Dan Fuller’s family has generations of service as soldiers

Photos by Ginny Kropf: (Left) Dan Fuller of Medina stands under his Hometown Heroes banner currently up on Main Street near the Presbyterian Church. He served with the U.S. Air Force and Air Ground during the Cold War and Persian Gulf era. (Right) Three members of Dan Fuller’s family have Hometown Heroes banners up this year. Here, Dan stands under the banner for his uncle Gary Wolter. Wolter served with the Army in Vietnam.

MEDINA – The banners for Hometown Heroes in Medina was started by Mary Woodruff after she saw a banner for her father-in-law while visiting his hometown in Alfred, south of Buffalo, in 2018.

She came home, presented the idea to the Village Board, and in 2019 Medina had its first Hometown Heroes’ banners. There were 38 in that first year. Banners are up for three years from around Memorial Day to just after Veterans’ Day, then they are returned to the family, Woodruff said. This year, the 2024 banners will be returned to the families.

The banners do more than showcase local heroes. For many of them, there is a story behind the banner.

Such is the case of Dan Fuller of Medina and his grandfather and uncle.

Fuller, commander of the Gasport American Legion, is one of 151 Hometown Heroes whose banners hang on the streets of Medina. Fuller served four years in Homestead Air Force Base as a radar repairman –and nine years at Niagara Falls with the Air National Guard.

Dan is a son of Paul Fuller, who was a corporal in the Air National Guard, serving from 1957 to 1963. What makes Fuller the proudest is his family’s history of serving their country. Not only does Fuller have a banner, but his uncle Gary Wolter and grandfather Harold Wolter also have banners hanging on Main Street, all sponsored by a family member who wished to remain anonymous.

Harold served in World War II as a nurse/field medic. He is a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient, having been a prisoner of war in Germany. He was called home after one year to run the family farm.

Dan’s Uncle Gary served from 1967-68 in Vietnam, and Gary’s son Chad was in the Marines.

Their ancestor Erastus Fuller served during the Civil War.

Dan has a long list of relatives who served their country, besides his uncle and grandfather – Bud Fuller, Bill Menz and Merle Draper, all of whom Dan says are heroes in his life.

 In addition to his relatives, Dan says he looks up to Cliff Grant of Gasport.

“He is here because another guy took a bullet in front of him,” Dan said. “There are so many other stories that could be told.”

Dan Fuller’s story is just one of patriotism displayed in Medina’s banners. There are heroes, patriots and veterans from all branches of the military and the space program honored on Medina’s streets. Some served statewide, many went to battle and others were prisoners of war or Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipients. And others were killed in action.

There are numerous banners of families who had several members who served, such as Joseph Balcerzak and his son Paul. Joseph served in World War II and Paul in Vietnam.

Thomas Fisher served with the U.S. Air Force and his son Patrick was an Army veteran in the Persian Gulf War.

Robert Kerr and his son William were both World War II veterans – Robert with the U.S. Army and William with the U.S. Navy.

Terry Boyle served 10 years in the Army, six months of it in active duty on the front lines during the Gulf War. His son Zachary had three years in the Marine Corps.

There are several Civil War veterans honored with banners – two of whom are Patty Blackburn’s great-grandfather Henry Waters Jr.  and Ziba Roberts Jr., great-great-grandfather of Virginia Kropf and Norma Fisher, and great-great-uncle of several members of the Roberts family.

Woodruff was thrilled last year to hang banners for two Revolutionary War veterans – Benjamin Darling, who lived on East Shelby Road and is buried in the Maple Ridge Road Cemetery, ironically on land owned by Ziba Roberts’ grandfather Daniel Roberts. Darling and Daniel both served in Connecticut, under the same leader.

Another veteran was Ed Grabowski’s father Leo, who survived the Bataan Death March – a story which will be featured in an upcoming story.

Photo and information courtesy of Medina Band Boosters

The Medina Mustang Marching Band traveled to Greece on Saturday for their sixth competition this season. There were six bands in total in different classifications performing to a sell-out crowd in beautiful weather conditions.

Medina & Le Roy are both classed in SS2 and Medina scored 85.20 followed by Le Roy with 83.65.

Other bands performing this night were Marcus Whitman in SS3 with 77.20, Hilton in LS3 with 77.35, Greece in LS2 with 87.25 and East Irondequoit in SS1 with 90.0.

The season finale is Sunday, Nov. 1st in the Carrier Dome/JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse when all of the bands that participate in this conference will perform in competition. This is approximately 50 bands in 6 different classes.

During the championships on Nov. 1, there will be nine bands competing in SS2. The schedule for that division includes:

• 2:20 p.m. – Westmoreland
• 2:33 p.m. – Vestal
• 2:46 p.m. – Medina
• 2:59 p.m. – Johnson City
• 3:12 p.m. – Horseheads
• 3:25 p.m. – Le Roy
• 3:38 p.m. – Oswego
• 3:51 p.m. – Jordan-Elbridge
• 4:04 p.m. – Mohonasen

For more information go to www.NYSFBC.org.

State awarded village $1.345 million for project as part of $4.5 million NY Forward grant

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Canal Basin parking lot will redesigned as part of a $1.345 million grant from the state. The Medina Village Board is expected to hire an engineering firm on Monday to work on the design of the project. The new lot will have less asphalt and more green space.

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board expects to hire an engineering firm on Monday to design improvements in the Canal Basin, a project with a goal to become a “waterfront gateway” with more green space, seating areas and boater/cyclist amenities.

Six firms on Wednesday presented proposals to Medina Mayor Debbie Padoleski, Village Trustee Jeff Wagner and members of the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program – Chris Busch, Mary Lewis and Kathy Blackburn.

The redesigned basin was awarded $1.345 million of the $4.5 million from the state to Medina in the NY Forward grant. The state finalized eight projects for the $4.5 million on May 17, 2024.

The transformed parking lot received the largest grant of the eight projects.

The redesign of the basin parking lot also will include two direct-current fast chargers for electric vehicles, each with two charging spots. The state awarded Medina $245,184 in a separate grant for those chargers with National Grid also chipping in $73,000.

Rendering from Empire State Development and Governor’s Office: The Canal Basin parking lot along the Erie Canal will be turned into a “waterfront gateway” complete with green space, seating areas and boater/cyclist amenities as part of the NY Forward grant in Medina. This is not the final design for the parking lot.

The basin will become more pedestrian friendly and also more inviting to boaters. The village is looking to upgrade the entry drive from Main Street; enhance the pedestrian walkway extending from Main Street, across rear building facades, to East Center Street alleyway; add a gazebo for shade and cover; expand flexible greenspace areas for programming with amenities including seating tables, benches, bike racks, shade trees and native plantings; and add pedestrian walkways with decorative, permeable pavers.

Chris Busch, a member of the LWRP committee, said the village created a vision for the basin about a decade ago through a waterfront redevelopment plan. The state funding will give the initiative significant investment and help make the project a reality.

The firm picked by the Village Board will present options for how to spend that grant, and the community will have an opportunity to weigh in during public meetings, Busch said.

The state will also need to approve the projects for the basin. The project is expected to go out to bid to contractors next year.

“This is only the beginning of the process,” Busch said about meeting with the firms on Wednesday.

This area of the Canal Basin lot will be part of the project. The village expects to add more green space and trees to the area, and will take out about 15 to 20 parking spaces, leaving about 70.

Provided photo

MEDINA – The Parade of Lights Planning Committee is working on the details for the 18^th annual lighted parade in Medina.

This year’s parade will be on Nov. 28 and will cap the Olde Tyme Christmas celebration in the village.

The committee is shown at its meeting on Wednesday night at the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library. Pictured left include Kevin DeHollander, Sue DeHollander, Cindy Robinson, Barb Hancock, Jim Hancock, Gail Miller and Reinhard Rogowski. Back row: Kathie Valley, Nicole Bensley, Todd Bensley and Mollie Mark.

The committee urges local businesses, organizations and residents to prepare a float for the parade or consider being a sponsor for the event. Entries forms to be in the parade are due by Nov. 25. Click here to see the Olde Tyme Christmas website for more information.

If you’re interested in volunteering to help with the parade, contact parade chairman Jim Hancock at (585) 798-2118.

Photo and information courtesy of Deborah Berry, VFW Auxiliary treasurer

MEDINA – Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post and Auxiliary members from the VFW Lincoln Post 1483 in Medina held a Stop 22 Walk on Oct. 8 to increase the public awareness of suicide prevention for veterans.

The members walked 22 minutes along Medina Business District.  The 22 minutes represents the daily average of 22 veterans who die by suicide.

A veteran in any type of need or service is encouraged to reach out to our VFW Post 1483 at 216 East Center Street in Medina. Help is also available at the National Veteran Crisis Hotline 1-800-273-8255.

Participants were VFW 1483 Post members Patrick Little, Mike Owczarczak,and Jim Nudd;  VFW  Aux members Dave and Debbie Berry, Tammy Pogel, Stacy Newell, Jada Burgess, Thomas Burgess Jr., and Thomas Burgess Sr.; and community member Don Dubois.

Photo courtesy of Scott Bieliski, Medina village trustee

MEDINA – A nearly new ladder truck left Medina last week, taking a 600-mile journey to Wilmette near Chicago, Illinois.

The truck was loaded on a trailer and hauled away last Wednesday. The truck was being kept in Medina’s former compost facility on North Gravel Road, next to the dog park and just south of Boxwood Cemetery.

The Village Board on Sept. 8 accepted a $2.1 million offer from Wilmette for the ladder truck. Medina received the truck last December but never put it into service. It was declared surplus by the Village Board in February, with the majority of the board saying the truck, with a $1.8 million bond, was too costly.

It also needed a new bay at the fire station to accommodate it. The current fire hall is too small for the truck. The truck is about 13 feet high where the fire station bays only have a clearance of 10 feet, 6 inches. A one-bay addition would have been about $1.3 million more.

The Village of Wilmette has more resources than Medina. The Illinois community has about 28,000 people with a median household income of $190,662.

Medina has a population of 5,855, according to the 2025 population estimates from the Census Bureau. Medina’s median household income is $59,231, just a fraction’s of Wilmette’s.

Wilmette officials were in Medina on Oct. 5 and hand-delivered a check for $2.1 million. They also gave the truck a final inspection.

Wilmette wanted a new ladder truck, but ordering one now would cost about $2.5 million with a wait time of more than three years.

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Medina Marching Band performed during halftime of the Orleans County Rivals football game on Friday night at Vets Park and culminated the show with a large patriotic banner. The merged Albion-Medina football team won its game, 56-6, against Amherst. The marching band performed its show, “We The People.”

Information courtesy of Medina Band Boosters

The Medina Mustang Marching Band traveled to Webster on Saturday for their fifth competition this season. It was a chilly night but a huge crowd turned out for 11 bands in competition in various classes.

Medina is in class in SS2 and finished in 1st place with a score of 81.45 followed by Le Roy in 2nd with 80.55 and Horseheads in 3rd with 78.15.

LS2 class had three competitors and Greece took 1st with 84.60, Lancaster 2nd wih 83.35 & Orchard Park in 3rd with 81.82.

East Irondequoit was the only competitor in SS1 & Webster the only National band.

Pioneer was the only SS3 band with 70.05. LS3 included Hilton in 1st with 72.75 and Rochester in 2nd with 70.30.

Medina’s next competition is Oct. 24th in Greece followed by the NYSFBC championships on Sunday, Nov. 1st in Syracuse.

The Medina band performs during Friday’s halftime show at Vets Park and its show celebrated the nation’s  250th anniversary with the music of Aaron Copeland.

The band consists of 90 students and is directed by Kyla Leno-Denise and Andrea Busch.  The band is performing in new uniforms this year.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A crane from Trimble Services LLC in Fulton lifts a 33,000-pound steel bridge over the Oak Orchard Creek today at about 11:25 a.m.

The pedestrian bridge was manufactured by Bridge Brothers Inc. from Pickens, South Carolina.

The bridge is 100 feet long and 8 feet wide. It was delivered in Medina on a truck in two 50-foot sections.

Kevin Foster and his son Jack, owners of RJT Construction Services, are the first to walk across the bridge.

RJT is the general contractor on the project after submitting the low bid of $837,448. Barton & Loguidice also provided engineering services for $166,300.

The project also includes about 2,000 feet of sidewalks along Maple Ridge Road.

The bridge is on Maple Ridge Road over the creek awaiting to be lifted and set in place on its new concrete abutments.

The new bridge and sidewalks have been several years in the waiting. The village in 2021 was awarded a $1,094,196 grant to construct the bridge and sidewalks as part of a multi-use path for pedestrians and bicycles. The funding was awarded by the state through a federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant.

That is covering 80 percent of the project. The remaining 20 percent will be paid locally from the village ($55,000), Town of Shelby ($130,000) and Orleans County ($97,500) using their share of funds from a now closed revolving loan fund through the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

Workers put bolts in place where two 50-foot sections were put together.

The thick straps are put in place to hoist the bridge.

Kevin Foster, co-owner of RJT Construction Services in white hard hat, checks the work before the bridge was lifted.

Here are some more photos:

Photo and press release courtesy of Orleans/Niagara BOCES

MEDINA – Congratulations go to five graduates of the Orleans/Niagara BOCES’ GED class at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Medina.

Their Literacy Zone teachers, family and friends are so proud of their achievement. Well done, Alex Hain, Marty Spencer, Jade Trautman, Jennifer Nichols and Sherry Burgher!

To learn more about Literacy Zone program, click here.