MEDINA – Seven people were arrested on drug charges following a six-month investigation into the sale and distribution of prescription narcotics and marijuana in the village of Medina, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force is reporting today.

The Task Force and the Medina Police Department on Friday executed search warrants at 124 Erin Rd. and 135 State St.

The following were arrested:

Albone

Mathew J. Albone, 32, of 124 Erin Rd. He was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.

Bryan

Stacy D. Bryan, 23, of 525 West Ave., Apartment 3. He was charged with three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and one count of welfare fraud in the third degree.

Dillon

Kimberly C. Dillon, 57, of 135 State St., Medina. He was charged with three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and one count of welfare fraud in the third degree.

Winters

Serina Winters, 37, of 909 Church Street, Apartment 1. She faces charges of two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and one count of welfare fraud in the third degree.

Martinez

Lori S. Martinez, 47, of 325 Park Ave. Apartment 1. She was charged with one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and one count of welfare fraud in the third degree.

Albone, Bryan, Dillon, Winters and Martinez were arraigned in Ridgeway Town Court by Justice Lawrence Sanderson. They were committed to Orleans County Jail on $10,000 bail. They were scheduled to return to Ridgeway Town Court today at 9 a.m.

Kayla Rowling, 22, of 803 South Main St. She was charged with two counts of criminal sale of marijuana in the third degree. Rowling was issued an appearance ticket for Shelby Town Court on March 6 at 9 a.m.

Bradley W. Albone, 63, of 124 Erin Rd. He was charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana. He is to appear in Ridgeway Town Court on Feb. 10 at 9 a.m.

The Task Force Supervising Investigator Joe Sacco says the investigation is still ongoing and more charges and arrests are pending.

The welfare fraud charges stem from the individuals being on public assistance and obtaining their prescription drugs through Medicaid. The Orleans County Department of Social Services Welfare Fraud Investigations Unit assisted in the investigation.

MEDINA – Several hundred people in Medina, including parishioners at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, were without power for about an hour and a half this morning.

The power went out at 10 a.m. on Gwinn Street, North Avenue and the north end of the village to about Route 104. The Medina Fire Department was dispatched to investigate if there were arcing wires, but none were discovered. National Grid reset the system and power was restored at about 11:30 a.m.

About 400 parishioners at Holy Trinity Parish (St. Mary’s) entered a darkened sanctuary, beginning the 11 a.m. Mass. The church was lightly illumined with candle lights on the altar.

“It was actually quite nice to worship in these circumstances,” said Chris Busch, who was lector at the Mass. “There was just enough daylight to read, there were no microphones and the pipe organ was replaced with a harpsichord giving a bit of a Renaissance feel to the choir and service. It was quite beautiful and a very contemplative setting.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The band Pocket Change performed tonight during the Finally Fridays concert series at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina.

Harry Fickelman is playing the sax while Dave Stockton is on the guitar. Gary Deiboldt is playing the keyboards. Jim Linsner, not pictured, is the band’s drummer.

About 150 people attended tonight’s concert at the library for the Finally Fridays series. The concerts started on Jan. 3 and run every Friday until March 7. The music starts at 7 p.m. and admission is free.

The library, Friends of the Library and the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council all provide funding for the series. The library has been hosting Finally Fridays for 13 years.

“People need to do something on a Friday night in the winter,” said Catherine Cooper, library director. “We like to make the rafters roar.”

For a schedule of concerts, visit leewhedon.org/programs-events/.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia wants to tear down the former Pizza Hut in Medina to make way for a women’s health facility.

MEDINA – Less than a month after withdrawing its plans to turn a former gas station into a women’s health center in Medina, a Batavia hospital has identified a different site for the project: the former Pizza Hut at 11225 Maple Ridge Rd.

The United Memorial Medical Center will be a tenant at the site. Developer Chad LaCivita is working to acquire the property. The Pizza Hut building will be torn down and a new 4,000-square-foot site will be erected.

Courtesy of smartDESIGN architecture PLLC

Courtesy of smartDESIGN architecture PLLC

UMMC is working with smartDESIGN architecture in Batavia for the the design of the new building and the landscaping for the site. The building will look nearly the same as the project pitched for a former gas station down the road. UMMC withdrew from that project due to some environmental concerns with the site.

The Batavia hospital has been providing women’s health services at 100 Ohio St., space owned by Medina Memorial Hospital. Medina closed its birthing wing in July 2011. UMMC now delivers more than 100 babies a year to Orleans County women.

The site at 100 Ohio St. is cramped for space, said Colleen Flynn, UMMC’s director of community relations.

The new site will have more space for doctors, patients and staff. UMMC provides obstetrics, gynecological care and other health services.

“We need a better place,” Flynn said. “We have a big commitment to providing quality care and improving the physical plant.”

The Batavia hospital recently spent $2 million improving its maternity wing.

The plan for the project was reviewed by the Medina Planning Board on Tuesday and the Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday. It goes before the Orleans County Planning Board on Jan. 24. It goes back to the Village Planning Board for a final vote on Feb. 4.

UMMC was looking to turn a former gas station on Maple Ridge Road into a women’s health center, but backed off that site after environmental auditing at the property, the former K & K at 11360 Maple Ridge Rd.

MEDINA Andrew Meier is seeking re-election to village mayor on March 18, and he hopes to work towards a dissolution of the village which he ultimately said would reduce the costs of local government and ensure a brighter future for Medina.

Today is the first day candidates can pick up petitions for the election. They have until Feb. 11 to submit petitions signed by at least 100 village eligible voters.

Meier was first elected in March 2012, running on the Village Party with David Barhite and Pat Crowley. Their trustee positions are also up for election in March.

Meier, 34, is a local attorney and entrepreneur. He was thrust into the mayor’s position on Sept. 11, 2011 when former mayor Adam Tabelski resigned due to an impending deployment with the U.S. Army.

Meier sees a downtown in the midst of a rebirth. But the neighborhoods need revitalization and more investment is needed.

“There is unfinished work,” he said about his decision to run.

He has been railing against the unfairness in local tax rates and distribution of costs for providing services. He believes the villages bear an unfair burden. The village tax rate of $16.45 per $1,000 of assessed property is far more than outside the village in the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway. The village has the added burden of paying town tax rates as well.

Meier may be the only mayor in Orleans County history who has worked for the elimination of his office. That’s what would happen with a village dissolution, if the village government went away and the two towns then provided services in the village.

In that scenario, Meier expects the tax rates would be nearly uniform, which would take away the incentive for people to own property outside the village where the taxes are far cheaper.

A dissolution committee led by Don Colquhoun, the retired director of the Arc of Orleans County, expects to receive a report from a consultant by Jan. 23. The document from the Center for Governmental Research will provide some scenarios for the dissolution and how services could be shifted to the towns.

“We’re working on answering all of the questions in the process,” Meier said.

There will be several public meetings about the dissolution plan as it moves forward. Village residents will have to approve the dissolution in a public referendum for it to proceed. The two towns are not obligated to follow a plan put together by the village and a committee is working on the issue.

Ridgeway and Shelby leaders say if the dissolution is approved, special taxing districts would likely be created for police, fire and other services.

Tabelski

Press release, GCC

MEDINA – Genesee Community College is pleased to announce that former Medina Mayor Adam Tabelski will once again serve as the honorary chairman of the Civil War Encampment for three days in Medina in April.

“I am honored to accept this designation,” said Tabelski, who served as chairman for the 2013 Encampment in Medina, the first time the village has hosted Civil War re-enactors.

The Encampment will include battles next to the GCC campus in Medina, a parade, and several demonstrations and lectures.

Tabelski, a past president of the Medina Historical Society, served as mayor of Medina from 2008-2012. He stepped down when he was deployed to Kuwait with the National Guard. He serves as communications director for State Sen. George Maziarz (R-Newfane). Tabelski and his wife, Rachael live in Medina with their son Adrian.

Photo by Tom Rivers – There are a lot of branches down, but most of the trees, including this one at Mount Albion Cemetery, have stayed strong during the ice storm.

Chris Busch cringed when he heard the weather forecast, calling for a half-inch to an inch of ice Saturday night and Sunday.

He worried about the old trees in Medina, and many of the new ones.

“Whenever they predict lots of ice that never ends well,” said Busch, chairman of the Medina Tree Board.

He was out today assessing the damage around Medina. He saw lots of fallen branches, but not too many snapped-off large branches from the mature trees.

The storm tampered off just in time.

“While under stress from ice load, most trees in Medina escaped major damage,” Busch said.

The trees were at their limit in supporting a heavy ice load, he said. Warmer temperatures this afternoon are melting the ice, easing the burden on the trees and their branches.

“At first glance Medina’s urban forest was lucky,” Busch said. “Had the ice storm lasted longer, things would’ve been much worse.”

Photo by Chris Busch – The trees on Pearl Street near the YMCA in Medina held up under the strain of the ice storm.

Photo by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Hundreds of pairs of shoes from walkers and runners took a toll on the towpath this morning in Medina.

About 300 people joined for a walk/run in memory of Dennis Heil, who passed away on Dec. 2, leaving behind a wife and seven children.

The “Miles for Heils – In Memory of Dennis” included walkers and runners who went down and back on the towpath between the lift bridge and Marshall Road.

Photo by Tom Rivers

Photo by Tom Rivers – Jonathan Higgins, an active local firefighter for 25 years, is a new captain with the Medina Fire Department.

MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department has promoted a veteran local firefighter to captain, the department’s second in command.

Jonathan Higgins has been an active local firefighter for 25 years, since he joined the Carlton Fire Company when he was 20. Higgins became a paramedic when he was 25, and he served as paramedic at Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance in Albion for 17 years.

He also worked as a paramedic in Batavia for United Memorial Medical Center and then the city of Batavia for 14 years altogether. Seven years ago he joined the Medina Fire Department as a paid firefighter.

That proved to be good timing because a year later the city of Batavia got out of the ambulance business and laid off many firefighters.

Medina at that time had a grant to add staff while it took over western Orleans ambulance coverage from Rural Metro. Higgins has a been a leader for the department from day one, Fire Chief Todd Zinkievich said.

Higgins has the respect of his fellow firefighters and the community, the chief said.

Higgins has represented Medina and Orleans County at local, regional and state EMS councils. He took the lead locally in getting a helipad paved for the Medina Memorial Hospital, and also in the design and dedication of a firefighters’ memorial outside city hall in Medina.

Higgins helps douse the flames at a carriage barn fire in Medina last month. He has extensive experience fighting fires and responding to ambulance calls.

The department has 13 paid firefighters, including the chief and two captains. It has been without a second captain for about two years since R.J. Morgan retired.

The Village Board held off on the promotion but agreed to fill the spot after the firefighters’ union agreed to cost-saving concessions. The biggest savings will come from a new policy that only one of the 13 firefighters can be on vacation on a any given day. The previous policy allowed for two people to claim vacation the same day. The new policy with only one person off will reduce overtime costs, Zinkievich said.

Higgins will lead a platoon with five other firefighters while Mike Maak, the other captain, leads a group with five firefighters. Maak will also focus on the EMS for the department while Higgins leads firefighting efforts. Higgins not only has firefighting experience, but he brings an extensive paramedic background to the captain’s position.

“He’s going to be a super leader,” Zinkievich said.

Higgins and Zinkievich said staffing is a challenge, given the rising number of calls. The department has applied for a federal grant to add two paid firefighters.

When Zinkievich pitched the ambulance plan to the Village Board in 2007, he anticipated running anywhere from 1,500 to 1,700 ambulance calls. Immediately, the department exceeded that, pushing 1,800 to 1,900 calls in its first year. The department so far in 2013 is well ahead of the pace for the record 2,209 calls last year.

Altogether, with fire and ambulance calls, the department will respond to about 2,700 calls this year, the most ever.

Photos by Mike Wertman – Roles will be shifting a bit in January for Medina Central administrattors Chris Hughes, left, and Mark Kruzynski.

Academic demands will be causing a bit of a shift in the work load for two Medina Central administrators, Medina High Principal Mark Kruzynski and Athletic Director and Wise Middle School Assistant Principal Chris Hughes, as of January 1.

Kruzynski will be adding the responsibilities of athletic director while Hughes will remain as Wise Middle School assistant principal and head of the district’s Physical Education Department.

The increased academic demands on staff due to the state’s listing of Wise Middle as a Focus School is cited as a primary reason for the shifting of duties.

“Academics is our primary concern and since the middle school is a Focus School this year Chris is needed in that area,” Kruzynski said. “And that is a very time consuming effort so this is really a balancing of work loads.”

Adding the role of athletic director is not a new one for Kruzynski who previously served in that position for several years before becoming high school principal.