By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 April 2018 at 7:17 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – Becky Charland, executive director of the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, is pictured this afternoon setting up for this weekend’s Home, Garden & Outdoor Show at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds. There will be a pirate theme at the event, including a treasure hunt on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
There will be clues for children to complete a pirate themed challenge. If they can solve it, they will win prizes. Nine of the vendors will have clues in the contest.
All 50 spots for the show have been taken for the Home, Garden & Outdoor Show, a first for the event. After taking a break from the show in 2016, the Chamber brought in back in 2017 and this year is the biggest one yet. There are vendors for home projects, landscaping improvements and other household upgrades and services.
“It promotes the businesses in Orleans County,” Charland said about the show. “That is really what the Chamber is here for.”
The show will be open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parking is free with a $3 admission for adults. Kids can enter for free. (Click here to see a list of vendors and to download a coupon for free admission.)
The Albion Elk’s Club will be serving chicken barbecue on Saturday from 1 to 4 pm. There will be a wine-tasting both days.
Judy Szulis of Medina gets her Tupperware products ready for the weekend’s show. Szulis has been selling Tupperware for 11 years, including eight years as a director. Szulis is looking forward to the Home & Garden Show.
“”It’s hometown,” she said. “It’s nice to touch base with a lot of people.”
This is the 70th anniversary of Tupperware and Szulis said the company keeps innovating, offering new products in new colors, including Tupperware that can be used in the microwave and dishwashers. There are new Tupperware water bottles, and other items, she said.
“It’s not your grandmother’s Tupperware anymore,” Szulis said.
Photos by Tom Rivers: Ellen Parker, a planner with Wendel, discusses a waterfront plan for the towns of Carlton, Yates and Kendall. The three towns are working to update a plan from 1998. About 40 community members met on Wednesday evening at the Carlton Rec Hall.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 April 2018 at 11:00 am
Revised plan also looks at Lyndonville’s big pond, dam
Orleans County legislator Ken DeRoller of Kendall has been a proponent of the waterfront development plans. In addition to the plan for the three towns along Lake Ontario, the county will soon be working on a waterfront development plan for the canal communities. The Village of Medina is also doing a waterfront development plan.
CARLTON – Local officials want to improve fishing and recreational access along Lake Ontario and its tributaries.
That was one strong theme in a discussion about an update of a waterfront development plan for the towns of Kendall, Carlton and Yates. The three towns adopted a plan in 1998, and now they are making updates, which this time will include Patterson Pond and the dam at Lyndonville.
The three towns have 24 miles of shoreline. Once the plan is updated and adopted, likely next year, it will put the three towns and the Village of Lyndonville in a better position for state grants for projects, said Ellen Parker, a planner with Wendel, a firm hired as a consultant on the project.
The state provided the Orleans County with a $40,000 grant to revise the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program.
Fishing is the county’s top tourism draw, netting about $9 million in economic activity a year. There may be opportunities to grow that by increasing fishing access along tributaries, including Johnson Creek in Lyndonville. Residents also suggested a boat launch between Golden Hill State Park in Barker and Point Breeze. Officials may want to consider a launch at the Yates Town Park on Morrison Road, which is between Golden Hill and Point Breeze.
Tony Cammarata, the Kendall town supervisor, also wants the plan to focus on publicly owned land that could be used to boost recreational activities. Not only is there the Lake Ontario State Parkway, which runs about 12 miles in Orleans, but there are other pockets of public land sitting vacant.
Wendy Salvati points to the Johnson Creek area in Lyndonville during a discussion about waterfront assets in the area.
Wendy Salvati, a consultant on the plan, cited the example on the land at the Shadigee in Yates. It’s right by the lake, but it’s just a grassy spot. She said adding benches and picnic tables would be a simple way to make the site better used by the public.
“This is a community-driven project,” she told about 40 people at the meeting in Carlton. “This is about your communities and how this works for you.”
Tony Cammarata, the Kendall town supervisor, would like the plan to focus on making publicly owned land by the lake more accessible to residents.
Officials from the three towns, and Lyndonville are working with consultants on the project and the county’s Department of Planning and Development. They have visited numerous sites in the three towns, making an inventory of assets.
Lyndonville wasn’t in the 1998 plan, but will be in the new one. Wes Bradley, a Yates town councilman, said the community wants to make better use of Patterson Pond and the dam. He would like the pond to be dredged and then promoted for use by kayakers, paddle boats and canoeists. There should be docks put in.
“If it was clear and open, there would be a lot of recreational use,” he said. “It would make this area a destination.”
For many years, there was a false understanding that the pond was owned by the village, Bradley said. It’s actually owned by the school district. That was determined two years ago, he said.
He would still like to see the other local government leaders work to have the pond dredged. The village owns the dam and that area needs a lot of work to improve the structural integrity and access for fishermen.
Jim Bensley (right), the county’s director of the Department of Planning and Development, discusses the waterfront in Orleans with John Riggi, a Yates town councilman.
Carlton Town Councilman Dana Woolston suggested have public bathrooms and a place for fishermen to eat on Park Avenue Extension near the Oak Orchard River and Waterport Dam. That area is very popular in the fall for salmon fishing. However, there aren’t many amenities there for the visiting anglers.
Frank Panczyszyn, a member of the Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association, would like to see a bridge put back in at The Bridges and he would like to see the small span be a covered bridge. That would be a tourist draw and also serve a useful purpose, he said.
Jim Shoemaker, a former Carlton town councilman, said the best ideas and plans may all be for naught due to flooding along the lake from high water levels. Many marinas, boat launches and businesses didn’t open or had to curtail their operations due to the flooding last year. The lake is up again this year.
“If high water happens again this year then we have an out-of-control situation,” he said.
Provided photo: Two of the dispatchers for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office include Pete Hendrickson, sitting, and Mike Schultz. Public safety dispatchers in Orleans County handle about 35,000 calls a year. Many of those calls were at a time of crisis, people reporting heart attacks, strokes, fires and other emergencies.
Press Release, Sheriff Randy Bower, a former public safety dispatcher
ALBION – This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
In a time of crisis, public safety dispatchers are the calming voice on the other end of the phone line, the one with answers or advice. They’re “the life blood” of public safety, the true first responders; this is where it all starts.
Please join me in recognizing our Public Safety Dispatchers for all their hard work, dedication and service to our community.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 April 2018 at 7:24 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers: Leaders of the town, village and county governments met Thursday to discuss shared services and possibly consolidating some functions. Brian Sorochty, mayor of Holley, said the village will be tackling water infrastructure soon. County Legislator Ken DeRoller, left, and Kendall Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata were among the participants in the discussion.
ALBION – Many of the leaders from village, town and county governments met Thursday to discuss shared services, and possible consolidation of some government functions including countywide code enforcement and water services.
The town supervisors, mayors and county legislators are making a list of potential changes in how local government services are provided. That may include sharing a grant writer, information technology services and buying electricity.
The group met for an hour and half on Thursday, and spent the most time discussing code enforcement. Many of the town and village codes officers are nearing retirement, and many only work part-time.
Moving the job to the county with a team of perhaps four full-time codes officers would likely increase availability of the code enforcement services and also allow some of the officers to specialize in tasks, with some reviewing plans and others doing inspections. Some could specialize in low-density housing or house-density housing, with another focused on lakefront development.
The 10 towns and four villages should also consider a uniform code so the municipalities don’t have different regulations, said Legislator Ken DeRoller of Kendall.
Medina Mayor Mike Sidari suggested looking at a shared grant writer and also information technology specialists.
“It’s a standardization and quality issue,” DeRoller said at the meeting at the County Administration Building. “Right now there are 14 different ways.”
The local officials met to discuss a shared services plan that needs to be submitted to the state later this year. First the plan needs to be presented to the County Legislature by Aug. 15, with public hearings to follow before the final plan is sent to the state by Oct. 15.
Gov. Cuomo has offered matching funds to local governments if they can share services or consolidate some functions. If those savings are quantified, the state will offer matching money, thus doubling the financial incentive.
Shifting code enforcement to the county level may not save money. In fact, it could cost more to replace several part-timers with full-time codes officers. The officials will calculate the current costs of all the current code enforcement officers, looking at salaries, fringe benefits and other expenses.
The concerns about costs ended the discussion about a decade ago when county-wide code enforcement was pushed by Richard Moy, the Clarendon town supervisor. But now officials are open to looking at how to improve the service.
“Having a unified system makes the county more attractive for development,” said Bob Miller, the Murray town supervisor.
Chuck Nesbitt, center, is the county chief administrative officer. He is leading the effort for a shared services plan that has to be submitted to the state by Oct. 15.
DeRoller said some economic development projects may be stalled or slowed due to the current code enforcement situation in the county. He said if there are added costs with a centralized code enforcement in the county, it would be worth it if it leads to more residential projects, more small business development and larger manufacturing projects.
DeRoller also wants to see more focus on 500 houses that he said are vacant in the county.
“People are dissatisfied,” he said about code enforcement. “We’re not consistent.”
Ron Vendetti, center, said the local municipalities should have standardized forms, setbacks and many regulations. He works as the codes officer for the villages of Albion and Holley, and the town of Murray.
Ron Vendetti works as the codes officer for the villages of Albion and Holley, and also the town of Murray. He said a unified code for the county would be well received by developers and the code enforcement officers. Vendetti is one of the codes officers nearing retirement. He noted that Wyoming County runs code enforcement through the county.
“Right now we have different levels of code enforcement throughout the county,” he said. “In some towns, there is a code enforcement officer for three hours a week. We could improve the quality and the standardization.”
If the job was moved to the county, it’s possible the duties could be handled through the Public Health Department, which already does public health inspections throughout the county.
Having a team of codes officers also might make the job less stressful for the codes officers, especially if they can specialize in different parts of the job. They would also have other colleagues to consult when interpreting the code.
In addition to code enforcement, the county and the town and village leaders will be looking at the current costs for providing water services. The county received a $50,000 grant to hire a consultant to review the 10 towns and four villages, looking at the water infrastructure and costs.
It’s possible a county water authority could be created to manage the water infrastructure. If the towns and villages were more united, it would help Albion and Lyndonville, which both have water plants, to secure financing for upgrades.
These officials include, from left, Medina Mayor Mike Sidari, Barre Town Supervisor Sean Pogue, Gaines Town Supervisor Joe Grube, and Albion Mayor Eileen Banker.
Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer, said maintaining local control of the water plants is important for the entire county for future economic and residential development.
Lyndonville pumps about 400,000 gallons a day within the town of Yates. Albion pumps close to 2 million gallons and serves five towns, plus the village of Albion. The Monroe County Water Authority also supplies water in eastern Orleans and has locked Clarendon and Kendall into 40-year contracts. That has some officials in Orleans concerned the MCWA will push for more in-roads in the county.
Albion has an asset in the center of the county, Nesbitt said.
“It needs to be maintained and protected,” he said about the water plant. “How do we set this plant on its best foot going forward?”
The local officials will meet again 6 p.m. on May 3, and will compare their costs for information technology, grant writing, code enforcement and electricity, and look for ways to share services or perhaps consolidate the functions.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 April 2018 at 9:27 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Orleans County Highway Department has a new Crawler Excavator. The machinery arrived last Friday. A $100,000 state grant went towards the $220,000 purchase.
Pictured from left include County Legislator Don Allport, Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson, Legislator Bill Eick, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Legislator Fred Miller, County Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Nesbitt, Highway Superintendent Jerry Gray, and Deputy Highway Superintendent Pete Houseknecht.
Hawley directed the funding to the county through the State & Municipal Facilities Capital Program (SAM). Hawley said he picked a project that would benefit residents throughout the county. The new Crawler Excavator will be used for village, town and county highway projects.
Hawley takes a seat in the operator’s chair.
The machine can dig trenches, load trucks, lift pipe, and handle attachments, such as hydraulic breakers, shears and grapples.
Houseknecht said it will be used to set rocks by the lake, to help fight flooding. He also expects the highway departments to use the Crawler Excavator to replace pipes and culverts, demo bridges, and assist with many other projects.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 April 2018 at 6:53 pm
A crisis helpline that was run by the YWCA in Genesee County is now being handled by Crisis Services of Niagara County, which is operated by Niagara County Mental Health Department.
The YWCA announced on Monday it was closing, and would be ceasing many of its services, including the helpline.
Orleans County Mental Health Director Mark O’Brien found a new provider in Niagara County. The Mental Health Department there has trained staff and already handles calls for Niagara County. Now it will take calls from Orleans and Genesee as well, O’Brien said.
The phone numbers for the Care and Crisis Helpline through the YWCA – Local: 585-344-4400 and Toll Free: 1-844-345-4400 – are still working. Verizon, however, switched it some the phone will be answered by Niagara County staff.
“Everybody worked together to do this as smoothly as possible,” O’Brien said. “We’re very thankful to Niagara County for them stepping up to the plate.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 April 2018 at 10:01 pm
The YWCA of Genesee County announced it was closing today. The Batavia-based agency provided many services, including a crisis hotline that served Orleans County residents.
The Orleans County Mental Health Department contracted with the YWCA to provide that service. With the agency closing, the Mental Health Department is urging people in crisis to call the dispatch through the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office at 911 or (585) 589-5527, or people can call the Mental Health Department at (585) 589-7066.
Mark O’Brien, Mental Health director, said he is working to contract with another crisis helpline in the next few days. Calling dispatch or Mental Health will be an interim option until the new crisis helpline is in place, O’Brien said.
“We will have another crisis line up shortly, in a matter of days,” O’Brien said.
People can call dispatch, and the dispatchers can activate the Mental Health staff in a person is in need, O’Brien said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 April 2018 at 4:38 pm
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has adopted a new county policy allowing employees up to four hours of paid leave annually for a cancer screening.
The county acted after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a new law requiring counties to provide four hours of leave each year for all public employees to have a cancer screening.
The leave time is not accumulative and cannot be carried over to the next year if it is not used.
The Cancer Screening Leave includes travel time to and from the appointment an any subsequent follow-up consultation visits. (Any times in excess of the four hours is chargeable to other leave credits.)
In other action at last week’s County Legislature meeting:
• Approved spending $49,510 to buy a new Chevrolet Tahoe four-wheel drive from Joe Basil Chevrolet in Depew.
• Approved spending $183,487 from the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services in 2017. The money will purchase: $110,531 for Harris P25 LMR System for four Symphony Console upgrades and the purchase of two Symphony Consoles with professional services and training; $72,956 to Caster Communications for 15 Pyramid P25 Vehicle repeaters with programming and complete installation and accessories.
• Authorized the Emergency Management Office to apply for a $420,587 grant from the state Department of Homeland Security for emergency radio system upgrades.
• Approved spending $27,609 for Custom Carpet Centers in Orchard to put new flooring in the Probation Office, and also approved $10,825 for Pete Madafferi of Brockport to paint the inside of the Probation Department in the Public Safety Building.
• Reappointed Jack Welch as director of Personnel and Self Insurance for a six-year term.
• Renewed an agreement with Ron Bierstine of Kent to provide dock worker and custodial services at the Orleans County Marine Park from April 15 to Oct. 31 at a cost not to exceed $16,187.
• Approved paying Vick’s Plowing, Landscaping and Removal of Albion $250 for each time it does mowing and trimming at all of the following: Orleans County Marine Park, Point Breeze site, boat dock rental site and Route 98/18 site.
• Approved spending $9,399 for 40,000 Travel Guides to be printed by Van Guard Printing of Ithaca, to be paid with I Love NY matching funds.
• Appointed Neil Valentine as a landowner representative to the Fish and Wildlife Management Act Board, term ending Dec. 31, 2019.
• Appointed Jan Albanese, program director of ACT in Albion, and Carol D’Agostino, Kendall High School principal, to four-year terms on the Community Services Board.
• Approved a five-year intermunicipal services agreement with Genesee County where Genesee will provide signage and graphic arts services to Orleans. Genesee will be reimbursed the cost of labor and material.
• Approved an agreement with Wyoming County where Orleans will pay Wyoming $90 a day for housing any inmates from Orleans County. The agreement is good for three years.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 March 2018 at 10:28 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature passed a formal resolution on Wednesday asking the State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to approve funds to hire a school resource officer for every elementary and secondary school in the state.
“This would protect our most vital resource: our children,” said County Legislator Don Allport, R-Gaines.
The county’s resolution follows a push by the New York State Sheriffs’ Association to have a school resource officer in every school in the state. State Assemblyman Steve Hawley also supports the measure.
“We are, unfortunately, in an era where children in schools have too often become a target for evil persons wishing to cause mayhem and terror,” according to the County Legislature’s resolution. “Among the things that can be done quickly to increase the safety of our children and their schools is to provide an armed police presence in the schools.”
Hawley has urged Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for $50,000 in state funding for each school in the state to hire an armed school resource officer.
There are about 4,750 public schools and nearly 2,000 private schools educating students in grades K through 12 in the state, according to the Sheriffs’ Association.
If the state approves the measure, it would cost $237.5 million to pay for 4,750 school resource officers at $50,000 a year for the public schools. Including 2,000 officers for private schools would cost another $100 million.
County legislators say the state is better able to fund the officers rather than the county which faces budget constraints, tax caps and limited sources of revenue.
“The current threat to the safety of our children in their schools is a public safety emergency requiring a statewide response by our state government, with its multiple revenue sources, to address this emergency,” the resolution states.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 March 2018 at 7:10 pm
ALBION – Orleans County legislators this afternoon accepted five construction bids totaling $7,006,600 for a 22,000-square-foot addition to the County Administration Building on Route 31.
Alternates for $495,900 push the total bids accepted to $7,502,500. In addition, the county will pay the Wendel firm $900,000 for construction administration, project coordination, additional design services, commissioning services and grant administration.
Construction is expected to start next month and continue for 15 months until the building is ready for the Health Department, Board of Elections, information technology department and the Legislative office and staff.
The bids accepted include:
• Holdsworth Klimowski Construction of Victor, general construction, for $4,557,000 (base bid), plus $202,600 for alternates, for $4,759,600 total.
• Michael Ferrauilo Plumbing & Heating of Rochester, HVAC, for $1,034,000 (base bid), plus $83,700 for alternates, for $1,117,700 total.
• Suburban Electric of Albion, electrical, for $1,057,000 (base bid), plus $209,600 in alternates for $1,266,600 total.
• MKS Plumbing Corporation of West Seneca, plumbing, for $273,000 (base bid) with no alternates.
• All State Fire & Security of Buffalo, fire protection, for $85,600 (base bid) with no alternates.
The Legislature also approved a $500 monthly stipend for Chuck Nesbitt, the county’s chief administrative officer, for serving as the capital project owner’s representative, to be paid from April 1, 2018 to July 31, 2019.
The Legislature said unforeseen circumstances may require change orders in the project. The Legislature authorized Nesbitt to review and approve change orders up to $25,000.
Nesbitt was appointed to Project Oversight Committee with County Legislators Bill Eick and John DeFilipps. That committee will review and be authorized to approve change orders that do not exceed $50,000.
Photo by Tom Rivers: The County Administration Building on Route 31, behind The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center, will have an addition to make room for relocated county offices.
The Legislature has approved a maximum bond of $10,063,881 for an addition the building on Route 31, behind the nursing home. The bond is expected to be significantly reduced from grants for the project. The county has already been approved for a $3,682,748 state grant towards the project and could receive more assistance. State Sen. Robert Ortt also secured a $200,000 state grant for the project.
The Board of Elections and Public Health Department currently are leasing space from Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services. Comprehensive purchased the former county-owned nursing home for $7.8 million in January 2014. The county has been leasing space from Comprehensive for Elections and Public Health because those offices are part of the nursing home complex.
Moving those offices from those sites will spare the county from paying those lease payments. The money the county was paying for the lease will go towards paying the debt for the addition.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 March 2018 at 5:22 pm
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature next week will ask the State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to approve funds to hire a school resource officer for every elementary and secondary school in the state.
That resolution by the County Legislature is scheduled to be voted on at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Legislature’s chambers at the County Clerk’s Building.
It follows a push by the New York State Sheriffs’ Association to have a school resource officer in every school in the state. State Assemblyman Steve Hawley also supports the measure.
“Our children are deserving of the best protection possible when they are away from their homes and in the care and custody of our educational institutions,” according to the resolution to be voted on the County Legislature. “We are, unfortunately, in an era where children in schools have too often become a target for evil persons wishing to cause mayhem and terror.”
Hawley has urged Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for $50,000 in state funding for each school in the state to hire an armed school resource officer.
There are about 4,750 public schools and nearly 2,000 private schools educating students in grades K through 12 in the state, according to the Sheriffs’ Association.
If the state approves the measure, it would cost $237.5 million to pay for 4,750 school resource officers at $50,000 a year for the public schools. Including 2,000 officers for private schools would cost another $100 million.
“Due to budget constraints, tax caps and limited sources of revenue, it is beyond the fiscal capability of many school districts and other local government entities to fund the placing of an armed police officer in every school,” according to the county resolution.
County legislators, in their proposed resolution, said an armed police presence would increase the safety of children and school facilities.
“The current threat to the safety of our children in their schools is a public safety emergency requiring a statewide response by our state government, with its multiple revenue sources, to address this emergency,” the resolution states.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 March 2018 at 12:36 pm
The latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau have been released and the numbers show that Orleans County has the fifth largest population loss among the 62 counties since 2010.
The population is down 4.4 percent or by 1,900 residents from the 42,883 in the 2010 Census. Orleans is now at 40,993, according to the population estimates in 2017. The county is down another 362 people from the 2016 estimate.
Statewide, the population has grown 2.4 percent or by 471,297 since 2010 when the population was 19,378,102. However, the upstate population has declined 1.0 percent or by 61,668 (from 6,339,276) in 2010. Downstate has grown by 4.1 percent or by 532,965 people from 13,038,826 in 2010, according to the Census data compiled by The Empire Center.
Orleans is one of 8 counties with 4 percent of more population loss since 2010, according to the report. Rural counties are leaders in population decline.
Other counties with bigger losses than Orleans include:
• Hamilton County, 62nd of the 62 counties, has the biggest percentage drop at 7,3 percent, down 351 people from 4,836.
• Delaware, 61st, is down 6.2 percent or 2,979 from 47,980
• Chenango, 60th, shrank 5.2 percent or 2,614 from 50,477
• Tioga, 59th, is down 5.0 percent or 2,547 from 51,125
• Orleans, 58th, declined 4.4 percent or 1,900 from 42,883
The nearby GLOW counties also experienced losses.
• Wyoming ranked 53rd out of the 62 counties with 3.9 percent drop or decline of 1,662 from 42,155
• Livingston, 35th, is down 2.4 percent or 1,594 from 65,393
• Genesee, 40th, declined 3.5 percent or 2,213 from 60,079
The Bronx, grew 6.2 percent, and added 86,052 from 1,385,108, to lead the state in population growth.
To see the report from the Empire Center, click here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 March 2018 at 2:27 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Leadership Orleans, which is in its first year in Orleans County, held its arts and culture program on Thursday. The day started at the St. Joseph’s Lyceum where the Rosario family, owner of Mariachi De Oro Mexican Grill, made Mexican food for breakfast and then taught the class some Mexican folk dances.
R.J. Linder, a loan officer or credit representative with Farm Credit East, dances with Galilea Rosario.
Leonel Rosario, one of the owners of Mariachi, shared how the family opened the restaurant in Medina 6 ½ years ago, serving authentic Mexican food. Mariachi last year was honored as the “Business of the Year” by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.
Leonel, his wife Dolores and their children Leonel and Galilea introduced the 25 members of the class to Mexican dance and food. Leonel’s mother Lucha also helped with the breakfast.
Bill Lattin, the retired Orleans County historian, also shared early county history. Albion and other canal villages were jumpstarted with the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. That is also the year Orleans split from Genesee and was recognized as its own county.
Lattin said the Medina sandstone quarries were a dominant industry. The stone was readily available to build the impressive churches, government buildings and residences in Albion and the canal towns.
Medina sandstone, however, was most commonly used for streets, sidewalks and curbs. While its known as Medina sandstone, the rock was more plentiful in quarries east of Medina in Eagle Harbor, Albion, Hulberton and Holley, Lattin said.
Lattin, shown speaking inside the Lyceum, gave the group tours of Pullman Memorial Universalist Church and the First Presbyterian Church. Those sites, as well as the Lyceum, were built of Medina sandstone. Lattin said the residents and community leaders in the 1800s were full of optimism and confidence as the community took shape.
“They wanted to make a statement,” he said, talking about the soaring structures in the Courthouse Square. “This was a community of wealth in the 19th Century. They wanted to show it off.”
The churches, downtown business district, Courthouse and ornate residences were built in a variety of different architectural styles. Lattin said that diversity “is really one of the cultural assets that we have.”
At the Pullman Church, Lattin shared how George Pullman, an Albion native who made a fortune with well-furnished sleeping cars for the railroad industry, offered to match $5,000 to build the Universalist Church. The scale of the project grew and Pullman would pay $67,000 to build the new church, which included a Johnson pipe organ and 41 stained glass windows from the Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company.
Pullman worked in the furniture and cabinet business in Albion before heading to Chicago, where he became a leading industrialist with his success with the sleeping cars. (He also worked at moving buildings in Chicago.) The Pullman church is a memorial to his parents, James and Emily. Two of the sofas made by Pullman are still used at the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home in Albion.
The Christ the Consoler window in the church was slightly delayed which pushed back the dedication of the church to Jan. 31, 1895. The window is signed by the Tiffany company. Its leader, Louis Tiffany, traveled to Albion to oversee the window’s installation. The church wanted a window with the outstretched arms of Christ to fit the denomination’s welcoming tradition.
Lattin said the window cost $5,000 in 1895.
“This window is one of the great we have here in Orleans County,” Lattin said.
The arts and cultural day for Leadership Orleans included lunch at the Shirt Factory Café, a tour of the Hart House Hotel by owner Andrew Meier, a stop at 8:10 Meadworks and other Medina businesses, a group activity at Brushstrokes Studios and a diversity training program led by Betty Garcia Mathewson at The Colonade.
The year-long Leadership Orleans includes 25 people. Each month they focus on a different aspect of the county. Last month they learned about local government, meeting with officials at the village, town, county and state level.
Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower, who is also the county’s Stop DWI coordinator, announced local law enforcement will participate in the STOP- DWI St. Patrick’s Day Crackdown from today through Sunday.
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, State Police and Medina, Albion and Holley Police Departments will all be part of the DWI crackdown this weekend.
This crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the New York State STOP-DWI Association with additional funding from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and implemented by the STOP-DWI Foundation.
Every year an increase in drinking and driving occur around the holidays, with deadly results. In 2015, 311 people died on New York State highways due to Alcohol Impaired Driving. In New York State it is illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher.
The key to keeping yourself and others safe on the highway is to “Have A Plan” for a safe way to get home. Call for a ride from a sober friend, family member, taxi, public transportation or Uber.
Provided photo: Bryan VanWycke (Albion), Connor Miller (Medina), Damien Mault (Lockport), Mr. Browning, Hayley Farwell(Orleans (Orleans County Christian School), Travis Wells (Albion), Amaya Beach (Albion), Katelin Corra (Royalton Hartland), Samantha Pozzobon (Albion), Ariane Wachob (Lyndonville), Deseree Brewer (Lockport), Victoria Brunning (Lockport), Andrea Spink (Lockport), Colon McMullen (Albion), Mr. Gilbert, Sage Reed (Medina), Brandon Orlikowski (Lockport), RedMan Suit (Left) Ayden Fentes (Lockport), RedMan Suit (Right) and Mason Pecoraro (Medina).
Press Release, Orleans/Niagara BOCES
MEDINA – The Security and Law Enforcement students at the Orleans Career and Technical Center have been receiving training on how to defend themselves using some new equipment.
Steve Browning and Dudley Gilbert, the class’s teachers, had two of their students suit up in a RedMan instructor suit so that the rest of the class could practice defensive tactics. The suits enable the volunteers to sustain blows, without injury, from a plastic baton or with hands as they engage with their classmates in the use of force exercises.
Some of the students were timid about striking back at the students in RedMan suits, but with the encouragement of their teachers and classmates discovered the best way to defend themselves and keep the upper hand in case of an attack.
Mr. Browning and Mr. Gilbert demonstrated using batons and verbal commands on how to reduce the chance of escalation during an arrest or confrontation. They stressed how important it is to practice fast decision making and being aware of what maneuvers their opponent is making so they can counteract against aggressive behavior.
“If our students pursue a law enforcement career they most likely will encounter this type of scenario on the job,” said Mr. Browning. “As officers they will not only have to protect themselves, but those they serve.”
