Worthington Cylinders helps provide toys for needy families

Photos by Tom Rivers – The toy challenge drive at Worthington Cylinders in Medina was led by, from left: Diane Watts, Kristin Vogt and Valerie Childs.

ALBION – In June 152 employees at Worthington Industries in Medina were told their jobs would be gone in 2014. The company’s owner was closing the former BernzOmatic hand torch manufacturing operation in Medina and moving that work to existing facility in Chilton, Wis.

Worthington employees expect to be laid off in the coming months. They aren’t letting that grim reality prevent them from being generous this holiday season.

They have given $1,410 and donated numerous toys to the third annual “Toy Challenge,” which benefits families served by Community Action of Orleans & Genesee.

“Even though we are losing our jobs, we still have our dignity,” said Diane Watts, who works in assembly at Worthington and helped head the toy drive for the company. “We wanted to leave the community with a good image. We wanted to go out with a bang.”

Employees raised money for the toy drive with hot dog and doughnut sales. They also bought toys for the challenge.

A Worthington employee pushed to start the corporate toy challenge in 2011. Andrew Szatkowski was Worthington’s quality control manager. With the company’s impending closure in Medina, Szatkowski took a new job outside the immediate area.

The toy drive went on this holiday season. Carolyn Wagner, human resources and safety director for BMP America, and Kris Hartwig, administrative assistant S.B. Whistler and Sons (Phinney Tool and Die), stepped up to coordinate the project.

The drive lasted from Nov. 4 to Dec. 3. The toys are on tables in the basement at the First Baptist Church in Albion. Community Action Director Ed Fancher said the church has been transformed into Santa’s Workshop. He thanked the participating companies and their employees for giving so many toys and funds to the drive. The donations will be shared with 250 families in the Albion area.

Several companies pitched in to donate toys and money for the toy challenge. Community Action of Orleans & Genesee will distribute the toys to about 250 families in the Albion area. Pictured are, from left: Carolyn Wagner, human resources and safety manager for BMP America in Medina; Wendy Hinkley, branch manager for Five-Star Bank in Albion; Jen Restivo, logistics coordinator for Freeze-Dry in Albion; and Kris Hartwig, administrative assistant at S.B. Whistler and Sons (Phinney Tool and Die).

S.B. Whistler and Sons (Phinney Tool and Die) kept its streak going in winning the toy challenge for the third straight year. The title is determined by total donations – money and weight of toys – divided by the number of employees.

Worthington actually gave the most toys and money, but S.B. Whistler won the challenge. The company has 27 employees. They donated $1,000 and 165 pounds of toys.

The company hangs the award for winning the toy challenge in the shop at the business at the corner of West Center Street and Salt Works Road.

“We’re able to see that we make a difference,” Hartwig of S.B. Whistler said about the toy challenge. “We are like a big family and we want to help other families in the area.”

Freeze-Dry in Albion was happy to participate in the toy challenge. The company had a box by the break room and employees filled it with toys.

“The employees are all very giving,” said Jen Restivo, logistics coordinator for the company. “We all came together and wanted to make a difference.”

Five-Star Bank in Albion also collected many toys for the challenge. Wendy Hinkley, the branch manager, also recruited other Albion businesses to collect toys for the cause. Employees at the bank decided against buying toys for each other. They instead bought toys for the challenge.

“Community Action does so much for this community, and they do it throughout the year,” Hinkley said. “They are an agency that is near and dear to my heart.”

MEDINA – A business interested in opening a winery in downtown Medina has reached out to village officials about the project.

Code Enforcement Officer Marty Busch said a winery would be an attraction, and could be a lift for the entire downtown.

There is a sticking point: the current zoning doesn’t allow a winery in the downtown.

The Village Board would need to have a public hearing and amend the zoning to allow a winery for the project to move forward, Busch said.

The current zoning for the downtown business district doesn’t prohibit a winery, but there isn’t language in the code allowing for such a use.

“It would be a great draw for the central business district,” Busch told the Planning Board on Tuesday. “There are several in the Finger Lakes and I think you’ll see some here.”

Busch said the possible winery in the downtown is only in the “talking stage.” He thinks Medina would be an ideal site for a winery and micro-breweries.

The state Legislature and Gov. Cuomo recently extended the Niagara Wine Trail through Orleans County. Downtown Medina also is on an upswing and Ale in Autumn and Wine about Winter events, which feature beer- and wine-tasting, are sellouts in Medina.

MEDINA – A new video about the preservation efforts at Bent’s Opera House is aimed to create enthusiasm for the project.

The Orleans Renaissance Group, owners of the site, worked with Michael Gaughn and Brianna Byrne to produce the new video.

Bent’s was built during the Civil War. The building is made of local Medina sandstone. It is currently mostly vacant. The ORG wants to restore the upper performance hall, and also attract business tenants for the first floor and a restaurant for the second floor.

The organization is currently doing an emergency repair to rotted structural support beams on the building. It is seeking a $500,000 state grant to replace the roof and help with other upgrades. The state is expected to announce this month whether or not that funding will be awarded.

“As most of you know, some structural work/repair/restoration has already begun,” ORG Vice Chairman Chris Busch said in an email to ORG supporters. “The wheels are in motion.The vision continues to takes shape.”

Other videos are planned to help promote the restoration project and the Medina community.

“It is our hope that this short piece will be one of many that will soon follow, telling the story in the stone – of Bent’s history, its people, its community, and its rebirth,” Busch said.

smartDesign architecture of Batavia submitted these renderings of the United Memorial Medical Center project, which includes an addition of about 800 square feet as well as a canopy and brick for the front of the façade.

MEDINA – United Memorial Medical Center, which stepped up its obstetrics and gynecological care in Medina in 2011, is working to have an expanded site on Maple Ridge Road.

The Batavia hospital, which is now delivering about 100 babies a year in Batavia to Orleans County women, wants more exam rooms and medical offices to serve its patients in the Medina area.

The hospital wants to do a major renovation and expansion of a former K & K food mart and gas station at 11360 Maple Ridge Rd. UMMC is currently a tenant for Medina Memorial Hospital.

Photos by Tom Rivers – This building at 11360 Maple Ridge Rd., a former K & K gas station and food mart, will be transformed into a healthcare site for United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia.

Medina closed its birthing unit on July 1, 2011. UMMC and Medina Memorial have worked collaboratively the past 2 ½ years on women’s health services.

“They’re in Medina now and they want to stay in Medina,” Todd Audsley, project manager for smartDesign architecture, told the Medina Planning Board. “They need more room for doctors and patients.”

The property is in the process of being acquired by Chad LaCivita, who is buying it from Reid Petroleum. LaCivita will lease the site to UMMC.

Todd Audsley, a project manager with smartDesign architecture in Batavia, discusses the site plan for a health care site in Medina. United Memorial Medical Center wants to better provide its women’s health services in the community. Village Planning Board member Todd Bensley is at left.

Village officials believe the property has a clean bill of environmental health. The previous gas storage tanks have been removed and they didn’t leak, said Marty Busch, village code enforcement officer.

The project will add about 800 square feet to the building, and will change the looks of the property with a brick exterior on the front and wrapping around the front sides.

“It’s a nice-looking building,” Audsley told the planners. “It will be a welcome addition to the streetscape.”

The project needs to go before the Orleans County Planning Board at 7 p.m. on Dec. 19. It also comes back the Village Planning Board for a vote on the site plan on Jan. 7. Residents can comment during a public hearing on the project at 7:05 p.m. on Jan. 7. The hearing will be at City Hall.

Planning Board members tonight asked Audsley to make sure exterior lighting doesn’t spill off onto neighboring properties. Audsley said wall packs will be mounted on the building and the lighting will be projected downward.

The sign on the building won’t be lighted. A monument sign by Route 31A will have a soft glow, he said.

The hospital would like to start work on the project soon after the local board approvals and permits are secured, Audsley said.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Matt Mundion of Matt C.M. Contracting won the grand champion award for his float that show a team of deer pulling a sleigh stacked with presents. The top photo shows the float making its way down Main Street on Saturday. The bottom photo shows the float in the staging area at the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina.

Photo by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A float that featured a team of stuffed deer heads, including one with a lighted red nose, has been named grand champion of the Parade of Lights.

Matt Mundion of Matt C.M. Contracting won the top award for the parade that included 42 floats. Mundion traveled the parade course in what appeared to be a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

Parade organizers praised participants for their added creativity with the floats in the fifth annual Parade of Lights.

Other float winners include:
Not-for-Profit – Orleans YMCA
Religious – Medina Methodist Church
Service Organization – Medina Mustang Boosters
Fire Company – Medina Fire Department
Business – Roberts Farm Market
Other Groups – Medina Central School Transportation Department

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Orleans County YMCA won an award for its Candyland themed float.

Star Award winner for Creativity – Orleans Master Gardeners

Littlest Elf Award for best design for involving youths and adults – Orleans County Town Clerks

Community Service Award for entry best representing their Community – Lyndonville Fire Company

There are other winners from Saturday’s Old Tyme Christmas celebration in Medina, including:

Cutest little elf contest winners: first place to Benjamin Root, second to Jaelyn Castricone, and third to Winry Tester.

Scavenger hunt winners: first place to Bobby Vidovich, second to Jonathan Becker, and third to Cindy Sands.

Coloring contest winners: first place to Saige Woodhams, second to Dakota Alexander, and third to Nathan Sherman.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Santa Claus arrived in Medina today by horse-drawn carriage. He was led into town in a mini-parade down Main Street with a band, color guard and elves.

Kathy Blackburn, president of the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, dressed as an elf and helped direct children in costumes through the downtown business district.

Santa rode in the carriage with Ben Root, 2 ½ of Medina. He won the award for best-dressed elf. Ben is the son of Patrick and Jennifer Root. Ben also was the first one to sit with Santa in the Medina Theater Company. Ben is pictured in his award-winning outfit with Santa, who is scheduled for photos with children from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

Santa will help light the Christmas display in Rotary Park at 5:30.

The parade of lights will be at 6 p.m. More events are also on the schedule. For more information, click here.

Photos by Tom Rivers – The Albion FFA had a Grinch and Whoville themed float. Adam Krenning, the club advisor and agriculture teacher, dressed as the Grinch and drove the tractor.

The Town Clerks Association of Orleans County joined the Parade of Lights for the first time tonight. Shelby Town Clerk Darlene Rich, left, greets the crowd from the lighted display.

MEDINA – More than 50 community groups created floats and decorated them in brilliant glowing colors for the fifth annual Parade of Lights in Medina.

The event was a dazzling display that left many folks, including myself, awestruck. There was an enormous crowd of people along Main Street and a line of people along Park Avenue. Many of them were in lawn chairs.

The parade included several new entries. It keeps growing and getting better each year.

Stanton Signs put a friendly face at the end of its float.

Habitat for Humanity makes its way down Main Street with its lighted float.

The Medina Transportation Association turned a 15-passenger bus into a pirate ship as part of their float.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Dancing Derrick Bradley was part of the Weed Man display from Albion.

The Master Gardeners joined the parade with a “Hoe, Hoe, Hoe” themed float.

The Abominable Snowman was one of the stars of the Roberts Farm Market float.

One of the fire trucks has a giant glowing Mickey Mouse at the back as it heads down Main Street through a big crowd in downtown Medina.

Outfits included tutus, Santa hats and other holiday spirit

Photos by Tom Rivers – Mercedes Houseman of Oakfield, left, and Debbie Tompkins of Medina are in the home stretch of the first Home for the Holidays 5K this morning. The race ended on Main Street by the American Legion.

Patty Hastreiter of Lancaster sprints to the finish line in the 5K. She also ran the Turkey Trot in Buffalo on Thursday. Her sister-in-law, Cindy Robinson, organized today’s race with her husband Jim Robinson.

MEDINA – The first Home for the Holidays 5k attracted 85 runners this morning in Medina. Many of the participants ran in Santa hats, jingle bells and other outrageous outfits, including tutus.

Race organizer Cindy Robinson was pleased with the turnout for the first race. She wants it to become an annual tradition, a kickoff to Medina’s Old Tyme Christmas celebration that continues until 11 p.m. today.

Robinson has seen how a holiday-themed race can become a major draw. Seneca Falls started the “It’s A Wonderful Life 5K” in 2009. Last year it attracted 2,000 participants to the small village that was used for the classic film starring Jimmy Stewart.

“For the first race I’m thrilled,” Robinson said. “We can build on this and make it better.”

Many of the runners in this morning’s 5-kilometer race were dressed for the holidays. This group includes, from left: Stephanie Hill of Medina, John Ritter Jr. of Pembroke, Jennifer Pritchett of Basom, Katy Owczarczak of Medina and Sharon Koszuta of Akron.

The fastest runners were awarded prizes for completing the 5K course. Robinson wants to add prizes in the future for best costumes.

The race attracted many participants from outside Medina. Robinson is hopeful that the race will bring people to the community who will stick around for more events as part of Medina’s Old Tyme Christmas. (Click here for the schedule.)

I heard people exclaim about the beautiful course along the canal. The only complaint: It was a little slippery for some of the runners. But everyone seemed in good spirits.

“It was fun and we wanted to do it for the first year,” said Sharon Koszuta of Akron. “We want to support running events.”

Gary Lantinen, 58, of Gasport is all alone and ahead of the pack while running along the towpath next to a frozen Erie Canal. He won today’s race with a time of 20:36.

Stephanie Schmidt of Sanborn finishes in 21:19, the fastest time for all of the women runners.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Before they ventured down Park Avenue and emerged on Main Street in downtown Medina, the floats for the Parade of Lights gathered in the parking lot at the Olde Pickle Factory.

It was a spectacular site, seeing about 50 floats altogether. All of the entries showed a lot of spirit and many were very creative.

I thought the fleet of reindeer, with Rudolph as the leader, was particularly good. It looked like a bunch of real reindeer with a red-nosed Rudolph. Matt C.M. Contracting created this float.

I took the pre-parade photos with a SmartPhone. Some of them are a little fuzzy, including this one of East Shelby firefighters, with Fire Chief Mike Fuller in the front. I wanted to use it on the Orleans Hub because it shows the spirit and willingness of the participants to put on a good parade.

The Town of Oakfield joined Medina’s parade, one of several participants from outside Medina.

The Wildwood Lake KOA Campground in Medina was part of the Parade of Lights for the first time.

These parade participants have a few things to go over before heading out on the parade route.

Albion FFA members created a float with a Grinch and Whoville theme.

MEDINA – Medina’s “Old Tyme Christmas” celebration on Saturday is being promoted by Greater Niagara Region USA as an alternative “to the chaotic mall scene.”

The tourism promotion agency is urging people to spend Saturday in Medina to see a parade of lights at 6 p.m. and numerous other activities that make for a “nostalgia-filled adventure.”

“Welcome the arrival of Santa, indulge in holiday delicacies, enjoy children’s activities and experience the festive lights as Medina greets the holidays,” the tourism agency proclaims.

The group touts the historic charm of Medina’s downtown business district, which includes many buildings from the 1800s with shops run by local merchants rather than chain stores.

“Medina escaped the ‘urban renewal’ craze of the 60’s, and its commercial district boasts locally owned stores and eateries,” according to the Greater Niagara tourism organization.

To see the group’s news release about Medina and Old Tyme Christmas, click here.

File photo by Tom Rivers – The village of Medina knocked down these two houses on Genesee Street last week. This photo was taken in April.

MEDINA – Two boarded-up houses that have long been eyesores and targets of vandalism were torn down by the village of Medina last week.

“It’s great to see them down and the lots cleared,” Marty Busch, the village code enforcement officer, told the Village Board on Monday.

The houses at 613-615 and 617 Genesee Street have depressed the neighborhood, Busch said.

The village in recent years has been taking down one or two houses a year. Busch said many more should come down because of their poor condition and negative impact on the neighborhood.

Medina Fire Chief Todd Zinkievich said firefighters were able to practice drills and other valuable training on the houses before they were demolished.

Busch said he will soon have a report on the final costs of the demolition.

In other action on Monday:

The board is looking to fill a vacant captain position in the Fire Department. That spot has been open since R.J. Morgan retired about two years ago.

The department typically has two captains who each lead a platoon of six firefighters. Mike Maak, the current senior captain, heads the EMS training and responsibilities. The new captain will help head up the firefighting efforts.

Three internal candidates are seeking the captain’s position. The candidates will all be interviewed Monday by the Village Board, Zinkievich and Maak.

Approved an agreement with the Medina School District allowing the school to use the village’s fueling station. The school district will pay the state contract price per gallon, plus another 5 percent, which will help the village with maintenance and other costs of the fueling station, said Mayor Andrew Meier.

Discussed a letter from Stop Polluting Orleans County, a citizens group in the Albion area that is opposed to more landfill operations in Albion. The group is seeking a resolution from Medina, stating its opposition to another landfill.

Meier said the board will consider the request at an upcoming meeting. The board usually doesn’t weigh in on issues in other communities, but Meier said the Village Board may want to go on the record against another landfill in Albion.

“There would be a significant impact on the quality of life and the truck traffic through our village,” Meier said.

MEDINA – The village may have had a record-breaking year in 2013 for issuing violation notices for properties with unmowed lawns.

Code Enforcement Officer Marty Busch sent out 234 violation notices, which he said was up from the previous year.

“More and more houses are sitting empty,” Busch told the Village Board on Monday. “We’re cutting more.”

If the property owner doesn’t cut the grass soon after the notice, the village imposes a $100 fine for tall grass and wild weeds. Medina will also have a contractor cut the grass. The $100, plus $65 fee for the grass cutting, is then charged to the property owner. If the bill isn’t paid, it is put on the village tax bill.

The village billed $15,569 for grass and weed violations in 2013, Busch said. A lawn-mowing contractor was paid $4,437. The net of $11,132 goes to the village.

Busch said he spends a lot of time on the issue, inspecting lawns throughout the village and then checking on them after the notices go out.

He wants to keep the fine at $100.

“We want to provide an incentive for people to take care of the problem,” Busch said.

Photo by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – I couldn’t help but stop and take a photo of this hitching post and carriage step last night in Medina, with a historic home as a backdrop with its Christmas lights.

This house is located at 801 West Center St., at the Erie Street intersection. For the next month or so Orleans Hub will feature properties decked out in the holiday spirit.