MFD, pared back from 21 to 17 full-time, needs to fill fire chief vacancy

Photo courtesy of Medina Fire Department: The Medina Fire Department welcomed Mackenzie Rider-Work, left, and Brian Bates as probationary firefighters. They were hired at Monday’s Village Board meeting.

MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department has two new full-time members after they were hired at Monday’s Village Board meeting.

Brian Bates and Mackenzie Rider-Work both are joining the department, while it loses Andrew Steel, a full-time firefighter the past three years whose resignation effective July 31 was accepted by the board on Monday.

Steel’s departure follows the resignations last month of fire chief Matt Jackson and firefighters Tiffany Petry and Dylan Schreader. Captain Jonathan Higgins also retired.

The department was at 20 full-time members and a fire chief, but was pared down to 16 firefighters and a chief.

Once the fire chief position is filled, the Medina FD would need to fill one more position if the fire chief is promoted from within the department.

Bates joins Medina, coming from the Hilton Fire Department and Monroe Ambulance. He has completed the fire academy and is waiting to take the paramedic test.

Rider-Work comes from the Clarence Fire Department. He is an EMT-B and a state fire instructor assigned to Erie County.

“Brian will be assigned to the 4th Platoon and Mackenzie will join the 2nd Platoon once they complete the onboarding process,” stated the Medina professional Firefighters IAFF Local 2161. “They are both a welcome addition to the team but we still face a long road to return to being considered fully staffed.  We are still awaiting the promotion of a new fire chief to lead our department.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Medina Village Board approved a lease agreement with Erie Floatel, LLC to have a house boat at one of the floating docks in the Canal Basin until Oct. 31.

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board has approved a lease for a house boat to be at the Canal Basin, a boat that will be available for short-term rentals and overnight stays.

The boat will remain at the dock and won’t be operated in the canal. The board approved the lease with Erie Floatel, LLC of Medina for use of the floating dock on south end of the canal for $220, plus another $100 for electric and water consumption for the season.

Erie Floatel will be operated by Andrew Meier and Svein Lilleby. The lease runs from Memorial Day to Oct. 31, 2025.

The lease agreement has been discussed at length in recent board meetings. Medina officials said the project is unusual along the canal and adds another feature for visitors to the community. Erie Floatel will be available to rent through Airbnb as a short-term rental.

The Village Board and Erie Floatel reached an agreement for the business to have $2 million in insurance coverage with the Village of Medina named as “additional insured” in Erie Floatel’s umbrella coverage of $2 million.

Brian Hellner, operator of North Star Cruises, said the village reached a more favorable tenant agreement with Erie Floatel than with Hellner’s boat ride business which started in 2023. Hellner said the village made him have $2 million in general liability coverage, not umbrella coverage and also didn’t make utilities available for his boat.

Mayor Marguerite Sherman and the board members said Hellner could have access to water and electricity at the same $100 rate.

Village attorney Matthew Brooks said the village has insisted on the $2 million of minimum insurance coverage, and Erie Floatel met that requirement.

Hellner said the village should insist the house boat is inspected and safe for the public. Brooks said a marine inspection is not within the purvey of the village.

Heather Farnsworth Hungerford, co-owner of the Bent’s Opera House, cautioned the Village Board from leasing too many of the docks spaces to businesses, limiting the public use of the properties. She said the house boat business for overnight stays could also discourage investment in the historic downtown for lodging.

Sherman said the leases in the Canal Basin are short-term for less than a year so the village can re-evaluate them. Right now, only two of the spaces are being leased. Sherman and the board members said there is still an abundance of dock spaces for the public.

“These are short-term leases so we have an opportunity to correct them if something goes wrong,” said Brooks, the village attorney.

Sherman said the board appreciates North Star Cruises and Erie Floatel for the services they are offering in the community.

“We are being fair,” she said. “We’re trying to work with our businesses as best as possible.”

Village attorney Matthew Brooks said the board is approving short-term leases that allow for re-evaluating after each season. In back are village trustees Mark Prawel and Scott Bieliski.

Draper to end 21-year career with Medina PD on Aug. 30

Photos by Tom Rivers: Todd Draper receives the police chief’s pin from his father Don Draper, a retired Medina police chief, during a swearing in ceremony on June 12, 2023. Todd Draper announced he will be retiring Aug. 30, ending a 21 year career with the Medina PD, including about two years as the police chief.

MEDINA – Todd Draper, the Medina police chief, will be retiring from the role on Aug. 30. Draper has been the chief since June 12, 2023.

He has worked for Medina for 21 years, including 8 ½ years as a K9 handler until Kye, a Belgian Malinois, retired in November 2020.

Draper was praised for being a hard-working police chief with a strong commitment to his hometown.

“Todd will be missed tremendously by this village,” said Jess Marciano, a village trustee.

She has served on the National Night Out planning committee with Draper in recent years. The event next week on Sug. 5 will be in Medina and Draper will again be in the dunk tank. National Night Out is a drug-free event intended to connect residents with first responders and community organizations.

Marciano also was on a Police Advisry Committee with Draper for several years.

“Todd has been a very receptive police chief,” Marciano said during this evening’s board meeting. “I’m really sad to see him leave.”

Draper was congratulated by board members for his impending retirement. He leaves the village with another department head vacancy to fill following the resignation of Matt Jackson as fire chief on July 12. Jackson cited a “constant battle” with some board members for his resignation.

The police department has been understaffed with some officers leaving for other departments where the pay is much higher. The board during its budget process in April also announced it was ending the K9 program and no longer would be providing two school resource officers at Medina school district. The district reimbursed Medina for nearly all of the expense, but board members said it didn’t fully cover the cost and the two SROs were needed to help cover shifts in the department.

Mayor Marguerite Sherman said the police chief’s test won’t be offered until the spring 2026. Medina may have to do a conditional appointment to fill the position until a new chief can take and pass the exam.

Draper during his career completed a 10-week management/leadership program from the FBI’s National Academy in 2022. He completed six classes at the National Academy: Critical Incident Management, Essentials of Leadership, Physical Training/Wellness Breaking Barriers and Building Communities, and An Overview of Forensic Science for Law Enforcement Managers.

He welcomed the chance to work with community members. He will be at the National Night Out for what Marciano said will be an “extended” time in the dunk tank.

Todd Draper is shown on Oct. 28, 2020 when he stopped by the Oak Orchard Lementary School with Kye, the Medina PD’s retiring K9. Draper served as the dog’s handler for 8 ½ years. This photo was during the Covid pandemic when people were required to wear masks.

Provided photo: Flotsam River Circus is shown here in a performance in Oakland, Calif. They will arrive in Medina for a show in the Canal Basin at 7 p.m. on Aug. 6.

MEDINA – Celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal is continuing with the visit of a floating circus in Medina’s Canal Basin.

On Aug. 6 Flotsam River Circus will put on a performance at 7 p.m., according to Jim Hancock, chairman of Medina’s Tourism Committee.

“This is unique and a fun event for children and adults,” Hancock said. “I hope many people will bring their lawn chairs and come out to see them.”

Flotsam River Circus is the brain child of Jason Webley of Seattle, formerly a traveling musician, who formed the floating circus with friends in 2019.

“When I heard about this being the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal, I reached out to the Canal Corporation and they were interested in having us perform,” Webley said in a recent phone call from his home.

The concept was inspired by the American showboat tradition and modern floating art projects, according to information from Webley, an accordion troubadour who captains the floating raft. The show includes musicians, puppeteers and circus artists on a ramshackle raft.

Flotsam is a troupe of musicians, circus performers and puppeteers who travel on a ramshackle raft, giving free performances in waterfront towns. Once their boat is together, they keep it in the water for the duration of the tour. They travel with a crew of nine and a converted school bus as their land vehicle, Webley said.

“Our goal is to bring some magic and whimsy to the world, while helping communities engage with their waterways,” Webley said.

He also stressed they are a 501©3 non-profit and exist with support from donations through Venmo or by logging on to www.rivercircus.

Press Release, Medina Central School District

MEDINA – The Medina Central School District, due to requests from families and the ongoing construction improvements across the district, has moved the Welcome Back Picnic for grades UPK-Grade 6.

The open house, which was originally scheduled for Aug. 20, will now be held on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

The event allows students and families to come into the buildings and meet their teachers.  Clifford Wise Intermediate Principal Jennifer Stearns and Oak Orchard Primary Principal Julie Schiavone say the Open House Night will be a fun-filled evening where students and families can get a head start on the school year.

“Students will have the opportunity to see their classrooms, meet their teachers, and reconnect with friends and familiar faces before the first day of school,” Stearns said.

Oak Orchard Primary School (UPK–Grade 2) will host their Open House from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 3 and Clifford Wise Intermediate School (Grades 3–6) will hold their Open House from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on that same day. To make the evening even more enjoyable, free hot dogs and water will be available to all who attend, so come hungry and ready to celebrate!

Families will receive information in August with their child’s teacher(s) and back-to-school paperwork, so parents/guardians should be on the lookout through ParentSquare and their mail. The schools say that they look forward to welcoming their students and families back for a fantastic school year.

If there are any questions, please reach out to your child’s school between 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Melissa O’Connor, left, has written a novel, The One and Only Vivian Stone.

MEDINA – Melissa O’Connor of Buffalo has chosen Author’s Note in Medina for the initial book signing to launch her debut novel, The One and Only Vivian Stone, published by Simon and Schuster.

O’Connor heard about Author’s Note at 519 Main St. from her husband’s parents, who live near Oakfield. She will discuss and sign copies of her novel at 7 p.m. July 28.

O’Conner has a literary background, having been editor of a higher education publishing firm until deciding to stay home with her children, now ages 10 and 13.

“I have wanted to write since I was 9 years old, and wrote a short story at Thanksgiving from the viewpoint of a turkey,” O’Connor said. “When I graduated from college, I tried to write several times, but it was bad and I was turned down. I kept trying and stopping. I don’t know what clicked in my early 30s, but one time my husband was on an overnight trip for work and I pulled out my computer, and the words just kept flowing.”

Although The One and Only Vivian Stone is her first published novel, she has written four overall.

This book was inspired by “I Love Lucy,” O’Connor said. “I was obsessed with her show. I had gone to the Lucy and Desi Museum when I found out they had gotten a divorce. I had loved how they were a couple on and off the screen and didn’t understand how this couple who appeared to have it all, didn’t. They had this successful show, and I thought, ‘What do you do when your co-star is your estranged husband.’ Do you stay with the show and make America happy, or do you make yourself happy.”

O’Connor said it took her six weeks to write the book and four months to edit it. She got an agent’s offer, unbelievably, within a week.

“It was a case of having the right story at the right time going across the right desk,” she said.

In her book, O’Conner weaves a dual narrative from the novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and the television show “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” in which estranged lovers reconnect over mysterious tapes found in an attic and the old Hollywood secret hidden within them.

New York Times bestselling author Abby Jimenez calls the book “intriguing, sparkling with wit and suspenseful in all the right places,” and Booklist called it “a captivating blend of romance and mystery that will keep readers eagerly turning pages.”

O’Connor became obsessed with stories involving family secrets, betrayal and forbidden love after being given a box of used V.C. Andrews books at the age of 10.

When not writing now, O’Connor can usually be found cheering on her kids’ hockey teams and sneaking words on the page between games.

O’Connor shared she is working on a new novel about the music industry, inspired by Carly Simon’s You’re so Vain.

During her visit to Author’s Note on July 28, she will not only sign copies and read from her book, but will answer questions from the audience.

Her book signing will immediately follow Author’s Note Fiction Book Club, which will take place at 6 p.m. instead of its usual start time of 6:30. The One and Only Vivian Stone will be the book club’s August selection for discussion at the bookstore on Aug. 25 at the regular time of 6:30 p.m.

Book clubs and Author’s Note events are open to the public, according to owner and New York Times’ best-selling author Julie Berry.

Copies of the One and Only Vivian Stone are available at Author’s Note or online at www.authorsnote/com/events. Those unable to attend may order signed copies of the book to be picked up at the store or shipped free by logging on to the above website or calling (585) 798-3642.

MEDINA – The Medina school district announced it will continue providing free breakfasts and lunches to all students this school year.

Medina has been offering free breakfast and lunch to all students the past seven years through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Breakfast/Lunch Program.

The CEP program provides the opportunity for schools in high poverty areas to provide two nutritious meals every school day, while eliminating the stigma for those students previously identified as “low income.”

The CEP began in 2011 with three states piloting the program and then became a nationwide program in 2014. To be eligible for CEP at least 40 percent of students must be identified as “directly certified” for free meals without a meal application through programs such as SNAP, TANF and Medicaid. Medina school district has met this eligibility guideline.

For additional information about the program, contact the following:

• Medina Jr/Sr High School – Michael Cavanagh, Principal at 585-798-2700 ext. 1
• Clifford Wise Intermediate School – Jennifer Stearns, Principal at 585-798-2700 ext. 2
• Oak Orchard Primary School – Julie Schiavone, Principal at 585-798-2700 ext. 3

Photo courtesy of Chris Busch: These two yellow squash are ready to race in Saturday’s Zucchini 500 at the Canal Village Farmers’ Market. There were 18 competitors in the zucchini races on Saturday. The races continue July 26 and Aug. 2 and begin at 10 a.m. and last until 1:20 p.m.

MEDINA – Zucchini and yellow squash can be more than nutritious foods. They also can be turned into sleek racing machines.

The Canal Village Farmers’ Market on Saturday hosted the first of three Zucchini 500s. There were 18 racers they put wheels on zucchinis or yellow squash. They also decorated the produce for the trip down a wooden track built by Dave Miller. His wife Gail is the farmers’ market manager.

Dave Miller sends a yellow squash racing down the track on Saturday. This car was made by Roux Gilman of Medina. It covered the distance in a speedy 1.782 seconds.

The races started at 10 a.m. and continued through 1:20 p.m. They will be back on July 26 and Aug. 2.

The racing classes include:

• Sprout – under 8
• Tenderfoot – 8 to 16
• Young-at-Heart – 16-plus
• Outlaw Class – Open to all ages and any vegetable. Entrants can use their imagination to create a racing vegetable, keeping to the vehicle specs in the rules.

The farmers’ market provides the produce (donated by Human Farms) and the participants have access to stickers, flags and other decorations for their racing vehicles.

Roux Gilman, 4, holds his yellow squash that was turned into a speed machine for Saturday’s Zucchini 500.

Dave Miller served as starter for the races. He built the track which is equipped with al electronic timer to the nearest thousandth of a second.

All of the participants get a certificate for competing in the Zucchini 500.

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board is seeking to expand the boundaries of the school zone where the speed limit is capped at 15 miles per hour.

The board will have a public hearing at 6:05 p.m. on July 28 about the expanded zone. Medina Police Chief Todd Draper suggested the change, and Medina school officials also support it, said Medina Mayor Marguerite Sherman.

The school zone is designated from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Mondays through Fridays. The state Department of Transportation allows a school zone to extend a maximum of 1,320 feet along a highway passing a school building entrance or exit of a school abutting on the highway.

The proposed expanded zone includes:

• Gwinn Street, extending 1,320 feet north from the northern intermediate school entrance
• Gwinn Street, extending 650 feet south of the southern intermediate school entrance
• West Oak Orchard Street, extending 500 feet west of Oak Orchard School western loop entrance
• West Oak Orchard Street, extending 1,320 feet east of Oak Orchard School eastern loop entrance

The school zone restrictions do not apply to ambulances, fire vehicles or police vehicles when on emergency trips.

‘It will be turning Medina into an even bigger cultural destination than it already is.’

Photos by Tom Rivers: The former NAPAA Auto Parts building on Main Street in Medina will be headquarters for the Medina Triennial art initiative that starts this fall with next year the focus of the program, which is expected to feature 50 artists at about a dozen sites in Medina.

MEDINA – The Medina Triennial, a big art initiative planned for 2026, is expected to bring 50,000 visitors to the community next summer when the project features about 35 artists at 12 different locations in Medina.

Organizers met with the Medina Village Board on Monday, updating the board on plans for the initiative.

The former NAPA Auto Parts building at 345 North Main St. will serve as the base for the Medina Triennial, a festival of contemporary art. That building will host many art events on the first floor and is planning to open for its first event this September.

It is the first of the 12 sites to be announced that will display art for the Triennial. The sites will be both indoors and outdoors in Medina.

The former NAPA site will serve as office and “hub” for the Triennial, Village Board members were told by Kari Conte, co-artistic director for the Triennial. The University at Buffalo Department of Architecture is designing the Triennial office.

Conte is an independent curator and writer based in New York City. She is co-artistic director for the Triennial with Karin Laansoo, founding director of the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center and artistic director of Kai Art Center in Tallinn, Estonia. Laansoo splits her time between Tallinn and Rochester, New York.

The Triennial was initiated by the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation as part of a broader effort to revitalize the canal. The goal is to do the event every three years.

Federico Rosario, left, is the community engagement & programs coordinator for the Medina Triennial. Ekrem Serdar is associate curator for the arts initiative that will feature about 50 artists next year in Medina.

Conte, speaking with the board by speaker phone, said sponsors are welcome to be part of the effort that is expected to draw people to Medina from around the state and country, with some international visitors as well.

“It will be turning Medina into an even bigger cultural destination than it already is,” Conte said.

The Triennial’s steering committee includes leadership from the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Rochester Institute of Technology, Burchfield Penney Art Center, the Corning Museum of Glass and the University at Buffalo.

“This will be the first site specific project of this kind in the region,” Conte said. “We’re really excited and honored to bring this to Medina.”

Medina offers a “dynamic natural environment and industrial history.” Artists will create pieces that respond to Western New York’s communities and ecosystems.

Some of the artists will be visiting Medina in August and they prepare for their works. The project will feature local, national and international artists.

Two of the staff for the Triennial met in person with the Village Board on Monday. Federico Rosario, a Medina graduate, is the community engagement & programs coordinator for the Medina Triennial. Ekrem Serdar is associate curator for the arts initiative.

Brian Stratton, canal commissioner, issued this statement about the Triennial: “As we commemorate the Erie Canal Bicentennial this year, our team has been deeply engaged in strategizing new ways to invest in more canal-side communities. The Medina Triennial project represents an extraordinary opportunity for cultural enrichment, and we are proud to support the creative vision of the curatorial team in their vision at this transformative moment.”

For more on the Triennial, click here.

Trustee Padoleski says Medina taxpayers already bearing too much cost for services, calls for county-wide EMS

Photo by Tom Rivers: Medina firefighter Steve Long urges the Village Board to pursue a grant to help pay for an addition to the fire station. Long is a member of the union representing the Medina firefighters, Medina professional Firefighters IAFF Local 2161.

MEDINA – The Village Board, in a 3-2 vote, moved to seek a Community Development Block Grant for up to $1 million to help pay for an addition to the Medina fire hall.

The village was looking at a $6 million addition project that would have added two bays and also addressed problems in the existing fire hall. But that project was significantly scaled back due to the cost. Medina is now looking at a $1.4 million one-bay addition.

It is needed to accommodate a new ladder truck that should be delivered in December. The addition won’t be ready in time for the new truck.

Mayor Marguerite Sherman said the CDBG grant, if successful at the maximum amount, would cover the majority of the expense for the addition.

Village Trustee Deborah Padoleski opposed pursing the grant saying it wouldn’t cover the entire cost if Medina is successful getting the maximum amount of $1 million. She said village taxpayers would have to pick up the difference and the village taxpayers are already overburdened. Padoleski said a new ladder truck for $1.7 million will be difficult for the taxpayers. She suggested Medina try to sell that new truck to another department.

But Trustee Deborah Padoleski said that $400,000 difference is on top of the $1.7 million for the new truck. She said taxpayers are already overstressed from their village taxes.

Padoleski and Mark Prawel both opposed seeking the grant, while Sherman and trustees Jess Marciano and Scott Bielski voted to apply for the money.

Padoleski said it’s time for a “new vision” for providing police and fire protection in the village. She said she supports both the fire and police departments, but the service needs to be pared down to an affordable level.

“I feel like this is business as usual,” Padoleski said about the grant for the new addition. “I was hoping for a different way of doing business.”

She has favored canceling the order for the fire truck, but now the penalty would be steep – $340,000. She thinks Medina could sell the new truck to other departments looking for one, she said.

“I would like to see a countywide EMS,” she said.

If the service was through the county, Padoleski said it would eliminate a duplication of services and the cost would be shared more fairly in the county. Right now, she said the village bears too much of the expense and its firefighters and trucks often respond to calls outside of the village.

She also said the addition would not look good on the current fire hall, which is in a historic district.

“You’re not going to be happy with it,” she said. “It will look like a band-aid stuck on the building. My gut tells me this isn’t right.”

Mayor Marguerite Sherman said the ladder truck is needed, and the board has a responsibility to give firefighters the tools and equipment they need to do their jobs.

Medina firefighter Steve Long spoke at the meeting on Monday, urging the board to pursue the grant.

“You’re being fiscally responsible,” Long said about pursuing the grant funds. “We support the village going after the grant.”

Debbie Berry, a village resident, said she supports the firefighters and she thanked them for helping her family over the years. But she said taxes in the village are way too high. She suggested trying to get more use out of the old ladder truck, which is 29 years old, and trying to sell the new ladder truck. Other fire departments and districts are looking for one, including Batavia and Albion, she said.

The Medina Fire Department has a new ladder truck due to arrive in December. The truck won’t fit in the existing fire station. Medina village officials are looking at a one-bay addition to accommodate the new truck.

The Village Board received a letter from Justin Niederhofer, the county’s fire coordinator and emergency management director. He urged the board to pursue the grant.

“It is well known that the current fire station infrastructure lacks the space necessary to properly house the essential apparatus,” he wrote in a letter on July 14. “Without a suitable facility the longevity, readiness, and rapid deployment of this vital resource would be compromised.”

The Medina Fire Department with paid firefighters available 24-7 are critical not only to the village, but other towns in the county who rely on Medina for mutual aid, Niederhofer said.

“Their career staff provides immediate, around-the-clock response for fire, EMS, and rescue calls, including critical operations such as structure fires and technical rescues where a ladder truck is indispensable,” Niederhofer wrote. “Countywide fire operations are very reliant on mutual aid to ensure safe and efficient fire ground operations. The department’s mutual aid tole makes this project a countywide benefit, not just a village improvement.”

Medina Triennial will feature 50 artists at 12 venues

Photo by Hakan Topal/Courtesy Medina Triennial – This aerial view shows the Erie Canal, Oak Orchard Creek and downtown Medina near the Glenwood Avenue bridge.

Press Release, Medina Triennial

MEDINA – The Medina Triennial, a new contemporary art triennial in Western New York, launches its inaugural edition in 2026.

The free, village-wide triennial will feature more than 50 works including site-responsive commissions by local, national and international artists presented at approximately 12 venues in Medina.

MEDINA – The Medina Triennial, a new contemporary art triennial centered in Medina along the Erie Canal, is pleased to announce its inaugural edition, taking place from June 6 to Sept. 7, 2026.

The Triennial aims to become a cultural touchstone for Western New York, offering a dynamic platform for supporting and advancing the contemporary arts landscape in the region and drawing an expected 50,000 visitors every three years.

Initiated by the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation as part of a broader effort to revitalize the canal and highlight its contemporary significance, the ambitious Triennial will feature new commissions by local, national and international artists and collectives, to create a free, village-wide exhibition.

Grounded in place and shaped through deep community engagement, the Triennial will merge the hyper-local with global ideas, establishing a new model for site-specificity in the United States.

Visitors will experience art across approximately 12 indoor and outdoor sites highlighting Medina’s dynamic natural environment and industrial history. These sites range from post-industrial buildings, vibrant public spaces, and key locations along the iconic Erie Canal, with a central hub located in a former sandstone hotel building.

The resulting Triennial will be locally embedded and relevant to broader conversations of contemporary art. Commissioned artists will be invited to respond to Western

New York’s communities and ecosystems, often working in collaboration with local residents to create work rooted in context.

Opening in September of 2025, the Medina Triennial Hub will host public programs and events realized in collaboration with art institutions across Western New York. Upon its opening, the Hub will host programming centering on themes of community, ecology, and place, which will act as a formal launch for the Triennial’s public engagement ahead of its opening in 2026.

The Medina Triennial will be organized by Co-Artistic Directors Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo, esteemed curators and institutional leaders who bring their decades-long careers in the arts toward realizing this exciting new initiative. Buffalo-based curator Ekrem Serdar joins the Triennial’s curatorial team as Associate Curator. The curators come to the Medina Triennial with an appreciation and respect for Western New York.

In addition to her work in Medina, Conte is an independent curator and writer based in New York City and Türkiye, who holds roles with the International Studio & Curatorial Program, City as Living Laboratory, and Kai Art Center.

Laansoo is Founding Director of the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC) and Artistic Director of Kai Art Center in Tallinn, Estonia, one of the preeminent contemporary art institutions in the Baltic States. Laansoo also splits her time between Tallinn and Rochester, New York, giving her a personal connection to Western New York.

“The Medina Triennial will converge transformative artistic positions within a village marked by history and possibility,” Conte said. “It will offer an inclusive space where global perspectives and local sensibilities meet, with numerous works that are grounded in Medina with far-reaching perspectives. We are honored to collaborate with the communities of Western New York to realize the artist’s ideas and we are looking forward to the Triennial Hub opening this fall and to the Triennial next summer.”

“Western New York is a location of personal significance to me, as it’s a place I’ve called my home for a number of years,” Laansoo said. “Medina is a hidden gem in this region in many ways. A triennial of this scope has never been organized in the US in a community of this size, making this an unprecedented opportunity. It’s an exciting chance for us to build new regional cultural infrastructures, give local ideas global resonance, and position Medina as an emerging destination for the arts.”

The Triennial was launched to create lasting cultural and economic impact across Western New York. To shape this vision, the Power Authority and Canal Corporation team worked over two years in collaboration with key partners in Rochester, Buffalo, Medina, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), local arts organizations, and community patrons. Recognizing the unique opportunity to expand access to contemporary art beyond major urban centers, they developed a comprehensive framework and project brief focused on broad participation and nurturing of regional artistic communities.

The curatorial project and team were selected by a Steering Committee to bring this vision to life with creativity, ambition and a deep commitment to community engagement. The triennial team works in dialogue with the Steering Committee, which includes leadership from the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, the Corning Museum of Glass, Memorial Art Gallery, and the University at Buffalo.

“At the New York Power Authority, we are proud to invest in initiatives like the Medina Triennial that aim to revitalize the power of our waterways and infrastructure as catalysts for creativity, economic growth, and community vitality,” said New York Power Authority President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll. “We are committed to launching this first edition and are confident it will set the foundation for an arts initiative that will remain relevant, compelling and transformative for generations to come.”

“As we commemorate the Erie Canal Bicentennial this year, our team has been deeply engaged in strategizing new ways to invest in more canal-side communities,” said New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton. “The Medina Triennial project represents an extraordinary opportunity for cultural enrichment, and we are proud to support the creative vision of the curatorial team in their vision at this transformative moment.”

For more information on the Triennial and to sign up for the official newsletter, please visit medinatriennial.org.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Jose Corte of Long Island, left, and Yang Chen of Queens pose with their bikes in front of their tent, set up for the night at the Clifford Wise Intermediate School.

MEDINA – More than 600 bikers and 106 support staff are spending the night camped on the grounds of Wise Junior/Senior High School on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride from Buffalo to Albany.

This is the 27th year for the ride, which left Buffalo Sunday morning and will end in eight days in Albany. The ride also celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

The 400-mile trek over eight days is organized by Parks & Trails New York. This year there are cyclists from 37 states between the ages of 8 and 84. The tour this year also celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

Tents are set up all around Wise Intermediate School, including these in front of the school. Setting up their tent, in green shirts, are Kathy and Eric Medlin of Jamestown, N.C., first-time riders on Cycle the Erie Canal.

Medina has annually been a designated overnight stop for the bikers, who come from all parts of the country. They are headed 62 miles east on Monday to Fairport.

Some, like Michael Burke of Edenton, N.C. have completed the ride multiple times, while others, like Christy Greening of Mickleton, N.J. are participating for the first time.

Burke grew up in Binghamton, and has biked in this ride more than 20 times. He loves the overnight in Medina, and looks forward every year to the band Pocket Change. Dinner is always wonderful, he said.

Christy Greening of Mickleton, N.J. arranges her tent for the night during the stop in Medina on the Cycling the Erie Canal ride.

Greening learned about the ride last year from a man she met on the CNO Canal ride from Maryland to Washington, D.C. He told her he does that ride one year and the Erie Canal the next. Greening is riding alone and said she has met a lot of solo riders.

“Next year, we joked us solo riders should all get Solo cups to identify us,” Greening said. “We consider this ‘summer camp for adults.’”

The Medina Tourism Committee, chaired by Jim Hancock, helps to welcome the cyclists for their stay in Medina. Hancock and wife Barb, Barb Gorham and Jan Smith, and Dawn Borchet and Isabella Zasa from Orleans County Tourism answered questions and provided information at the information tent.

Michael Burke of Edenton, N.C. registers as Orleans County tourism director Dawn Borchet watches in the tourism booth set up on the grounds of Wise Intermediate School.

Zambistro’s was hired by Parks and Trails New York to provide Sunday night supper and breakfast before the bikers started on their way Monday morning.

Hancock praised the support from the Medina school district, which made everything possible.

“Without the wonderful cooperation of the schools Grounds Superintendent Kevin and his assistant Cindy, we couldn’t do this,” Hancock said.

At 4 p.m., Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers gave a presentation on Medina sandstone and interesting sites to see in Orleans County.

He showed pictures of many sandstone buildings, including the First Presbyterian Church of Albion, the tallest building in Orleans County at 175 feet; the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church with at least 41 Tiffany windows; the Medina Armory, now a YMCA; three churches in Medina made of sandstone and other sites in Orleans County and beyond.

He said sandstone is not just a local thing, with many churches and mansions in Buffalo, and sandstone in the steps of the Capitol in Albany and part of Albany City Hall. Medina Sandstone is prominent in many canal communities, near and far, and could be readily shipped from the quarries in Orleans County.

(Left) Jim Hancock, left, chair of Orleans County Tourism Committee, chats with Dylan Carey, director of Policy and Planning for Parks and Trails New York. (Right) Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers gave a presentation in Wise school auditorium on Medina Sandstone and attractions in Orleans County. Here, he holds a picture of the historic Presbyterian Church in Albion.

Rivers explained there were about 50 quarries in Orleans County during its peak between 1890 and 1910, with quarrymen coming from Britain, Italy, Ireland and Poland. Two quarrymen, who went home one winter to the Isle of Guernsey, came back and were lost when the Titanic went down April 14, 1912. There is a monument for those two – William Doughton and Peter MacKain – at Hillside Cemetery in Holley/Clarendon.

Rivers described Albion’s historic Courthouse Square, and the 1822 lighthouse in Charlotte, the oldest known sandstone structure, which is still standing strong. Rivers also described the Soldiers and Sailors monument in Mount Albion Cemetery and the Medina Sandstone used in Hamlin Beach State Park by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Rivers told bikers about Albion being home to the world’s first Santa Claus School and the first Free Methodist Church in the world, and explained the Cobblestone Museum was a short ride north of Albion.

Leaving Medina, the bikers were advised to look for the canal culvert, the only place in the world where a road goes under a canal. Rivers also said someone had discovered markings in the stones, some with initials and others with crosses.

He also said in 1825 the canal was four feet deep and 40 feet wide. Now it’s 12 to 14 feet deep and about 120 feet wide.

“It really was a ditch,” he said. “In Holley, the bend was too sharp and had to be straightened out.”

Of 16 lift bridges on the Erie Canal, seven are in Orleans County.

It is the hope of tourism professionals in the county that the bikers’ interests will be peaked and they will make a return visit.

Such is the case with biker John Zawistowski of Jamestown, Pa.

“This is my first time here,” he said. “I heard about the Railroad Museum and the sandstone, and I’m going to come back.”

A sea of tents is spread out on the lawn at Wise Intermediate School in Medina, where more than 600 bikers are spending the night on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Mark Ferrara shares about his book chronicling the Erie Canal during a presentation Saturday at Author’s Note in Medina.

MEDINA – An English professor at the State University of Oneonta has written a book about the Erie Canal, focusing on the American communities along its banks and the ordinary people who lived, worked and died there.

Mark Ferrara visited Author’s Note Book Store on Saturday afternoon to sign copies and read from his book, The Raging Erie: Life and Labor Along the Erie Canal.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Mark Ferrara signs copies of his latest book, “The Raging Erie: Life and Labor Along the Erie Canal,” at Author’s Note Book Store on Saturday afternoon.

Ferrara grew up in the Richmond, Va. area, which he considers an “American community.” He also realized there were many American communities along the canal, including Utica and Syracuse where his parents grew up.

Realizing the canal’s bicentennial was coming up, Ferrara began reading everything he could about poor and working class who were forgotten whenever the canal was celebrated. His book took four years to complete – two years of research and then two more to put it all together and get it published.

Ferrara chronicles the fates of the Native Americans whose land was appropriated for the canal, the European immigrants who bored its route through the wilderness and the orphan children who drove the draft animals that pulled boats around the clock.

The author also shows how the canal served as a conduit for the movement of new ideas and religions, a corridor for enslaved people seeking freedom via the Underground Railroad and a spur for social reform movements that emerged in response to the poverty and suffering along its path.

The Raging Erie explores the social dislocation and untold hardships at the heart of a major engineering feat, shedding light on the lives of the canallers who toiled on behalf of American expansion.

Ferrara is also the author of seven books, two of which are American Community: Radical Experiments in Intentional Living and Living the Food Allergic Life. He has taught for universities in South Korea, China and on a Fulbright scholarship in Turkey.

This is the author’s first visit to Medina, and he planned to spend some time exploring the village before heading home.

The Raging Erie is available at Author’s Note, 519 Main St., or online at authorsnote.com. Signed copies can also be ordered for pickup or free shipping at the store’s website.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Approximately 30 people showed up at Boxwood Cemetery on Saturday morning to learn about cleaning headstones.

MEDINA – Cleaning headstones is an ongoing task, as Friends of Boxwood Cemetery learned this morning.

Todd Bensley, a member of Friends of Boxwood Cemetery and Village of Medina historian, led a seminar for approximately 30 people, in which he demonstrated the proper technique and materials to clean a headstone.

The first headstone cleaning event took place in 2022, after a professional came and demonstrated how it should be done, Bensley said.

“I’ve been leading a seminar annually since then,” he said.

He explained why it is important to clean headstones, especially old ones.

“When lichens accumulate on the headstones, it eats away on the stone,” Bensley said. “Cleaning them preserves their history. For some people, their gravestone is the only way we know they existed. If the lettering is illegible, we have no way of knowing who they are. As village historian I wrote several books on Boxwood Cemetery. I tried to find information on some of the burials by going through archives, but the information on their gravestone was all I could find. If there is growth on them, it will eventually eat them away.”

Bensley’s wife Nicole this morning checked in participants, including several new members who signed up for Friends of Boxwood Cemetery. Copies of Todd’s book on Boxwood Cemetery were also available for sale.

Bensley explained there are 5,000 burials in Boxwood Cemetery, and even with two burials in a plot, that still adds up to a lot of headstones. He said it typically takes 20 to 30 minutes to clean the average headstone. He demonstrated the equipment needed, which included a pad to kneel on, plastic scraper, a pail, D-2 cleaner and a popsicle stick or skewer.

He also advised rubbing one’s hand over a headstone to see if it feels sandy. If so, cleaning should not aggressive. He recommended spraying on D-2, which has been diluted 50% with water, and letting it stand for 10 minutes before attempting to scrape it off.

“Use a scrub brush which you would use on your car,” he said. “If it is too harsh for your car, it is too harsh for a headstone.”

Bensley said a headstone won’t look like new after it has been cleaned, but it will look a lot better than it did.

Nicole Bensley checks in visitors who came for Todd Bensley’s presentation Saturday morning on cleaning headstones at Boxwood Cemetery.

One of the attendees was Anna Buckner, who said she spends nearly every day at the cemetery, walking her two dogs. She said she loves the cemetery and intends to join Friends of Boxwood Cemetery.

Barbara Sidher of Medina said she has attended the events put on by the Friends of Boxwood Cemetery, and came to Saturday’s seminar to learn how to clean her parents’ gravestone in Sacred Heart Cemetery.

Bensley said they are always looking for new members and volunteers. Anyone interested may contact them on their Facebook page.

Todd Bensley explains the correct technique for cleaning headstones to approximately 30 people who attended a seminar at Boxwood Cemetery Saturday morning. He holds a bottle of D-2, the proper cleaner to use on headstones. Anyone who signed up to become a member of Friends of Boxwood Cemetery received a free bottle.