Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – The lift bridge in Knowlesville was closed beginning on Wednesday this week so workers could make some repairs. It looked like a crew was working on the deck of the bridge this afternoon.
The bridge was on a 6-ton weight restriction and was limited to one lane. Those restrictions will remain when the bridge reopens in about 10 days, according to the state Department of Transportation.
KNOWLESVILLE – The lift bridge in Knowlesville will be closed beginning today so the state Department of Transportation can perform necessary maintenance repairs.
The bridge is expected to be closed for up to two weeks, state Sen. George Maziarz’s office advised.
The bridge, which was built in 1910, has had a weight restriction and is limited to one lane. It will remain at its current width upon reopening.
Press release, Orleans County Undersheriff Steve Smith
RIDGEWAY – Three people were hospitalized this morning following a two-vehicle crash in the town of Ridgeway.
The accident occurred at about 7:50 a.m., in the 11400 block of Ridge Road, just east of Horan Road. Kelly P. Bailey, 51, of Medina was operating a 1998 Jeep SUV travelling east on Route 104. Bailey’s vehicle crossed the center line and collided with a westbound 1998 GMC pick-up truck operated by Debra J. Albone-Gundrum, 62, of Lyndonville.
After the initial collision, Bailey’s vehicle ran off the north side of the roadway and over-turned, coming to rest on its roof. Bailey was trapped in the wreckage for approximately 25 minutes before being extricated by Ridgeway and Shelby firefighters. He was then air-lifted to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight helicopter.
Albone-Gundrum (sole occupant) was transported to Medina Memorial Hospital by Medina FD ambulance, as was a front-seat passenger in Bailey’s vehicle, identified as James A. Groves, 43, of Medina.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. Witnesses report Bailey’s vehicle operated erratically prior to the crash. The on-scene investigation was conducted by Deputy M.C. Mele, assisted by Sergeant D.W. Covis and Chief Deputy T.L. Drennan.
Press release, Sheriff Scott D. Hess
A Medina man is hospitalized following an early morning rollover vehicle crash in the town of Ridgeway. The incident occurred shortly after 5 a.m., in the 10500 block of Mill Rd.
Tyler J. Heminway, 24, was operating a 2000 Chevrolet Blazer west on Mill Rd., west of Murdock Rd., when he apparently lost control of the SUV. It ran off the north side of the roadway, then came back onto and across the roadway and ran off the south side. The vehicle then overturned several times, ejecting Heminway, before coming to rest on it’s left side in a soybean field.
Heminway, the sole occupant, was flown to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo by MercyFlight helicopter.
While the incident investigation is continuing, both alcohol and excessive speed appear to have been contributing factors. Charge(s) against Heminway are pending his recovery.
Sgt. D.E. Draper Jr., has the lead in the investigation, assisted by Deputies D.E. Foeller Jr., A.J. Houghton, D.S. Klips, & Investigator K.M. Strickland Jr.
Photos by Tom Rivers
RIDGEWAY – The flames shot high in the air, and the teams of firefighters drew closer, spraying water and foam on a fuel tanker.
For more than an hour on Thursday evening, firefighters doused a fire. And then it was reignited and they put it out again. And again and again.
About 30 to 40 firefighters, mostly from Barre, Shelby and Ridgeway, trained tonight with a live fire training trailer owned by the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control. The state has been taking the mobile tanker to counties throughout the state, working with fire companies to prepare for an ethanol tank on fire.
There are two ethanol plants in the state – in Medina and Fulton. However trucks and trains are hauling 8,000-gallon tanks all over the state.
“Ethanol is heavily transported in New York State by truck and by rail,” said Dan Baker, a state Haz-Mat instructor.
Orleans County has already had an ethanol explosion. A fuel tanker truck hauling 8,000 gallons of ethanol veered off Route 31A near Mathes Road on June 14, 2011 and crashed into the woods, killing the driving and resulting in several explosions. A team trained in hazardous materials from Kodak helped put out that fire.
Ethanol poses additional challenges for firefighters because ethanol contains alcohol. It requires a foam mix to extinguish and get under control, Baker said.
Firefighters tonight worked in teams of five from three different directions to approach the tanker on fire during tonight’s training exercises. Two teams sprayed water and foam at the fire so another team could approach the tank to turn off the valve letting out the fuel.
“You need to shut off the source,” Baker said.
Firefighters practiced their responses to other scenarios with the tank, including one where the valve was broken. In that case, firefighters sprayed the tank and fuel with the foam mix.
The firefighters moved around different team members during the training, so firefighters from different companies would get experience with their own department members and also in a mutual aid scenario.
Baker said the training tanker is in demand around the state as firefighters want to prepare for an accident with a truck or train hauling ethanol.
“We have a big waiting list,” Baker said about the training.
Press release, NYSDOT
New York State Department of Transportation today announced two paving projects that are taking place in Orleans County this month.
Work begins this week on a project to resurface Route 104 from the Niagara County Line to Knowlesville Road in the town of Ridgeway through mid-October.Traffic will be reduced to alternating single-lane travel.
Beginning next week, work begins to resurface the eastbound travel lanes on the Lake Ontario State Parkway between Route 237 (including interchange ramps) and Route 272 in the town of Kendall. Work should be complete by late-October. Traffic will be reduced to a single lane in the eastbound direction.The ramps will temporarily close while being worked on.
LOCKPORT – A 20-year-old Medina resident, who police suspect in 15 Albion burglaries and five in Medina, has been arrested in Niagara County after a burglary on High Street in the city of Lockport.
Jonathan K. Banks of 4886 South Townline Rd., Ridgeway, has been charged with second-degree burglary after breaking into a house at 5:20 a.m. He was arrested on Thursday.
Police in Albion and Medina have yet to charge him but Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said Banks is suspected in the rash of burglaries in the two villages.
“He is a person of interest in Orleans County as well as other locations,” Nenni said in an email. “No arrest has been made on the burglaries in Orleans County to date.”
Albion and Medina police teamed with Lockport police in the investigation. They tracked Banks to Tonawanda, where he was arrested by Buffalo police officers and the Lockport Police Department, according to the Lockport Union-Sun and Journal.
The Albion and Medina burglaries all occurred at night, when residents were sleeping. Burglars would enter through unlocked doors or cut out screens to get inside.
Banks was involved in a high-profile crime in May when he took a 12-year-old girl from Albion overnight to Buffalo. The girl was subject to a missing persons report. Banks was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
He currently is in Niagara County Jail on $15,000 cash bail or $30,000 property bail.
Photos by Michael Karcz
RIDGEWAY – Albion Boy Scout Ben Kirby is working on his Eagle Scout project at Camp Rainbow, installing a new entrance gate, building new seesaws and removing the old ones, and replacing the doors on a tool shed.
Kirby is overseeing a team of Scouts and volunteers on the projects at the camp owned by The Arc of Orleans County. In the top picture, Kirby watches Josh Raymond work on removing an old seesaw. Kirby’s father Dennis, left, provides some instruction on the projects.
In the bottom photo, volunteer Ryan Haight, left, works to remove an old door on the tool shed with some help from Kevin Gardner.
Press release, Orleans County Sheriff’s Department
RIDGEWAY – A noon-hour Labor Day crash sent four teen-agers from Medina to the hospital.
The incident occurred shortly after 12 p.m. in the 2500 block of Angling Road in the town of Ridgeway. A 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier was travelling north in an unpaved section of Angling Road when the driver lost control of the car. It crossed the roadway, ran off the west side and struck a utility pole.
The driver of the vehicle is identified as Austin A. Heideman, 16. The front seat passenger is identified as Michael D. Moore, 17, whose father owns the car. The rear-seat passengers were Julie M. Luczak, 17, and Summer Wisniewski, 15.
Moore and Luczak were flown to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo by Mercy Flight helicopter. Wisniewski was transported to ECMC by ground ambulance. Heideman was transported by ground ambulance to Medina Memorial Hospital. None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening.
Initially deputies were lead to believe that Moore was the driver of the car. However, after investigation it was determined that Heideman was behind the wheel at the time of the crash. He is facing numerous traffic charges including unlicensed operation, reckless driving, and unsafe speed. He will appear in Town of Ridgeway Court at a later date.
The incident was investigated by Deputy J.W. Halstead, with assistance by Sergeant D.W. Covis.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Several hundred people attended the Steampunk Festival Saturday in Medina at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery. Many of the attendees wore Steampunk outfits, including this group, from left: Angela Loveland of Niagara Falls, and siblings Adam Cordell and Katie Cordell of Mercersburg, Pa.
Walter Quinn, a chef by trade, created a futuristic costume for Saturday’s Steampunk Festival.
MEDINA – The future met the Victorian past, a clash of cultures that mixes long, lacy dresses with robotic arm extensions.
Leonard Oakes Estate Winery hosted its third annual Steampunk Festival over the weekend, and hundreds of people attended the celebration of Victorian culture in a post-apocalyptic world.
“The nice thing about the Steampunk Festival is it takes a little imagination,” said Walter Quinn, one of about 150 participants in costume on Saturday.
Quinn, 55, of Kenmore used a shower head as a arm extension for his costume. He attached the hose from the shower around his boot. He had a flashlight protruding from his googles. At the end of the flashlight, he put in a ping pong ball that looked like an eyeball.
Quinn, a chef by trade, attended with his wife Bonnie in Victorian costume and their friends.
Gerry Szymanski of Rochester pulled out a top hat and pince nez glasses for the Steampunk Fest.
Gerry Szymanski of Rochester wore a top hat from the 1870s and a pair of pince nez glasses from the 1890s, similar to the style wore by Teddy Roosevelt, for the Steampunk Fest.
“Steampunk is a mix of the 19th Century and the fantastic,” Szymanski said.
Leonard Oakes hosts the festival and promotes it with the winery’s hard cider. The business branded its alcoholic apple brew as “Steampunk Cider.” That brand taps a steampunk movement that has been growing in the past 10 years with some people embracing a world and culture that was powered by steam engines, which provided the power before the Industrial Revolution.
“It’s classy, cool and stylish,” said Adam Cordell, who drove to the Steampunk Fest from Mercersburg, Pa.
This group of friends from near Buffalo was among the crowd at Saturday’s Steampunk Festival at the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina. The group includes, from left: Dan Lelito of Orchard Park, Alyssa Barrett of Cheektowaga, and Bonnie and Walter Quinn of Kenmore.
Photos by Tom Rivers
Arlowe Price, a self-described fourth-generation “circus freak performer” from Buffalo, blows fire from a flame held by Riley Schilacci. Price also chewed broken glass, set a mouse trap on his ear and tongue, and performed other outrageous stunts during the Steampunk Festival tonight at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery on Route 104 in Medina.
Riley Schillaci of Rochester swallows a flame during the Steampunk Festival tonight.
Troupe Nisaa, a dance group based in Batavia, performs a dance that combines tribal and Egyptian styles as part of the Steampunk Festival.
MEDINA – The consulting firm that is working with Medina to prepare a dissolution plan for the village shouldn’t expect much assistance from the town of Ridgeway.
“We’re really not interested,” said Brian Napoli, the Ridgeway town supervisor. “We’ve never been consulted. They formed a committee and we were never asked or consulted.”
The village received a $50,000 state grant to work on a dissolution plan, a document that is required by law before the village can hold a public referendum on whether or not to dissolve the village government.
The plan would identify how village government functions could best be assumed by the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby, or perhaps through new special taxing districts or water and sewer authorities.
The Center for Governmental Research is working with Medina on the plan. CGR staff sent letters to Ridgeway and Shelby, requesting documents on budgets and town staffing and equipment resources. CGR would also like to interview staff and officials from the two towns to discuss how they could absorb some of the functions currently provided by the village.
Shelby said it is willing to meet with CGR, but Napoli turned down the organization’s initial request.
“This is a village project so why do we need to use town money and resources for it?” Napoli said. “We were never consulted, but now that they’re doing it, they expect us to jump in and solve it.”
Medina Mayor Andrew Meier said both towns knew for months that Medina applied for the dissolution grant. Napoli and Shelby Town Supervisor Skip Draper also have been part of a shared services discussion for the past couple years among the three municipalities.
Napoli said CGR can submit specific requests for information, and the town will comply, much as it has to with the Freedom of Information Act. But he doesn’t want open-ended requests that would send town employees on a time-consuming “fishing expedition.”
Meier said he wants the town feedback on the plan so the best options can be presented to voters and municipal leaders.
“There are a range of options,” he said. “It’s not one-size-fits-all.”
If the village puts a dissolution to a vote and its supported by village residents, Napoli said Ridgeway and Shelby don’t necessarily have to follow the plan. They can determine their own course of action for assuming village functions. Napoli thinks special taxing districts would be created for police, fire protection and village debt.
Medina’s sewer plant is in Ridgeway. Napoli doesn’t expect the town would just take over the plant in a village dissolution. He said a water and sewer authority could be created to own and manage those assets.
“If you dissolve the village, the only thing that goes away is the signs,” Napoli said. “The village debts have to stay with the village. A lot of the stuff provided by the village would stay with special taxing districts.”
Meier said a committee will complete a dissolution plan with CGR’s assistance. He wants to give residents a chance to remove one layer of local government, which he believes will reduce taxes for village residents, making the community more attractive for residents and businesses.
He would like Ridgeway to be an active participant in developing the plan.
“It’s in the best interests of their constituents that they (town officials) remain in contact throughout this process,” Meier said. “We’ve asked for their participation repeatedly.”
Medina officials expect the plan will take six to nine months to prepare. Dissolution should go to a public vote next year.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Brian Napoli, the town supervisor in Ridgeway, has been invited to speak at a state public hearing Thursday in Buffalo about fiscal challenges facing local governments.
RIDGEWAY – Many local officials often bemoan the impact of state regulations and mandates on budgets at the village, town, county and school levels. Officials may pass resolutions, stating their concerns about the state driving up costs.
Many officials will grouse about the state, casting blame on “downstate.”
In the town of Ridgeway, Brian Napoli will fire off letters to the state officials. He has developed a reputation locally and in state circles for some of his strident objections to state policies. On Thursday, the Ridgeway town supervisor gets a chance to speak directly to state officials during a public hearing in Buffalo at the City Hall.
Napoli has compiled “a short list and a long list – of all the things the state has done to us.” He will share a condensed version during a hearing on “Fiscally Distressed Municipalities: Preparing for and Preventing Municipal Bankruptcy in New York.” The State Senate’s Committee on Local Government is having the hearings around the state.
Napoli gets five minutes to speak at the hearing. He will also submit a written report, which so far totals 14 pages.
State legislators have passed policies that strained local governments, including the tax cap. The law limited local government to annual increases of about 2 percent in taxes. However, the state didn’t ease state mandated expenses, including pension contributions that typically exceed the 2 percent cap.
With the cap in place, municipalities can’t raise taxes enough to meet increased costs. That has forced local governments including schools to eat into their reserve funds and make staff and program reductions. Napoli worries about the long-range impact of the tax cap without meaningful reductions in state-mandated expenses.
Napoli won’t just launch an attack about state policies, including environmental regulations that have proven costly to Ridgeway. He wants to press the state to be an active partner in helping the rural economy. He said Ridgeway would be doing better economically if the state helped bring Broadband Internet to the community. High-speed Internet access is critical to attract and keep businesses.
The state also needs to allocate more funding to rural roads and bridges, especially the canal communities, Napoli said. Agriculture is the biggest business in town and some farmers have land on both sides of the canal. However, bridges may be closed or have weight restrictions.
“Our farmers can’t get across the bridges,” Napoli said. “It hinders ag development.”
Without adequate infrastructure for the Internet and big farm equipment, Napoli said the community won’t reach its potential.
Thursday’s public hearing at Buffalo City Hall begins at 11 a.m. in the Common Council Chambers on the 13th floor.
Photo by Tom Rivers – A committee looking at developing a plan for the dissolution of the village of Medina met for the first time on Thursday at City Hall. A group of village residents is working with the Center for Governmental Research to develop the plan. The group includes, from lower left going clockwise: Paul Bishop and Scott Sittig of CGR, Medina Mayor Andrew Meier, Village Trustee Mark Irwin, Committee Chairman Don Colquhoun, and members Charlie Slack and Thurston Dale.
MEDINA – A public referendum about dissolving the village of Medina’s government probably won’t be ready in time for the March 2014 village elections due to a tight time frame to develop an orderly plan for the village’s dissolution.
“Let’s take our time to come up with a plan that we can all consider and accept,” Mayor Andrew Meier said during the Dissolution Committee’s first meeting Thursday. “I see no reason why to go through an expedited process.”
Medina is using a $50,000 state grant to hire the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester to help prepare the plan. There is a chance CGR and the committee could have the plan fall quickly into place, and possibly be ready for a public vote in March. But Meier and committee aren’t pushing for that as a time frame.
“We need to give the public time to chew it over,” said Don Colquhoun, chairman of the Dissolution Committee.
A public referendum can’t come sooner than about three months after the Village Board formally endorses a dissolution. That gives time for the public to study the plan and make an informed vote.
In order for the dissolution to be part of the March 18 village election, the Village Board would need to endorse a dissolution plan in December to allow for three months of public review before a vote.
Meier expects the village will call for a special election on the issue later in the year.
CGR has a lot of work to do with data collection and interviews with village officials and representatives from the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway. CGR needs to take an inventory of village assets and debts. The group will present a plan for how the debts will be paid if the village dissolves, and how current village services can best be folded into the two towns.
To pay off some debts, some village assets could be sold, including highway equipment and buildings, such as the historic but mostly underutilized City Hall.
Some services, such as police and fire, may continue with the formation of special taxing districts. The committee will look at which government entity would own the village’s water and sewer plants, and how those services can best be provided if the village dissolves.
Colquhoun, the committee chairman, said the group is determined to continue with the process, to look for ways to reduce the costs of government in the community while still maintaining services. The study may show it doesn’t make sense to dissolve Medina. He is going in with an open mind, not committed to dissolution.
“We don’t want to disrupt everyone’s lives,” he said. “But let’s see the data. I think people need to know the alternatives. Everyone complains about their taxes and says there’s nothing you can do about it. This is something we can do about it.”
If the issue goes to a public vote, only village residents will go to the polls. Residents in Shelby and Ridgeway, outside the village, don’t get a vote, but they can participate in the planning process.
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Rev. Dan Thurber, pastor of Oak Orchard Assembly of God Church, portrays the Pharoah, who happens to do an Elvis impersonation, in tonight’s performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Curtis Follman is Jacob, who is in anguish after being told his son Joseph was killed.
MEDINA – Cast members from seven local churches joined for a high-energy performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Oak Orchard Assembly of God.
“You can’t beat being able to do a Broadway musical,” said director Trisha Stacey. “This is a way to use our gifts and deliver a Christian message.”
The church first did a full-scale musical two years ago with Godspell. Oak Orchard’s pastor Dan Thurber is a strong supporter of a drama ministry. His wife Diane directed many award-winning musicals at Lyndonville Central School. Mrs. Thurber was one of the singing narrators in Joseph.
The Rev. Thurber excited the crowd tonight when he performed as the Pharaoh, wearing an Elvis costume.
Joseph has been performed on Broadway and many secular stages. It is based on a Biblical story of Joseph and his “coat of many colors.” Joseph is in the Book of Genesis. Oak Orchard displayed several Scriptures on screens during the show.
Thurber said Joseph’s example is a life worth celebrating on stage.
“We want to entertain people, but we also want people to see how God used Joseph,” Thurber said. “We want people to come out and enjoy some good music but also get a spiritual message.”
Joseph Mangiola, 14, plays the lead of Joseph. Diane Thurber, right, is one of the narrators.
Bruce Landis portrays the Potiphar.
