Photos by Tom Rivers

RIDGEWAY – Two people were seriously injured in a one-car accident this afternoon on Horan Road in Ridgeway.

The car left the road and the back end crashed into a tree. The driver of the vehicle was pinned and it took firefighters and Lyons Collision more than an hour to free the driver, who was then taken by Medina ambulance to a Mercy Flight landing zone.

Firefighters work to free the driver from the wreckage.

The accident occurred at about 4:48 p.m. The passenger was also seriously injured and taken by Mercy Flight soon after the accident. The driver was freed from the wreck at about 6:20 p.m. Many long-time firefighters said it was one of the most difficult extrications they’ve done.

The car was wrapped around a tree and the dashboard had moved forward against the driver’s legs, making it difficult to release him.

The driver remained conscious during the rescue effort, and gave his grandmother a thumbs up that he was doing OK while a crew of about 40 people tried to get him out. Firefighters said his vital signs were good at the scene.

Authorities haven’t released the names of the driver or the passenger.

The accident occurred on a section of Horan Road, north of the village line where there are many bends and dips in the road.

The neighbor with the tree in her yard called 9-1-1 after hearing the crash. When she went out to her front yard, she said she started praying for the people inside.

“This is a nasty hill,” said the neighbor, who asked not to be identified. “The sound was something I never want to hear again.”

Another neighbor a few houses north said there are frequent accidents on the road. He would like to see a lower speed limit clearly marked north of the village line. He said people drive 55 miles per hour or faster, when the top speed should be closer 35 mph.

The road also doesn’t have shoulders and there are no center line markings.

The car left the road and its tire marks could be seen in the one neighbor’s front yard and driveway before hitting the tree.

Ridgeway, Shelby, Medina and Lyndonville firefighters all responded to the scene, along with Medina Police Department, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, Mercy Flight and Lyons Collision.

RIDGEWAY – The canal bridge on Marshall Road will be closed for about two weeks while crews make repairs to some of the steel on the structure, Town of Ridgeway officials said today.

The State Department of Transportation advised Ridgeway of the work. The bridge was closed on Monday so repairs could be made.

ALBION – An Albion woman who was injured in an April 22 car accident on Route 31 near Knowlesville has died from those injuries, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office has reported today.

Sue “Sue Ellen” E. Ryan-Sauer, 66, died on April 29 at Buffalo General Hospital Neuro Intensive Care Unit.

Ryan-Sauer was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her granddaughter, Sara Secore, 20, of Medina. Secore made a right turn from the south shoulder of the highway in an attempt to enter a private driveway. While making the turn, Secore’s action caused a westbound pickup truck, driven by Jack Bower of Waterport, to strike the passenger side of the Secore vehicle, Undersheriff Chris Bourke said in a news release.

Ryan-Sauer was taken by Mercy Flight helicopter to Erie County Medical Center. Bower was transported to Medina Memorial Hospital. Secore was not injured.

No charges are being filed at this time, Bourke said. Orleans County deputies R. Flaherty, J. Gifaldi and J.J. Cole conducted the investigation.

Photos by Kristina Gabalski – Joe Heath and Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener John Myers install a sign at the new compost education site on the Orleans 4-H Fairgrounds. The site is dedicated in memory of Joe’s dad, Joe Heath, who volunteered as a Master Gardener.

KNOWLESVILLE – Master Gardener volunteers at the Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension have dedicated a new educational composting display site in memory of fellow Master Gardener Joe Heath of Medina, who was dedicated to teaching children about conservation.

Mr. Heath died on Jan. 5. A dedication ceremony was held on Saturday morning at the site which is located just outside the Buzz Hill Education Center at the 4-H Fairgrounds.

Heath’s family – his wife Marie, daughter Jen, son Joe, Joe’s wife Lisa, and their children Connor and Kylie – all attended the ceremony and helped to place a sign at the site.

The family of Joe Heath is pictured by the new compost education site at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville. The family includes, front, Joe Heath’s granddaughter, Kylie; wife, Marie; and grandson Connor. Back row: son, Joe; daughter-in-law, Lisa; and daughter, Jen.

Currently the composting site contains a cinder (concrete) block turning unit and an example of a ready-made commercial compost bin.

“This is nowhere near complete,” Master Gardener John Myers said during the dedication.

Examples of other composting systems will be added to the display. Myers, a long-time friend of Heath’s, led the effort to prepare the site. He noted Joe Heath was always very involved in teaching Orleans County sixth graders about composting during the annual Conservation Field Days held at the Fairgrounds in late May.

“We really, truly appreciate everything Joe did for us,” said Kim Hazel, agriculture administrative assistant at the Cooperative Extension.

This is a picture of the sign, before they put it into place.

Hazel is also a Master Gardener and she said Joe always managed to “brighten up my day” when he would be at the Fairgrounds for various events or to work on projects.

“We really loved to do it,” said Joe’s wife Marie, who also volunteered as a Master Gardener.

Master Gardeners formerly had a composting display with various examples of composting systems next to the log cabin on the Fairgrounds.

The new site puts the display in a more visible location – it can be seen from Rt. 31 and from the roadway/walkway that runs through the Fairgrounds, Hazel said.

It will also be easier for staff at Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension to use of the site for composting since it is so close to the Buzz Hill Education Center which houses their offices.

Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – Teams of powerful draft horses, with participants from eight states, are competing today in at 4-H Fairgrounds in the “Pull of Champions.”

This is the second straight year the event has been at the fairgrounds in Knowlesville after the State Fair in Syracuse used to host the competition.

The event draws many out-of-state competitors who are eager to compete after winter.

There are nearly 20 teams competing in either the lightweight division (3,425 pounds or less for two horses), or the heavyweights for teams that exceed 3,425 pounds.

This team from Michigan takes in the action inside one of the livestock barns at the fairgrounds.

The teams need to pull a dynamometer 27 1/2 feet for a full pull. The dynamometer, in the final pulls, can simulate 160,000 pounds.

Brian Ressequie of Cato is announcer for today’s horse pull.

Sydney Root of Bolivar is pictured with a team that is owned by her family.

This will be the second straight year the fairgrounds is hosting the horse pull. After a small crowd last year, organizers were pleased to see about 400 people in the stands today.

This is a closeup of a horse owned by Lori Root and her family in Bolivar. The family has been competing in horse pulls for 35 years.

“Horses are an addiction,” she said. “Once you are around them and like them, you want to compete. Here it’s a friendly competition. Everyone helps each other.”

This team from Michigan waits its turn to pull.

First prize today for each division is $750.

In addition to New York, teams in the competition are from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky, Florida and Ohio.

Photos by Tom Rivers

WATERPORT – Nick Nesbitt is pictured with Mike, a Belgian draft horse that is part of a horse-pulling team. Nesbitt has been competing in horse pulls for the past decade and will vie in the lightweight division (3,425 pounds or less for two horses) on April 25 at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.

This will be the second straight year the fairgrounds will host the horse pull. It is expected to draw at least 20 teams from the Northeast.

The competition used to be held at the State Fairgrounds in Syracuse but moved to Knowlesville last year.

“This will kick off the pulling season in the Northeast,” Nesbitt said today in Waterport at his horse barn on Wilson Road. “You’re going to see some of the best pullers in the country.”

The competition starts at noon at April 25 and features the lightweight division and then the heavyweights, where both horses top a combined weight of 3,425 pounds.

They will pull a diorama just like in the tractor pulls. That diorama, in the final pulls, can simulate 160,000 pounds. The teams of horses need to pull it 27 ½ feet for a full pull.

This Belgian draft horse is named Skip and is the other half of Nick Nesbitt’s draft horse pulling team. The Belgian draft horses are muscular, bred to pull a heavy load.

The horse pulling teams will compete in the main livestock building at the fairgrounds and there will be bleachers inside for spectators.

Nesbitt said the horses like the competition.

“They love it,” he said. “They are proud after they pull a big load.”

Nesbitt, an apple farmer, grew up watching horse pull competitions with his father Steve and family friend Gordon Bentley. Nesbitt has competed in the sport the past 10 years, often training with the horses two hours a day. He is a past winner at the Erie County Fair and the Warren County Fair.

The draft horses impress the crowds at the events, he said. Long before machines, draft horses provided the muscle on farms and numerous public works projects.

“The whole country was built on draft horses,” Nesbitt said.

He hopes a big crowd turns out for the competition on April 25.

“The louder the crowd, the more into it the pullers and horses get,” he said.

For more information on horse pulling, visit horsepullresults.com.

Photo by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – The lift bridge in Knowlesville will be closed on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. No traffic will be permitted across the bridge during that time, including emergency vehicles.

The bridge has been limited to one lane and 6 tons in recent years. The bridge was built in 1910.

Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – A fire in a pellet stove filled a Ridgeway house on Porter Road with smoke late this afternoon.

Firefighters from Medina and Ridgeway fire departments responded to 12271 Porter Rd. after the dispatch call went out at 4:04 p.m.

Firefighters emptied the stove and would then check the chimney to see if it was clogged, Ridgeway Fire Chief Don Marchner said.

Firefighters also set up vans to ventilate the house owned by Donna Riches.

Marchner, left, discusses the situation with Mike Maak, a captain with Medina Fire Department.

RIDGEWAY – The Town Board agreed to seek a $750,000 grant from the state to help sway a Canadian company to commit to a $10 million project at the former BernzOmatic site, which was vacated last July by Worthington Cylinders.

Pride Pak Canada Ltd. in Ontario, Canada, proposes to establish a new vegetable processing, packaging and distribution facility in the former BernzOmatic property located at 1 BernzOmatic Drive.

The company wants to expand its operations and better serve a large northeastern US grocery chain, said Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

Pride Pak, formed in 1983, is Ontario’s largest fruit and vegetable processing company. Barone told Ridgeway officials that the company currently exports approximately 50 percent of its product to the U.S. market.

Pride Pak wants to purchase the BernzOmatic property – a 180,000-square-foot facility with 30-plus acres of land. The company will do substantial renovations to the existing plant and purchase new machinery equipment at a total initial project cost of $9.6 million, Barone said. Additional capital expenditures are planned for future phases of the project in years 2 through 5.

It’s not a done deal because the company is considering another site in Pennsylvania. The incentive packages will be part of the company’s decision.

“So while we are cautiously optimistic, we also need to be realistic – the project principals are weighing options being presented by New York State and Pennsylvania,” Barone said at a public hearing on Monday.

Pride Pak expects to create up to 80 new permanent full-time positions by the end of year one. The state Office of Community Renewal grant of $750,000 will assist Pride Pak U.S. affiliate in the acquisition and installation of new machinery and equipment.

By year five, the company could have up to 200 workers at its U.S. site, Barone said.

File photo by Tom Rivers – Worthington Industries closed its Medina plant last July 31.

RIDGEWAY – The Town Board will be joined by economic development officials at a 7 p.m. public hearing today, seeking state funding for a company to use the former Bernz-O-Matic site for vegetable processing and distribution.

Ridgeway intends to seek a Community Development Block Grant through the state. The manufacturing facility was vacated by Worthington Cylinders last summer and about 150 people were laid off.

Worthington bought Bernz-O-Matic in 2011. Bernz-O-Matic had operated in Medina since 1969, making torches.

Worthington makes cylinders for the torches in Wisconsin. The company closed its site in Medina and shifted the torch production to Wisconsin, where the company said it could do everything at one site, saving in transportation costs.

Orleans Economic Development officials said a Canadian company is eyeing the space for a vegetable and food processing facility at 1 Bernzomatic Drive. The company is considering another location in addition to Medina so the Medina project isn’t a done deal, an economic development official said.

The state funding would make the Medina site a more attractive option for the Canadian company, the official said.

Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – Orleans County Highway Department employee Ryan Hill fills a pothole today at the intersection of Knowlesville Road and Route 31 in the Town of Ridgeway. (Greg Rosato is pictured in back.)

The Highway Department has two crews out today using Cold Patch to fill potholes, which have proliferated from the punishing winter.

Greg Rosato has a shovel full of Cold Patch for one of the potholes.

RIDGEWAY – Republicans in Ridgeway interested in serving in elected positions at the town and county level are welcome to seek an endorsement from the Republican Committee.

Three positions on the Town Board are up for election and the incumbents are expected to run again. That includes Town Supervisor Brian Napoli and Town Council members Paul Blajszczak and Mary Woodruff.

The town justice position will also be on the ballot in November. Joe Kujawa was appointed to the post in January.

The Ridgeway Republican Committee also expects to meet with candidates for County Legislature, sheriff and coroner, and the town committee will make a recommendation to the Orleans County Republican Committee for those positions, said Karen Kaiser, the Ridgeway Republican Committee vice chairwoman.

She encouraged Ridgeway Republicans interested in seeking a town or county position to contact her at 585-590-6410 or by email at karen.lahnen@gmail.com, or they can call GOP Chairman Richard Fisher 585-356-5719.

“We want to make sure anyone interested is heard from,” Kaiser said.

April 15 is the deadline to apply.

Provided photos
The Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company held its annual installation dinner on Saturday night and named Don Marchner, left in top photo, as the firefighter of the year for 2014. Marchner responded to 279 of the fire company’s 290 calls.

Marchner was also installed as the fire company’s new fire chief. He is pictured with First Assistant Chief Jason Bessel, center, and Second Assistant Francis “Woody” Woodward, who served as fire chief in 2014.

In memory of her husband, Larry Petrie, Harriet Petrie presented the Ridgeway EMS with a new suction machine.

Front row, from left: EMS Captain Kristin McAdoo and Harriet Petrie. Middle row: Katie Tuohey. Back row: Guy Scribner, Chris Seefeldt, Glen Busch II and Charlie Smith.

The 2015 officers include, front row: Laurie Marchner, secretary; Kristin McAdoo, EMS captain; Valerie Childs, director; Stacey Seefeldt, vice president.

Second row: Ricky Tuohey, safety officer/director; Francis Woodward, 2nd assistant chief; Don Marchner, chief; Mike Kelly, president.

Third row: Jim Marciszewski, captain; Jason Bessel, 1st assistant chief: Matt Natale, foreman; Todd Hansler, sergeant at arms; and Glen Busch II, treasurer.