By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 March 2022 at 9:31 am
Village DPW planting 50 more trees this spring
File photo by Tom Rivers: Medina DPW workers on April 26, 2019 planted a new tree at State Street Park for Arbor Day.
MEDINA — The Village of Medina has been named a “Tree City USA” for the 11th straight year. The Arbor Day Foundation announced the recognition for Medina due to its commitment to an planting trees and an effective urban forest management.
Mayor Mike Sidari read the letter at Monday’s Village Board meeting from the Arbor Day Foundation, recognizing the village again.
Medina has planted more than a 1,000 trees in the past two decades and will be adding 50 more to the landscape this spring.
Medina meets the Tree City USA criteria with four requirements: a Tree Board or department; a tree care ordinance; and annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita; and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
Medina has a Tree Board and also has formed a “Releaf Society” to raise money to plant new trees to replace some of the old ones, especially at Boxwood Cemetery. The Tree Board helps to decides what kind and where trees can be planted and which need to be trimmed or cut down.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 March 2022 at 8:42 am
Firehall would need to be expanded to accommodate bigger fire truck
Photos by Tom Rivers: The Medina ladder truck is shown on Jan. 12 at a fire on Knapp Street in Albion. Village officials want to begin working to replace the ladder truck from 1996.
MEDINA – Medina Mayor Mike Sidari hoped to push off replacing a ladder truck for a few more years. But he said the ladder truck the village needs to start working on a plan to replace the truck from 1996.
“We have a desperate need for a new ladder truck,” the mayor said at Monday’s Village Board meeting. “And if we get a new truck we need a place to have it.”
Acquiring a new truck and putting an addition on the fire hall could be financed through a bond. Sidari said he wants the projects discussed as part of the village budget meetings in April. The budget needs to be approved by April 30.
Sidari said Medina has some leeway in its budget and still remain under the state constitutional tax limit. For a village that is 2 percent of the five-year average full valuation.
Medina’s full valuation for the 2021-22 budget was $173,610,268 and 2 percent of that is $3,472,205. The current budget has a tax levy of $3,259,119, which is nearing the tax limit.
Medina’s current ladder truck is from 1996. The ladder is 75 feet long. Medina officials would like a truck with a 100-foot-long ladder.
The new truck would cost an estimated $1.2 million. The current truck needs frequent maintenance that is costly. Village officials said Medina is already spending about $70,000 a year on the current ladder to keep it going.
The current fire hall is too small for a bigger ladder truck. Currently there is only two inches of clearance from the top of the truck to get in and out of the bay in the fire hall. The new trucks are 4 inches above the top of the door.
Medina Fire Chief Matt Jackson has suggested the village consider a 75-by-50-foot addition to the fire hall with two taller bays to allow more space to get trucks in and out of the building.
An addition would be an estimated $1.3 million to $1.5 million for the building, and extending heating and other utilities, as well as engineering costs.
The current fire hall includes two buildings, a Medina sandstone structure from 1908 and then an annex built in the 1930s for the DPW. The DPW moved in 1955 and Medina FD took over the 3,960-square-foot space, which is 45 by 88 feet.
In addition to the larger fire trucks, the Medina FD runs four ambulances from the site and one of them, ambulance 61, can only fit in one of the bays.
Jackson would like to see an addition in the parking lot with garage bays about 3 ½ feet higher than the ones in the current building.
Jackson is suggesting Medina pursue a 4,980-square-foot addition that would be 60 by 83 feet. It would have space for modern ambulances and fire trucks, be ADA compliant, and meet the department’s needs for the next 50 to 100 years. It would also have space for potential female firefighters.
Medina officials expect there will be some grant funding to help with the truck and fire hall expansion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 March 2022 at 7:38 am
MEDINA – The Village Board will start digging deep into the village budget next week as its begins a series of meetings with village department heads.
The board on Monday set the following dates to work on the budget: 9:15 a.m. on April 4 with focus on fire department and police department; 9 a.m. on April 6 with focus on code enforcement; 9 a.m. on April 8 with focus on Department of Public Works, and then another meeting at 9:30 a.m. on April 13.
The board also set a public hearing for the budget at 7 p.m. on April 25. The hearing will be at the senior center. The budget needs to be adopted by April 30.
The current 2021-22 budget totaled $6,109,526 with $3,259,119 raised by taxes for a tax rate of $18.77 per $1,000 of assessed property.
MEDINA – The Medina Police Department is currently investigating a phone scam where the Medina Police Department’s office phone number (585)798-5602 has been used as part of the scam.
The suspect(s) calls reporting there is a warrant for the person, and the only way to get rid of the warrant is to pay whatever monies they stipulate. The above phone number comes up on caller ID.
This isn’t how the Medina Police Department or any other law enforcement agency handles warrants. Please be mindful if you receive any calls like this, obtain as much information as you can without engaging in lengthy conversation with the caller.
Hang up, call 911, and/or the Medina Police Department (585)798-5603 or (585) 798-5602 to speak to an officer. Most importantly do not give the caller any monies and/or information so they can access your financial accounts.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 March 2022 at 2:01 pm
MEDINA – Lock your car doors, especially at night, to discourage break-ins, Medina Police Chief Chad Kenward said during Monday’s Village Board meeting.
He said many vehicles have been hit by larcenies, including some during broad daylight.
“The larcenies are a problem all over,” Kenward said. “People are desperate for money.”
He thinks people in need of money to fuel addictions and also because they don’t have enough to pay their bills.
He recommended the Village Board have additional lighting put in the parking lot for the senior center and village office, as well as more security cameras.
People can help themselves by locking their doors, Kenward said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 March 2022 at 6:04 pm
Switch to E15 could save consumers up to 25 cents a gallon
Photo by Tom Rivers: Tim Winters, president and CEO of Western New York Energy in Medina, said ethanol is a domestic supply that can bring down the cost of gas significantly.
MEDINA – A surefire way to bring down the cost of gasoline: add more ethanol to the gas blends.
That is the message from the CEO and president of Western New York Energy, which produced 62 million gallons of ethanol annually.
Tim Winters, leader of the facility on Bates Road, noted that the state has already approved for gas to go from 10 percent ethanol to 15 percent. The state Department of Agriculture and Markets made that decision on Nov. 21, 2019.
But the gas stations, which are heavily influenced controlled by oil companies, haven’t budged. Gas remains at E10, when E15 would likely bring the cost down much closer to $4 a gallon.
The average price is currently $4.35 a gallon for unleaded in the state. Winters said E15 in Pennsylvania and West Virginia cut about 25 cents off the price per gallon.
“These market conditions show yet again how consumers are at the mercy of oil companies,” Winters said. “And with higher blend rates we can have cleaner air for our kids and support our farmers.”
Using more ethanol in gas – increasing the blend from 10 to 15 percent – would lower the price at the pump, be better for the environment and also reduce the oil imports from Russia, Winters said.
He believes the gas stations would insist on E15 if customers demanded it. He is urging people to request E15 at gas stations.
“The oil companies are spreading misinformation,” Winters said. “This is David vs. Goliath.”
The voice of the customer, however, would make a strong impression on the gas stations, and could lead to E15 being offered. Right now, Winters said only a few gas stations offer E15 in the Albany area.
The change to E15 in New York would lower carbon emissions by 748,000 tons annually, which is the equivalent of removing 129,400 vehicles from New York’s roads, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.
Provided photo: Western New York Energy also is nearing completion of a new high purity distillation system.
Winters said E15 gas has now been driven 16 billion miles “without a single issue.”
The ethanol plant in Medina is currently the only one operating in the state. It will soon open a new high purity distillation system that can produce up to 15 million gallons of high-purity alcohol to be used in the pharmaceutical and beverage industries, and other industrial purposes.
Winters said the Medina plant is diversifying “because the fuel market can be a bumpy ride.”
Opening the plant in November 2007 has proven a success for the community, providing a big buyer for corn and producing about 60 million gallons of ethanol that is blended in gasoline.
Since the plant opened the corn yields have drastically increased around the state. The yields went from 97 bushels per acre in 2002 to 167 in 2021, which was a record high for New York.
Winters said the switch to E15 would mean more opportunities for corn growers and the local ethanol plant. But he said he feels for motorists who are paying near record-high prices. He wants them to have relief at the pump, and for the U.S. to not be enriching Russia with imported oil.
On March 17, about 1,000 farmers, workers in the ethanol industry, and other biofuel supporters sent a message to President Biden to broaden the use of ethanol blends like E15.
The letter was signed from people in 30 states.
“Simply allowing gasoline blenders to sell E15 year-round would instantly help moderate prices at the pump and deliver relief to American families,” the letter states. “Today, E15 is selling for 10-25 cents per gallon less than standard gasoline, meaning year-round use of the fuel would save the average American household at least $125-200 on its annual gasoline bill. Those savings would accrue immediately while also providing energy, environmental and economic benefits for the long-term.”
Winters said local residents can make a difference by simply requesting E15 as an option when they buy gas.
“Just ask the retailer for E15,” he said. “Tell them you want a lower-priced option.”
The ethanol industry doesn’t have near the resources to counter the power of oil companies, he said.
“As a state and a nation, we continue to place the financial wellbeing and clean air responsibilities of our citizens in the hands of dirty, harmful gasoline and oil producers,” Winters said. “Now is as good a time to make a change for the benefit of our neighbors – by putting some more money in their pockets while we are cleaning the air we all breathe.”
A push for E15 would also have a big benefit for the agricultural community.
“This provides critical support for New York farmers that are facing historically high input prices and facing the same financial struggles as consumers,” Winters said.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 28 March 2022 at 10:06 am
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Catherine Cooper, Orleans County historian, talks about the history department and vintage cookbooks at the March meeting of the Senior Citizens of Western Orleans.
MEDINA – Senior Citizens of Western Orleans welcomed Catherine Cooper to their March dinner meeting to talk about the Orleans County historian’s job and share some of her vintage cookbooks.
Cooper retired in June 2020 as director of Lee-Whedon Memorial Library and accepted the position as Orleans County historian in September 2020.
She explained the first historian appointed was Arden McAllister, a Medina teacher, in 1938. Bill Lattin held the position for 35 years until he retired in 2013 and then was succeeded by Matthew Ballard he served in the position for more than five years.
As historian, Cooper said she is spending time sorting and refiling records to make them accessible.
“People come in looking for houses, genealogy, sandstone quarries and, always in December, information about Charlie Howard,” Cooper said. “You don’t need to know everything. You just need to know where to find it.”
Other things people ask for are old maps, minutes of the Pioneer History Association, early newspapers and photographs, Cooper said.
It can be a challenge when someone wants a photo from 1840 or a birth certificate from 1820. They didn’t take photos back then or have birth certificates.
Great sources of information are books by Medina’s Ed Grinnell and Ridgeway historian Richard Dennis. Cooper also talked about the Medina Historical Society at 406 West Ave. It was founded 50 years ago by the late Ceil White as a place to collect and preserve the history of Medina.
“There is so much material there,” Cooper said. “This includes information about the barracks by Fisher Price for World War II prisoners, H.J. Heinz Company, spinning wheels and more.”
The Medina Historical Society puts on informative programs, Cooper said. A recent one was on letters from the Civil War. Some were brought in and one person had a correspondence from Jack Benny a family member had received.
“Documenting change in an area over time – that’s local history,” Cooper said. “We are tribal. We need to know where we came from. When we are together, we talk about our families and what they did. We need to pass on those stories.”
One thing she urged was for people to label photographs.
Cooper also brought a collection of old cookbooks, some from the Historical Society and other belonging to her.
“You will find inspiration in those cookbooks gathered over the years,” she said. “They are a great resource. You can learn so much from the ads. In the 1950s and 1960s people canned and preserved food.”
Some of Cooper’s cookbooks were from Oak Orchard Elementary School, the Mustang Marching Band, St. Mary’s Mother’s Club and senior citizens.
Finally Cooper handed out copies of five self-guided walking tours of Medina developed by Todd Bensley. She urged seniors to get up, get out and see Medina’s history.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 28 March 2022 at 9:43 am
Photo by Ginny Kropf: George Bidleman of Medina holds a plaque presented to him by United Way of Orleans County after he stepped down as president of the board.
MEDINA – George Bidleman believes in giving back to the community which has given and continues to give to him.
An owner of car dealerships in Orleans County and one in Auburn, Bidleman is being honored by United Way of Orleans County for serving as its board president for the past two years.
He recently stepped down from that position and to become president of the board of the Medina Railroad Museum.
Serving the Railroad Museum is nothing new to Bidleman who was its president several years ago and brought it out of debt into the black.
Dean Bellack, director of United Way of Orleans County, recently presented Bidleman with a plaque for his support of the agency.
“George Bidleman’s help, generosity and friendship has been invaluable to Orleans County United Way,” Bellack said. “George donated office space for our office, which we still occupy. In addition, Orleans Ford raised an additional $9,000 for us last year, on top of personal and workplace donations in their ‘Raising of the Green’ promotion. The ads seen during the last year for digital literacy and the United Way have also been through the generosity of George and his dealerships.”
Bidleman personally and quietly supports not just the United Way, but other charities which touch his heart, Bellack said.
Bidleman grew up here and gives back, Bellack said.
“His uncle Porter once told him,’ Give back, get back,’” Bellack said. “He lives by that motto and I personally thank him for his friendship and support.”
The Medina Varsity Guard consists of 17 students in grades 10 thru 12.
Photos and information courtesy of Medina Mustang Band Boosters
JAMESTOWN – Medina competed on Saturday in Jamestown for their last performance before the championships on Saturday, which will be hosted in Medina.
In the Scholastic A class Medina came in 3rd with a score 80.30, bested by Orchard Park in 1st with 83.84 and Jamestown Express in 2nd with 82.68.
Winners in the other classes were Hinsdale Starliners in Novice with 59.53; Jamestown Caboose in Cadets with 68.02; Gates Chili in RA with 74.97; Lancaster in A1 with 80.98; and Gates Chili in IA with 85.80.
The WG season comes to a close on April 2 with the championships in Medina.
The entire Medina marching band also has already begun practicing for their spring season.
The Medina JV Winterguard consists of students in grades 5 thru 9.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 25 March 2022 at 10:17 am
Photos by Ginny Kropf: A group of business people share conversation during Thursday’s networking event. From left are Kelly Kiebala, director of Orleans County Job Development; Kellie Schrader of Waterport with SeeNewYorkWithUs; Skip Helfrich, director of Leadership Orleans; and Peter Bartnik of Waterport, founder of SeeNewYorkWithUs.
MEDINA – Now that restrictions have been lifted with the Covid pandemic and businesses can return to normal, the Medina Area Partnership is planning monthly events throughout the Medina area for its members.
On Thursday night, MAP sponsored a business card and networking event at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery.
“We want to keep the business community together,” said Bonnie Heck, chair of MAP’s membership committee.
Prior events include a holiday mixer at Harvest Restaurant in December, and similar themed events are planned for various other holidays.
Thursday’s gathering focused on Leadership Orleans, whose leader Skip Helfrich shared the program’s success. MAP recently started to sponsor two individuals to the class, and one, Catherine Holland, shared how the class helped her.
Former Assemblyman Charles Nesbitt from Albion and Kelly Kiebala, director of the Orleans County Job Development Agency, were instrumental in starting Leadership Orleans in 2018. Kiebala is a graduate of Leadership Genesee and helped facilitate a focus group to form a class in Orleans County.
The fifth class is in progress and each class has included about 25 members.
At left, Bonnie Heck, chair of Medina Area Partnership’s membership committee, welcomes guests to a business card exchange and networking event Thursday night at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery. Clockwise, with Heck, are Cindy Robinson, Barbara Outten from Maple Ridge Storage and Heather Smith, director of Orleans Community Health Foundation.
Nesbitt shared about helping to get Leadership Orleans off the ground and what it does for participants. It is an active group of people who come through a leadership program, learning how to interact with each other to get results when opportunity comes along, he said. Leadership Orleans helps people who are potential or current leaders become better.
“This is a great program and well supported by the county,” Nesbitt said.
He said more than 30 businesses and individuals contribute to make the program a success.
“It is well managed and skillfully directed by Skip,” he said.
Helfrich said the class meets on the second Thursday of every month, beginning in January. There is a different theme each month, which gives a variety of learning. To date, 99 people have been through the program.
“That means we have 99 alumni who can now make a different and apply their learning to make this county better,” Helfrich said. “Sixty-one businesses have been involved, 10 of them new this year.”
Former Assemblyman Charlie Nesbitt of Albion talks about Leadership Orleans at MAP’s networking event Thursday night. With back to camera is Barbara Outten and at right are Skip Helfrich, Leadership Orleans’ leader, and Gloria Brent, owner of Modern Mercantile in Medina.
Catherine “Kat” Holland was introduced to share her story of taking the Leadership Orleans class. Holland is the retail manager at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery. She was encouraged to pursue Leadership Orleans by Wendy Oakes Wilson, president of winery.
“Wendy handed me an application and said to fill it out,” said Holland, who was born and raised in Hamburg, lived in London and worked in Oregon. “Going to Leadership Orleans each month resulted in making a professional friend. I’m excited about what I can do. I found it so enriching.”
Holland and Medina trustee Tim Elliott are the two sponsored by MAP. Elliott is in the current class.
“We appreciate MAP’s support,” Helfrich said.
He said each Leadership class starts with a two-day retreat. Anyone interested in joining a class may contact Helfrich at (716) 417-3533 or on the program’s website.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 March 2022 at 7:27 am
Photos courtesy of Lt. Todd Draper: FBI Director Christopher Wray congratulated Todd Draper of Medina for completing a 10-week management/leadership program. Draper graduated from the FBI’s National Academy on March 17. Todd Draper is shown with his yellow brick after completing the fitness challenge, a grueling 6.1-mile run through a hilly, wooded trail built by the Marines. Along the way, the participants must climb over walls, run through creeks, jump through simulated windows, scale rock faces with ropes, crawl under barbed wire in muddy water, maneuver across a cargo net, and face other challenges.
MEDINA – Todd Draper, a member of the Medina Police Department the past 18 years, graduated from a 10-week management and leadership program hosted by the FBI.
Draper, a lieutenant with the Medina PD, was among 258 law enforcement officers from 32 countries who graduated on March 17. They learned advanced communication, leadership and fitness training. Participants must have proven records as professionals within their agencies to attend.
Draper 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.
“I think all of these classes will help me improve as a leader, but I went into each of these classes with the approach of what can I bring back to our agency,” Draper said. “I hope to implement small improvements over time.”
The FBI National Academy is a professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement managers nominated by their agency heads because of demonstrated leadership qualities.
The 10-week program provides coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication, and forensic science.
The academy serves to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies at home and abroad and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge and cooperation worldwide.
FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks at the graduation ceremony.
Photos by Tom Rivers: The new Comfort Inn in Medina unofficially opens today. This photo from Wednesday evening shows Medina Sandstone Society members in the lobby and front desk area. Teddy Rhim, a Medina native and general manager of the new Comfort Inn, is shown near the front desk with clerk Robin Boyle of Waterport.
Posted 18 March 2022 at 9:02 am
By Ginny Kropf and Tom Rivers
Photo by Ginny Kropf: The hotel on Maple Ridge Road is branded is a Comfort Inn & Suites. It is owned by Medina Hospitality, a group of investors from the St. Mary’s, Pa. area.
MEDINA – A new hotel with a national brand opens unofficially today on Maple Ridge Road. The site already has many reservations throughout the year, with people taking rooms while in the area for weddings and other events, said Teddy Rhim, general manager.
“The phone has been ringing off the hook,” Rhim said. “And the meeting room is selling like crazy.”
Rhim and Todd “Booka” Hanes, one of the owners of the hotel, hosted the Medina Sandstone Society on Wednesday evening for their annual meeting. There is a display about Medina Sandstone in the front lobby. Some local Medina photos also are on the wall in the meeting room.
The hotel has 58 rooms, which include seven suites. Supply chain issues delayed the opening, but the last piece, installing cable for all of the televisions in the rooms, is now complete.
During Wednesday’s Sandstone Society meeting, Hanes unveiled the name of the meeting room as Charmtowne. He picked that name in honor of a Medina business run by Sara Calandra, mother of Gabrielle Barone.
Barone is vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency. She pursued Hanes and his team of investors to build in Medina.
Hanes said the hotel wouldn’t be their without her encouragement – and persistence.
Todd “Booka” Hanes, one of the owners of Comfort Inn & Suites on Maple Ridge Road in Medina, is shown in one of the 58 rooms at the hotel. The Comfort Inn also has many reservations later in the year, especially among people going to weddings.
Barone had long been confident a hotel could be located in Orleans County. A feasibility study showed a hotel would in the Medina Business Park would be a success.
In 2016, Barone was on a plane going to a hotel conference in Milwaukee, when she was seated next to Hanes, a hotel developer in St. Mary’s, Pa. Hanes said they also stayed at the same hotel and had the same adjacent seats on the plane going home, allowing a lot of time for conversation.
“Gabrielle told me she wanted a hotel In Orleans County and was looking for a developer,” Hanes said Wednesday night, as he prepared for today’s soft opening of the Comfort Inn. “I told her when our project in St. Mary’s was done, if she had not found a developer to contact me.”
The rest is history. Barone was invited to the grand opening of Hanes’ hotel in St. Mary’s, and Kathy Blackburn accompanied her.
Booka Hanes pulls off the cover of the photo of Charmtowne, a ladies’ clothing store on Main Street that operated for 15 years beginning in the late 1950s by Sara Calandra. Charmtowne will be the name for the hotel’s meeting/conference room. Teddy Rhim, left, will be the hotel’s general manager.
Hanes and several of his partners came to Orleans County, and subsequent meetings took place with then EDA director Jim Whipple, Barone and Medina mayor Mike Sidari. Medina Hospitality, the group Hanes and his partners had formed for their new hotel, broke ground on what would become the Comfort Inn in May 2019. They were 70 percent complete when the pandemic hit 10 months later.
“All construction was shut down,” Hanes said. “When we could, we got a waiver, but contractors in other states had to quarantine for two weeks when they came into the state, and their employers did not want to pay them to sit around for two weeks.”
And so, construction stalled.
“It took a long time to put the train back on the tracks,” Hanes said. “The last few months we had issues with the supply chain, making it hard to get supplies.”
Booka Hanes unveils the photo of Charmtowne, which was operated by Gabrielle Barone’s mother. Hanes said Barone, the vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, was influential in convincing the development team to bring the hotel to Medina. She worked with the developers during construction challenges in the past two years of the Covid pandemic, including the supply chain shortages. “Thank you for being with us since the beginning and helping us work through the challenges,” Hanes told Barone.
Barone is thrilled with the makeup of Comfort Inn’s developers, Medina Hospitality, all of whom she said are regular, working individuals. This includes a lawyer, accountant and tool and die maker, as well as his brother, who worked for a high-end men’s clothing store.
Hanes was a restaurant owner, whose business had burned in St. Mary’s. While he waited for his insurance settlement, the city decided to create a re-development area on the block and offered to build a hotel next to Hanes’ restaurant if would give up his land.
But things moved so slow, the development fell through, so Hanes purchased another plot of ground. Then a man who was going to build a hotel couldn’t get funded and the city asked Hanes why he didn’t build one.
“I knew I couldn’t do it on my own, so I started asking friends and family,” he said.
The general partners now are Hanes, John Schatz and Mike Faulk, with Hanes as managing partner of Medina’s Comfort Inn.
Gabrielle Barone praised the commitment from Hanes and his team to bring the project to Medina. She also said she had her first job in her mother’s store when she was 13. “We want to thank you both for being here,” she said to Hanes and Rhim.
Hanes has hired a Medina native Teddy Rhim, who has years of experience in the hospitality industry. Rhim was working in West Virginia and welcomed the opportunity to come back to Medina.
Hanes explained originally the hotel was not going to be a Comfort Inn, but the opportunity to affiliate with such a large chain means bigger buying power and lower prices.
“We take pride in what we do,” Hanes said. “We respond to any complaint within 24 hours.”
Hanes said reservations have been brisk and they have booked a lot of groups coming into town for weddings. While the Comfort Inn doesn’t have a banquet hall, they do have a small bar and double meeting room capable of holding 86 people. The 58-room hotel will employ 20 to 22 people on staff. A stay at the hotel will also include breakfast.
Hanes said a ribbon cutting will be planned in the near future.
David Miller, president of the Medina Sandstone Society, presents gifts of appreciation to Rhim and Hanes while Barone thanks Hanes for bringing the new business to Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 March 2022 at 10:36 pm
MEDINA – Village residents re-elected Mayor Mike Sidari and Trustees Marguerite Sherman and Tim Elliott. They were unopposed, just like they were in 2020.
Sidari received 36 votes, Sherman 39 and Elliott 30 in the election today. They were elected to two-year terms that start April 1.
They ran together under the independent “The Village Party” line.
Sidari has been mayor for nearly six years. He said recently that Medina has a great team on the Village Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and with the community organizations.
Those groups have been able to push Medina forward with its downtown business district, industrial park and other community initiatives. He cited citizens who led efforts for a new dog park, skate park, bluebird trail, an upgraded Pine Street Park with a splash pad, and much improved Boxwood Cemetery.
The community projects improve the quality of life for local residents, Sidari said, and also play a factor in whether a business chooses to come to Medina. The business owners want to see a community with pride, and strong schools, a vibrant downtown and thriving neighborhoods, Sidari said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 March 2022 at 9:30 am
ALBION/MEDINA – Village residents in Albion and Medina will pick a mayor and trustees for the Village Board today.
Voting is from noon to 9 p.m. In Albion, ballots are cast at the village office, 35 Bank St. In medina, voters go to the Senior Center at 615 West Ave.
Medina’s candidates – Mayor Mike Sidari and trustees Marguerite Sherman and Tim Elliott – are all unopposed and currently are on the board.
Sidari has been mayor for nearly six years. He said Medina has a great team on the Village Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and with the community organizations.
Those groups have been able to push Medina forward with its downtown business district, industrial park and other community initiatives. He cited citizens who led efforts for a new dog park, skate park, bluebird trail, an upgraded Pine Street Park with a splash pad, and much improved Boxwood Cemetery.
Albion has three candidates for mayor and four are running for two trustee positions.
The Albion candidates for mayor include: Angel Javier Jr., running on the Republican and independent “Better Together Albion Strong” lines; Vickie Elsenheimer on the Democratic and independent “Move Albion Forward” lines; and Kevin Graham on the independent “Albion Pride, Working Together.”
The four candidates for village trustee include: Tim McMurray and Dan Conrad on the Republican line, and Sandra Walter and Joyce Riley under the Democratic line and the independent “Move Albion Forward.”
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 12 March 2022 at 10:14 am
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Georgia Thomas of Medina shows off Ukrainian Easter eggs which are part of her collection. She will give a talk and demonstration on making them at the Medina Historical Society’s meeting March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.
MEDINA – The Medina Historical Society’s March meeting will have a different format this month, when it moves to Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.
Historical Society member Georgia Thomas will lead the meeting at 7 p.m. March 28 with a talk on the history of Easter eggs and demonstration on making Ukrainian Easter eggs.
With Ukraine being so prevalent in the news right now, Thomas thought it would be very timely to do a program on Ukrainian Easter eggs.
Thomas has a collection of several dozen Easter eggs of all kinds, including traditional American ones, porcelain eggs, a Faberge egg, Polish egg, an emu egg and even the plastic eggs which can be filled with goodies.
“It’s Easter and we all like Easter eggs,” Thomas said.
She said Easter eggs were first decorated thousands of years ago, and are symbolic because they signify rebirth, as chickens normally start laying profusely in the spring. The tradition dates back to pagan times, then early Christians picked it up and it has continued ever since.
Thomas said King Louis XIV had the first chocolate egg at Versailles. Nicholas II and Alexander III had Faberge eggs made from 1885 to 1917. She added that Cadbury made the first filled candy egg in 1875.
Former presidential wife Frances Folsom Cleveland, a one-time Medina resident, is credited with opening the White House to visitors for an Easter egg hunt. It is said the President’s hand was swollen from shaking so many hands.
Dolly Madison and Abe Lincoln also had Easter egg rolls on the Capitol lawn. World War I and II put an end to Easter egg hunts (or rolls), but President Eisenhower brought them back while he was in office. Thomas was a little girl of 8 when her family took her to Washington, D.C. and she joined in on an Easter egg hunt.
“I found an egg and it was not until I was older and started researching Easter eggs that I realized I was part of that historic event,” Thomas said.
During her program March 28, Thomas will show the entire process of making a Ukrainian egg with the art of pysanky. A small tool with a metal tip is put in beeswax, where it is sucked into the tip and used to draw on a raw egg.
“You can usually buy pysanky eggs at the Broadway Market,” Thomas said. “To me Ukrainian Easter eggs are the most beautiful, but they are also very expensive.”
She also said the Ukrainian custom is if one doesn’t make enough pysanky eggs a monster will be let loose.
“With what is going on now in Ukraine, I guess they didn’t make enough eggs, because a monster has certainly been let loose on the country,” Thomas concluded.
Everyone who attends the meeting March 28 will receive a token egg to take home.
Georgia Thomas holds one of her Ukrainian Easter eggs and a kiska used to decorate them. Making traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs is a painstaking process, as outlined in Georgia Thomas’ book on “Eggs Beautiful.” Her collection of Easter eggs includes Ukrainian ones, a Faberge egg, porcelain eggs and even an emu egg.
