By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 September 2025 at 3:17 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – Al Schumacher, a motorcyclist from Middleport, dressed as Santa today for a 50-mile ride around Orleans County.
Schumacher has wore the red Santa suit the past several years for the annual toy run led by ABATE in Orleans County.
There were 23 motorcyclists in the ride today. They have to pay either $20 or donate a toy to be part of the journey that started at the Ridgeway fire hall on Route 104. Motorcyclists headed west before getting on Route 18 and going east across the county towards Kendall. Then they got on Route 31 in Holley headed west towards Albion before getting on 31A and going back towards Medina. The ride ended at the Vets’ Club in Medina.
Don Sloper, president of the local ABATE chapter, said the toy run has been an annual tradition in September for about 40 years.
The group usually raises $600 to $1,000 which is donated to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee for their annual toy drive during the holiday season.
“It’s good riding weather for us and it gives them a good start (on the toy drive),” he said.
Al Schumacher and the other motorcyclists get ready for the 50-mile ride.
Santa rode on a trike motorcycle. The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office provided an escort for the toy run.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 September 2025 at 2:48 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway firefighter Morgan Austin, third from left, collects a donation for the Make-A-Wish Foundation today on Route 104 near the Route 63 intersection. She is joined by other Ridgeway firefighters – Paige Smith, left, and Madison Austion.
Firefighters from the western battalion in Orleans County were out today collecting money in a boot drive for Make-A-Wish. The public gave about $6,500 in today’s boot drive from 9 a.m. to noon.
Firefighters were at different locations:
Route 63 with Shelby and East Shelby firefighters,
Maple Ridge Road and the downtown intersection with Medina firefighters
South Lyndonville Road and Route 104 with Ridgeway firefighters.
Kyle Brakenbury, a member of the fire police for the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company, collects a donation today.
Firefighters did the drive today in honor of Koleson Meakin, age 4, who received a wish last January with his family through Make-A-Wish. Koleson spent a week in Disney World with his parents and little sister.
Koleson is diagnosed with TPK1 Thiamine Deficient Leigh syndrome, a rare genetic metabolic disease.
Ridgeway Fire Chief Tyler Luckman receives a donation from a motorcyclist.
These Ridgeway firefighters include Tyler Luckman, Austin Seefeldt and Austin Mosher.
People donated cash, usually $1 or $5, but one person gave a hundred-dollar bill in Ridgeway.
This group includes, from left: Page Smith, Madison Austin, Morgan Austin, Alex Benz and Buford McAdoo. All are Ridgeway firefighters except Benz, who is a member with Shelby.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 September 2025 at 3:13 pm
RIDGEWAY – A Batavia man was killed after he struck a utility pole around midnight on Route 104 in Ridgeway, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke said today.
Brad Ohlson, 48, hit the pole and his vehicle caught fire, Bourke said. Deputies responded and the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames at 12623 Ridge Road.
Live power lines also fell across the roadway and around the vehicle, preventing emergency personnel from immediately reaching it, Bourke said.
National Grid crews arrived and disconnected power, allowing Ridgeway firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
Ohlson was located inside the vehicle and was pronounced deceased at the scene. He was transported to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office for further examination.
The preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle was traveling westbound on Ridge Road at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway, striking several fixed objects before overturning and catching fire, Bourke said.
Multiple properties sustained damage, including utility poles, a mailbox, fencing and a tree.
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by Ridgeway Fire Company, National Grid, Batavia Police Department, and the Orleans County Coroner’s Office. This incident remains under investigation.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 August 2025 at 8:56 am
Photos courtesy of Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company
RIDGEWAY – Three of the barns at 3502 Fruit Ave., the site of Christmas in Shawna’s Barn, were destroyed in a fire last night. That business is operated by Shawna and Chris Baldwin.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene just before midnight. Residents needed to evacuate a house that was close to the barn that was engulfed with flames. The property is owned by Robert and Mary Lou Blount.
The house sustained minimal damage, only to the eaves and some melted siding, but three of the barns are a total loss with two of them burned to the ground, said Ridgeway Fire Chief Tyler Luckman.
“That fire had a pretty jump on us,” he said this morning. “You could see the flames from the Marshall Road bridge.”
Many of the firefighters were there most of the night. Ridgeway firefighters were assisted by the Medina, Shelby, Middleport, Albion, Lyndonville and Hartland as well as the Orleans County Emergency Management and fire investigators, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office Communications and Road Patrol.
Photos courtesy of Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company from Buford McAdoo and Joleen Bessel
RIDGEWAY – A fire destroyed a barn in Ridgeway on Saturday evening at 11811 Portage Rd.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 6:17 p.m.
Medina Engine 11 with career staff arrived first to find a fully involved barn fire that had already partially collapsed, with exposure problems, and a house with melting siding, the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company stated on its Facebook page.
Ridgeway firefighters are shown at the scene of the fire on Portage Road.
Medina firefighters pulled a hose line to protect the residence. Ridgeway Engine 32 arrived minutes later and was instructed to “lay in” to Medina Engine 11, and 300 feet of 4-inch supply line was laid to supply Engine 11, the Ridgeway VFC stated.
More lines were then put into service to knock down the main barn fire and subsequent grass fires. Firefighters checked the residence for any possibility of extension into the garage or house, Ridgeway fire officials said.
Ridgeway Tanker 52 and Shelby Ladder 40 were staged and manpower sent forward. Albion’s FAST Team was held in quarters as there were no interior operations. Ridgeway firefighters were on scene for just over three hours.
Ridgeway thanked the following for their assistance: Medina Fire Department & Medina Fire Investigation Team, Shelby Fire Company, Albion Joint Fire District, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office Communications and Road Patrol.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 July 2025 at 3:18 pm
Ridgeway, Middleport and Hartland putting on fundraiser for first time with WNY Pro Pullers
Photo by Tom Rivers: Adam Conley of the Hartland Fire Company drives a fire truck in the July 4 parade in Lyndonville while also promoting the July 26 truck and tractor pull in Hartland.
HARTLAND – Three volunteer fire companies are joining for a new fundraiser for the groups: a big truck and tractor pull on July 26.
The event will be at the Hartland Town Park, behind the Hartland fire hall on Ridge Road. Ridgeway, Middleport and Hartland fire companies are putting on the event – “Rumble on the Ridge” – with big trucks and tractors from the WNY Pro Pullers beginning at 6 p.m.
Earlier in the day from 1 to 5 p.m. there will be a “pull what you brought” event at $20 per pull that is open to the community..
Middleport and Hartland approached Ridgeway about being in the pull and hosted the event, said Tyler Luckman, fire chief for Ridgeway which used to host a lawn mower pull.
But they ultimately decided Hartland was a better location for the event. The three fire companies will organize and staff the event, which proceeds to be divvied up by thirds.
“We are super excited about this,” Luckman said. “We’re hoping to do this as an annual thing.”
Admission is $20 at the door with children 12 and under for free. Tickets will be paid at the door. There will be concessions available with hamburgers, cheese burgers and hotdogs as well as beer, pop and water.
Luckman said the three departments work together on mutual aid at some fire and emergency calls. The tractor pull will be a way for them to strengthen that bond and get to know each other even more.
“One of the goals is to increase that camaraderie,” he said.
This will be the first ever truck and tractor pull at the Hartland Fire Company. The WNY Pro Pullers will have the following categories of pullers: Light Pro Farm, LLSS, 466 Hot Farm, Unlimited Street Diesel Trucks, 10500 Too Hot Too Farm, Modified Two Wheel Drive Trucks.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 7 June 2025 at 8:02 am
Group honors soldiers who died during War on Terror
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Runners and their support staff on the New York Run for the Fallen pose in front of the Canal Culvert in Ridgeway with David and Carol Cook (holding son Trevor’s Honor and Remember flag at left) and Carol’s sister. Trevor Cook was killed on July 6, 2011 during a training mission with the Marine Corps. Sgt. Cook was a crew chief for a UH-1Y helicopter.
Many people have not heard about the New York Run for the Fallen, but this week, a handful of runners dedicated to honoring New York military men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, left their mark on Orleans County.
The New York Run for the Fallen is a 10-day journey encompassing more than 500 miles of remembrance, unity and purpose. The relay foot run wants to honor every New York military service member who died while serving or as a result of serving during the War on Terror since Oct. 12, 2000.
Family and friends of David and Carol Cook of Lyndonville gathered with participants of the New York Run for the Fallen on the towpath over Culvert Road to welcome two runners Thursday afternoon. This was one of the memorial stops along the 500-mile run from Buffalo to New Yor City. The ceremony on the culvert honored the Cook’s son Trevor, a Marine killed in a training accident on July 6, 2011 when he was 25.
Volunteer runners in groups of up to 20, along with a support crew, will stop at two- to six-mile intervals at a pre-placed marker along the towpath, where they will call out the name, rank, branch of military and date of death of each fallen service member from the nearby area. Family members, friends and patriots are welcome to be at the stops, where they may be presented with an Honor and Remember flag with their loved one’s name on it.
Such was the case for David and Carol Cook of Lyndonville. The Cook’s son Trevor was killed in a training accident in 2006, while serving in the Marines in California. The service honoring their son took place on the culvert at Culvert Road, east of Medina.
Each memorial stop along the way includes a reading, in which it is explained, “We run for them all, honoring their service and sacrifice and remembering that each gave up a future so we could have ours.”
“It’s nice they remembered Trevor,” David said.
Left – Photo by Robin Boyle: Runners on the first leg of the New York Run for the Fallen stopped for a break at Marshall Road bridge Thursday afternoon. From left are Kevin Travey of Lockport, Jacina Ramirez of Buffalo, Brian Carol of Rochester, Jeff Tracy of Lockport, Lori and Joe Jablonski of Buffalo, Nancy Weber of Syracuse, Alton Lewis of Buffalo, Beth Harvey of Tennessee, Cayna Mangine of Oneida, Ryan Milton of Saratoga Springs, Tara Evans of Knoxboro and Cory Mangine of Oneida. Right – Photo by Ginny Kropf: Two members of the team on the New York Run for the Fallen hold an Honor and Remember flag with Trevor Cook’s name, which was presented to his parents on the towpath Thursday afternoon.
Lori Jablonski of Buffalo, organizer of the local event, learned about Trevor from a friend of hers in Lyndonville and contacted David and Carol. Lori and her husband Joe lost their son Jason to leukemia while he was in the military.
This year is the 10th anniversary for the New York Run for the Fallen, which began with an opening ceremony at 7 a.m. Thursday at Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park Memorial Garden. The 10 runners who started the day departed for Medina at 8 a.m., with several ceremonies in Erie County and Niagara County. Arriving at the Marshall Road bridge, they held another ceremony, then continued to Culvert Road.
Curt Follman, standing at left, and Kelly Follman (seated) welcome runners on the New York Run for the Fallen to their home on Wilson Road Extension, Waterport. Standing next to Curt is Kelly’s mom, Jeanne Crane.
Following the ceremony there, the entire group of runners and their accompanying crew left the canal bank and headed to the home of Curt and Kelly Follman of Waterport, where they had been invited to have supper and spend the night.
The Follmans had learned about the Run for the Fallen from Brian Carl, president of the WNY Parent Club, whom they met at a parents’ meeting at Annapolis. Four of the Follmans’ seven children are in the military, including a daughter at the Naval Academy, so they were eager to support the runners.
Also invited to dine with the runners were a Gold Star family from Cambria.
Enjoying supper at the Follman home Thursday night are, clockwise from left, Bruce Schmidt, his sister Heather Schmidt Maitland and Scott Maitland with Lori Jablonski, organizer of the New York Run for the Fallen. Bruce and Heather’s older brother died on a training mission while serving in Kuwait.
The first Run for the Fallen took place in 2008 when runners went from California to Arlington National Cemetery.
“That spawned other events across the country, including New York state in 2016,” said Ryan Milton of Saratoga Springs, who has taken part in the run all 10 years.
The group resumed their trek at 8 a.m. Friday, starting at Allens Bridge Road and concluding the day in Fairport. Their journey will end June 14 at the Intrepid Museum in New York City.
Photos courtesy of Natasha Wasuck: A runner carries an American flag as he heads towards Main Street in Albion on Friday morning.
The group poses for a photo on Friday morning near the Main Street lift bridge.
Photos courtesy of Orleans County 4-H Program: 4-H Fashion Revue participants line-up on the runway for photos following the Fashion Show Saturday evening at the Trolley Building on the 4-H Fairgrounds.
Posted 28 April 2025 at 4:07 pm
Article courtesy of Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension
KNOWLESVILLE – “Fashion Pioneers” was the theme of the annual 4-H Fashion Revue held on Saturday in the Trolley Building of the 4-H Fairgrounds.
“Orleans County is celebrating its bicentennial this year, and we wanted to acknowledge that with our Fashion Revue theme,” said 4-H Program Coordinator Kristina Gabalski. “‘Fashion Pioneers’ tips its hat to those who have come before us as well as those designers who are now on the cutting-edge of fashion and who inspire us, including the youth who participate in 4-H programs.”
The event’s theme honored the Bicentennial of Orleans County and included a number of vintage Fashion Revue projects – including the Civil War era style dress made by 4-H alum Merri Mathes when she was a teenager.
The annual Fashion Revue features sewn garments, textile, and fiber art projects completed by 4-Hers. It is an opportunity for them to receive feedback, learn about fiber arts, personal care, careers in the fashion/fiber science industry, and show off their skills and creativity during the evening Fashion Show, Gabalski explained.
This year featured 21 participants, some of whom entered more than one project. The total number of projects – which included a hand-woven shawl, sewn blanket, hand-painted t-shirt, upcycled t-shirt, evening gown and barbecue aprons – was 26, Gabalski said.
Orleans County 4-H requested families to bring in projects featured in past Fashion Revues as part of the historical theme.
About a dozen projects were displayed, several from the last ten years and others going back as far as the 1980s and ’90s.
More vintage 4-H Fashion Revue projects on display. The red plaid dress on the chair features a dropped waist – very popular in the 1980s.
Merri Mathes of Barre, a former 4-Her and now 4-H mom, brought in two Civil War era dresses she sewed while a teenager. The gowns are historically correct and continue to be in use for historical re-enactments and museum events.
“You can tell the ball gown is for a younger girl because it has bows,” Mathes explained.
The other dress, made from a plaid fabric, is an example of a day dress or tea dress, she said.
“Sewing machines were becoming more common in homes just before the Civil War,” Mathes noted, “but garments also included lots of hand sewing.”
Local quilter Brenda Radzinski did a demonstration of hand-quilting during the morning workshop, evaluation, and practice portion of the event. Radzinski says she loves hand-sewing because it helps relieve stress. “Machine sewing can be stress-inducing,” she said. “This is relaxing.”
4-H participants say they enjoy and value the experience of Fashion Revue.
“You can make something specifically for you,” said 13-year-old Robin Botsford of the Abundant Harvest 4-H Club. She utilized her love of art to customize a plain white T-shirt with ocean creatures she painted with a mix of acrylic and fabric paints.
“I like to see what other people made,” said her 11-year-old sister, Lily, who made several accessories including a hand-woven pillow, customized hat for softball, an infinity scarf, and a hand-woven bag.
Julia Graham, 14, of the Adventurers 4-H Club, sewed a royal blue sheath dress and thanked her 4-H Leader, Alice Mathes, for her limitless patience in helping with the project.
Julia said 4-H experiences like Fashion Revue help her to gain valuable life skills while also enjoying spending time with friends. “It helps me to be ready for the real world,” she said.
More vintage projects including a Civil War era style ball gown by Merri Mathes. Also in the photo is a denim quilt raffled-off at the 1996 4-H Fair, which was the 50th anniversary of the Orleans County 4-H Fair. The winner, Muriel F. Howlett recently donated it back to Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 March 2025 at 9:06 pm
EDA approves $454K in tax savings for project in next decade
Photo by Tom Rivers: John Ivison, branch manager for Helena Agri-Enterprises in Ridgeway, said the $4,275,000 addition will be an asset to the local agricultural community. Ivison is speaking at today’s Orleans EDA meeting. County Legislator and EDA board member John Fitzak is at left next to Gabrielle Barone, vice president of development for the EDA.
ALBION – The Orleans Economic Development Agency gave its final approval for tax incentives for a $4,275,000 expansion at Helena Agri-Enterprises on Allis Road in Ridgeway.
Helena is planning a 15,000-square-foot addition. The company hopes to start construction next month and be done in October, said John Ivison, the branch manager.
The company in 2017 moved from a warehouse in Albion to Ridgeway, building a new facility. The latest project will give Helena more capacity to serve farm operations of all sizes, especially the larger ones in planting season where there is often a small weather window to get fertilizer in the ground.
“It is designed to be high output for the growers of the future to get to the fields quickly,” Ivison told the EDA board today. “We can be precise with the nutrient needs of the crop.”
The addition will include $1 million of blending equipment. It also will have storage for 4,000 tons of product. That is enough plant food and fertilizer for about 30,000 acres.
The EDA approved $454,663 in incentives over 10 years while Helena pays $158,288 to local governments in a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes).
The company will get a sales tax exemption, saving Helena $261,200 or 8 percent on $3,265,000. It will get a sliding scale tax abatement over 10 years, with $35,175 exempted the first year and then 10 percent added over 10 years. That exemption will save the company $193,463 in property taxes on the new facility over the decade.
Helena employs 15 people in Ridgeway. Ivison said the company could add six more employees with the addition, with a person in information technology, two truck drivers, a skid steer operator, a salesperson and an employee with soil testing.
John Misiti, the EDA board chairman, said the Helena expansion reflects confidence in the agricultural economy in Orleans County.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 March 2025 at 9:21 am
Orleans EDA offering $454K in incentives for project
Photo by Tom Rivers: Helena Agri-Enterprises will be expanding at 3956 Allis Rd. in Ridgeway. The company built its facility in 2017 to serve the local agricultural community.
RIDGEWAY – A business serving local farmers will be expanding on Allis Road in Ridgeway.
Helena Agri-Enterprises expects to break ground this spring on a new facility for blending and storing fertilizer. Helena estimates the new complex will be complete Dec. 31, 2026.
The new 15,000-square-foot facility will give Helena more capacity to serve farm operations of all sizes, especially the larger ones in planting season where there is often a small weather window to get fertilizer in the ground.
“This will eliminate bottlenecks,” said John Ivison, Helena branch manager.
Helena has been operating in Orleans County for about 22 years, first in Albion before building the new complex in Ridgeway in 2017.
The new building will have storage for 4,000 tons of product. That is enough plant food and fertilizer for about 30,000 acres.
The Orleans Economic Development Agency held a public hearing on Wednesday for financial incentives for the estimated $4,275,000 project.
The EDA is proposing $454,663 in incentives over 10 years while Helena pays $158,288 to local governments in a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes).
The company would get a sales tax exemption, saving Helena $261,200 or 8 percent on $3,265,000. It will get a sliding scale tax abatement over 10 years, with $35,175 exempted the first year and then 10 percent added over 10 years. Those exemption will save the company $193,463 in property taxes on the new facility over the decade.
Helena employs 15 people in Ridgeway and will add two full-time positions in the first year, and then a third position in year three with the average salaries at $55,000, according to its filing with the Orleans EDA.
Helena officials said the incentives will help mitigate the higher labor and energy costs in New York. Scott Gilliam, division manager for Helena, in a letter to the EDA board said the company’s labor costs are 20 percent higher in New York, and its energy expenses 15 percent more compared to the average in other states.
Photo by Tom Rivers: State Sen. Rob Ortt held a news conference at the Ridgeway fire hall on Friday, highlighting the need to recruit more volunteer firefighters. County Legislators Ed organ, left, and Skip Draper joined Ortt at the conference. Firefighters pictured in back from left include Scott Buffin, deputy director of Orleans County Emergency Management Office; Justin Niederhofer, director of Orleans County EMO; Marc Major and Robert Margie of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Company; Jerry Bentley of the Barre Volunteer Fire Company; and Gary Lamar of the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 February 2025 at 11:48 am
RIDGEWAY – A fire consumed a grocery store in Wilson on Jan. 28. When the call went out at 7 p.m., Wilson firefighters found they needed more help in containing the blaze at the Wilson Lakeside Market.
State Sen. Rob Ortt highlighted the Wilson fire during news conferences on Friday at the Ridgeway Fire Hall and the Wilson Volunteer Fire Company. Ortt said many volunteer fire departments find themselves often with too few firefighters at emergency scenes. He worries the situation will become more dire with communities unable to protect themselves due to a shortage of trained volunteers.
“It is not a given that these departments have the manpower to handle what will be thrown at them,” Ortt said at a news conference at the Ridgeway fire hall on Friday. “I want to raise the challenge and concern for our rural communities.”
Ortt highlighted five proposals in the Legislature that could help recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.
The legislation includes:
S2314 – Extends tuition free course benefits to volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers.
S2720 – Creates a wage tax credit for employers who employ New York national guard members, reservists, volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel
S3527 – Relates to enacting the volunteer emergency services mileage reimbursement tax credit
S3529 – Relates to volunteer members of village fire companies. (This law would allow the percentage of non-resident volunteer members in village fire companies to exceed 45 percent of the actual membership of the fire company.)
S2008 – Authorizes municipalities to fund training of firefighters; allows a municipality to recoup the cost of sending a firefighter to training school from another municipality that hires that firefighter within three years of their training. (The legislation would allow a municipality to recoup the cost of sending a firefighter to training school from another municipality that hires that firefighter within three years of their training. Current law allows for this recoupment when the individual is a firefighter.)
Ortt attends many fire department banquets at this time of year from January through April in Orleans, Niagara and western Monroe. He said a small group of volunteers are responding to the majority of the calls, and those volunteers seem to be getting older.
“The red line that protects us is getting thinner and thinner,” Ortt said.
He noted fire departments are trying to draw more members, including on April 26-27 for RecruitNY. Ortt said the volunteer fire service tends to have families of firefighters, with younger generations drawn to it because of the examples of their parents and other family members.
Justin Niederhofer, director of the Orleans County Emergency Management Office, said the county will be doing a study of the local fire service, looking at different options including the possibility of more paid firefighters.
The RecruitNY open houses welcome everyone in the community, and give them a chance to see roles they could serve in their fire department.
“We got to find a way to bring in people who have maybe never thought about being a firefighter,” Ortt said.
He believes it has a universal appeal of offering people a strong sense of purpose and giving back to their community, as well as camaraderie.
Justin Niederhofer, the director of the Orleans County Emergency Management Office, said local fire departments are using mutual aid to respond to many calls.
“We are facing a recruitment problem,” he said. “We need more people. We can’t face the job we are tasked to do without more people.”
He said the county will be sending out an RFP to seek proposals from firms to help the county with a study of the local fire service, and perhaps reimagine how that service could best be provided in the short-term and long-term. That could include a hybrid of volunteers with more paid firefighters. Right now Medina has the only career firefighters, and they also run an ambulance service for western Orleans. Niederhofer said
Many departments with paid personnel also face staffing challenges, Ortt said, and that includes paid EMS and police. Municipalities are often competing with each other for the staff, Ortt said.
Justin McAdoo, age 20, loves being a volunteer firefighter with Ridgeway. He joined on his 16th birthday, the first day he could. He said he has been able to invite 10 to 15 people who have joined local fire companies.
Justin McAdoo, 20, has been a part of the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company for nearly five years, joining the day he turned 16. He was the department’s firefighter of the year in 2024 and already has been promoted to lieutenant in the department.
McAdoo’s mother Kristin is the deputy chief and his grandfather Don Marchner has been an active firefighter for more than 50 years.
McAdoo shares his love of being a firefighter with many of his friends, and he estimates 10 to 15 have joined a local fire company.
“They see that I enjoy it so much,” he said.
That may be part of the recruitment effort, having current firefighters be ambassadors in welcoming more people to join.
Niederhofer said many of the local departments also are allowing 16- and 17-year-olds as restricted members to get them involved as younger members. As restricted members they can take training and help at emergency scenes with changing air packs and cleanup but they can’t do active firefighting.
He is reaching out to local schools to see if the restricted membership could be promoted.
“If we can tap into local schools, it may spread,” he said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 September 2024 at 8:57 am
Photos courtesy of Becky Persons: Community Acton of Orleans and Genesee was presented with donations of cash and toys from ABATE on Sunday as a result of their annual toy run. Pictured from left include Chuck Persons, president of ABATE in Orleans County; Katrina Standish, director of community services and reporting for Community Action; and Ricky Standish, Community Action’s facility manager.
MEDINA – The Orleans County Chapter of ABATE held its annual toy run on Sunday, with 20 bikers riding 50 miles in the county.
The trip started at the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company and ended at the VFW in Medina. About 45 people were part of the event and they contributed more than $600 and also donated toys to Community Action of Orleans and Genesee for the organization’s annual toy drive for local families.
ABATE member Al Schumacher dressed as Santa for the ride.
ABATE has been doing the toy run for about 40 years. Here some of the participants head out for the start of the 50-mile journey.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 9 September 2024 at 8:19 am
Secret to longevity: ‘hard work, good life living on a farm and no smoking or drinking’
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Brian Napoli, left, supervisor of the town of Ridgeway, presents citations to Doris Marchner in honor of her 100th birthday from the town of Ridgeway, Assemblyman Steven Hawley and State Senator Rob Ortt. Looking on at right is Marchner’s son Don Marchner of Medina.
MEDINA – Doris Marchner has no doubt what has attributed to her long life.
“It was hard work, good life living on a farm and no smoking or drinking in our house growing up,” said the Medina resident, who celebrated her 100th birthday Saturday at a reception at Abundant Harvest’s Fellowship Hall in Knowlesville.
Doris Marchner of Medina greets her brother Darwin Welker of West Walworth during a celebration of her 100th birthday Sunday at Abundant Harvest’s Fellowship Hall in Knowlesville.
Marchner was born Sept. 6, 1924 in Penfield, the middle child in a family of 11. She and a younger brother, Darwin Welker of West Walworth, are the only two surviving. Welker attended her party on Saturday, along with her son and daughter-in-law, Don and Pat Marchner; two granddaughters; three great-grandsons; one great-granddaughter; two great-great-granddaughters; and several nephews.
Marchner met her husband Donald at a square dance and they were married for 60 years before he died in 2005. They moved to Medina in 1961, where she worked at Fisher Price.
She lives on her own in an apartment in son Donald’s house and cooks most of her own meals. She loves to bake and insisted on making cookies for her party Sunday.
After she turned 90, she told her family, “I think I might hang on to a 100.”
Although her eyesight is failing and she doesn’t hear as well as she used to, she is still active, trying to take a short walk every afternoon.
“I read somewhere you should put in 200 steps a day, and I try to do that,” she said.
Her days are spent watching TV – game shows in the morning and Westerns in the afternoons, her son said. She does enjoy a glass of wine before bedtime every day.
“She was a stern, but reasonable mother,” Don said.
The afternoon included citations presented by Ridgeway supervisor Brian Napoli on behalf of the town of Ridgeway, State Assemblyman Steven Hawley and State Senator Rob Ortt.
Provided photo: Doris Marchner poses for her 100th birthday with, from left, her granddaughters Kristin McAdoo and Laurie Marchner and son Donald Marchner.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 September 2024 at 2:43 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – Orleans County Historian Catherine Cooper leads a tour last month at the West Ridgeway Cemetery on Route 104 at the Marshall Road intersection.
The cemetery opened in 1810 when the area was still under jurisdiction of Genesee County. (Orleans County became independent of Genesee in 1825. Next year is the bicentennial of Orleans.)
Catherine Cooper highlights some of the early settlers who are buried at the cemetery.
The first burial was in 1810 after a 12-year-old girl died from rabies after getting bitten by a dog. She is in an unmarked grave.
The first marked grave was in 1814.
The site was known as the Barrett Cemetery until 1870, when it became the West Ridgeway Cemetery.
Cooper said the early pioneers needed to tame a wilderness. Seymour Murdock is one of the pioneers in the cemetery. He camped for six weeks in a wagon while building a house. It also took him 2-3 days each way to get to Batavia and the Holland Land Office to buy land for $2 to $2.50 an acre, Cooper said.
Those early settlers were drawn by the prospect of cheap land. Others were refugees from the War of 1812 who had their homes burned out by the British and then moved east into Ridgeway and Orleans County, Cooper said.
Catherine Cooper talks with Gordon Grimes, president of the cemetery association that oversees the active cemetery. Grimes said there is typically about 11 burials a year at the cemetery, but that is down to three this year with two cremations.
The tour on Aug. 4 started at a chapel in with windows in a Gothic architectural style on the back side and Romanesque in front. The building was constructed in 1899. From left include Catherine Cooper, retired county historian Bill Lattin, and Todd Bensley, Medina historian.
Catherine Cooper shared about some recent community leaders in the cemetery.
Charles R. Owen, a staff sergeant in the Army during World War II soldier, was a recipient of Purple Heart and a prisoner of war. He shared his POW experience during community talks, including with local schools. He died at age 90 on Nov. 21, 2012
Richard Knights, who died of cancer in 1984 at age 39, continues to be honored by his family as part of the Knights-Kaderli Memorial Fund that supports families battling cancer in Orleans County.
Richard’s father William C. Knights (1917 to 1973) also is buried at the cemetery. He was elected to the State Assembly and died from injuries in a car accident on Feb. 5, 1973, just a few weeks into his term.
Warren P. Towne, a principal at Medina, was a leader of a school after centralization in the 1950s. Medina named one of its school buildings in his honor.
Milford Phinney, who led the Phinney Tool & Die company in Medina, also is at West Ridgeway. He was a prominent community leader with the Boy Scouts, Lions Club and Shelridge Country Club.
The Mason monument is one of the most striking at the cemetery. Cooper shared how Oliver and Martha Mason endured the loss of three young daughters to sickness. Their son Theodore died at Great Bend, Nebraska on Nov. 28, 1874 at age 24. Martha travelled by train to Kansas to bring his body home. She went about 3,000 miles in seven days.
The tour on Aug. 4 was one of four of local cemeteries last month organized by the Orleans County Historical Association.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 June 2024 at 11:21 am
RIDGEWAY – A Lyndonville woman was killed in a car accident on Thursday afternoon on Route 104 in Ridgeway, State Police said today.
Sandra J. Gapa, 64, of Lyndonville was driving a 2021 Subaru, going northbound on Knowlesville Road at about 3 p.m. She stopped at the stop sign at the intersection on Route 104. State Police said she then entered the intersection of 104 and was struck by a 2004 GMC traveling westbound on Route 104.
Gapa was pronounced deceased at the scene by an Orleans County coroner.
The accident shut down traffic on Route 104 between Knowlesville and Culvert roads, and Knowlesville Road between Porter and Oak Orchard River roads.
The State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted in this investigation.
HARTLAND – Three volunteer fire companies are joining for a new fundraiser for the groups: a big truck and tractor pull on July 26.
