Photo from findagrave.com: The gravesite for Benjamin Darling on Saturday will add marker signifying he served in the Revolutionary War.

SHELBY – There will be a ceremony at 1 p.m. on Saturday when a marker is dedicated for a Revolutionary War soldier buried at the Maple Ridge Cemetery.

Benjamin Darling served with the 7^th Connecticut Regiment and wintered at Valley Forge. He was born July 6, 1758 at Lunenburg in Worcester County, Massachusetts. He died at age 82 on Feb. 7, 1841. Maple Ridge Cemetery is at 12055 Maple Ridge Rd., just west of Sourced Market & Eatery and Culvert Road.

Brent Downing, president of the Rochester chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, said a contingent from the chapter will be at the dedication service on Saturday, wearing Revolutionary War uniforms, offering a musket salute and playing Taps.

A descendant of Darling’s, who now lives in Pontiac, Mich., also will attend the service, Downing said.

SHELBY – The state comptroller’s office has issued a report of the town’s fiscal affairs since 2021 and found many accounting discrepancies. The comptroller’s office said there is no evidence of missing funds, but the town is not properly reconciling accounts.

The comptroller found $29,993 in unreconciled differences in 2021 out of a $3,233,773 budget, $31,881 in differences in 2022 out of $3,593,795 budget, and $102,712 in unreconciled difference in 2023 out of a $3,665,533 budget. The comptroller’s office said in a report posted on Friday that it couldn’t do reconciliations in 2024 because of incomplete accounting records.

The comptroller’s office said it has tried to get the town supervisor and bookkeeper to make changes since an audit in December 2021, but six of the seven recommendations have not been implemented, and the other recommendation was only partially followed.

Town Supervisor Scott Wengewicz was faulted for not providing monthly financial reports from the town supervisor, and not providing proper oversight of the bookkeeper’s work, to make sure the bank accounts and accounting records matched. Wengewicz was appointed town supervisor on Dec. 13, 2022. He applied for the position after Jeff Smith stepped down as town supervisor about two months earlier.

Town bookkeeper Miranda Bennett stood before the Town Board at last Tuesday’s meeting and resigned, effective Aug. 28.

She told the Town Board the past five years working for the town have not been easy, and have taken toll on her health and family.

“I’ve chosen to live a happier life away from the constant drama and finger-pointing,” she told the board on Tuesday, three days before the report from the comptroller was made public. “I’ve learned a long time ago that life is too short to deal with constant harassment and name-calling.”

“I step down knowing I’ve made some lifetime connections that I hope to never break and some that I hope to walk away with my head held high.”

Bennett also served as secretary to town supervisor, human resources manager, and IT program manager. Wengewicz would like her to continue in a part-time role as confidential secretary until a replacement can be found. Wengewicz said at the board meeting he foresees it as 20 hours a week at $22 an hour.

The board last week also hired an accounting firm for the remainder of the year, to make sure the town bills are being paid. The board expects to seek proposals from firms to do the work in 2025.

The comptroller’s report posted on Friday urges the town to “take appropriate actions to fullt implement our recommendations.”

Those recommendations from 2021 include:

• Recommendation 1 (not implemented) – Resolve discrepancies in the town’s accounting records. The town supervisor and bookkeeper could not provide a “reasonable explanation for not correcting the discrepancies in the town’s accounting records,” according to the report from Robin L. Lois, the state’s deputy comptroller.

• Recommendation 2 (not implemented) – Complete bank reconciliations. Neither the town supervisor or bookkeeper performed monthly reconciliations between bank accounts and accounting records, the report states.

The comptroller’s office noted that the town supervisor and bookkeeper attributed accounting discrepancies and unreconciled differences to a change in the accounting system. But the comptroller’s office said the issues existed before the change in an accounting system.

“As the Town’s chief financial officer, the Supervisor is responsible for maintaining complete and accurate accounting records,” the comptroller’s report states. “Without complete and accurate records, the Board and Town officials do not have sufficient information to properly manage and monitor Town financial operations.”

The report notes that two accounts that weren’t reconciled resulted in 28 bank overdraft charges at $38 each, collectively totaling $1,064 from Jan. 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024. In a three-day period, from May 24-26, 2023, an account was overdrawn 16 times because the bookkeeper issued 15 of those checks 12 days before the money needed to cover those checks was transferred and available in the bank account. Another check was issued five days prior to money being transferred into the account.

“Had transfers been made prior to or at the time checks were issued, these overdraft fees would not have been incurred,” the report states. “incurring overdraft fees is an unnecessary cost and form of wasteful spending that could be easily avoided by requiring the bookkeeper to monitor cash flow and to make transfers prior to issuing checks.”

• Recommendation 3 (not implemented) – Review records and reports, and monthly bank reconciliations. The town supervisor did not provide a proper review of the bookkeeper’s reports. In 2023, Town Supervisor Scott Wengewicz did not sign off on the monthly reports from the bookkeeper in 11 of 12 months to indicate he reviewed them.

Wengewicz told comptroller staff he relied on the bookkeeper and reviewed the reports with her. In six of the reports, the beginning balance did not agree with the ending balance from the previous month, according to the comptroller’s report.

“However, had the Supervisor completed a proper review, he likely would have identified those discrepancies,” the report said.

The town supervisor also didn’t generate or review any financial reports for fiscal year 2024 and did not ensure that bank reconciliations were completed, the report said.

• Recommendation 4 (not implemented) – Monthly financial reports to the board. The town supervisor hasn’t been providing monthly financial reports to the other Town Board members, detailing all money received and disbursed.

Two Town Board members, Linda Limina and Ed Zelazny, have been opposing paying town bills due to the lack of accurate financial records and reconciliations of all accounts.

• Recommendation 5 (not implemented) – Annual financial reports to the Office of the State Comptroller. The reports for 2021 and 20022 were filled 60 days late, while 2023 was submitted on time but the amounts for all three years were not supported by accounting records, the comptroller’s office stated.

• Recommendation 6 (partially implemented) – Attend trainings. The town supervisor and bookkeeper both attended trainings but they are not properly performing all of their accounting responsibilities, the report stated.

“We encourage the Supervisor and bookkeeper to apply what they learned from training courses into their daily work, and seek out additional training as needed,” the report stated.

• Recommendation 7 (not implemented) – Implement CPA recommendations. A CPA management letter in 2021 recommended a standard policy that ensures that bank reconciliations be performed and be reviewed on a timely basis. Cash accounts should be reconciled on a routine basis to ensure that all transactions are accounted for, according to the CPA letter, which also urged the town to have a preparer and reviewer sign off on the bank reconciliation.

The comptroller’s office said that neither the town supervisor or bookkeeper prepared proper bank reconciliations, and the Town Board did not adopt a policy requiring bank reconciliations be performed and reviewed on a timely basis by designated town employees.

To see the report from the comptroller’s office, click here.

SHELBY – A section of Route 63 reopened to traffic this afternoon following a culvert replacement project.

The road had been closed to motorists since July 1. It was slated to reopen Sept. 1, but the project completion was pushed back to Sept. 13.

The Orleans County Emergency Management Office reported this afternoon the road was fully reopened.

ALABAMA – A section of Route 63 near the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge will remain closed to traffic until Sept. 13, the state Department of Transportation said.

The road was closed to motorists on July 1 and was anticipated to reopen on Sept. 1. But that has been pushed back about two weeks for a federal culvert replacement project.

Motorists are encouraged to follow the posted detour that utilizes State Route 77, Gasport Road and Route 31. Local traffic will be able to access Route 63 up to the immediate work zone. The refuge remains open.

Photos by Tom Rivers

EAST SHELBY – Don Gramlich of Oakfield leads a team of Percheron draft horses pulls a wagon full of people on a ride near the East Shelby Community Bible Church on Sunday during the annual “Old Tyme Day.”

At least 2,000 people attended the festival which offered numerous activities and food for a penny.

The church in the past 25 years or so has created a village at West Jackson Corners. The buildings housed many activities on Sunday. This photo was taken at 4:30 p.m., near the end of the six-hour festival. The crowds were much bigger earlier in the day.

Participants had a chance to make goat milk cheese, soap and goat milk fudge.  Heritage activities will include horse and wagon rides, corn husk dolls, basket weaving, spinning, quilting, cheese making, candle making and woodworking.

Leo Lang, 14, of Batavia (left) and his brother Joel, 13, aim sling shots with gumballs at the giant.

The two brothers try to slay the giant with gumballs fired from sling shots.

A new barn joined the collection of buildings at West Jackson Corners. Inside the barn there was popcorn, ice cream and some sheep and rabbits.

The sign on the declares the barn as “Harvest Home – The Lord’s Barn.”

These two visit the two sheep inside the barn.

Charlie Swan keeps an eye on ice cream machines that made 20 batches with a crank. Volunteers devised an automated system so the crank didn’t need to be moved by hand.

The church also debuted a soft serve ice cream machine.

Volunteers made 325 pies and slices were a penny. The pie went fast, and was gone by about 2:30 in the afternoon.

Church members also served 2,500 hot dogs, 18 batches of soup, and lots of lemonade.

These kids sift through sand to try to find gems in one of the stations at West Jackson.

Norm Atwater of Barker leads this team of Percheron horses on one of six wagon rides available.

A choir sang many church hymns inside the East Shelby Community Bible Church during an afternoon concert.

Sherry Wheatley plans to make her property, The Olde Grainery, available to the public

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Sherry Wheatley stands in front of the grain bin she had converted into living space at her home on West Shelby Road, a project which caught the attention of Country Sampler magazine. She will be featured in an upcoming issue.

WEST SHELBY – Four years ago, Sherry Wheatley saw a picture on Pinterest of a girl who had turned a grain bin into a farmhouse.

“My heart started racing,” Wheatley said. “I thought that would be so cool to do that.”

Sherry had a three-story barn which was falling down, she said. And her sister Linda was married into the Kirby family from Albion and Brockport, where they had grain bins. If the barn was demolished, a grain bin would fit there perfectly.

The back deck of Sherry Wheatley’s grain bin overlooks her fields, where an assortment of animals graze. Part of her new barn is visible, where more antiques await her next project. The table, set with antique china, was made with lumber from the old barn that was torn down. An old bucket on the table doubles as a vase for flowers.

When Jack and Sherry Wheatley bought their c. 1840 home on West Shelby Road 40 years ago, she admits it should have been torn down.

But, being a couple who loves anything old or country, they began fixing it up, with help from Jack’s dad Dave.

 “It took us 25 years to get it where we wanted it,” she said.

Today it is an antique lovers’ paradise.

Sherry has always loved antiques and never wants to see anything thrown away. She can find a new life for almost everything.

“I go to antique sales, flea markets and garage sales and buy things that I have no idea what I’m going to do with them,” she said. “I put them in my ‘stash’ and when I’m ready to work on a project, I go to my stash and pull something out.”

Transforming a grain bin into living space would be her next – and most ambitious – project.

“I had a vision I wanted a welcoming, country, cowboy kind of look,” she said.

The first thing was to contact Ron Oleksy, her neighbor and third-generation carpenter. With her help, they tore the barn down, saving every beam and scrap of lumber.

Then she contacted the Amish community about putting up the grain bin which had to be dismantled at the Kirby farm and reconstructed at Sherry’s house.

“It took a lot of figuring how to deal with a round structure,” she said. “They had to think outside the box.”

At the end of March, Mennonite Joel Horst from Lyndonville was hired to dismantle the grain bin at Kirby’s, move it to Sherry’s house and put it back together.

“He had never done anything like that before, but he tackled it,” Sherry said. “He also built decks on the back and front.”

Newfane carpenter Jay Hughes had the job of making a table out of the barn wood. That sits on the back deck, with accent tables and stuffed chairs. Rabbit chairs at the table were purchased from a closed restaurant in Rochester. Hughes is also building a campfire pit in the yard west of the grain bin.

The front deck is furnished with antiques Sherry pulled out of her stash. Corbels from a Masonic lodge which burned in Ellicottville accent the corners. Horst was able to make a light from an old chicken feeder Sherry pulled from her stash.

“Now it has a story,” she said.

“I never look at anything and say, ‘Tear it down,’” Sherry said. “I look at it and say, ‘What can I do with it.’ I never buy anything new.”

Sherry Wheatley’s home is entirely furnished with antiques and primitives. This is a view of the kitchen/dining area of the 1840 house.

A well pulley with a bucket now sees new life as a flower pot. While visiting Norm Mundion she spotted a pile of “junk,” on which there was some metal tubing. He told her that was from the frame of a trampoline. She needed a railing for the steps down to the basement of her grain bin, and they fit the area perfectly. That is now her antique shop, called the Olde Grainery. She’d like to make a business out of it.

An antique truck with assorted rusted parts has become a lawn ornament at Sherry Wheatley’s home near West Shelby.

Mundion also contacted her about an outhouse at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on Salt Works Road, which was rotting to pieces and covered with moss. The cemetery wanted to get rid of it, so she bought it for $1, then spent $1,500 having it rebuilt.

She admits people’s tastes change.

“When I was first married, I was in to modern, now it’s primitive,” she said.

Sherry loves to sit in her grain bin, listen to soft music and cry happy tears.

“I can’t believe it’s mine,” she said.

Her accomplishment is bittersweet, as Jack lost his battle with kidney failure in September 2022. He had Lupus and had been on dialysis for nearly a decade, waiting for a kidney donor.

“Jack was my best friend and soul mate, but I know he’s in a better place now, and I’m happy for him,” Sherry said. “I’m sure he’s looking down, proud I pulled it off.”

A few months ago Sherry sent pictures of her home and grain bin to Country Sampler magazine. They actually contacted her and spent Sunday and Monday a week ago at her home, taking pictures for a six-page feature in their spring 2025 issue.

Sherry is planning to offer her grain bin and grounds to rent for parties, showers or small weddings. She also hopes to have an open house for the public very soon, to share her labor of love.

She not only loves antiques, but has a soft spot for animals. She has two donkeys, a quarterhorse, three sheep, three goats, two pot-bellied pigs, four chickens and two rescue dogs from a puppy mill. She plans to get two llamas from Michelle Batt soon, so she can spin their fiber.

A longtime lover of anything antique, primitive or country, Sherry Wheatley has transformed her entire property with everything “old and primitive.” Here, she stands next to a reconstructed three-holer outhouse from the early 1900s she got from Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, where it was falling down and going to be demolished.

SHELBY – The 3-way battle for two positions on the Shelby Republican Committee for District 3 will go down to the absentee ballots, and possibly a coin flip if its remains tied.

On Tuesday night, after all the votes were counted for early voting, primary day and absentees thus far, Bruce Schmidt and Stephen Seitz Sr. were tied with 20. Alana Koneski was in the lead with 25.

There are nine absentee ballots that could potentially come in by the deadline on Tuesday, July 2, said Michael Mele, an Orleans County elections inspector.

He and Janice Grabowski, the other election commissioner for the county, will check with the State Board of Elections on Thursday to see the process if there is a tie for one of the committee positions.

When there was the potential for a tie in the Barre town supervisor race last November, the counsel from the state was to flip a coin if the race was deadlocked after all the votes were counted.

Mele said the local Board of Elections will do a hand count of all the ballots in the race in Shelby, and also the committee race in Yates that is close. For Yates in District 2, there are four candidates for two positions. The vote totals currently are Terry Chaffee Jr., 73; Lynne Johnson, 65, William Jurinich, 54; and Steven Colon, 30.

Press Release, NYS Department of Transportation

TOWN OF ALABAMA – The New York State Department of Transportation, in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration, today advised motorists that State Route 63 through the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in the Town of Alabama, Genesee County, will close to accommodate a federal culvert replacement project beginning July 1. The closure is anticipated to be in place until Sept. 1.

Motorists are encouraged to follow the posted detour that utilizes State Route 77, Gasport Road, and State Route 31. Local traffic will be able to access Route 63 up to the immediate work zone. Access to the refuge will remain open for the duration of the closure.

Motorists should anticipate travel delays and build extra travel time into their schedule. Construction activities are weather dependent and subject to change based on conditions.

Motorists are urged to slow down and drive responsibly in work zones. Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver license.

Students also earned certifications from BOCES

Photos by Tom Rivers

SHELBY – Bryce Mathes gives the valedictory address on Tuesday evening during commencement at the Orleans County Christian School.

Mathes is one of four graduates at the school, which is based at Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship on Route 63.

Mathes attended the school the past four years. He said he preferred the smaller class sizes over his experience at Albion.

Mathes earned a certification in computer technology at the Orleans/Niagara BOCES and he plans to enter the Air Force to be a cyber security technician.

He also was able to take many classes through Genesee Community College. He thanked his parents and the school for supporting his love of technology and for preparing him to take the next steps in his career.

The graduates toss their caps at the end of the commencement program. From left include Andrew Schmidli of Medina, Joshua Watts Jr. of Medina, Collin Peters of Medina, and Bryce Mathes of Albion.

About 75 people attended the commencement and award ceremony at Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship.

The K-12 school started in 1996 and is accepting applications for enrollment until Aug. 1. This year there were 16 students.

Leaders of the school and church pray over the four grads. In back from left are Curt Strickland, Pastor Russ Peters of Alabama Full Gospel, school administrator and principal Jodi Peters, and Michael Zaidel. The grads are, from left: Bryce Mathes, Collin Peters, Josh Watts and Andrew Schmidli.

The graduates earned equivalency diplomas that are approved by Medina Central School superintendent Mark Kruzynski.

The four all completed programs  at BOCES. Mathes earned a certification in computer technology. Peters earned a welding certification and will start work with Graham Manufacturing in Batavia. Watts has certification in autobody and restoration, and Schmidli completed the advanced manufacturing and engineering program.

Josh Watts is called up to accept his diploma from Jodi Peters, the school’s administrator and principal. She also teaches ELA, Bible, history and economics.

Watts joined the school in the seventh grade and he said it made a big difference for him.

“They are very accommodating and very patient,” he said.

Andrew Schmidli poses for a photo with his diploma and the Principal Jodi Peters during the ceremony. Schmidli spent four years at OCCS.

“I got the help that I needed,” he said.

Collin Peters, another graduate, has been in the school since the third grade. His mother is the principal.

“The teachers are pretty nice and helpful,” Collin said. “The students are pretty cool.”

Jodi Peters said she assured her son she wouldn’t get too emotional when presenting him with his diploma.

“He made it very clear he doesn’t want me to become unglued,” she said during the ceremony.

Collin was presented with the Triple C award from the Attorney General’s Office, an honor for a student that exemplifies character, courage, and commitment to bettering oneself and the community.

Peters, Mathes and Schmidli all were awarded $1,000 scholarships during commencement from the Medina Area Association of Churches. Mathes also was awarded a $1,500 scholarship for academic excellence.

Russ Peters, pastor of Alabama Full Gospel, served as the commencement keynote speaker.

He praised the grads for gaining skills and maturity during their time in the school. He acknowledged they are likely feeling some anxiousness over the next steps in their livers. He urged them to turn to God and keep the Lord at the center of their lives.

Peters said the grads are free to explore, learn and take risks. They will make mistakes and struggle.

“But in the struggle you will learn to be strong,” he said. “In the struggle you will learn to overcome.”

G’Ahmeer Barnes, a ninth-grader, holds the flag for the pledge of allegiance during the ceremony.

Students in grades 1 through 11 at the Orleans County Christian School sang “Friends Are Friends Forever” by Michael W. Smith.