Last year there were only 12 participants; Program was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Park counselor Corey Saj and 11-year-old Todd Fairbanks rest on a climbing ladder at the playground at Oak Orchard Elementary School.

MEDINA – The Medina Joint Recreation Park and Swim program is underway with a large enrollment of students ages 5 to 12.

Heading the summer event this year is Michelle Capstick, a special education teacher at Oak Orchard Elementary School.

Capstick said she received an e-mail in May from the Joint Recreation Park and Swim committee saying they were looking for a director, and if one couldn’t be found, the program would be canceled.

“I called and they hired me,” Capstick said.

The Medina Joint Recreation Park and Swim committee consists of Village Clerk Jada Burgess, village trustees Jess Marciano and Marguerite Sherman; Mary Woodruff and Jeff Toussaint, representing town of Ridgeway; and John Pratt and Ed Zelazny, representing town of Shelby.

The summer program has been going since Capstick was a kid, she said, originally taking place in the village’s individual neighborhood parks.

The program was canceled during the summer of 2020, then resumed last year with a registration of only 12 participants.

This year, however, 58 children are registered. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays from July 5 through Aug. 12.

It not only includes the opportunity to sign up for swimming at Wise Intermediate School, activities at the playground and crafts adjacent to Oak Orchard School, but field trips within walking distance throughout the village.

They have already been to Mark’s Pizzeria, the fire hall and library and are planning a trip to Case-Nic Cookies and possibly the Medina Railroad Museum.

When the weather is inclement, the program moves into Oak Orchard School.

Capstick writes a weekly report on the program, and the first report describes the children playing tennis on the schools’ tennis courts, playing baseball and a game of Uno. They also walked to Pine Street Park and cooled off in the splash pad.

Assisting with the daily program are supervisor Hayden Woodroe and counselors Corey Saj, Danielle Schmidt and Sophia Goyette.

Students enjoying crafts at the Medina Joint Recreation Park and Swim program are, clockwise from left, Harlow Rhim, Vivian Neroni, counselor Sophia Goyette and Olivia Ellis. Partially hidden at left is Lyric Chinn.

MEDINA – Orleans Community Health has announced the selection of three new members to the board of directors.

Hector Fuentes, Aaron Knights and Jenifer Maynard were all named to terms for 2022-23 during the board’s June 27 meeting.

“Hector, Aaron and Jenifer are all great additions to our already strong board,” said Shannon Blount, who was also elected chairman of the board. “Orleans Community Health means a lot to so many in the community, and that number is only growing as the services being provided increase. It’s an exciting time to be part of this incredible team.”

Aaron Knights was born and raised in Medina and currently an attorney practicing civil litigation at the Buffalo-based law firm of Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham. Prior to becoming a partner with the firm, he practiced law in Washington, D.C. for almost 20 years.  He moved back to Western New York with his wife and two daughters late last summer, settling in East Amherst. He is very excited to be back home and is ready to serve his hometown any way he can.

Knights’ parents are Sue and the late Dick Knights, who were also born and raised in Medina and were local business owners.

“After my dad’s premature death in 1984, as I like to tell people, Medina raised me,” Aaron said. “My family, friends, teachers and people who were strangers to me but knew my dad looked after me and touched my life in more way than I can begin to explain. The notion that I could give back to my hometown, even just a little, is exciting for me.”

Knights has been involved in many civic organizations over the years and has handled cases pro bono for indigent clients needed help enforcing their legal rights in the court system. Lastly, his family members are the co-founders of the Knights-Kaderli Memorial Fund which assists Orleans County residents diagnosed with cancer with needs such as paying for prescriptions, medical supplies, transportation to medical appointment, medical bills, etc.

Jenifer Maynard has worked in healthcare for more than 20 years. Currently, she is administrator for an 82-bed skilled nursing home based in Niagara County. She also serves on the executive board as secretary of the New York State Health Facilities Association.

A resident of Lyndonville, she is a lifelong resident of Orleans County and feels Medina Memorial Hospital is vital to the community.

Hector Fuentes is an Air Force veteran and past auxiliary police officer who has worked in the behavioral health field for nearly 20 years. He currently works with the Central New York Forensic Psychiatric Center, which is a maximum security facility housing incarcerated individuals and pre-sentence detainees who have accepted a plea of insanity due to mental disease or defect. He’s responsible for supervising 80 security hospital treatment assistants and 10 security hospital senior assistants, along with assisting with all aspects of budgeting, policy and procedures and quality of care.

Fuentes has lived in Orleans County for most of his life and currently resides in Medina with his wife and daughter. He feels Orleans Community Health is vital to its residents and is proud of how they handled and served the residents during the recent pandemic. He’s excited to serve on the board and give back to the community he loves.

The three new board members join chair Shannon Blount, vice-chair Kevin Foley, secretary Cindy Hewitt, treasurer April McGaffick and members Richard Elman, MD, Lynne Johnson, Dawn Meland (past chairperson), Joseph Misiti, MD and Dale Sponaugle, MD.

“For starters, I want to thank Lance Mark, Dr. David Monti and Jeff Klotzbach, who have all served Orleans Community Health admirably,” said Marc Shurtz, CEO/CIO of Orleans Community Health. “Exciting times are ahead for OCH and this board is well-positioned to help get us there. This list includes medical and healthcare professionals, community leaders, legal minds, business leaders and individuals who have an unyielding commitment to the community.”

Provided photos show before and after pictures of a recently cleaned headstone.

Press Release, Friends of Boxwood Cemetery

MEDINA – The Friends of Boxwood Cemetery will be conducting a headstone cleaning seminar at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 23, at Boxwood Cemetery on North Gravel Road in Medina. Participants are asked to park near the office, which is the white building on the north side of the cemetery.

“Headstone cleaning is a popular activity in many cemeteries,” said Todd Bensley, who will be leading the seminar. “However, it must be done using proper techniques. Well-intended people can do more harm than good.”

Those interested may simply observe the seminar, or be active participants in cleaning headstones. If you plan to observe you can bring a lawn chair. The demonstration should last about 30 minutes.

If you are going to actively participate, it is requested that you bring a pair of rubber gloves, protective eyewear, a clean bucket and new, soft-bristled brush, if possible.

There is no fee for the seminar, but donations are always gratefully accepted. In addition, those signing up to be members of the Friends of Boxwood Cemetery on that day, will receive a spray bottle of the proper cleaner used in the seminar. Individual memberships are $20.

It is requested that you pre-register by July 20, by sending an email to: friendsofboxwoodcemetery@gmail.com.

MEDINA – The Village Board and Planning Board have both given the OK for a mural under the Glenwood Avenue high bridge.

Brandi Zavitz, a retired Holley art teacher, submitted the lone proposal for the project, which is being facilitated by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council. GO Art! approved a $3,460 grant for the project under the bridge..

Medina would like to have the project be done by Sept. 30.

The project area is approximately 528 square feet on previously painted concrete.

Zavitz previously painted the front steps at the Orleans County YMCA in an aquatic and solar theme.

With the mural under the bridge she submitted a sketch that showed a boy playing baseball, strawberries and corn stalks, a marching band member, a cow, heron taking flight, the former Journal-Register and a kid with wagon full of newspapers, geese, Canal Culvert, girl on a swing, girl running by canal, the waterfalls in the background, two kids fishing in canal, St John’s Episcopal Church, a man walking a golden retriever on the canal, and apples.

“It does represent Medina and the Medina area,” said Village Trustee Owen Toale. “These things all mean something to us.”

The Village Board also set a public hearing for 7 p.m. today to pursue a grant to study the conditions of waterlines in the village.

Group of 750 come from 40 states for annual Cycle the Erie Canal

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Several local residents are taking part in the 24th annual Parks and Trails New York’s annual Cycle the Erie Canal Tour. Here, Chris Leavitt,  a student at Medina High School; Tom Stanowski of Warwick; Dean Bellack of Medina; and Jeff and Bronwyn Green of East Shelby posed on the grounds of Wise Intermediate School, where they camped Sunday night.

MEDINA – Cyclists, totaling 750 from 40 states, arrived in Medina on Sunday enroute to Albany on the Cycle the Erie Canal Tour.

The Medina Tourism Committee arranged an afternoon and evening of events to entertain the bikers, who began arriving about 1 p.m., said Tourism Chairman Jim Hancock.

The riders, who were accompanied by a shower truck and other escort vehicles, set up a tent city on the grounds of the Wise Intermediate School.

Kim Mann of Schaghticoke, left, chats with David Chintry of Castleton-on-Hudson in the tent city set up on the grounds of Wise Intermediate School.

Kim Mann from Schaghticoke said while some of the riders had their own tents, others chose to use a tent service, which follows the tour, provides a tent and sets it up. The tents came with a chair, air mattress and towel. This is his first time riding the Cycle the Erie Canal Tour, but he has biked in the Finger Lakes, Bike Maine and Bike Virginia.

There was a snag in plans, however, Mann said, when some the school and college students hired to set up tents didn’t show up. Eventually, all the tents were set up, he said.

Riders came from across the state and beyond to do the ride, including several Medina residents.

Chris Leavitt, who will be a senior at Medina High School, was encouraged by Dean Bellack of Medina, an avid biker, to make the ride. Leavitt’s mother is acquainted with Bellack and he has been encouraging Chris to get out and ride.

Bellack said he did the ride for the first time four years ago, and is doing it this year to get Chris involved in riding bikes

Jeff and Bronwyn Green of East Shelby recently bought new bikes and have been practicing to make the Erie Canal ride, Bronwyn said.

“We have been riding locally (to Spencerport, for example) and in June just did the Black Fly Challenge from Inlet to Old Forge in the Adirondacks,” she said. “That was 38.4 miles. Many summers we used to come to Medina and walked by the bikers camped here, and now we are one of them.”

Next summer, the Greens plan to go to Glacier National Park and do the “Going to the Sun Road” bike tour.

David Chintry from Castleton-on-Hudson did the Cycle the Erie Canal Tour in 2006 and 2008. He was relaxing in front of his tent and listening to the band Pocket Change playing on the Wise School grounds.

“All these little towns are wonderful,” Chintry said.

A sea of tents blankets the lawn at Wise Intermediate School, where on Sunday night the band Pocket Change planed on a stage in the background.

The Cycle the Erie Canal Tour is a 400-mile ride, which began Sunday morning in Buffalo. Sunday they got to go through the locks in Lockport and view the caves before continuing their ride along the towpath to Medina. After leaving Medina Monday morning, the cyclists will spend Monday night in Pittsford, Tuesday in Waterloo/Seneca Falls area, Wednesday in Syracuse, Thursday in Rome, Friday in Canajoharie and Saturday in Schenectady, ending on Sunday in Albany.

The riders will cover between 31 and 64 miles each day.

In Medina, the Medina Tourism Committee arranged for a shuttle from Ridge Road Express to run continuously from the camp area to downtown and back. Several businesses, including Medina Railroad Museum and Medina Tourism Booth, stayed open later to allow the riders to visit.

From 4 to 6 p.m., David Viterna and his band entertained in State Street Park, and from 7 to 9 p.m., the band Pocket Change played on a stage on the school grounds.

Supper was provided in the Wise School cafeteria by Zambistro’s, who will also cook breakfast.

Hancock said this is the 24th year Medina has been the first overnight stop on the Cycle the Erie Canal Tour.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Sparky a fire dog gets help getting ready to meet kids on Saturday. He is assisted by Medina firefighters Steven Lang, left, and Dustin Pahura.

Adam Fisher, a Medina firefighter, dressed up as the dalmatian. Medina firefighters were at the Canal Village Farmers’ Market in Medina for the day, offering tours of a fire truck and sharing fire prevention tips.

Sparky meets Isaiah Powlowski, 4, of Medina at the farmers’ market.

Katie Klotzbach and her daughter Karalyn, 10, made their debut at the market on Saturday selling flowers through Klotzbach’s business, Flower Fields Forever, which is based in Lyndonville.

The market welcomed about 15 different vendors on Saturday. The market is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays through Oct. 29 at 127 West Center St.

Adeline Castricone, a member of the Medina FFA, knits a blue hat at the market. The Medina FFA is pushing to knit 500 of the hats that will be given to Medina middle schoolers in October as part of an anti-bullying initiative.

Medina FFA advisor Todd Eick is joined by students Adeline Castricone and Iyla Lilleby in promoting the #HatsNotHate effort.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Dave Viterna Group performed for about 800 people this evening in the first concert of a six-week “Blue Thursdays.” (A drone with software to estimate attendance put the crowd size at 788.)

The free summer concerts are the pavilion at State Street Park.

The pavilion was erected in 2019 and has been used for some concerts and events, but not a concert series yet. Chris Busch, chairman of the Orleans Renaissance Group, said the pavilion organizers were envisioning a series at the site when the pavilion was erected but Covid-19 wiped out those plans in 2020 and 2021.

“That’s what we built this for,” Busch said this evening, scanning the large crowd. “To do this.”

He and Ken Daluisio of The Print Shop received many congratulatory text messages during the concert, thanking them for helping to make the event a reality.

The Dave Viterna Group includes lead singer and guitarist Dave Viterna at right, “Scooter” Felice on drums and Marty Hobbs as bass guitar. They are from Medina. They play all over Western New York. Tonight, they had a very close drive for their gig.

The Print Shop and Orleans Renaissance Group, Inc./medinaalive.com, both of Medina, organized the concert series with support from to Gloria Brent, owner of Modern Mercantile and Main Liquor.

The shaded areas near the trees were popular spots for many concert-goers, who brought their own lawn chairs. Some even enjoyed the music with their pet dogs.

Vassilios Bitsas serves a slice of pizza for Cusimano’s Pizzeria in Medina. The business is owned by his father James Bitsas. They were very busy during the concert.

They were among several food vendors at the event, which  also included alcoholic beverages from Leonard Oakes Estate Winery and 810 Meadworks.

These young concert-goers enjoy the playground equipment while listening to the music.

The concerts from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The line-up for the remaining events includes:

• July 14 – Frank Grizanti Band
• July 21 – Jeremy Keyes Band
• July 28 – Growlers Blues Band
• August 4 – Dave Constantino Band
• August 11 – Maria Aurigema

MEDINA – The Medina Rotary Club is accepting applications up until Aug. 1 for a scholarship that has been increased from $500 to $2,500. That money could go to one person or be split up among more than one depending on the applications, said Rotary Club President Ben McPherson.

Students who just graduated from Medina in the Class of 2022 are encouraged to apply. This scholarship is not solely based on academic achievement but more community involvement, character and leadership throughout their years in high school, the club said.

The scholarship isn’t limited to those headed to college but for any student looking to go to a post high school, tuition-based educational program – college, trade school, etc.

Outside of filling out the application the only other requirements to be awarded is a presentation to the club on plans after high school, involvements in high school as well as transcript following the student’s first semester.

The application can be found through our Medina Rotary Club Facebook page, the club’s website or through a Rotary Club member.

“This is a great opportunity for any student looking to earn some cash for their future but also develop some real life skills like preparing and delivering a presentation of value,” McPherson said.

Provided photo

MEDINA – A shed in Medina burns on North Avenue on July 4. Firefighters were dispatched to scene at 12:14 a.m.

Crews arrived at 12:16 a.m. and discovered the fire had extended to an automobile with a house and garage in close proximity. Fire damage was contained to the shed, the automobile, fences of the nearby properties and some shrubbery, said Medina Fire Department Lt. Steve Cooley.

“The fire is being ruled accidental at this time,” he said. “It was caused by improper disposal of spent legal fireworks/fountain devices.”

MEDINA – The Medina Joint Recreation Commission summer parks and swim program starts tomorrow but there won’t be swim lessons for at least the first day.

“Due to unsafe chlorine levels in the pool, swim lessons will be canceled tomorrow,” said Michelle Capstick, the program director. “They are unsure when the issue will be resolved. I will post daily updates until the issue is taken care of.  We appreciate your patience and support.  The Park program will start tomorrow. All paperwork must be completed for children to attend.”

The program Tuesday and runs through Aug. 12. It is a free program for children ages 6 to 12 in the Medina school district.

The parks program will be run at the Oak Orchard Elementary School campus with the pool program at the middle school. The program will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and until 3 p.m. on Fridays. Besides games, the program will include bowling, field trips, a carnival and other activities.

The Village of Medina and towns of Ridgeway and Shelby all contribute to funding the program.

Provided photos: The MAAC Thrift Depot at 536 Orient St. has resumed Tuesday evening hours after being closed two years due to Covid-19.

MEDINA – The Thrift Depot at 536 Orient St., operated by the Medina Area Association of Churches, has announced it will resume Tuesday evening hours after being closed for two years due to Covid-19. There is a slight change in the Tuesday evening schedule, however, according to Sue Metzo, who oversees the operation.

“We will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. from April through October,” Metzo said. “Certain concerns and issues have presented us with the need to be closed during the late fall and winter months.”

Metzo said they are occasionally faced with a problem of donations being left outside. Because they are only open 14 hours a week, those items could be outside a day or more, where they can get rained on or vandalized. The public is asked if they cannot put their donations in the chutes provided, please come during regular store hours, which are 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays from April through October.

For those who are not familiar with the MAAC Thrift Depot, it is run with the help of 20 to 30 volunteers. There are no paid employees, Metzo said.

“Our dedicated volunteers work anywhere between two to 20 hours per week,” she said.

The MAAC Thrift Depot is part of the non-profit organization, Medina Area Association of Churches, which was started around 1970. Sixteen churches in the Medina area are members. It consists of a Clergy Fellowship, the Thrift Depot, the MAAC Christmas Box Program and the Medina Area Christian Theater. Throughout the year they have Lenten luncheons, a Good Friday Cross Walk, Easter morning sunrise service, Thanksgiving ecumenical service and Advent in the Park.

MAAC started when several church groups combined efforts to provide clothing for students the school nurses were concerned about, Metzo said. So many people wanted to contribute there was an abundance of good used clothing that was, at first, given away.

But when more and more clothing kept coming in, it was decided to treat it like a rummage sale. The money earned was used to buy new underwear for the children in need. From there, it just grew and grew. It became the MAAC Clothing Depot and operated for years at the back of the former Medina High School on Catherine Street. When the old high school was sold, the Depot moved to its new location on Orient Street in 2018 and was renamed the Thrift Depot.

After paying for their expenses, the rest of the money earned is gifted back into the community, Metzo said. In 2021, MAAC gifted $41,703 to more than 20 agencies or churches in the area.

The Thrift Depot mainly accepts good, clean clothing, linens, toys, books, DVDs, CDs and small household/kitchen items. Unfortunately, they do not have space for furniture or large baby items. There is a list on their Facebook page (MAAC Thrift Depot) of items they cannot accept.

Anyone who has questions may message the Thrift Depot on Facebook or call and leave a message at (585) 798-6657. A volunteer will return the call within 24 hours.

People are being asked not to leave donations for the MAAC Thrift Depot outside, as seen here, where they can be stolen or rained on.