Mass casualty drill trains responders to limit chaos as much as possible

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – About 25 police officers and 25 firefighters and medics spent several hours this morning at Medina Central School, training for an active shooter drill with mass casualties.

Members of a multi-agency SWAT team are pictured outside the Clifford Wise Intermediate/Middle School before the start of a drill this morning. It was the largest mass casualty drill in the county’s history.

Tom Drennan, chief deputy for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, gives firefighters some last-minute instructions about the drill, where 10 people were role playing as victims.

Drennan has been working with police and firefighters for more than a year on mass casualty and active shooter training. Drennan said recent school shootings in the country prompted local law enforcement to press for training to improve their response to try to minimize any chaos and casualties.

Corey Black, an investigator with the Sheriff’s Department, talks with police officers before the drill began. Black said the training will be helpful for responders at any larger location in the country with dozens of people, including schools, factories and government buildings.

“Denial is what gets people hurt,” Black said.

Police officers enter Medina High School and put the building in lock down.

School officials from several districts in the county observed the drill. Michael Cavanagh, Medina High School co-principal, role plays with an injury near the front entrance to the high school.

Drennan, the chief deputy, said the drill will be critiqued.

“We’ll see what we’re strong at and what we need to improve,” he said.

Mercy Flight flew in with a helicopter as part of the drill that included many medics and firefighters. (This photo was taken by Valerie Childs.)

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Four years ago “Frank” was introduced to the Medina community. He has been popular from Day 1, with people posing for photos with him.

Frank is about 6 feet high. He stands outside Rudy’s at 118 West Center St. The giant hot dog was a gift to Rudy’s owner, Kelly Duffied, from her father Joe Russo. Joe and Debbie Russo started Rudy’s, a diner, in 1988.

Their daughter now runs the business. She keeps Frank in the back behind the business over the winter. He recently came out front next to the Post Office for a new season.

“He has many friends,” Duffield said about Frank.

Final issue of newspaper is more than a commemorative piece

The final issue of The Journal-Register includes a picture of former Publisher Alonzo L. Waters, left, and pressman Bill Knuth, shown here in the 1950s.

MEDINA – The final issue of The Journal-Register is more than souvenir or nostalgic piece as the newspaper printed its final edition on Friday after 113 years.

The paper issued a call to action to residents, urging them to “exercise your right to know.”

Managing Editor Joyce Miles expressed her disappointment with Shelby and Ridgeway town officials for missing a deadline to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act request from J-R reporter Howard Balaban.

He sought information on the towns’ expenses for a PR firm and attorney in the towns’ push to fight an effort to dissolve the village of Medina and shift some services to the towns. That would push up the tax burden in the towns, while cutting the cost for village residents.

Balaban sought all expenses from the two towns for a “Cares and Concerns” hotline, and other print, electronic advertising for the hotline. He also sought the expenses for three mailers that were sent to residents in Shelby and Ridgeway from the two Town Boards.

His FOIA request also sought copies of written and email correspondence from the town officials as it relates to dissolution, consolidation or political campaign.

The towns missed the legal deadline for providing the information. The final issue of the J-R and the newspaper’s website includes the full FOIA request. Miles urges residents to submit their own requests for the information. Orleans Hub hand-delivered its request for the information at both Town Halls on Friday.

“I feel personal outrage at the way Howie has been treated,” Miles said on Friday.

The final issue of the paper is mostly a commemorative edition with reflections from readers, current and former staff about the publication and its role in community life. Miles said she wanted to honor the paper’s long history in the community, and its faithful readers and dedicated employees.

Miles started as a reporter with The Journal on Sept. 4, 2001. That was the day a Medina police officer, Mike Russell, was shot and wounded while on duty. A week later, the country was under attack by terrorists.

She would later shift to the Lockport Union Sun & Journal. Last September she filled the dual role of managing editor for both the Lockport and Medina newspapers.

Miles said she is a “public policy nerd” and enjoyed the dissolution issue. She supports further discussion of the issue and would like to see village residents have a vote about the issue.

“I’m sorry we’re leaving just when things are starting to get interesting,” she said.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Pro Seal and Paint of Batavia is out on high ladders today working on a building at 112-114 East Center St. Kathy Blackburn is working to turn the vacant building into an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. The new business is expected to open this summer.

Blackburn will have the storefront façades match their original 19th century appearance. The storefronts will have new awnings, fresh paint and new signs.

In the top photo, Michael Neth descends the ladder after painting part of the third floor of the building.

Neth said the wind was calm today, so he didn’t mind being up high, painting the building in Medina.

Justin Carlo of Pro Seal and Paint works on the exterior of the building that is next to Rotary Park.

MEDINA – Residents shouldn’t be alarmed to see emergency vehicles and police at Medina Central School on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

The school is hosting a multi-agency emergency response drill.

“This drill will include emergency services from the area and school officials from Orleans County will also be on hand,” Medina school officials posted on the district’s Facebook page. “This collaborative drill is the culmination of months of planning. Thank you for your continued support.”

Editorial

MEDINA – It was nearly 18 years ago when I debuted as a professional journalist. My first story appeared in The Journal-Register in Medina. It was the first Tuesday in July back in 1996. I covered an Albion Board of Education meeting from the previous night.

It felt good to be in print, right on the front page of the community newspaper. Not long after the paper was printed and delivered, JR editor Owen Toale got a call from a School Board member, saying he needed “to do something about his reporter.” The Board member didn’t like how a few disagreements among board members were highlighted, and other less contentious news was glossed over.

That was my introduction to the business. Owen had my back and stood up for his staff. Back then in mid-1996, there were five news reporters at the JR.

Today is the final edition for The Journal after 111 years of chronicling life in Orleans County. It’s a sad day for those of us in the news business and for former JR staffers. (Two of the JR reporters I worked with went on to become lawyers. Another became a government planner and another a college professor.)

I actually started my journalism career with the Albion Advertiser, which was a weekly newspaper that shared the same owner and some of the same staff as the Journal. (That paper ceased publication a year ago.) The Journal used some of my stories from the Advertiser.

I had to go to The Journal offices on Mondays to drop off my film from a week’s worth of photos. I was back the next day to lay out the paper using X-Acto knives, wax on the back on paper and pica rulers. It was tedious, with a lot of hunching over. When I was done with the Tuesday morning ordeal I liked to treat myself to a doughnut at Corky’s Bakery.

Besides the five news reporters, the JR back then also had Mike Wertman. I marveled at his work ethic, and his amazing productivity in covering local sports. Mike also wrote the editorials and determined how the news pages would be designed with the placement of the stories.

Many of the community’s power brokers stopped in the downtown building that backed up to the Canal Basin. If people didn’t like stories, the phone rang or they showed up in person. It was all very exciting – and a little scary and overwhelming for a 22-year-old.

I was part of The Journal culture for about a year before joining The Daily News in Batavia. I was there 16 years before leaving on March 1, 2013 to help start the Orleans Hub.

I don’t regret the move, but I do miss seeing the articles and photos in print. The news stories feel more permanent when they’re in print. But clearly the Hub has an audience. We average over 4,000 unique visitors and about 12,000 page views each day. The Journal’s circulation has fallen from a high of over 5,000 to about 1,500.

The Hub has been growing. Mike Wertman joined us in late August and continues his relentless pace in covering local sports. The Hub has also been a showcase for Cheryl Wertman’s sports photography. Sue Cook also has been working part-time as a reporter.

The Hub is based out of The Lake Country Pennysaver in Albion. We get phone calls and people show up at the office when they don’t like things. We get letters to the editor and some folks have threatened to sue.

We’ve tried to fill some of the gap in local news coverage. We have a lot of news you don’t see in The Journal or The Daily News in Batavia, and they get some scoops that we don’t always have.

In many ways it’s felt like an old-fashioned newspaper war around here the past 14 months since the Hub debuted. There have been three publications with reporters covering the county, vying to be first and the most aggressive.

Orleans County is fortunate, in that way. Some communities don’t have a newspaper anymore. There isn’t an on-line news site, either.

Although many may think the Orleans Hub is a competitor to The Journal, we certainly didn’t want to see them go. The paper has been an institution for more than a century and many of its readers rely on The Journal for news.

The Journal has also been a force in recent months, especially with reports by Howard Balaban about the possible dissolution of the village of Medina. Balaban has looked at how dissolution has succeeded and failed in other communities. He has pressed local officials for their views on the topic, and has been tenacious in trying to track down Ridgeway and Shelby expenses in opposing dissolution. When the newspaper announced last month it would be closing, Balaban didn’t just coast to the finish line.

JR sports reporter Corey Desiderio also showed he is a hard-working journalist, capturing the action in local youth and high sports.

I was impressed the JR staff worked so hard, right up until the end.

This isn’t an easy time to be in the news business. Many newspapers have shut down in the past five years, including some in big cities. Many of the papers are a shell of themselves, with reduced staffs, pages and impact in the community. That’s not the fault of the reporters and editors. Many are putting in long hours, working hard and connecting with readers.

The community will miss The Journal. Through the years the staff has been committed. They deserve to take a bow.

Photos by Sue Cook – A wreath was placed on the canon at the corner of State Street Park to honor the fallen. Pictured are the commanders of the Medina VFW and American Legion.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

MEDINA – In patriotic display this morning, Medina was packed with people wearing mostly red, white and blue.

Crowds lined up to watch a parade that made its way from the Old Pickle Factory to State Street Park.

The 4-year-old Kujawa twins, Olivia and Mia, waved flags given to them by the Sons of the American Legion.

The streets were packed as the parade moved along. The local youth baseball teams wore their colorful uniforms and tossed candy to other kids who were watching.

Though the morning was a joyful celebration, the crowd stopped in the park to listen to speakers remind everyone of the meaning of Memorial Day.

“There are some things that we Americans must never forget and this gathering serves as a reminder to all of us, both young and old, that our free and democratic way of life is intact today because generations of men and women chose to put themselves in harm’s way and multitudes gave up their lives for the cause,” said the Rev. Vincent Iorio, pastor of the Cavalry Church of Medina.

The Medina Mustangs Marching Band played the National Anthem in the park after the opening prayer.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley spoke at the event to remind everyone of what our servicemen and women have done for us.

Hawley told the crowd, “Our nation has resolved to nurture freedom by serving as an example to the rest of the world, and ultimately defending other democracies if needed. From our own Revolution to the War on Terror, the cumulative sacrifice of all our conflicts has been enormous.”

“Thank a veteran today as we honor his or her fallen comrades,” Hawley urged. “Remember our gold-star mothers whose son or daughter made the ultimate sacrifice. Above all, never take our freedoms for granted.”

Hawley concluded his speech with words printed on a remote Allied World War II battlefield memorial. “When you go home tell them of us, and say: For your tomorrow, we gave our today.”

Veterans lined up along the edge of the park near the ceremony stage and flagpole.

Provided photo – The Medina Mustang Band poses in the nation’s capital after performing there last weekend.

Press release
Medina Mustang Band

The Medina Mustang Band traveled to Washington, DC from May 15-18 and competed in the Music in the Parks Festival.

Instead of numerical scores the band received ratings. Medina was rated “superior” in parade and wind ensemble and “excellent” in jazz. Jenna Brien was rated “best” jazz soloist. There were approximately 20 schools performing in this festival.

Band Directors Jim Steele and Cheri Pritchard stated that the students performed well and represented their school and community very well. The trip was a huge success and everyone had a wonderful time.

The directors want to publicly thank the chaperones and staff that made this trip a success. Without the chaperones, the Band Boosters, school administrators and staff, the band would not have been able to pull off this monumental trip.

The Mustangs look forward to performing their street show, “Crossing Abbey Road,” for the Medina community on Memorial Day. The next and last competition for the band will be at the Gorham Pageant of Bands on May 30-31.

MEDINA – Medina School Superintendent Jeff Evoy has sent a recorded message to parents notifying them that a student has been suspended after allegedly threatening to harm other students on Monday.

Evoy said he was advised late Friday evening of the alleged threat and  suspended the student and also contacted the Medina Police Department.

“It is my understanding that a criminal investigation remains on-going,” Evoy states on the District’s website. “The District has suspended the student from school and is moving forward with a discipline proceeding regarding the alleged conduct.  To protect the integrity of the investigation and proceeding, the District cannot provide further comment at this time.”

Evoy said the school will continue to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety and security of all students and staff.

“Please know that the safety of students and staff is our number one priority,” he said. “Any threats will be dealt with in a serious manner.”

MEDINA – An 18-year-old junior at Medina High School has been arrested by Village Police for allegedly making a terrorist threat, a Class D felony.

Mackenzie Barrett was arrested by Medina police today, WGRZ Channel 2 in Buffalo is reporting. Police Chief Jose Avila told Channel 2 that Barrett was arrested after making “very concerning threats” on social media.

Medina School District Superintendent Jeff Evoy notified the community around 6 p.m. today that the student had been suspended after allegedly making threats about harming students at school on Monday.

Barrett is being held on $25,000 cash bail and $50,000 bond, WGRZ reported. He will appear in Town of Shelby Court on Thursday.

Avila said there will be an added police presence at the school on Monday. The district works with Medina Police by providing funding for a Medina officer to work as a full-time resource officer at the district.