ALBION – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia) announced the locations and times of his upcoming Town Hall meetings in Orleans County on Saturday.
“I am excited by the opportunity to listen to the questions and concerns of my constituents in Orleans County,” Hawley said. “Positive feedback and constructive criticism keep me motivated to fight for better public policy each day. I use the concerns and ideas of my constituents to shape my initiatives, legislative votes and the programs I fight for during budget negotiations.”
The schedule for Saturday includes:
Village of Medina/Town of Ridgeway, 9:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., Medina Fire Hall, 600 Main St.
Town of Barre, 10:15 a.m.-10:45 a.m., Barre Fire Hall, 4709 Oak Orchard Rd.
Village of Albion/Town of Albion, 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Albion Fire Hall, 108 N. Platt St.
Village of Holley/Town of Murray, noon to 12:30 p.m., Holley Fire Hall, 7 Thomas St.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 May 2016 at 10:00 am
ALBION – Orleans County officials have approved bids to replace deteriorated bridges on Carton Road in Kendall and over Fish Creek on East Scott Road in Ridgeway.
The County Legislature last week approved the low bid from Union Concrete and Construction Corporation in West Seneca to replace the East Scott Road Bridge for $724,346. The new bridge will replace one from 1936.
The Legislature also accepted the low bid from Crane-Hogan Structural Systems in Spencerport to replace the Carton Road Bridge for $793,729. It will replace a bridge from 1959.
The work will be paid for as part of an $8 million bond the county took out in 2014 for a series of infrastructure projects over three years.
Construction on the two bridges is scheduled to start at the end of this month.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 April 2016 at 9:00 am
RIDGEWAY – The driver of this Chevrolet S-10 pickup escaped serious injury after an accident on Marshall Road, just north of the Erie Canal, today at about 1 p.m.
A state trooper at the scene said the driver, a man about age 25, was travelling south on Marshall Road when he fell asleep, drove off the shoulder of the road and struck a tree stump.
The truck overturned and caught on fire.
Ridgeway firefighters, including Don Marchner (back to camera), put out fire with the truck. The driver was able to crawl out of the vehicle and get a safe distance from the wreck.
The driver had injuries to both feet and was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by the Medina Fire Department.
The driver hit the stump in the lower right and then overturned the pickup. Lyons Collision in Medina removed the vehicle.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 April 2016 at 3:05 pm
Provided photos
RIDGEWAY – No one was injured at about 12:30 p.m. in an accident on Route 104 involving a tractor trailer and a pickup truck.
The accident left debris and the tractor trailer in the road. An Orleans County dispatcher said at about 2:45 p.m. the road could be closed for several hours due to the cleanup.
The accident occurred on Route 104 between Murdock and Marshall roads, near the Millers Bulk Food Bakery, a popular Amish-owned business.
First responders said it was a miracle no one was injured in the accident.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 April 2016 at 8:00 am
Company plans to spend $5M on new facility in Ridgeway
RIDGEWAY – Helena Chemical Company plans to break ground this year on a new $5 million complex at 3956 Allis Rd., a site along the railroad in Ridgeway, just off of Route 31.
The company will be spared paying sales tax for equipment and materials for the project. That move, approved today by the board for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, will save Helena $283,910 in sales tax.
The EDA sales tax exemption goes towards up to $3.6 million in taxable purchases for the new construction.
The company didn’t seek a property tax break for the project, which includes a 50,000-square-foot building this year, with plans for a railroad spur and mixing facility in 2017. Helena is planning to add six positions as part of the expansion, jobs that will pay an average of $57,100, according to EDA records.
Helena currently operates out of 10,000 square feet on Platt Street in Albion. It sells fertilizer, seeds and chemicals to farmers. The company will relocate to Ridgeway where it plans a six-building complex with 75,000 square feet. Helena will continue to work out of Albion this year while it settles into the new space.
“The move to Ridgeway will allow us to offer more products and services,” Mitch Wilber, Helena branch manager, previously stated. “The quality of the agriculture is what brought us here. There are good farmers growing good crops.”
Helena has headquarters just outside of Memphis, Tennessee, with 450 branch locations across the United States.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 January 2016 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – Glen Busch II and Valerie Childs, who got engaged to each other on Wednesday, both were honored for their service to the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company on Saturday.
Busch received the President’s Award from outgoing president Mike Kelly. He cited Busch’s work as treasurer, and for attending many fire calls as well as training courses.
“He puts a lot of time and effort into this place,” Kelly said.
Childs received the Chief’s Award from Don Marchner, the outgoing fire chief.
“Anything you ask of her, she’s there,” Marchner said.
Childs last year took an inventory of all the equipment – turnout gear, helmets, radios and pagers – and now does an annual inspection of all the equipment.
Childs, 31, also is the new president of the Fire Company, the first woman in that role in the Fire Company’s 63-year history. She joined in July 2013, four months after she and Busch started dating. She went to a few calls with Busch, waiting in his truck before she became a member. She decided to join, “rather than just sitting there twiddling my thumbs.”
Busch assumed she wanted to be a social member. But Childs took classes for scene support. She has a goal this year to take the class so she can drive fire trucks, including the big pumper-tanker.
“If you told me five years ago I would be president of a fire company and winning an award I would have laughed at you,” Childs said.
Busch, 32, joined the Fire Company in 2011. He was volunteering with Cub Scouts, and three of the Scouts were sons of Kristin McAdoo, the EMS captain.
“She inspired me,” Busch said about McAdoo. “I saw what they do.”
He also wanted to be a firefighter in memory of his brother, who died at age 10 from leukemia. Jeffrey Busch wanted to be a firefighter and when he was battling leukemia was made an honorary fire chief by the Warsaw Fire Department in Wyoming County, where Busch grew up.
Busch has worked the past 15 years as a campus safety officer for Hilbert College in Hamburg. Childs works as a technician at Baxter Healthcare in Medina.
Ridgeway Fire Company officers take the oath of office, including Francis Woodward in white. Others pictured include, from left: Guy Scribner, first assistant chief; James Marciszewski, deputy chief; Valerie Childs, president; and Melissa Hansler, vice president.
Other officers include: Rick Tuohey, second assistant chief; Patrick Kelly, captain; Jason Bessel, lieutenant; Mike Kelly, fire police captain; and Kristin McAdoo, EMS captain.
Other executive committee members include: Glen Busch II, treasurer; Laurie Marchner, secretary; Stacey Seefeldt, Kristin McAdoo and Katie Tuohey as directors; and Todd Hansler, sergeant at arms.
Ladies Auxiliary Officers are sworn in, including, from left: Tracey Hendrick, president; Melissa Hansler, vice president; and Donna Lockwood, treasurer. Other officers include Effie McAdoo, secretary; Harriett Petrie, chaplain; and Michelle Lechner, flag bearer.
Fire Chief Francis Woodward holds an axe while firefighter Charles Smith announces names of members who died in 2015. Valerie Childs would ring the bell three times in their memory.
The Fire Company’s memorial service, recognized two charter members: Gary Ehrenreich as a firefighter and Marjorie Canham in the Ladies Auxiliary. They were the last living members from when the Fire Company formed 63 years ago.
Jack McCarthy, the former fire coordinator in the county, also was remembered during the memorial service.
Charles Smith and Valerie Childs hold new axes given to the Fire Company by Harriett Petrie, right, in memory of her husband, Larry Petrie. Those axes will be used by the honor guard at funerals, parades and other events.
Rob and Rachel Kaiser, owners of Wildwood Lake KOA Campground in Medina, were given an award for helping raise money for the Fire Company and for giving firefighters a discount to use the campground. Francis Woodward, the fire chief in back, is a regular at Wildwood.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 December 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Valerie Childs, a Ridgeway firefighter, carries a box full of toys this morning. She was one of about 30 firefighters who volunteered to deliver toys to about 150 children in the annual toy drive by the Medina Area Association of Churches.
Firefighters delivered boxes of toys, food and clothes to more than 100 Medina families and senior citizens this morning. The delivery was the last step in annual toy and gift effort coordinated by MAAC, an annual initiative going back more than four decades.
Ridgeway firefighters fill a truck up with boxes of toys. Rick Tuohey is in the truck. He has been helping with the toy delivery the past 18 years.
Don Marchner, Ridgeway fire chief, is in front at right. He has helped deliver the toys for about 40 years.
“It’s for a good cause,” Marchner said. “When you see the kids’ faces light up, it means a lot and makes you feel warm inside.”
Firefighters from Medina, Ridgeway, Shelby and East Shelby delivered toys to Medina families this morning. Paul Wengrzycki, a Medina firefighter, is in front at left.
The Medina United Methodist Church at the former Apple Grove Inn served as the staging area for the MAAC holiday effort.
Brothers Vinny Viterna, left, and Dominic Viterna help load up a truck with toys. Vinny just joined the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company and his brother is a junior firefighter.
Medina firefighter Jacob Crooks gets one of the last boxes ready for delivery.
Medina firefighters also placed 29 red barrels in the community in November and residents filled them up with toys and donations.
Medina firefighters head out to deliver some of the toys and food.
RIDGEWAY – When the Orleans Economic Development Agency began working with the Ridgeway Town Board to attract more business to the rural Western New York community in 2009, the group began looking for parcels to rezone that would also give potential new customers rail access.
One of the first was on Allis Road, off Route 31. The Town Board’s foresight then prompted executives of Helena Chemical Company to pursue a much-need expansion project for their growing WNY distribution center.
“Prior to 2009, we didn’t really have any industrial sites in town,” points out Ridgeway Town Supervisor Brian Napoli. “After meeting with our EDA, we found a few suitable pieces of land, including the one on Allis Road, and decided to be proactive to ensure available land in Ridgeway would be ready for future prospects.”
The relocation of Helena Chemical Company, from Albion to Ridgeway, is one the community hopes will pay off. An estimated $4 million project, Helena plans to build a 75,000 square-foot, six-building complex as a distribution point for chemicals, seeds and other agricultural products. The Ridgeway site gives the company rail access and the ability to develop a more expansive infrastructure.
“The move to Ridgeway will allow us to offer more products and services,” said Mitch Wilber, Helena branch manager. “The quality of the agriculture is what brought us here; there are good farmers growing good crops.”
Headquartered just outside of Memphis, Tennessee, with 450 branch locations across the United States, Wilber notes the “strong inter-municipal support” the company received from the Orleans County EDA and Ridgeway officials as the stimulus to expand Helena Chemical’s footprint in New York State.
The contracts are signed and Allied Builders is scheduled to begin work at the site this week.
“Good development opportunities do not just happen here,” said Jim Whipple, EDA chief executive officer. “Development opportunities come about as the result of years of strategic planning and anticipating how we can make the most of our available land and resources. The need may not be apparent right away, but we are ready and waiting when it is.”
Positioning the Allis Road site, and other land throughout the county, is what the Orleans EDA does every day, “There was no specific project when we began working with Ridgeway to rezone the Allis Road property,” notes OEDA VP Gabrielle Barone. “What we believed then, and continue to reinforce to our communities, is that we need sites ready and waiting when the right project does come along.”
Citing the value the OEDA and local municipalities place on retention projects, Barone explains, “The Town of Ridgeway demonstrated they wanted more development and became full partners in keeping Helena Chemical in Orleans County and bringing the project to fruition.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 November 2015 at 12:00 am
The controversy over the wind turbine project, as well as contested races at the town and county level, brought a higher percentage of voters to the polls in Yates than any other town in Orleans County last Tuesday.
Yates has 1,466 registered voters and 736 cast ballots on Tuesday, for 50.2 percent of the registered voters. Countywide, the turnout was 38.2 percent.
One of the Yates races still isn’t over. Absentee ballots will be counted Tuesday at 9 a.m. to determine the winner of the town supervisor race. Incumbent John Belson received 352 votes on election day. Jim Simon, an anti-turbine candidate, ran a write-in campaign and is 14 votes behind Belson.
Yates also had races for Town Board seats, a local county legislator position, and the contentious county-wide sheriff race.
While Yates had the best turnout, neighboring Ridgeway had the fewest at 29.8 percent or 1,066 voters out of 3,579.
Here is a breakdown of turnout at the 10 towns.
Community
Voters
Registered
Percent Voted
Albion
1,230
3,147
39.1
Barre
566
1,219
46.4
Carlton
706
1,771
39.9
Clarendon
771
2,149
35.9
Gaines
743
1,800
41.3
Kendall
692
1,593
43.4
Murray
923
2,516
36.7
Ridgeway
1,066
3,579
29.8
Shelby
998
2,829
35.3
Yates
736
1,466
50.2
County
8,431
22,069
38.2
Source: Orleans County Board of Elections; Orleans Hub calculations.
Turnout was higher than in a typical local election but was down from a year ago in the gubernatorial election, when 9,742 people voted on Election Day in a race highlighted by Andrew Cuomo and Rob Astorino for governor.That was about 1,300 more than voted last Tuesday.
Bower won the sheriff’s election, 3,951 to 3,507 for Tom Drennan and 847 for Don Organisciak.
Drennan is from Kendall and the town had a bigger turnout at 43.4 percent than many other towns, even though Kendall had unopposed candidates at the town level. That was the same issue for Murray, Bower’s hometown, which had a turnout of 36.7 percent.
Besides the Yates town supervisor race, another close election will be determined Tuesday morning when absentees are counted in the Town of Albion. Darlene Benton has a 6-vote lead over Paul Fulcomer for a Town Board position.
MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Society is making several thousand dollars available in grants to community organizations and projects.
The grants generally range from $200 to $500 and are awarded to qualifying not-for-profit organizations and/or programs in the Medina, Ridgeway and Shelby region.
Funding is intended to help programs that clearly benefit this community and that have favorable tax and regulatory status.
The community endowment has given out nearly $20,000 over the past five years. The most recent round of grants included funding for improvements to the veterans plot at Boxwood Cemetery, to the Medina Business Association for Old-Tyme Christmas, emergency dollars to fix porch damage at the Medina Historical Museum, dollars to The Arc of Orleans toward kitchen equipment for Camp Rainbow, support for Medina’s Civil War Re-Enactment last April, stone repair from frost damage at the Armory (“Y”), and continuation of student scholarships.
To apply for a grant, organization leaders need to fill out a Sandstone Trust Application form and mail to Sandstone Trust, Post Office Box 25, Medina, by the application deadline, Nov. 14.
Application forms can be obtained as follows: In person at Medina Parts Co. (NAPA) 345 N. Main St. or Michael Zelazny, CPA 511 Main St.; By regular mail request sent to Sandstone Trust, PO Box 25, Medina, NY 14103; or online from the Sandstone Trust web page www.sandstonesociety.org.
Questions may be sent by email at sandstonesociety@gmail.com or calling Michael Zelazny, CPA at 585-798-1006.
Photos by Kim Pritt
KNOWLESVILLE – Several craft and collectibles vendors are at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds today for a show to give people an early start on decorating their home for the holidays and finding presents for friends and family.
The show started on Friday and continues today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lori Laine, left, and Cheryl Boyer are at a table that promotes being an organ donor.
The show is inside the Trolley Building at the fairgrounds on Route 31 in Knowlesville.
By Kristina Gabalski, Correspondent Posted 8 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Kristina Gabalski
KNOWLESVILLE – A new fitness trail has opened at the 4-H Fairgrounds on Route 31 in Knowlesville. There will be an opening ceremony today at 6 p.m. with the Albion Running Club, where runners and walkers will then try the course.
“We see people come and walk the grounds all the time and thought this would be a nice addition,” Orleans County 4-H Educator Robert Batt said.
The half-mile trail includes six stations with various exercises/activities. The project is sponsored by the Running Club.
The public is invited to attend the grand opening and also to come out and make use of the trail at any time.
“4-Hers will also be able to use the trail before meetings,” Batt said.
The project includes a number of recycled items. Batt said the poles used for the signs are made from recycled tires and have been repurposed from a former exhibit on the fairgrounds. Additionally, old agricultural tires are used as part of the stations. At Station #1, for example, the tires are used for a triceps dip.
“The project is green and environmentally friendly,” Batt observed. “It’s super exciting.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 October 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – John Steier and his son Evan haul tires on the new fitness trail at the 4-H Fairgrounds, which opened today to the public.
The Steiers and other particpants in the Albion Running Club jogged the course and tried the six stations, doing push ups, dips and other maneuvers while completing the half-mile fitness trail.
Pam Coville and her husband Mark bend down and flip tires, one of the challenges on the fitness trail.
The Running Club kicked in $450 towards the trail, which is open to the public and includes signs showing how to attempt the activities along the course.
Brian Krieger does push-ups at one of the stops.
The project includes many recycled items, including the poles used for the signs. Many old farm tires are utilized as part of the stations.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 September 2015 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – This culvert pipe with a 4-foot diameter will be set in a trench being dug today on Mill Road in Ridgeway.
The Town of Ridgeway Highway Department cut a 7-foot-deep chuck out of Mill Road so the department could replace a rotting culvert. Tim Feldman is in the excavator and Pat Kelly is holding the measuring stick.
The culvert pipe needs to be set at a 180-degree angle, or perfectly flat, to allow for the water to drain easily, Ridgeway highway workers said. The culvert directs water under the road from Johnson Creek.
Ridgeway highway workers started the project this morning and expect to have it done today. In addition to Feldman and Kelly, highway worker John Olinger, right, is pictured at the scene late this morning. The culvert is just east of Murdock Road.
