By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 May 2019 at 7:42 am
Courtesy of Cobblestone Suites: The proposed 58-room hotel in Medina will look similar to this Cobblestone Suites hotel in Pennsylvania.
MEDINA – Officials from Cobblestone Inn and Suites will have a ground-breaking celebration today for a new hotel in Medina, which will be the company’s first in New York.
The weeks of rain will prevent an actual groundbreaking, but the company wants to celebrate the start of the project in Medina.
The $6.75 million hotel will be located at the Medina Business Park on Maple Ridge Road, across from Genesee Community College.
The hotel will have 54 rooms and 4 extended-stay suites. The hotel owner estimated it would create 12 full-time jobs when its open with an average salary of $29,000. The project will create 275 construction jobs.
The 3-story hotel will be the first chain hotel in the county and is expected to keep more visitors in Orleans for overnight stays, boosting occupancy and sales taxes. The occupancy tax is used to promote tourism in the county.
BriMark Builders has been working on the project in Medina for a few years. It secured Planning Board approval from the Village of Medina and Orleans County in 2017. BriMark is based in Neenah, Wisc.
Cobblestone Inn and Suites has built about 80 hotels with most of them in small towns, typically working with investors in the host community. An investor from Pennsylvania is leading the effort to build the project in Medina.
The project includes 65 parking spots, an access drive, outdoor patio, sidewalks, dumpster enclosure, and an optional future gravel truck parking area.
Photos courtesy of Evette Phillips: Caliyah Boston, 7, of Medina is shown in October with some of the donated food she brought to Buffalo on Sunday to give to We R Buffalo Strong, an organization led by Medina native Evette Phillips.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 May 2019 at 7:44 am
Caliyah Boston, 7, collected three carloads of food for homeless in Buffalo
MEDINA – A Medina second-grader who collected three carloads of food for homeless in Buffalo will be recognized on Thursday as a Western New York “Real Hero.”
The American Red Cross is presenting awards to 16 people. They will be recognized during a breakfast at The Park Country Club in Williamsville.
Caliyah Boston, 7, of Medina and Medina native Evette Phillips are both receiving “Good Neighbor” awards.
Caliyah Boston is pictured with Evette Phillips, leader of We R Buffalo Strong, in October. Caliyah helped to give away the food to homeless people in Buffalo.
Phillips founded “We R Buffalo Strong.” The organization strives to make a difference in the lives of the homeless, elderly and veterans within her community by providing them with food and other crucial resources.
Caliyah selflessly collected and donated three carloads of supplies, including food and clothes, for this organization.
Phillips has been taking food to homeless people in Buffalo for the past five years, often bringing grills and cooking meals with them.
Caliyah’s family heard about the organization through social media and wanted to collect food to be donated to We R Buffalo Strong. Caliyah’s second grade classmates and others at Oak Orchard Elementary School helped with the effort, which resulted in three carloads of food and clothing.
Phillips in 2017 was named the “Humble Humanitarian of the Year” by Compass House of WNY, which runs a shelter for homeless children ages 12 to 17. She typically meets the homeless on the street behind the Buffalo public library.
Phillips said she doesn’t just hand out food. Sometimes there are tail-gate parties, cookouts and TV’s hooked up to watch the Bills games together.
She was impressed by Caliyah’s good heart and motivation to help the homeless. Phillips didn’t realize the two had a Medina connection until Caliyah showed up wearing a Medina Mustang sweatshirt.
The Real Heroes Breakfast on Thursday celebrates the Red Cross mission of alleviating human suffering by recognizing people from throughout the region who have performed heroic acts during times of crisis. The heroes include first responders as well as ordinary citizens who performed life-saving acts.
Proceeds from the Real Heroes Breakfast benefit the Red Cross, which provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.
The Western New York Chapter serves communities in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming counties.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 May 2019 at 11:23 am
Photos courtesy of Medina Fire Department
MEDINA – Donato Rosario, right, is saluted by Medina Fire Chief Tom Lupo on Friday when Rosario graduated from the NYS Recruit Firefighter Training program at Montour Falls.
Medina Fire Chief Tom Lupo, left, and Lt. Steve Cooley attended the graduation ceremony for Rosario on Friday.
Rosario, 20, interned with the Fire Department when he was a senior at Albion High School two years ago. That experience made him want to be a firefighter. He has been a volunteer firefighter with Carlton for about a year.
“I fell in love with it,” Rosario said about firefighting.
He initially had a career goal of working as a chiropractor. But he couldn’t find an internship with that profession locally. So he connected with the Medina Fire Department and joined firefighters on some of their medical calls, as well as fire scenes.
He was impressed by their professionalism, knowledge of the human body and their life-saving work in their dual roles as medics and firefighters.
Rosario was hired as a career firefighter with Medina, and just completed the 11-week training program through the state. He learned the basics of firefighting, auto extrications, handling hazardous materials, and simulated responses to live burns.
Rosario, one of 56 to graduate in the class, said the program also has a focus on decision-making in many different emergency situations.
“After 11 weeks of the most intense physical and mental training of my life, I’m officially a firefighter,” he posted on Facebook on Friday. “Thank you to everyone who has stood by me and pushed me along the way. To my fellow firemen, remember why we do this and always wear your badge with pride and honor, we’ve earned it.”
Rosario is the first member of his family to be a firefighter. He urged more people to give it a try. He proves you don’t have to be from a family in the fire service to be welcomed by a local department.
“I would encourage more people to try it,” he said. “You can stop by a firehouse and we’ll show you around and show you what we do.”
MEDINA – About 150 Medina High School students and staff chose to do something good for their school and their community on their annual Make An Impact Day on Monday.
The teams spent half their day taking on service projects or beautifying their school. Medina School District had the afternoon off, but students volunteered their time instead of leaving.
The school has been participating in this event for several years. The rain kept many of the projects indoors, but there were some teams that were up for braving the elements and cleaning up local parks.
MEDINA – Orleans County public safety dispatchers on Saturday at 7:24 p.m. alerted firefighters from the Medina, Shelby and Lyndonville fire departments for a possible house fire on Gwinn Street in Medina.
Medina firefighters of the 2nd Platoon under the command of Lieutenant Cooley arrived on location and requested a 2nd alarm with smoke coming from the first floor of a 2-story house. Crews forced entry into the home and found the fire in the living room. While engine crews extinguished the fire, other crews simultaneously searched the structure for fire extension and potential victims. No one was found to be home at the time of the fire but crews did rescue and provide medical care to two cats. The cats were taken by family members to an emergency veterinarian.
Fire damage was limited to the room of origin with the rest of the structure sustaining smoke damage. The fire is under investigation by Village of Medina fire investigators and does not appear suspicious in nature. The Red Cross is assisting the occupants.
The 2nd alarm brought the Ridgeway Fire Department to the scene and units from East Shelby, Middleport and COVA EMS to the Medina Firehouse for standby coverage.
We would like to thank the dispatchers, the Medina Police, all our mutual aid departments, the deputy coordinator as well as the Red Cross for their assistance.
We would be remiss not to thank local wildlife rehabilitator Wendi Pencille. Wendi donated several pet oxygen masks to us a year or so ago and we used masks off both of our engines. That donation allowed us to take better care of some four-legged loved ones. We can’t thank Wendi enough.
Photo courtesy of Maiorana family: Nunzio T. Maiorana was a popular teacher and school administrator at Medina as well as the athletic director.
LOCKPORT – DeSales Catholic School has announced plans to renovate an area on their campus to create the Nunzio Maiorana Art Center, in honor of a beloved alumnus who graduated from DeSales in 1958.
Maiorana was a highly respected leader in both education and athletics throughout Niagara and Orleans counties.
He was also an accomplished self-taught artist who specialized in pen and ink drawings of historic lighthouses and buildings from across the world. Each of his drawings was hand-drawn using jeweler’s glasses and each art piece contained over 500,000 fine lines and dots. He won his first art show in 1957 sponsored by the Lockport Industrial Management Club.
After graduating from DeSales High School, Maiorana went on earn his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Detroit. He began his teaching career at the Diocese of Detroit at St. John Berchmans School. In 1963 he came back home to WNY to teach at Medina Senior High School.
This was followed by multiple roles throughout his tenure in Medina starting as a teacher and retiring as superintendent of curriculum and finance. He started in Medina in the fall 1963. His career spanned over 36 years until his retirement in 1998.
At Medina, Maiorana taught pre-vocational studies, English, and history; served as an assistant high school football coach, assistant principal, director of athletics, director of maintenance, grounds, and transportation; principal of Wise Middle School; and superintendent of curriculum and finance. He also sat on state and national committees for athletics and academics to ensure safety, wellness, and rigorous academic instruction for all students.
He remained an influential educator up until the day he passed away on Jan. 22, 2018.
“My father was without a doubt a great individual, a gregarious man with an infectious smile and great sense of humor,” said his son, David Maiorana. “He was a dedicated professional who was on a mission to provide his students with the best possible education, and his determination, temerity, and self-discipline made Dad a mentor we profoundly looked up to. It didn’t matter who you were, everyone knew him and everyone loved him!”
Ann-Marie Towell, Nunzio’s daughter, commented; “The devotion and leadership of our father inspired many students, adults and school communities, and we will continue to work together to sustain and build upon his legacy. We are honored to recognize his inspirational example as we dedicate this new art center for the children of DeSales Catholic School in his name.”
This rendering shows the layout for the Nunzio Maiorana Art Center at DeSales Catholic School in Lockport, where Maiorana graduated in 1958.
This beautiful new facility will enhance educational opportunities and further develop a rich environment for learning art at DeSales.
Construction of the Nunzio T. Maiorana Art Center will break ground on June 27 and is expected to be completed prior to the start of school in September. The costs are estimated to be in the range of $125,000. His wife of 56 years, Charlotte Palisano Maiorana, has committed a significant amount to kick off fundraising for the project.
Donations toward the Nunzio Maiorana Art Center at DeSales are being sought. If you would like to make a donation you can do so by going online by clicking here, calling (716) 433-644 ext. 407 or mailing a check to DeSales Catholic School, 6914 Chestnut Ridge Road, Lockport, NY 14094. In the memo section of the check, please write Nunzio Maiorana or include a quick note that the gift is made in Nunzio’s memory.
Employees of Baxter Healthcare in Medina clean up the lawn at Head Start on Ensign Avenue in Medina. From left are Tammy Pogel, Tim Ingrassia, plant manager Kevin Foley and Melinda Pitcher. Foley said it was great to get out in the community and show support.
About 50 volunteers worked on service projects today for the United Way’s annual Day of Caring. Volunteers are doing projects at the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Hospice of Orleans, Camp Rainbow, Community Action sites in Albion and Medina, and in Lyndonville at the village garden on Main Street and Patterson Park.
Dean Bellack, right, director of Orleans County United Way, watches as Jackie Gardner, a board member, signs in for Day of Caring at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.
Lacy Regling, left, and Allison Stanley, employees of Baxter Healthcare, clean out a shed at Camp Rainbow during Day of Caring. The ladies said they enjoyed helping and would do it again.
Creig Shockley, left, and Brian Hosmer, both Baxter employees, repair and put up swings at Camp Rainbow. Four more Baxter employees painted cabins, while another cleaned the bathrooms.
Photos by Tom Rivers
Nick Peterson, left, and Michael Schroder, both of Baxter, paint the arts and crafts cabin at Camp Rainbow.
Brett Sobieraski of Kent, a sergeant with the Rochester Police Department, sweeps out one of the bathrooms by the swimming pool.
Heidi Truschel, community relations manager for the Arc of Genesee Orleans, trims a bush at Camp Rainbow.
Photo courtesy of Teri Woodworth
There were 15 students from the Lyndonville Lions Club’s Leo Club who helped clean up the village garden on Main Street and village’s Patterson Park. The students were part of the Day of Caring because United Way funds support the Yates summer recreation program.
Photo courtesy of Jason Smith
Lyndonville students rake and pick up debris at Patterson Park.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Mary Woodruff, coordinator of the Hometown Heroes effort, is pictured with banners of showing the late Vincent Cardone and Mitchell Mason, who is currently serving in the Navy.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 May 2019 at 12:54 pm
MEDINA – Mary Woodruff saw the banners for the first time on Monday. She cried.
She has worked the past four months for a display of “Hometown Heroes,” large banners of soldiers who have served in the U.S. military from Medina.
She has 38 banners of soldiers, from World War II vets to current enlistees. The vinyl banners are double-sided and 5 feet tall by 2 ½ feet wide.
“I was extremely pleased,” she said when she saw them on Monday. “I had goosebumps.”
The banners will be publicly unveiled on May 19 during a reception at the former Medina Armory, where many of the soldiers trained. That facility on Pearl Street is now the Orleans County YMCA. The banners will all be displayed during that reception from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
They will be on utility poles and street lights in time for Memorial Day on May 27. There will be 32 banners placed on Main Street between Starr Street through the downtown to Glenwood Avenue near the American Legion Butts-Clark Post. Another six banners will be on East Center Street.
They will stay up until just after Veterans Day in November. Woodruff expects they will last about three years.
She would like to add more next year, and will be going before the Village Board to seek its approval for additional banners in 2020.
“I want people to feel patriotism and restore pride in the USA,” she said today at the Village Clerk’s Office in Medina. “When you see a vet, say thank you.”
Mary Woodruff shows the banners of Sgt. Todd Draper who served in US Army 2004-05, including time in Iraq; and of World War II vet Sandino Stornelli Sr. Draper currently works as a lieutenant with the Medina Police Department.
Woodruff, a retired social studies and math teacher at Roy-Hart, pushed to start the Hometown Heroes effort in Medina after seeing a similar one in Alfred, where her late father-in-law Willis Burr Woodruff is featured on a banner. He served in World War II. He later ran the local Agway plants in Knowlesville and Batavia.
She was given permission by the Medina Village Board to pursue the project in January. She had 38 families step forward by a Feb. 15 deadline and pay the $200 cost for the banner and hardware to go on the poles. The Medina DPW agreed to install the banners. The Village Clerk’s Office handled the money for the project.
The banners have red and blue borders with a portrait of the featured veteran, as well as the vet’s name, time of service, branch of military, and honors. It also states who sponsored the banner.
Woodruff has a file for each of the 38 soldiers featured in banners.
“I feel like I know all of these soldiers,” she said today. “I’ve read about them and talked with their families.”
The debut of the banners comes at a time when Medina is celebrating the restoration of the World War I cannon at State Street Park and also has welcomed a new bronze statue of a soldier as part of a memorial at the former Armory.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 7 May 2019 at 9:20 am
Medina restaurant will add rooftop dining later this year
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Michael Zambito, left, owner of Zambistro in Medina, shows his new dining room to Dawn Meland and Pat Woodworth, who were there for the Twig banquet.
MEDINA – Michael Zambito always knew what he wanted to do – be a chef.
“I wanted to be a chef and I wanted to do it here in Medina,” he said.
Zambito graduated from Medina High School in 2000, and in 2004 he entered the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, graduating in 2005.
He had several local jobs, including the former Apple Grove Inn, until he and his mother Rita Zambito purchased the building at 408 North Main Street.
At age 23, he opened Zambistro, a restaurant in his hometown.
Business has grown and his eatery has become a popular spot in the area, due to his culinary expertise. It became evident he needed more space, Zambito said.
He has recently completed an addition, which saw a revamping of the front entrance, a new side entrance into a new dining room capable of seating at least 30, a new bathroom and doubling the catering kitchen.
He said the new dining room is a perfect venue for small parties, showers or rehearsal dinners.
He credits his success with their European take on table service and a menu of American comfort food, served in an intimate atmosphere.
“This is a place where you can bring your wife for your anniversary or come in for lunch wearing your shorts,” Zambito said.
The next stage in the expansion is to create a rooftop dining venue, with a birds-eye view of the canal. He would like to see it completed by summer.
The restaurant’s specialty is homemade pasta, with Zambito’s meatball recipe. He is also known for his signature desserts.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 May 2019 at 5:32 pm
File photos by Tom Rivers: Making the Medina Waterfalls more accessible to the public was part of Medina’s application in 2017 for a $10 million state application. Medina is going to try again for the funding.
MEDINA – The Village of Medina plans to seek a $10 million state grant for downtown revitalization.
Medina sought the funding in 2017, but wasn’t approved. It didn’t apply last year, instead worked to put more pieces in place for the application, including a local waterfront development plan.
The recently passed state budget included a fourth round of the $10 million grants to 10 different regions of the state. Orleans County is considered in the Finger Lakes region by the state.
In the first three years of the program, the $10 million grants were approved in the Finger Lakes for downtowns the City of Geneva, City of Batavia and Village of Penn Yan. The state has approved 30 of the grants to the 10 regions altogether.
“As we have already seen with 30 communities across the State, the Downtown Revitalization Initiative is so much more than a $10 million prize,” Governor Cuomo said in a news release on April 19. “This critical program completely transforms downtown communities, resulting in unprecedented growth and development that leads to a renewed sense of pride in our cities, towns and villages. I look forward to seeing another 10 communities compete and prosper over the next year thanks to this critical funding.”
The program is looks to transform downtown districts in vulnerable areas of the state into livable, walkable and dynamic neighborhoods.
The grant applications are due by 4 p.m. on May 31. The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council will review the applications and then submit its pick to the state win July for further review.
The regional council and state both will look for a downtown that has a plan to build on momentum of other public and private investment in the community.
Some of the criteria listed by the state for the winning downtown:
• There should be recent or impending job growth within, or in close proximity to the downtown that can attract workers to the downtown, support redevelopment and make growth sustainable;
• The downtown must be an attractive and livable community for diverse populations of all ages, including existing residents, millennials and skilled workers;
• The municipality should already embrace or have the ability to create and implement policies that increase livability and quality of life, including the use of local land banks, modern zoning codes and parking standards, complete streets plans, energy efficient projects, green jobs and transit-oriented development;
• The municipality should have conducted an open and robust community engagement process resulting in a vision for downtown revitalization and a preliminary list of projects and initiatives that may be included in a DRI strategic investment plan; and
• The municipality has identified transformative projects that will be ready for implementation with an infusion of DRI funds within the first one to two years.
The site on Main Street that used to be the Starlite Cleaners could be redeveloped into parking and green space, Medina said in its state application for $10 million.
In Medina’s previous application, it sought to take better advantage of the wide Canal Basin, which Medina officials said then had “underutilized and untapped potential.”
The Medina application stated the downtown is ideally situated between Rochester and Buffalo. The village is on the Niagara Wine Trail and includes destination restaurants such as Mariachi De Oro and Zambistro’s.
Medina already has several popular events and attractions such as the Polar Express (19,000 in December), Parade of Lights (10,000 in late November), Thomas the Tank Engine (12,000 in May), Steampunk Festival, Wine about Winter, Ale in Autumn and Farm-to-Table dinner.
The application noted planned investments in the community, including a $6 million renovation of the Bent’s Opera House to develop the site into a boutique hotel, high-end restaurant and event space. The former Medina High School also is planned to be redeveloped into a mixed-use facility with apartments.
Medina also has a Business Park that has been a finalist for significant projects, including one manufacturer that would have created 800 jobs. Besides that coveted land in the business park, Medina is also 8 miles from the STAMP high-tech park in the Town of Alabama.
With the recent business expansions and prospects for more mean industry, Medina will feel a demand for residential opportunities, the application from Medina stated.
Much of the Medina housing stock and downtown architecture is in need of significant investment following decades of economic depression in the community, the application states.
Some highlights of Medina’s previous application for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative include:
• Canal Basin Revitalization: Medina proposed burying power lines (costs and lead times have already been obtained from National Grid), reconfiguring parking and roadway, improving pedestrian/bicycle traffic flow and replacing concrete wall with grass and tree lined slope. Medina also wants to remediate any soil conditions as needed.
The village application also sought Canal Basin infrastructure improvements with upgraded boating amenities – slips, docks, tie-ups and restroom improvements, better lighting for security and ambiance, a boat launch and a kayak launch, as well as more tree plantings and walkway improvements.
• Medina Waterfall Area Upgrades: The Medina waterfall exists as a result of a unique engineering infrastructure feat related to the Canal and Canal Basin, the Medina application states. Medina wants to bolster this unique opportunity around the canal and the Medina area and create a regional tourist attraction that would also draw more customers to downtown businesses and improve the local quality of life.
The application sought to allow pedestrian access to the waterfall, and also repair sidewalks and improve lighting.
• Seasonal Business Development Program: The village in its application sought a design and development program for seasonal businesses entrepreneurial opportunities. Medina said it would engage architecture and design students from local universities to help design and construct any temporary or permanent Canal Basin shop buildings.
• Streetscape Upgrades: The goal of the improved streetscapes would be to connect the surrounding residential areas to downtown and the Canal Basin. This effort would also work in with conjunction with the Brownfield Acquisition & Development portion of the proposed plan as well as the overall planing board initiative to improve pedestrian walkways and bike paths throughout the village.
• Buildings & Facades – Mixed Use: This program promotes enhanced usage of Medina’s unique downtown building stock – an asset base with many buildings comprised of priceless Medina Sandstone housed in a compact four corner downtown district which supports entrepreneurial pursuits, social engagement, civic leadership, walkability, cultural events and preservation, according to the application.
The recent capital investments by businesses in the community is creating a larger and larger housing and temporary lodging deficiency within the Medina area. This portion of funding would be directed toward attracting the national level talent these companies are seeking by leveraging Medina’s existing untapped architectural resources and infrastructure to increase unique hotel, temporary and permanent housing options across a diverse project set.
Mixed use developments with residential projects would better utilize buildings and boost the local tax base, Medina officials said.
Medina also said some of the $10 million award could be used to expand the scope, utilization and economic development within the local farmers market (Canal Village Farmers Market) – perhaps with a year-round facility. The market could use bathrooms, lighting, paints, etc. The market fills a need in the downtown with the nearest grocery store 2 miles away.
Medina could design and develop a best practice strategy for increasing local food consumption, local farmer economic support via community purchasing power and overall cultural awareness of the benefits related to supporting local food movements (reduced carbon footprints, access to whole healthy fruits and vegetables for blighted neighborhoods).
• Brownfield Acquisition & Development: There are two key brownfield sites coupled with two existing properties within the downtown Medina area that could be leveraged in accordance with the previously laid out infrastructure projects. Both 151 Pearl Street and 331 Main Street could be transformed into a mixed-use municipal parking and green space lot serving parking needs while increasing overall green space.
Mayor Mike Sidari said the village and the committee working on the plan welcomes input on the plan and application. There will be an opportunity for the public to comment on proposals on May 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Village Clerk’s Office, 19 Park Ave.
