was a lot of smoke coming from the back of the house and the fire was starting to move up the wall before it was knocked down by firefighters, Zinkievich said.

The house is owned by Cliff Fidanza. Besides the Medina Fire Department, firefighters responded from Shelby and Lyndonville.

Provided photo – Jim Moody, director of the Orleans Community Health Foundation, is pictured with Wilson Southworth, right, in front of Medina Memorial Hospital. Southworth was the $10,000 grand prize winner in the Mega Drawing.

MEDINA – A Medina resident is the $10,000 winner of the Mega Drawing, a fund-raiser for Orleans Community Health Foundation.

Wilson Southworth won the grand prize. The Foundation also awarded a $2,000 prize to Heather Schrader of Medina, $1,000 to Pat Kennedy of Medina, $1,000 to Betty Rogowski of Medina and $500 to Robert Welch of Brockport.

Proceeds from the Mega Drawing will go towards upcoming renovations of the emergency room at Medina Memorial Hospital.

The Foundation is working on its Treasure Island fund-raiser on Nov. 1 at Hickory Ridge Golf and Country Club in Holley.

Photo by Sue Cook – The Medina Board of Education approves the new club during the BOE meeting tonight.

By Sue Cook
Staff reporter

MEDINA – For two years, the students of Medina have been meeting informally in a Gay-Straight Alliance under the supervision of English teacher Karen Jones.

Tonight, the Medina school board formally approved the club, making it official and appointing Jones as the club advisor, while also offering compensation for the position like other teachers receive for advisory positions of after-school clubs.

Up to tonight, Jones was volunteering in the position, but wanted to see the district add the club to the list of officially recognized student activities. Though the school has supported the club, Jones is pleased to see the district validate it as an official school activity.

“It’s a safe place for kids to go after school to talk about common issues,” said Superintendent Jeff Evoy. “One of the main things I’m always concerned with is student safety. I want to make sure all students feel like they belong. I want to make sure all students feel safe in school. I want to make sure all students feel secure in school.”

“It was something a group of students had asked the principal about and the principal said ‘It’s something that we’d like to get started,’ and that’s how it came about,” said Evoy.

The vote by the Board of Education to approve the club was not contested by any members of the board or any members of the community present at the meeting.

“The group is to promote camaraderie,” Jones said. “It helps students not to feel isolated. I know too many people personally that needed this in high school and didn’t have it. I was very happy to step in and provide space for the kids and supervise them.”

The goal of the club has always been to ensure a safe place for students to meet without fear of bullying to openly discuss any problems they are having and to encourage students to support each other as peers. The club encourages discussion of problems that students feel they are facing or would like feedback on, such as relationships and friendships in and out of school.

The group is open for anyone to join and is a mix of gay and straight students. The straight students are referred to as allies. Many of the allies joined the club because they have friends or family members outside of the school that are marginalized and would like to extend their support to their peers in school as well. About 15 to 20 students regularly came to the club last year and Jones expects the number to increase this year.

The students who originally wanted to form the club had approached Jones and asked if she would be willing to lead it.

“I’ve always tried to create a safe space,” she said. “I make sure students in my classroom know that they can’t use any sort of derogatory language against other kids. These students felt safe enough with me to ask about having these meetings.”

The club has already participated in a GSA conference in Hamburg with over 200 other students. They also celebrate Wear It Purple Day, which is an event against bullying in any form against anyone. Teachers and students outside the club also participate by wearing purple to show that they want Medina to be a safe, supportive environment. The students have also done the Day of Silence where they do not speak during an entire day, symbolically supporting students who feel silenced by bullying.

Evoy is pleased to see Jones acting as the club advisor and commented, “She does a wonderful job. She’s dedicated to all children and she’s outstanding. I’m glad that this club will formally be in existence.”

Medina is the second school in Orleans County to currently have an active GSA club. Holley school also has an active club.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Kim Keil, left, and Noelle Wiedemer opened Wide Angle Art Gallery at 525 Main St. The site will be a showcase for artists, including student art work, and also will offer workshops for painting, photography, science in art and other topics.

Pat Curry created this piece of artwork, “Fly Away,” as well as many of the paintings in the debut exhibits at Wide Angle Art Gallery.

Wide Angle Art Gallery celebrated its debut on Saturday with work from four artists showcased, including this dress made by Pat Curry from Wegmans receipts.

MEDINA – The arts scene just found a new venue in Orleans County with the opening of Wide Angle Art Gallery at 525 Main St.

Kim Keil and Noelle Wiedemer opened the gallery on Saturday to an enthusiastic crowd. The gallery displayed works from four artists and promoted upcoming workshops, including one for children ages 10 to 14 on acrylic painting. That class will be Oct. 4.

Keil teaches chemistry at University of Buffalo and Wiedemer teaches in the museum studies program at Buffalo State. They are accustomed to the art scene in bigger cities. But they see potential in a gallery and art-related workshop in small-town Medina.

“We’ve watched all the new stores pop up and the ones that are established,” Wiedemer said. “It’s fantastic.”

Medina is drawing media attention from outside the area for its downtown business revival in a historic district, Wiedemer said.

“People know where Medina is and they are willing to make the trek out here,” she said.

While Medina has added new businesses in recent years, an art gallery seemed to be missing from Main Street, Wiedemer said.

The two-story location includes an upstairs workshop that could be used for one-day classes or sessions that lasts several weeks. Wiedemer said visiting artists will lead some of the programs.

“We have the space and it won’t just be limited to Medina,” she said. “We want to be a Western New York hub.”

Wiedemer and Keil both said Medina is nestled in a beautiful area that will draw artists and students to see the water, orchards and other lush landscapes.

“The seasons are gorgeous,” Wiedemer said. “We’re very lucky out here.”

For more on the gallery, visit wideangleartgallery.com.

Photos by Sue Cook – The memorial garden is nearly completed.

By Sue Cook
Staff reporter

MEDINA – Last year, two members of the Memories of Medina Facebook page passed away leading the group to create a memorial garden in their honor.

At the Glenwood Lake boat launch site just north of Boxwood Cemetery, the garden is already nearing completion and is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

“I came down here to my thinking spot,” said Dayton Hausman, one of the garden organizers. “I looked around and said there’s no color down here. It’s just green by the water.”

The garden was created originally in honor of Michelle Stanton Jones who lost her battle with cancer on July 29, 2013. She was an early member of the Memories of Medina Facebook page. Its original purpose was to share news, memories and other tidbits of Medina, while also offering a way for members to network and make new friends. Stanton Jones organized meet-and-greet events through the page for the people of Medina to meet each other.

Provided photo – This photo shows early construction by Glenwood Lake.

The garden site coincided with being the location of the very first meet-and-greet that Stanton Jones headed. The group met under the pavilion, which is only about a hundred feet from the garden.

“Michelle lived out by Lake Ontario, so she loved the water,” Hausman said. “Just about anyone who grew up in Medina says Glenwood is our little secret.”

“It’s always just quiet and peaceful,” said Tim Bensley. “If you were to put a place where you’d go sit and think, this would be it.”

“Behind this was idea of reflection and to add color,” added Hausman.

The garden also honors Linda Froman, a prominent business woman and active community member. She was also a big player in the Memories of Medina page and passed away two days after Stanton Jones.

Photo by Sue Cook – Lynn Stanley donated the angel in the garden in honor of her son.

“There was a loose committee of individuals in the group that agreed to give it a shot,” Hausman said. “We went to the town of Ridgeway and presented our ideas and they backed us. They gave us permission and we met with Mark Goheen from the highway department and got the rules and regulations of what we could and couldn’t do. They were very supportive.”

The garden is funded by donations. Many monetary donations have been made by local businesses and Medina residents. Collection jars were also left at many businesses. Almost all of the features of the garden, such as the angel and birdhouse, were donated by community members.

Hannah Pollard of Grant-Pollard Insurance also organized a basket raffle that brought in about $10,000 in donations. This is what prompted the garden to be upgraded from a little 6′ by 9′ space designed to look like a smiley face to 100′ by 37′ series of rings and hearts. Some of the money will be left over after the garden is completed for any ongoing maintenance of the site.

Provided photo – Volunteers began spreading the stone.

Tim Bensley, owner of Bensley’s Home Services, used his construction experience and the volunteer support of high-schoolers to create the space. About 12 Medina High School grads and students, mostly young women, assisted in making the space with six of them showing up regularly.

“It been truly an emotional experience to come down here and work,” Bensley said. “There’s so many things that happen when you’re down here. There were these two geese. As soon as I would get here, these geese would arrive. They’d land in the lake, we’d work, we’d leave, they’d fly off. I was calling them Linda and Michelle, like they were checking up on me.”

Local businesses also helped in other ways. JC Signs lettered the sign that stands over the entry path. Art Hill Excavating and Shelby Stone contributed materials and Medina Lumber and White Pines Nursery gave discounts toward their purchases.

Provided photo – The view from the garden is especially picturesque on a sunny day.

“It’s a community project that came out of a lot of sadness, but it’s a source of pride,” said Hausman.

Besides two plaques being created for Stanton Jones and Froman, memorial plaques are also available for purchase to remember others. So far about 30 plaques have been purchased. They are available for $75 and can be purchased at Grant-Pollard Insurance in Medina from Hannah or Libby Pollard.

The plaques will be used to line the top edge of the center ring in the garden at first. There is space for 127 on there. If more space is needed as time goes on, further concentric rings will be constructed expanding outward.

“It’s far more than any of us ever imagined,” Bensley said. “It’s kind of grown over the year.”

The remaining construction at the site includes the installation of six stone benches, a large centerpiece of a stone circle with a heart in the center, the installation of the plaques and the addition of solar lights. The dedication ceremony will take place in the spring when the plants in the garden are colorful.

Photo by Al Scalzo

Al Scalzo of Medina sent in two photos from the Monday night “Supermoon.” It was the third time this season we had a Supermoon, when the moon is full and at its closest orbit to the earth.

Photo by Al Scalzo

The Supermoon on Monday also was known as a Harvest Moon because it is near the autumn equinox.

Photo by Chris Busch

Chris Busch of Medina was stepping out of the Post office on Wednesday afternoon when the Sun appeared to cast a heavenly halo over the top of the First Baptist Church. Busch said this photo doesn’t do justice to the scene.

“The actual sight was beautiful!” Busch said.

Photos by Sue Cook – Children gather for a photo during the first Comic Con party at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library on Friday night.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

MEDINA – Lee-Whedon Memorial Library wanted to offer something new to patrons and decided the release of the new Captain America movie on Friday was a great day to celebrate with Comic Con.

The most famous examples of the convention are the San Diego and New York Comic Cons. They are conventions held around the world for people to get together and celebrate the pop culture of comic books, video games, movies and general science fiction.

This is the first year the library has held the event, but Kristine Mostyn, the assistant library director, said that the library wants to make it an annual event.

“There’s comic book movies coming out for like the next five years or so,” Mostyn said. “I’m planning on continuing it as long as it’s popular. I was trying to think of a program that people of all ages would enjoy, but also had the fun aspect that you could dress up and be a kid again.”

The event took place after hours throughout the main area of the library.

“We wanted it to be a loud, boisterous and fun program, but we didn’t want it while we were open where we’d disturb other people,” she said. “Plus, having the lights off for the film limits the ability for others to use the library.”

Library staff that are fans of the con genres helped out during the event and some even got into the spirit by dressing up. Mostyn dressed as Elphaba from Wicked and Children’s Librarian Suzanne McAllister came as Darth Vader from Star Wars. Staff also brought some props from their personal collections, such as light sabers, for con-goers to use in photographs.

Props were provided by the library staffers for the kids to wear for pictures.

“It was fun because the staff was enthusiastic about it, too,” Mostyn added.

The kids participated in several events to win prizes throughout the evening.

Because dressing in costumes is traditional for Comic Cons, the library held a costume contest. Aaron Lama won the event dressed as Iron Patriot from the third Iron Man film. He was awarded a life-sized cardboard stand-up of the character Loki from Thor.

Kristen Helton brought her son, Trent Ingerson, dressed as a Sith Lord from Star Wars. “It’s just a fun event. I hope they do this every year,” she said.

The children also participated in a superhero scavenger hunt. They had to seek out the symbols of superheros from all over the library. Those who completed it were entered into a raffle. Mason Moreland and Andrew Schmidli won faux vintage metal signs of Spiderman and Wonder Woman.

During the trivia contest, the kids were asked questions about the most popular heroes, such as how Superman got his powers or who Batman’s sidekick is. Timmy Vasquez won a Justice League poster.

The kids also took a 30-minute drawing lesson from local art hobbyist Jeffrey Leigh. He taught the children how to draw several popular characters.

Provided photo

To wrap up the evening, everyone gathered around the projector screen for a viewing of the movie “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

“I picked the day to coincide with the day the movie coming out on DVD. It’s still new and people that haven’t seen it in theater haven’t seen it on DVD yet,” Mostyn said.

She is hoping to draw older kids next year to participate with the younger kids. The average age of kids at the event was between 6 and 10, although a couple of 18-year-olds joined the fun. She is hoping that older siblings might attend with younger ones next year and that they might even choose to dress up as well.

Mostyn also plans to try and get a real comic artist to come in next year. She knows of a successful comic book artist in Lockport that she is hoping to invite to talk about how comic creation can be a worthwhile aspiration.

“I tried to get all aspects of being a comic book lover, or just sci-fi and fantasy in general,” Mostyn said. “I thought this was a good way to embrace this for our community. There is nothing like this. I’m hoping it will grow.”

Provided photos – The high school staff is pictured sitting on bleachers during Monday’s “Day of Action.”

MEDINA – Faculty at Medina Central School dressed in blue on Monday, joining many teachers across the state and country in a “Day of Action,” where they sought more funding for schools and less testing for students.

Medina teachers support testing of students, but say the “Common Core” has put “undo anxiety” on children and their families, according to the Medina Teachers Association.

As part of the Day of Action, Medina teachers adopted the following pledge:

“I shall continue to create a positive learning environment and educational experience for all students and pledge to respect each of my students as a unique person, and not a test score.”

Teachers at Clifford Wise Middle/Intermediate School are pictured inside the school library.

Joe Byrne, president of the Medina Teachers Association, said classrooms are not factories.

“The reality is that state assessments have stressed students, parents, and teachers alike and have done little to improve student education,” he said. “Testing cannot measure the influence of good teaching, which often takes years to reach fruition in the lives of students. Assessing teachers on the test scores of their students stifles creativity in the classroom and deprives children a love of learning.”

The state has implemented a teacher evaluation system, the Annual Professional Performance Review. The APPR is intended to hold teachers accountable for yearly academic progress of their students by including standardized test scores as part of their evaluation.

But the MTA says the value of a good teacher cannot be measured by standardized test scores. The teachers union says taxpayer dollars would be far better spent on programming that empowers students to become healthy, educated and productive citizens.

“It’s sad to think that these test scores are defining our students,” said elementary teacher Kris Colonna. “Each child should be recognized as special and unique. These tests do not reflect the growth of the whole child.”

Teachers held rallies throughout the state on Monday, including in Albany, Binghamton, Rochester, Syracuse, New York City, Yonkers and West Seneca.

The staff at Oak Orchard Elementary School join for a picture on Monday.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Tom Snyder and Lisa Trippensee were out Sunday afternoon in a lift painting the windows at Slack Insurance Agency, 441 Main St.

Snyder also recently painting a building he owns at 413 Main St., the site of the former Journal-Register.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The 6th annual Accordion Fest drew about 150 people to the Medina Theatre this afternoon, the first time that venue has hosted the music festival.

In the top photo, Ted Szymanski plays the accordion for the band, Special Delivery from Buffalo. Dave Miesowicz, left, plays several instruments for the band including alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and clarinet. The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council planned the event.

Special Delivery and other musicians proved popular with the crowd, which preferred the polka band over the Buffalo Bills game.

The Accordion Fest included an open mike opportunity and Francisco Rosario was one of the performers. Rosario and his family own Monte Alban and Mariachi de Oro in Medina. Rosario thanked the community for supporting the businesses and welcoming his family.

Jim Kimball, a SUNY Geneseo professor, plays his accordion during the festival today. He also served as emcee for the event.

Provided photo – The Mustang Band performs “Miss Saigon” during a Saturday competition at East Rochester.

By Kathy Dreyfus
Publicity chairwoman for Medina Mustang Band

Let the competition begin! The Medina Mustang Band competed for the first time this season on Saturday at Eastridge High School. It was a beautiful evening when nine bands from Western New York performed.

In the Small School 1 category Medina took 2nd place with a score of 75.50 while Eastridge took 1st place with a score of 76.30.

Medina’s show, “Miss Saigon” portrays the smash Broadway musical, an emotionally charged story of an American soldier who meets, falls in love with and marries a Vietnamese girl. Powerful music and thematic drill design bring this show to life.

Medina will next compete on Sept. 20 at the band’s home show, The Fall Festival. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30 p.m.

The rest of the Mustang schedule includes Sept. 27 at West Genesee, Oct. 4 at Orchard Park, Oct. 11 at Victor, Oct. 18 at Webster and the finale on Oct. 26 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.

Photos by Sue Cook – Nicole Tuohey cuts the paper chain to start the walk. She raised money through her mother Mary Lou’s business, Case-Nic Cookies in Medina, by selling elephant cookies that added a new link to the chain. She raised the money in memory of her grandma and grandpa.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

MEDINA – The annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Medina attracted more people this year than any other previous year. About 150 people participated in the 2-mile walk that starts in the Canal Basin. The number of teams this year doubled from last year.

This is the 25th year the organization has held a walk in Orleans County. Once the final numbers are tallied, the walk is expected to raise about $15,000, said Lynn Westcott, the director of development for the Western New York Chapter.

“We are here to raise awareness of the disease,” she said in Medina this morning. “We are also here to raise funds to help people who currently have the disease, to help people who are caregivers and to support research to end the disease.”

To add to the awareness of the disease and its impact on the community, there is a Promise Garden. The garden consists of four different colored flowers given to participants that visually show how a person is associated with the disease.

Blue flowers represent a person battling the disease. Purple is for a person who lost their battle with the disease. Yellow signifies a caregiver. Orange is for a general supporter of the cause.

Personal messages were written on the flowers.

“With this disease, the caregiver plays such a major role because as the disease progresses people tend to rely more on their support systems and the people around them,” Westcott said. “It’s so important for caregivers to be on call and around 24/7, so we like to acknowledge them and help them as best we can.”

Sherry Branciforte, along with other families members, was at the walk in honor of her father Butch. Together, they formed Butch’s Team and raised over $600.

“My dad would do this,” she said. “He did it the first three years that we knew about this and we’ve been doing it ever since in his memory. This is the second year after his passing. I would encourage people to attend support groups.They are very important. Don’t be afraid to join them. They’re a lot more helpful than you know. ”

Branciforte’s sister, Dawn Parker, added, “There’s more Alzheimer’s coming than there used to be. There’s more purple flowers here than there ever have been before. We have to stop this.”

The walkers gathered around for the opening remarks praising their hard work and dedication.

Naomi Strickland and her family were walking for her mother- and father-in-law. She was their caregiver for over three years. She was walking as part of the Fast Fitness team that had over 20 members. A couple of team members personally raised almost $1,000 each.

“It’s to bring support to a good cause,” Strickland said. “I do feel there’s a lot of Alzheimer’s in the nation and I do feel that supporting it will help. How do we know if we may end up with it? Our friends, our family, they need to have a cure for it. Losing someone that had it is sad because you grieved before they were even gone when you were taking care of them.”

The Alzheimer’s Association’s WNY chapter is beginning a support group, which will meet every second Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Hoag Library in Albion.