Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A powerful thunderstorm this morning knocked down a tree that landed on 413 Park Ave. in Medina at about 7:45 a.m.

The house has three apartments and the six residents all need to relocate. None of them were injured. Medina Fire Chief Steve Cooley said they will be able to stay with other family and friends. The house next door also received some damage from branches.

The roof of the house at 413 Park Ave. was badly damaged and some of the windows were broken.

Pictured from left include Medina Fire Department Lt. Tim Miller, code enforcement officer Dan Gardner, Fire Chief Steve Cooley and DPW superintendent Jason Watts.

“It shook the whole house,” said Bryan Dimon, one of the residents. “I thought it was just thunder. It broke one of my windows.”

When he came outside to see the massive silver maple, laying on the house, he felt thankful.

“It could have been a lot worse,” he said.

The village Department of Public Works will work to remove the tree from the site. A section of the street will be blocked off to traffic.

The tree missed the power lines, which are located on the other side of the street and also fell between the power connections for the houses.

Another tree fell at 203 Erin Rd. in Medina and broke a window and torn off some facia.

Sue Wilson was standing on her porch with her dog when a maple tree fell very close to her house.

She heard a crash. The tree knocked glass inside her house from the broken window. She also is thankful it didn’t do more damage. Firefighters said she can stay in her home while the tree is cleaned up.

Sue Wilson is on the phone with her insurance company after a tree fell close to her house, causing some damage this morning.

Some village officials say hike from $35,000 to $135,000 for each town ‘not enough’

Photo by Tom Rivers: Mike Maak, a retired Medina firefighter who helped set up the ambulance service through the fire department in 2006, said it would be more fair for taxpayers if the service was billed through the county so one municipality, such as Medina, doesn’t bear the bulk of the cost. In back from left are Village Clerk/Treasurer Jada Burgess, Mayor Debbie Padoleski and Trustee Mark Prawel.

MEDINA – Village officials will be asking the towns of Ridgeway, Shelby and Yates to contribute $135,000 each in 2027 towards the ambulance service provided by the Medina Fire Department.

That is a significant jump from the $35,000 each town was paying in 2026. But Medina officials say, even with the big increase, the towns are still getting a deal compared to what the village taxpayers are spending for the service.

Yates Town Supervisor Jim Simon has publicly stated the $135,000 is too high for Yates. He has talked with Mercy Flight EMS to see if that agency would provide the service at a lower cost. Mercy Flight is contracted with the seven towns in central and eastern Orleans to provide ambulance coverage.

Medina Mayor Debbie Padoleski said the Village Board was trying for a multi-year contract with the three towns but now is looking at a one-year agreement. That should provide more data on the precise costs to the village for running the ambulance service.

Medina’s career firefighters also serve as EMTs and paramedics. About 90 percent of their calls are EMS-related.

Village Trustee Scott Bieliski said the ambulance service accounts for about $1.3 million of the village’s $3.96 million tax levy. The fire department expense outside of the ambulance is approximately another $400,000, he said.

“Paying $35,000 is now here nearly enough,” Mayor Debbie Padoleski said about the current town contribution. “We’re providing a service to them and we have to pay for that service.”

Trustee Mark Prawel said the $135,000 from each of the three towns is still too low and he wants them to pay more.

The other Village Board members agreed, but they opposed seeking more for now. Trustee Jess Marciano said it would appear to be in bad faith after telling the towns in the negotiations in recent months that the village’s requested number was $135,000.

Padoleski pushed to settle on that number so the towns can know what to expect as the town boards work to put together their town budgets for 2027. The towns are working on those spending plans now.

“I think it should be higher,” Prawel said during last week’s board meeting. “I think we shot too low.”

The seven towns in eastern and central Orleans County are in a three-year contract with Mercy Flight where that organization was paid $250,000 in 2025, $275,000 in 2026 and will be paid $300,000 in 2027.

The towns pay a share based on call volume. The Medina mayor said she opposes using call volume for a funding formula. The budget for the ambulance service doesn’t change for Medina if calls go up or down, she said.

‘There is no doubt this is an expensive service,” Padoleski said. “It’s going to be expensive no matter where you get it.”

If all three towns pay the $135,000 or $405,000 total, the village residents would still be funding about $900,000 of the cost.

“Medina village residents are paying a lot more for the ambulance,” Bieliski said. “It’s not even comparable.”

The Village Board also said they want to make sure the towns out the town expense for the ambulance in the outside-village fund so village residents don’t pay twice for the service in their taxes.

Bieliski said a one-year contract will give the village and town officials more time to digst the numbers and consider the future of the EMS services in western Orleans.

“The numbers are astronomical,” he said. “We get a great service. Everyone just needs to come together on the numbers.”

Mike Maak, a retired Medina firefighter, was part of the team that helped establish the ambulance service through the fire department in 2006. The Medina FD replaced Rural Metro for the ambulance service in western Orleans.

Maak said it would make more sense to fund the service through the county-wide taxes, similar to how the garbage and recycling is billed and paid for with an annual fee. That way, Maak said, the costs are spread out fairly without one entity bearing too much of the expense.

If the service continues through the Medina FD, there has to be significantly more buy in from the neighboring towns, he said.

“The can can’t be kicked down the road anymore,” Maak said during the meeting last week. “We are at the breaking point.”

Photo by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board last week approved opening a new parking lot at 115 Pearl St. This photo was taken last Monday before the traffic cones were removed. The lot was used by the public later in the week.

The lot is at the southwest corner of the intersection of Pearl Street and Proctor Place.  It is rectangular in shape with dimensions of approximately 132 feet frontage on Pearl Street and 100 feet frontage on Proctor Place.

This land was donated to the village by 415 West Avenue LLC, which is owned by Dr. Syed Shah, a cardiologist.

The DPW removed concrete from the site and put down the millings. It will be paved in the future.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Volunteers, including Brianna Stewart in front, get chicken barbecues dinner ready on Saturday during the first Cared by Koleson fundraiser.

Koleson Meakin’s family and friends put on the event near the Glenwood Lake boat launch as a fundraiser for the new Cared by Koleson foundation.

The event was a sellout with all 300 dinners sold. The chickens were cooked by Chiavetta’s.

Brady and Dominque Meakin started the foundation in honor of their son, Koleson, who passed away on Jan. 3 at age 4. Koleson lived with TPK1 Thiamine-Deficient Leigh Disease, a rare genetic condition.

The foundation will raise money for gift cards for DoorDash, Uber Eats and hospital café at children’s hospitals in Rochester and Buffalo for the families.

There were some leftover meals from Saturday’s even from people who paid ahead but didn’t pick up the meal. Brady and Dominique delivered those meals to the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester. They also shared the mission of their new foundation, and connected with a father of child with a serious illness.

“We cried on the way home. Not because we were sad, but because we are just so incredibly thankful. Thankful for everyone who is supporting us, believing in our mission, and helping us carry on Koleson’s legacy,” Dominique and Koleson posted on the Cared for Koleson Facebook page. “We miss him beyond words, but we know his light shines through us. How blessed are we to be his parents!”

Dominique Meakin chats with two of the event volunteers, Sara Page at left and Dominique’s mother, Jennifer Hughes, at right.

Brady Meakin, in back, gets a hug from a person picking up a dinner.

Major art exhibition continues in village until Sept. 7

Photos by Tom Rivers: Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge created an exhibit “All the Hours” at Medina Memorial Hospital. It is staged entirely in decorative glass appendage that bridges the building and the outside world.

MEDINA – The Medina Triennial is winding down, with only two weekends left.

“People from 32 states have come so far, and so should you,” said Kari Conte, co-artistic director for the Triennial. “This has been an extraordinary summer for Medina, with the inaugural Medina Triennial transforming the village into a destination for contemporary art and welcoming visitors from 32 states.”

The Medina Triennial is heralded as a major success for the community, drawing national attention to Medina’s history, architecture, canal front, parks, public spaces and distinctive character.

Conte called the Medina Triennial a remarkable opportunity for Orleans County residents to experience an ambitious contemporary art exhibition in their own backyard.

Familiar local places seen through a new lens, Main Street, the canal front, Rotary Park, Medina Memorial Hospital, Medina Theater, the YMCA, State Street Park, Medina Railroad Museum, Sacred Heart Church and the historic Medina High School are highlighted with exhibits from 39 artists worldwide.

Special programming is planned from noon to 2 p.m. today of Leblanc Robarge’s hour-long film “As the Hour Turns Blue” at the Medina Triennial Hub, 234 Main St.

The Triennial says of the exhibit: “Like of piece of visual poetry broken into stanzas, the installation plays with the experiences of felt temporarily, becoming a gentle and deeply interior reflection on resilience, mourning and change.”

Also today, an artist-led tour of her newly-commissioned installation “All the Hours” will take place at 4 .p.m. at Medina Memorial Hospital. This is a site-responsive work shaped by the hospital’s rhythms of care and its importance as a place of wailing, resilience, mourning and change – experiences that touch nearly every local family. This will be a rare opportunity to walk through the installation with the artist and hear about the research and creative process behind a work made specifically for Medina.

A full schedule of events is planned for the closing weekend of the Medina Triennial Sept. 5-7 – the final opportunity to experience the full village-wide exhibits of “All That Sustains Us.”

Provided photos: Medina Mayor Debbie Padoleski and Logan Callara, owner of Logan’s Landscaping, try out two of the new benches at Butts Park that were donated by Logan’s Landscaping.

Press Release

MEDINA – Logan’s Landscaping has donated four new custom benches at the basketball courts at Butts Park.

The custom-made concrete give players, parents and visitors a new place to sit while enjoying the courts.

The benches feature a wood-grain finish and custom Logan’s Landscaping plaques. They were made to provide strong, long-lasting seating that can handle regular use and Western New York weather.

“Medina has supported my business from the beginning, so I wanted to give something back that people in the community could actually use,” said Logan Callara, owner of Logan’s Landscaping. “We’re really happy with how the benches turned out and proud to have them at the park.”

Logan’s Landscaping is a locally owned landscaping and property-maintenance company serving Medina and the surrounding communities.

Logan Callara assembles one of the new benches. He donated four at Butts Park.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: People move into Main Street to welcome Terry Buchwald as Elvis, as he arrives on his motorcycle for Wednesday’s Super Cruise in Medina. This was the 16th year Buchwald has been performed at the event.

MEDINA – Medina’s Super Cruise on Wednesday night was one for the record books.

Good weather, 325 entries – some first-timers, entertainment by the popular Elvis impersonator Terry Buchwald and a crowd of thousands made for a very successful evening, to end this year’s weekly cruise-ins in Medina.

Summer cruise-ins on Friday nights have been a tradition in Medina for more than 30 years, having been started by the late David Green, Donna Bushover and former Medinan Donna Mruczek. For many years the season has ended with a Super Cruise on Main Street the last Wednesday in August. Buchwald has been an added feature for about 15 years.

Friends Pete Redding and Karen Schultz brought their Thunderbirds to Medina’s Super Cruise Wednesday night. His on the left is a 2010 and hers is a 2002.

In 2024, after Green retired as organizer of the event, local entrepreneur Rollin Hellner stepped in to keep the tradition going. The weekly cruise-ins were moved to the parking lot of the Medina Senior Center, with the final Super Cruise staying on Main Street.

Hellner initiated a few changes in the events this year, such as opening them up to other vehicles besides classical cars.

“Personally, I’d like to see anything that has an engine,” said Hellner, who is an avid collector with more than 40 vehicles.

Wednesday’s Super Cruise included motorcycles, a “really cool” Brockway semi and two exotic Vipers.

Mike and Janice Wagner of Pendleton brought a 1972 Chevy C10, which they’ve owned for nine years. When they got it from Charlotte, N.C. it was in parts, Janice said.

“He did the restoration,” said Janice of husband Mike. “He drives it to breakfast mornings, and one time a guy following him was irate because he was going so slow. When Mike pulled into the restaurant the guy followed him and walked up to the truck and pounded it with his fist, denting the molding.

Mike and Janice Wagner of Pendleton proudly show off their 1972 Chevy C10 at Medina’s cruise-in on Main Street Wednesday night.

When Mike retired from Harrison Radiator at age 56, he started collecting cars, Janice said. At one time he had 13 Corvettes, but then got interested in trucks.

The Wagners regularly go to Hoover’s Dairy in Sanborn to their cruise-ins, but Olcott is their favorite one, Janice said.

“This will be Olcott’s last year, unless somebody steps up to take it over,” she said.

Another cruiser was Bill Wellington of Lyndonville, who showed a 1933 Ford 3-window coupe, which he bought after he saw it at a car dealer’s seven years ago.

“This is my first classic car,” Wellington said. “I redid the motor and probably spend $3,000 a year on it.”

Joe and Kim Colosi of Lockport brought an impressive pair of Vipers to Super Cruise on Wednesday night. The 2010 Snakeskin Green car is No. 28 of 31 built. The one in the trailer is a 2017 final edition Viper GTS.

Joe and Kim Colosi of Lockport raised eyebrows with their display of two Vipers. They occupied a prime spot at the four corners of Main and Center streets with their pickup towing a trailer with elevator carrying their Vipers.

“This is the only show we’ve attended this year,” Kim said. “We like this area. It has turned out nice.”

She said Joe knows everything about every car, but especially likes Vipers.

“He got his first one in 2001, then we got a Lamborghini, before going back to Vipers,” Kim said.

Their 2010 Snakeskin Green Viper is No. 28 of only 31 built. A 2017 Viper GTS is a final edition model.

Hellner said another first-time entry came from Syracuse, the farthest anyone has traveled, he thought.

“I love it that the stores were open late, taking advantage of the thousands of people,” Hellner said. “And the restaurants were packed.”

Vehicles were judged in a number of categories, with the Colosi’s  2017 Viper named Best of Show, and a 1937 Ford Roadster owned by Rich Colonna named Best Custom Car.

“My only hope is Dave Green is looking down and smiling,” Hellner said.

Bill Wellington of Lyndonville stands next to his 1933 Ford 3-window coupe on Medina’s Main Street during Super Cruise Wednesday night.

The Grove United Methodist Church will serve up big meal, memories on Sept.19

Photos courtesy of the Rev. Mike Breunig: This photo of the outside of the Apple Grove Inn was taken in 2007.

MEDINA – The Grove United Methodist Church is celebrating on Sept. 19 the restaurant from which it took its name, with a buffet dinner and presentation renewing memories of the former Apple Grove Inn.

When the United Methodist Church needed a new home, in 2013 they moved into the building which for many years was the Apple Grove Inn and then vacant.

Earlier this spring, the Grove United Methodist Church had planned to have a Lenten dinner with a guest speaker, but, unfortunately, the speaker had to cancel and the church did not have time to locate a replacement to fill the spot, according to the Grove’s pastor Barb Brewer.

After canceling the Lenten dinner, the church decided to take more time in planning another event.

This is hostess Segrid Van Auker greeting  guests Mrs. Karlton Davis and Mrs. John C. Collins.

Pastor Brewer was talking with Nate Sanders, who uses the church kitchen for his business, Elite Foods, in which he sells healthy and pre-packaged meals for public consumption. The two started talking about the Apple Grove Restaurant and Sanders suggested doing an Apple Grove buffet dinner. For years, the original Apple Grove Inn was famous for its gigantic and delicious buffet.

The pastor liked the idea and took it to the Worship Committee, who liked it as well.

The Grove UMC is currently selling tickets to the Sept. 19 event, which promises to be an evening of good food, with a buffet and presentation on the history of the Apple Grove Inn. There will be two seatings for dinner, at 4 and 6 p.m.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to food pantries at The Vine and St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.

Jeff Wagner, who worked at the Apple Grove and later purchased it, is shown on the stairs.

The menu for the evening will consist of roast pork loin with apple glaze, roasted chicken thighs, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, candied carrots, dinner rolls, garden salad and homemade applesauce. A dessert table wlll hold the Apple Grove’s famous bread pudding, apple crisp and sugar-free butterscotch pudding. Coffee and tea (hot or cold), lemonade and ice water will be the available beverages for the evening.

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The Apple Grove Inn was a landmark restaurant/lounge in Medina which began in 1927 as a hot dog stand and grew into one of the most popular restaurants in the state, having been owned for decades by Walter Hilger.

It had several rooms, including the Greening Room, Baldwin Room and Johnny Appleseed Lounge, where an apple tree grew up to the roof. At its peak the restaurant could seat at least 700 customers. For decades, people came from all over to celebrate everything from weddings and proms to anniversaries, retirements and more.

This photo shows the Apple Grove Inn before the United Methodist Church transformed it into a church.

For many years, the Apple Grove ran a boat, the Miss Apple Grove, from across the street on the Erie Canal.

After a fire, several owners and declining popularity, the restaurant closed.

A presentation on the history of the Apple Grove Inn will follow each dinner seating at the Sept. 19 event..

Tickets are currently available for $25 and are selling quickly, Pastor Brewer said. They are available at the church during office hours, which are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

Those wishing to purchase tickets should park on the west side of the building and enter through the office door. To make other arrangements to purchase tickets, contact the church at (585) 798-2142 or Pastor Brewer at (716) 598-8543. If no one is there, leave a message and someone will return the call.

This Baldwin Room photo was taken from the outside, looking through a window. On the far right is the Greening Room and entrance

File photo by Tom Rivers: Elvis impersonator Terry Buchwald performs “Bue Suede Shoes” and other classics from a  stage on Main Street during the Super Cruise in Medina last year on Aug. 27. Buchwald is shown looking through the side windows of a 1965 GMC pickup owned by Jim Stone.

MEDINA – Main Street in Medina will be closed to traffic on Wednesday evening from the Center Street intersection going down North Main past the American Legion.

Medina will be hosting the annual Super Cruise. Last year there were 289 classic cars, trucks and other vehicles for the event which is sponsored by The Walsh and Hellner Development Company.

This is the biggest car show of the year in Orleans County. Elvis impersonator Terry Buchwald will again be performing from a stage on Main Street.

Proceeds from chicken BBQ go to other families with children facing serious medical issues

Photo by Tom Rivers: Dominique and Brady Meakin are pictured with a photo of their late son, Koleson, who passed away on Jan. 3 at age 4. Koleson lived with TPK1 Thiamine-Deficient Leigh Disease, a rare genetic condition.

MEDINA – Brady and Dominique Meakin want to offer compassion to other families with children facing serious medical issues.

The Meakins’ son Koleson lived with a rare genetic condition, TPK1 Thiamine-Deficient Leigh Disease. Koleson was 4 when he passed away on Jan. 3, 2026.

His family has started a foundation in his honor. Cared for Koleson has its first fundraiser this Saturday at the Glenwood Lake boat launch, not far from Koleson’s grave at Boxwood Cemetery.

There will be chicken barbecues from Chiavetta’s from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $17 presale and $18 the day of the event. Click here for more information on tickets.

Brady and Dominique, both 28, said they feel fortunate the local community was so helpful while their son fought his condition, often requiring extended hospital stays. They met other parents with children in the hospital, and some of them didn’t have a strong support system.

The Meakins started the foundation to initially raise money for gift cards for DoorDash, Uber Eats and the hospital cafe for the families. They know a good meal and cup of coffee can provide a momentary lift.

The Meakins plan to give the gift cards to the children’s hospitals in Rochester and Buffalo.

This Saturday’s fundraiser is close to Koleson’s fifth birthday which is on Aug. 31.

“We are thankful for all the support we had,” Dominique said. “But a lot of other parents, including single mothers, don’t have that kind of help.”

Dominique is a Medina graduate and Brady graduated from Albion. They met at the former GCC campus in Albion, taking a class together.

Dominque is president of the new foundation with Brady the director. Other family and friends are assisting with the foundation, including one of Koleson’s nurses. Click here to see the foundation’s website which was designed by Brady’s brother, Zandyr.

They hope the foundation can eventually help provide some financial assistance to families where parents may not be able to keep working full-time due to the care needs for their child.

The Meakins said they are grateful for their son, Koleson, who loved having his stuffed bear close by.

“His smile was the best in the world, lighting up every room,” they state on the foundation’s website. “He never complained. He continued to shine. He continued to have faith. He inspired everyone he met. This foundation exists to carry his light forward.”