Photos by Tom Rivers – Nicole Tuohey cuts a paper chain link this morning to kick off a 2-mile “Walk to End Alzheimer’s.” Nicole, 23, sold about 700 links for $1 each.

MEDINA – Mary Lou Tuohey watched her father, a former engineer, wither away over 13 years to the point where he couldn’t recognize his four children. Her father died at age 65 from Alzheimer’s.

Now Tuohey’s mother is battling the disease. She has fought it for 14 years and no longer recognizes her family.

“It’s an ugly, ugly disease,” Tuohey said today when Medina hosted a “Walk to End Alzheimer’s.” About 100 people turned out for the event, which included a 2-mile walk along the canal.

Supporters set out to raise about $18,000, money that would go towards research, respite care for affected families and public education.

The purple flower, part of the Promise Garden at the Medina Canal Basin, was placed in memory of a loved one who died from Alzheimer’s. The garden included three other colored flowers to signify if someone has Alzheimer’s (blue), cares for someone with the disease (yellow) and supports the cause for more research to fight Alzheimer’s (orange).

Tuohey’s daughter was one of the biggest fund-raisers for the cause. Nicole, 23, sold links to a paper chain for $1 each. She sold more than 700 from her mother’s store, Case-Nic Cookies on Main Street in Medina. Nicole cut the link to kick off the walk this morning.

Charlene Seitzer addressed the group of walkers before they headed out on their trek. Seitzer’s husband of 50 years, Butch, died on Feb. 5 after an 11-year fight with Alzheimer’s. Mr. Seitzer maintained a friendly demeanor and his Christian faith while enduring the disease, his wife said.

“If he was here he would say, ‘Smile. God loves you and so do I.’”

About 100 people participated in a 2-mile walk that included a stretch along the Erie Canal underneath the Glenwood Avenue bridge.

Press release, OC Major Felony Crime Task Force

Sponaugle

Morehouse

MEDINA – Two Orleans County residents face charges of selling prescription narcotic pills in the village of Medina, following a six-month investigation.

The Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force and Medina Police Department on Tuesday arrested a Carlton man on numerous counts of criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance.

Jackie L. Sponaugle Jr., 22, of 13154 Ashwood Rd. was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. Sponaugle sold some of the drugs at a park near school grounds, the Task Force reported.

He also was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, and three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.

He was arraigned at Shelby Town Court by Town Justice Dawn Keppler, and was committed to the Orleans County Jail on $20,000 cash bail or $40,000 bond. Sponaugle is to return back to town court today at 6 p.m.

In a separate investigation, Task Force members arrested a Medina woman on Aug. 21, when she was charged with several counts of criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance.

Gale V. Morehouse, 51, was arrested at her home at 925 Church St. 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, one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.

Morehouse was also arraigned at Shelby Town Court by Town Justice Dawn Keppler and was committed to the Orleans County Jail on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond.

MEDINA – Lee-Whedon Memorial Library’s interior renovation project was expected to keep the library closed from Sept. 9 through Sept. 30.

But the project has been delayed due to material availability issues, library officials said today.

“Originally scheduled for September, the project has been rescheduled for October,” said Catherine Cooper, library director. “Firm dates will be announced as soon as possible. The board and staff apologize for this inconvenience.”

The project will replace ceiling tiles and carpet, and the walls will be repainted. The library also plans to upgrade HVAC controls and replace the large window in the Quiet Room.

Photos by Michael Karcz

MEDINA – Terry Buchwald impersonates the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley during tonight’s Super Cruise in Medina. Buchwald has capped off the annual classic cruise-in series for the past several years.

Wednesday was scheduled to be the finale of the series, but organizers will have one more classic car cruise-in on Friday in the Canal Basin.

Medina shut off a portion of Main Street for the Super Cruise, which drew a big crowd of vintage cars and pedestrians.

MEDINA – The village approved an agreement with the Medina School District where police officer Chad Kenward will continue to provide a full-time presence at the district during the school year.

Police Chief Jose Avila is a strong supporter of having a police officer dedicated to school district. He said the officer is on the scene to respond to any calls, develops relationships with students and also acts as a deterrent to crime.

“It’s an incredible working relationship between the police department and the school district,” Avila said Monday after the Village Board approved a one-year agreement with the district.

The school will pay the village $60,000 towards Kenward’s salary and benefits. That covers about nine months of the cost with the village paying the rest.

Medina first had a school resource officer as part of a grant about 10 years ago. When the grant expired after three years, there wasn’t a SRO for at least one year. The district and village have since agreed to partner in providing the service.

“I’m very grateful the superintendent and mayor have worked to keep an officer in the school,” Avila said.

In other action on Monday, the Village Board:

Voted to take out a $120,000 bond to pay for a new police vehicle, utility tractor with a snow blower, maintenance equipment, protective gear for the fire department and equipment for an ambulance.

Agreed to a five-year lease with the county where Orleans can erect a new radio communications tower next to the village water tank on Route 31A. The county won’t be charged to use the land at 11816 Maple Ridge Rd., but the county agreed to share some revenue with the village if a telecommunications company co-locates on the tower in the future.

May declare a roadway leading into the Medina Business Park as an official village street. If the roadway becomes part of the village highway inventory, Medina could receive state CHIPS money to maintain the road.

Peter Houseknecht, the Medina DPW superintendent, said the road went in more than a decade ago and needs some work. He would like to use state CHIPS funds to help with the road maintenance, rather than village tax dollars.

The village will reach out to the Orleans Economic Development Agency to declare the road an official village street.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – I happened to take a picture of the First Baptist Church in Medina in late winter/early spring (photo at very top). You can see the church with its slate roof.

The church now has the asphalt shingle roof after the congregation hired Matt C.M. Contracting to replace the slate, which ranged from about 40 to 100 years old, depending on which section and side of the roof. (The slate remains on the church spire.)

Some of the slate on the big roofs was cracked and many of the nails that held the pieces had withered away. Church members worried the old roof was a safety concern and also needed to be upgraded to stave off leaks.

Images courtesy of the Orleans Renaissance Group – Medina is planning to install nine interpretive panels that will provide a guide into the village’s history. One panel, the start of the nine-panel tour, provides a welcome message and introduction about the community.

Another panel features Grover Cleveland and his wife, the former Frances Folsom, a Medina native. Cleveland married Folsom while he was U.S. president.

MEDINA – The village’s history – its sandstone, Erie Canal and railroad prowess, and its many notable characters and community leaders – will be told on a series on nine interpretive panels that will be sprinkled throughout the downtown next spring.

The Orleans Renaissance Group is spearheading the project and is seeking $400 in donations to help pay for each steel sign.

“We’ve seen tourists walking around downtown, snapping photos and gazing at their surroundings,” said ORG Vice Chairman Chris Busch, who is coordinating the interpretive panel project. “We have one opportunity to make a lasting impression, an impression that will bring them back to visit again and again.”

Busch has designed nine panels that are numbered to encourage people to walk throughout the entire district. The panels include the following topics: Welcome to Medina, Historic Main Street, Robert H. Newell & Co. custom shirt manufacturers, Bent’s Opera House, Erie Canal, Grover Cleveland, Medina Sandstone, Immigrant Heritage, and the Railroad in Medina.

Busch said the signs define Medina business and historic districts “as a place that matters.”

The Orleans Renaissance Group is seeking donations to help pay for the signs, which will cost about $400 each for the metal bases.

The signs also create “the perception of importance – that this place is worth visiting historically, culturally, architecturally and economically.”

He expects the project will generate community pride and boost awareness for Medina’s historic, architectural and cultural resources. Businesses will benefit from visitors who stay in the community longer, Busch said.

The signs will need to be approved by the Village Planning Board, which also functions as Medina’s “Historic Review Board.”

Several sign sponsors have already stepped forward to support the project, but Busch and the ORG are seeking more financial support for the initiative. To help pay for a panel, send donations to “Interpretive Sign Initiative” c/o Orleans Renaissance Group, Inc., PO Box 543, Medina, NY 14103 or online at www.eggstreet.org.

MEDINA – The recent deaths of two active Medina community members has prompted a group to propose a memorial garden at Glenwood Lake.

“The Circle of Love Memory Garden” will first honor Michelle Stanton Jones and Linda Froman. Jones was 54 when she died on July 29. She was active in the Memories of Medina Facebook group, an online community with nearly 3,000 members that promote the community. Jones organized several “meet and greets” for the group.

Froman was 58 when she died on July 31. She was a real estate broker, and active supporter of several community causes.

The Memories of Medina group wants to recognize both women and make room for more people to be recognized at the garden, which would have a base circle with a 34-foot diameter. Group representatives will pitch the plan to the Ridge Town Board tonight at 7.

The project includes benches, flowers, a sign and an arbor across the path that will be 10 feet tall and 8 feet from post to post. The garden project will cost about $3,500, said Dayton Hausman, a Memories of Medina member. He thinks the group can raise that with $20 donations from about 175 of the members.

“This will be a flower garden that will add a splash of color,” he said. “Right now there isn’t much color down there. We want to create a place where people can sit and reflect.”

Press release, Lee-Whedon Memorial Library

MEDINA – Lee-Whedon Memorial Library will close for renovations from Sept. 9 through Sept. 30. During that time the ceiling tiles and carpet will be replaced, the walls will be repainted, the HVAC controls will be upgraded and the large window in the Quiet Room will be replaced.

“We realize that this will be an inconvenience for our many patrons. However, closing is the most efficient and safest way to accomplish these necessary improvements” said Maryellen Dale, Board President. “We have put a great deal of thought and planning into this project. Replacing the roof this spring was our first step in securing the integrity of the building for the future. Now we need to upgrade the interior. Lee-Whedon is such a vital community asset: our aim is to make it a more user-friendly destination.”

Before the work begins, the collection will be packed and moved to temporary storage. Patrons are encouraged to visit nearby NIOGA libraries, the closest being Middleport, Lyndonville and Albion. Items checked out from Lee-Whedon after Aug. 26 will not be due until Oct. 1. Lee-Whedon material may be returned to any NIOGA library.

“We are looking forward to the end result, though we are rather dreading the process!” said Catherine Cooper, library director. “We thank our patrons in advance for their patience and understanding.”

Photo by Tom Rivers – The village of Medina, town of Shelby and Orleans Economic Development Agency are working together to make Medina Business Park attractive to developers.

MEDINA – It already has a road, and there is plenty of vacant land. But the Medina Business Park is lacking an important designation that would gain the notice of developers: “Shovel Ready.”

But that should soon change. The town of Shelby, village of Medina and Orleans Economic Development Agency are working for “shovel ready” status for the 65-acre business park on Bates Road. Clearing all of the hurdles for environmental and surveying work, as well as approvals with state agencies offers businesses a chance to build at the site without delays. But to get that status will cost about $90,000, according to a report from the Orleans EDA.

“This has been a high priority,” said Medina Mayor Andrew Meier. “We’re very happy to be working with Shelby and the EDA.”

Medina and Shelby have both committed $20,000 towards the costs of obtaining shovel ready status. The EDA has agreed to spend $4,367.75 from the Orleans Land Restoration Corporation. National Grid would pay half of the $88,735.50 cost with a grant.

“We can accomplish a lot more if we all work together,” said Ken Schaal, a Shelby town councilman.

Shelby set aside $10,000 for the project in its 2013 budget, and Schaal expects the other $10,000 will be in the town’s 2014 spending plan.

To reach “shovel ready” status, the site needs nearly $90,000 of services, including boundary, topographical and survey work ($26,010); geotechnical information ($16,000); concept plans and traffic study ($15,000); State Historic Preservation Office application ($1,500); environmental impact report ($3,500); meetings and coordination with Empire State Development ($15,000) and an application to Empire State Development for “shovel ready” status for the site ($7,500). The costs also include a 5 percent contingency for $4,225.50.

The EDA is working to have two shovel ready sites. The other site is a 120-acre cow pasture owned by the Keppeler family on Route 31A .

The EDA last year and in early 2013 worked with a consultant to develop an 850-page plan for economic development for the county. The report was complete in April. The project identified the two sites in Medina – the Keppeler site and the Medina Business Park – as priorities.

O’Brien and Gere, consultants for the EDA with the project, said the two sites are the county’s best bet for luring manufacturing and other companies. The sites both have access to water, sewer and other infrastructure. They both fall within the 30-mile radius of the hydropower plant in Lewiston. The New York Power Authority determines which companies receive that low-cost electricity.

MEDINA – The village is seeking a federal grant that would add two full-time paid firefighters for two years. If the grant application is successful, the two new recruits would join an existing full-time staff of 13 paid firefighters.

The added staff would help the department meet an increased demand for service, said Mayor Andrew Meier. The fire department last year responded to 2,520 calls, the most ever for the department, including 2,209 ambulance calls.

The department is on pace for about 2,700 calls total this year.

The two new firefighters would also help cut overtime for the department, reducing some expenses. Meier is hopeful the added revenue from the increased calls and overtime reductions will allow the two new firefighters to stay after the grant expires.

The village isn’t committed to keeping the two firefighters after the grant’s two-year cycle.

“If we have a budget gap to close in two years, there is no obligation to retain the positions,” Meier said. “But the goal would be to keep them after two years which we think we can do by boosting revenue through improved service.”

Medina is applying for the grant through the Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grant. The village used that program to become the primary ambulance provider in western Orleans County about six years ago. The SAFER grant paid a percentage of the salaries for six new firefighters when Medina expanded its ambulance service.

When Fire Chief Todd 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.

LOCKPORT – A Medina man could be sentenced to life in prison for sexual abuse of young boys, The Buffalo News is reporting.

Gerald L. Wolter Jr., 37, of Freeman Road, has been charged with predatory sexual assault by the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office for sexually abusing two boys in Somerset between May 2011 and January of this year. Wolter faces similar charges in Orleans County for different sexual abuse incidents, the Orleans County DA’s Office said. Wolter hasn’t been indicted in Orleans yet.

Wolter was sent to Niagara County Jail on $50,000 bail on Wednesday.

To read the Buffalo News article, visit buffalonews.com.