Photos by Tom Rivers: The new mural featuring characters from children’s books now is part of the children’s library at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library. Judith Villavisanis, an artist, spent more than a month creating this mural on the south wall in the children’s section of Lee-Whedon. She finished the “Worlds of Wonder” mural in late February.
Posted 7 May 2018 at 10:58 am
Press Release, Lee-Whedon Memorial Library
MEDINA – The Board of Trustees of Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina has scheduled its annual meeting for 7 p.m. today at the Library. It will be preceded by the regular meeting at 6 p.m.
Corduroy, a bear in a children’s book, is part of this scene.
The Board will present the Library’s Annual Report to the community as well as the proposed budget for 2018-19. Also on the annual meeting agenda will be the election of one member to the Board of Trustees. Incumbent Isabella Mark is running unopposed for another term.
The Board is proposing a total budget of $608,061 for 2018-19. The proposed increase to the tax levy would be $3,473. This increase of .66% would increase the property tax levied for the library from $525,946 to $529,419. This tax, which comprises the majority of the library’s funding, is charged to all property owners in the school district and is collected on the school tax bills.
“As in past years, this budget reflects the Board’s concern for providing materials and services to the community and, at the same time, maintaining a viable building,” said Isabella Mark, Board President. “We have held the tax levy stable since 2016, this year’s request is certainly very conservative.”
The proposed tax increase will primarily be used to offset increased costs for technology.
Copies of the proposed budget are available at the library.
Voting on the budget will take place at Lee-Whedon on Tuesday from noon until 8 p.m. Residents of the Medina Central School District over the age of 18 are eligible to vote at the annual meeting and on the budget. Identification and proof of residence are required.
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Members of Medina’s Tuesday Club are shown at their April meeting at the home of Nelda Toussaint of Medina. Seated in front, from left, are Nelda Toussaint, treasurer Sandy Thaine, Sue Dydo, secretary Bonnie Heck, Lorraine Root and president Kathie Valley. Standing at right is Ann McElwee. The club has been in existence for 120 years.
Posted 7 May 2018 at 10:31 am
‘We’re a very eclectic group of women’ – member Pat Payne
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent
MEDINA – In a time when social organizations are losing members, some even closing, a Medina club has maintained its membership for more than a century.
Although 120 years old, the Medina Tuesday Club hasn’t deviated much from the traditions established when the club was formed.
The Tuesday Club’s roots go even farther back, having sprung out of what was called the Fortnightly Culture Club, organized in 1891 for the purpose of reading about and presenting at each meeting papers on American history, literature and travel.
An 1897 souvenir edition of the Medina Tribune states, “Such is the interest in the work that it is a rare exception if a paper is not presented when expected.”
In 1894, the FNCC joined the New York State Federation of Women’s Clubs and Societies as charter members, and later the Western Federation of Women’s Clubs.
Pat Kennedy, a member of the Tuesday Club, reads a review of her assigned book, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, during the April meeting.
The Tuesday Club, as it is known today, first met on Oct. 10, 1898 at the home of Mrs. Earl Card (the married women were all known by their husband’s names). They had yet to decide on a name for their new club. There were 16 ladies in attendance, several of whom had been members of the FNCC.
They finally decided on the name, “Tuesday Evening Reading Club,” with membership limited to 30. Dues were 25 cents.
A history of the club was compiled in 1949 for the 50th anniversary, in which it says a fee of 5 cents was imposed on members who were absent without an excuse, such as illness or out of town. There were few social activities, as it was difficult to do much on 25-cent dues.
The name was changed to the Tuesday Reading Club in 1903. At the last meeting of 1905, it was voted to omit “Reading” from the name of the club, as it had become a study club.
Previously, a waiting list had been maintained with names of candidates for membership, but it was voted in January 1906 to abolish the list. In the future, names of possible new members would be handed to a committee who would recommend which names should be asked to join. Today, a woman must be asked to join.
In the beginning, they met twice a month, but decided in the late 1950s to discontinue the second meeting of the month, except for October and April. Special events include a Calendar Lunch in October, Christmas party in December and banquet in May. The club today does not meet in June, July or August.
Throughout the years, the club has had entertainment at their meetings, put on plays and invited guest speakers, all focusing on a subject chosen by the program committee for that year.
Today, programs have been simplified, with book reviews replacing individually researched papers, debates and round-table discussions. Since the 1990s, meetings have been held in member’s homes, rather than schools, churches or other public places.
Some years ago, it was decided they would not have desserts at their meetings, so as to eliminate the possibility of one hostess trying to outdo another. Their format now is to have one book review, and then break for 15 minutes for water and nuts. Then the second half is devoted to the second book review.
The club today has 24 regular members, five associate members and four honorary members, one of whom is Joyce Beatenbough of Lyndonville. Having joined in 1958, Beatenbough is the longest standing member. Other honorary members are Lil Hagood (1977), Arden Dick (1987) and Ann Perkins (1991).
To celebrate their anniversary this year, two members each month have been looking back through the club history and selecting a year to review.
Nelda Toussaint of Medina joined in 1978, because she had two little kids and it was a wonderful way to get out of the house, she said.
“It offered a cultural evening and no extra duties went along with it,” Toussaint said. “It is an organization full of tradition.”
Jan McCloy of Medina said she joined in 2004 because it was an interesting thing to do.
Pat Payne of Medina said she likes the diversity of people in the club.
“If you look around the room, you see a variety of occupations, ages and backgrounds,” she said. “We’re a very eclectic group of women.”
Each year, a program committee decides on a theme for the year, and Lee-Whedon Memorial Library director Catherine Cooper, also a member, helps get the books to go along with the theme.
Rarely does someone get asked to review a book they don’t like.
“Once, I had to read a book on the World Bank and it was so boring, but I got through it,” Lorraine Root said. “If you really didn’t like a book, I think they might give you another.”
Kathie Valley, club president, said presentations are always high quality, very well given and interesting.
The club has always been philanthropic and uses its dues to make a donation to a worthy cause at Christmas time.
Current officers are Kathie Valley, president; Pam Maryjanowski, vice president; Bonnie Heck, secretary; and Sandy Thaine, treasurer.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 May 2018 at 3:15 pm
Rain and mud push party inside; 68 new trees going in ground
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Karen Sanchez-Cabrera and other first-graders in Allison Woodburn’s class perform a skit this morning at Oak Orchard Elementary School in honor of Arbor Day.
This year’s celebration at Medina was pushed back a week to accommodate teachers and staff who attended last Friday’s calling hours for Andrea Lonnen, a kindergarten teacher who passed away unexpectedly on April 22 at 45. Lonnen was a big supporter of Arbor Day and had her classes help plant trees, said Chris Busch, Medina’s Tree Board chairman.
Nicole Goyette, a Medina teacher and Tree Board member, holds the microphone for first-grader Mckenna Adams, who was part of the Arbor Day skit. The event typically is an outdoor celebration and students help shovel dirt and plant the trees. But the threat of rain, and the wet and muddy grounds prompted organizers to shift the event inside.
Nicole Goyette is the Arbor Day coordinator. She welcomes students to the celebration. This year’s Arbor Day was dedicated to Wilson Southworth, who passed away at age 70 on Dec. 8. Southworth was a long-time member of the Tree Board, its vice chairman and a proponent of reforesting the Village of Medina.
Medina Mayor Mike Sidari reads a proclamation about Arbor Day. “Trees are enjoyed by every citizen, young and old, wherever they are planted, and are a source of joy and beauty in our community,” Sidari said.
Medina is planting 68 trees this spring. The community is an official Tree City USA, a recognition of the village’s commitment to plant trees.
The auditorium at Oak Orchard was full of students this morning.
Stevie Parker reads her poem about Arbor Day that won a competition in the high school.
The Tree Board presented a “Friend of the Urban Forest Award” to the Medina Departent of Public Works and to Bob Sanderson, a Medina resident who donates to plant many of the new trees. Sanderson owns Candlelight Cabinetry and Kitchen World in Lockport. The company uses lots of wood, and Sanderson has said the business is committed to planting new trees through several initiatives.
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Jack Wheatley of Medina is one of 10,000 in New York state who is awaiting a kidney transplant. Here he is shown with his nurses, Abigail Roberts and Dorothy Nolan, both certified clinical hemodialysis technicians, and his wife Sherry, after being hooked up for dialysis, a procedure which takes 3 1/2 to 4 hours three times a week.
MEDINA – Jack Wheatley is playing a waiting game – one he hopes will end soon with a healthy kidney.
Wheatley must undergo dialysis three times a week while he waits for a donor for a kidney. Wheatley is one of 120,000 people nationwide waiting for an organ transplant.
In New York alone, more than 10,000 people are awaiting organs, according to Donate Life in New York.
Wheatley has been on dialysis for two years, according to his wife, the former Sherry Lanning of Albion.
She wishes there was a way to make more people aware of the need for organ donors.
Jack’s condition stems from having systemic lupus for the last 30 years. He has been on steroids, which beats his body up, Sherry said.
The couple’s love story began four decades ago. He was a patient at the dentist’s office where she works, and it was love at first sight.
“I fell on my desk and said, ‘Who is that guy,’ and he went home and told his mom he had met this girl,” Sherry said.
They’ve been married 38 years.
“It’s pretty hard to watch someone you love go through this and not feel good all the time,” Sherry said of her husband’s wait for an organ donor. “It’s not about being unable to go on fancy vacations. It just about being able to sit at home, holding hands and watching TV, knowing he feels good.”
Jack started his dialysis at home, but had to go to Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo three days a week after developing a hernia. He is now able to have dialysis at Lake Plains Dialysis in Medina, but the procedure still takes a toll on him.
“Your body feels like it’s running a marathon, and you just crash,” Sherry said. “The next day you feel better, then it’s time to start again. It feels like having the flu all the time.”
She said if they want to go on vacation, they have to find a dialysis center close by, and then Jack’s not going to feel good afterwards.
Jack finally had to give up his job at NAPA in Albion, but still tries to work a few hours a day at NAPA in Medina.
“That just killed him to have to quit working in Albion,” Sherry said. “He doesn’t have a lot of hobbies to occupy his time like I do.”
Doctors told the Wheatleys they have to be creative about ways to find a donor and they hope someone reading this article may consider being tested.
Laurie Joslyn, director of renal services at Lake Plains Dialysis, said they have 40 patients on dialysis three times a week.
“There is an extreme need for donors,” Joslyn said. “I have six patients on the transplant list. Some of my patients have been coming for years, and one has been on the transplant list since this facility opened more than 30 years ago.”
A person can register to be an organ donor on the website www.donatelifeny.
The site also reports another person is added to the waiting list every 10 minutes, and 22 people die each day because the organ they need is not donated in time. One organ, eye and tissue donor can save and heal more than 75 lives.
It is reported 90 percent of Americans are in favor of being a donor, but only 30 percent know where to register.
In addition to registering at the above website, a person may also indicate on their driver’s license they wish to be an organ donor.
Someone wishing to be tested as a match for Jack may call the Wheatley’s at (585) 798-3358, or the Transplant Center at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
A person needing a kidney transplant does not have to wait for a cadaver, as a live donor can safely survive with one kidney. And there is no expense to the donor.
Courtesy of Medina Mustang Band, Kathy Dreyfus, publicity chairwoman
The Medina Mustang Marching Band traveled to Chicago from Thursday through Sunday to perform in competition in the Music in the Parks Festival. The photo is the 2018 Spring Band in front of “Cloud Gate,” a public sculpture and centerpiece in Millennium Park.
The festival was started in 1981 and is a day-long event for students of choral, orchestral and band ensembles held annually across the US. Music groups perform before adjudicators who rate the ensemble and then awards are issued at the end of the day.
In concert band, Medina won first place in Class A with a score of 96 and a superior rating. In Jazz, Medina took first place in Class A with a score of 96, the overall high jazz score. Alyssa Beyer was recognized as best jazz soloist.
In Parade, the band also won first place in the large band division with a score of 95. There were approximately eight groups from NY, Michigan, Virginia, Nevada, North Dakota and Illinois.
Jim Steele, Medina band director, said the kids did a great job in their performances. The chaperones are to be commended for all of their diligence in keeping everyone on track with their busy schedule.
In addition to the competition the group went to a Chicago Cubs game, The Blue Man Group, Willis Tower, the Navy pier and the Six Flags amusement park in Gurnee, Ill.
The band will perform next at the Gorham Pageant on May 11-12 followed by the Memorial Day parade.
MEDINA – Medina’s Cub Scout Pack 28, and Boy Scout Troop 28 braved the wind and rain today to participate in the Canal Cleanup efforts along with the other volunteers. They worked hard raking and mulching between the Route 63 and State Street bridges.
Pictured, front row from left include: Brennan Woodruff, Frankie DiCureia, AJ Horton, Matthew Jacobs, Aidyn Jackson, and Brandon Brueckner. Back row: Emma Jacobs, Robert Jacobs, David Vanderwalker, Jon Thomas, CJ Woodruff, David Pelton Wibbe, Joseph Brueckner and Scott Horton.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 April 2018 at 5:00 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Evie Schultz, a Medina FFA member, holds a bantam chick that was quite popular during today’s Animal Appreciation Day in the high school. The Medina FFA puts on the event each year. It was scheduled for last week, but the temperatures were only in the 30s so it was pushed back until today.
More than 1,000 students, from the youngest elementary kids to seniors in high school, stopped by the FFA to see animals as small as a mouse to as big as a Morgan horse.
Ryenn Oliver, a junior, feeds a llama an apple from her teeth. The llama is owned by the FFA and Ryenn has developed a close bond with it.
Makayla Heideman, a freshman, brought her hedgehog, Sonic, to the Animal Appreciation Day. The hedgehog is about 2 months old. This was the first time a hedgehog was part of the Medina FFA animal showcase.
Cora Payne, a junior, shared her Morgan horse, Zoey, with students today.
Camryn Eick, a seventh grader, introduced students to her family’s tortoise, Frankie Lynn. Camryn’s father, Todd, is the FFA advisor and agriculture teacher.
Marguerite Brakenbury tended to a calf that was on loan from Charlie Hartway’s organic dairy farm in Medina.
A mouse made its debut today for Animal Appreciation Day. Jacob Bensley, a senior, brought in the family’s pet mouse named Alonzo.
“We have a lot of big animals here,” he said. “I wanted to bring in a small animal just to switch it up.”
Oliver Wilson, a seventh grader, brought in a Muscovy duck, another new creature to Animal Appreciation Day. The duck stayed still while being petted by the students.
“They like him a lot,” Oliver said about the duck. “He’s kind of exotic. He’s really calm and not freaking out in the cage.”
Photo by Tom Rivers: Medina kindergarten students help plant a tree last year on April 28 on Arbor Day. The new tree was planted at Rotary Park on Main Street. This year’s Arbor Day celebration will be at Butts Park.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 April 2018 at 11:58 am
Medina will push back event to May 4, while Albion does tree-planting Friday at Mount Albion
The villages of Albion and Medina are both getting ready for Arbor Day events.
Medina was planning a tree-planting celebration this Friday at Butts Park, but the event has been pushed back a week “due to the tragic and unexpected passing of Mrs. Andrea Lonnen,” said Chris Busch, chairman of Medina’s Tree Board.
Andrea Lonnen
Lonnen, a kindergarten teacher, passed away on Sunday at age 45. She was a big supporter of Arbor Day and had her classes help plant trees. Her calling hours will be on Friday and Busch said many teachers and members of the school community want to pay their respects to Lonnen.
Arbor Day in Medina will instead be celebrated the following Friday on May 4.
“Each year, hundreds of students from Oak Orchard School attend Medina’s Arbor Day Celebration. Mrs. Lonnen and her kindergarten class were always in attendance,” Busch said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Lonnen family and the students of Oak Orchard Elementary School at this time. Mrs. Lonnen will be greatly missed in our schools, our community and especially at Arbor Day.”
The Arbor Day celebration will start at 9 a.m. at Butts Park. This year’s celebration will be in honor of Wilson Southworth, who passed away at age 70 on Dec. 8. Southworth was a long-time member of the Tree Board, its vice chairman and a staunch proponent of reforesting the Village of Medina.
Albion will also hold an Arbor Day celebration this Friday at 1 p.m. at Mount Albion Cemetery (near the Watson Mausoleum). Tim Archer, a seventh-grade service learning teacher, and his students will be part of the program that includes remarks from Mayor Eileen Banker and County Historian Matt Ballard.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 April 2018 at 8:08 am
Budget includes money for playground equipment, new ambulance, other projects
MEDINA – The Medina Village Board approved a $5,947,932 budget on Monday evening that increases taxes by 1.8 percent, and also includes funds for playground upgrades, a new ambulance, a police car and other projects.
The budget increases the tax levy by $52,954, from $2,923,001 to $2,975,955. The tax rate will increase by 1.57 percent or 28 cents from $17.72 to $18.00 ($17.9991) per $1,000 of assessed property.
The 1.8 percent tax levy increase is more than the 1.0 percent allowed for the village as part of the state-imposed tax cap. The formula for the tax cap this year only allows Medina a 1.0 percent tax increase, instead of 2 percent. The Village Board voted to override the cap.
“It’s been discussed heavily,” Mayor Mike Sidari said about the budget. “We’re very happy with the outcome of the budget this year.”
The budget includes $40,000 for new playground equipment at Butts Park, a new police car, roof repairs on City Hall, a new roof on the Village Clerk’s Office, and a new zero-turn mower for the village parks.
The village will also spend about $150,000 for a new ambulance with the towns of Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates contributing $64,000 towards the purchase.
The Department of Public Works also wants to pave West Avenue and Park Avenue, said Joe Perry, the DPW superintendent. If the village can stretch its money for paving, Perry said he would like to pave some of the side streets, too.
The village’s tax base only grew by 0.2 percent or $386,497, from $164.95 million to $165.34 million.
The 2019-20 budget should show a bigger increase in the tax base. There will be property reassessments that take effect in the 2019-20 budget and they should reflect recent upgrades in the downtown and village houses, as well as some projects in the Medina Business Park, Mayor Sidari said.
“Budgets are never fun but we were able to work together with what I think is a fair assessment of what we want to accomplish this year,” said Trustee Todd Bensley.
The village’s new fiscal year starts June 1.
“No one wants to see a tax increase – I’d love to lower the tax rate by 50 cents – but the reality is things cost more money,” said Trustee Owen Toale.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 April 2018 at 11:01 pm
Marcia Tuohey
MEDINA – The Medina Village Board approved a unanimous resolution this evening to name a road in honor of the late mayor, Marcia Tuohey.
She was instrumental in creating the Business Park on Bates Road and Maple Ridge Road in the 1980s. The main road off Bates Road, heading west into the park, will be known as Marcia Tuohey Way. This road is across from the ethanol plant, Western New York Energy.
“She worked very hard to get the Business Park up and running,” said Medina Mayor Mike Sidari.
Tuohey was the first woman to serve as Medina mayor. She was also the first woman elected an Orleans County legislator. She served as chairwoman of the Legislature for eight years.
After she retired as an elected official, she served on the Village Planning Board and was the county’s representative on the Board of Directors for the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. She passed away on Aug. 7, 2014.
Her son, Cal Tuohey, attended the Village Board meeting this evening. He thanked the board for honoring his mother. He joked about his mother’s strong will. He said the road should perhaps say, “Marcia Tuohey’s Way” with the apostrophe.
Mrs. Tuohey pushed to bring infrastructure to the Business Park and also welcomed its first tenants.
“My mother would be very proud to receive this recognition,” Cal Tuohey said about the road naming.
The Business Park is growing. Pride Pak opened a new vegetable processing facility in November 2016. Takeform Architectural Graphics is doing an addition and Cobblestone Suites looking to build a 58-room hotel.
