Provided photos

LYNDONVILLE/MEDINA – Volunteers last Saturday set nearly 700 wreaths at veterans’ graves in Lyndonville and Medina, including this one pictured at top at the grave of James Whipple, a Korean War veteran who died on April 25 at age 91.

There were 402 wreaths placed at veterans’ graves at six cemeteries in Lyndonville. Seven memorial wreaths were laid in honor of the Army,  Marine Corps,  Navy, Merchant Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force and POWs. Veterans buried in Lyndonville are from every conflict the United States starting with the Revolutionary War.

This is the first time Lyndonville participated in the Wreaths Across America. The event was made possible by an endowment fund established by Miss Anna Stelianou in memory of her parents and her five brothers. Those brothers all served in the U.S. military during World War II and the Korean War.

Approximately 50 volunteers helped to lay the wreaths in Lyndonville, including at Lynhaven Cemetery.

Boxwood Cemetery in Medina also is participating in Wreaths Across America, one of 2,100 cemeteries involved in the effort this year.

Boxwood first took part in Wreaths Across America in 2013. Only nine wreaths were placed that first year, said Kathy Blackburn, who has organized the event each year.

“This year, we had 261 wreaths, the largest number yet,” she said. “It grows every year, and this year was so successful because of a $1,900 donation from the veterans’ program called Peer to Peer. The VFW, American Legion, Junior Wilson’s Club and Sacred Heart Club are all generous donors to this program, along with individual supporters.”

Veteran Jim Freas of Medina salutes as wreaths are placed on veterans’ graves at Boxwood Cemetery on Dec. 14 as part of the national celebration of Wreaths Across America.

Even with the terrible weather, with rain and cold, the turnout was bigger than ever, and even included Medina Girl Scouts, Blackburn said.

“We saw many more families who brought their children to help place wreaths,” she added. “It was very moving to see these kids learning what it takes to have our freedom, and I can’t thank the parents enough for bringing their children to learn and honor.”

Members of the Boxwood Commission placed ceremonial wreaths for each branch of the service. In addition, Assemblyman Stephen Hawley from Batavia placed the POW wreath.

A veterans’ honor guard was led by Jim Freas of Medina.

The national Wreaths Across America organization is sponsoring a program from now until Jan. 15. If anyone goes online and orders a wreath for the December 2020 ceremony, the organization will match each donation.

A young girl prepares to place a wreath on a veteran’s grave at Boxwood Cemetery, during Wreaths Across America on Dec. 14. Organizer Kathy Blackburn said more people participated this year, especially young people.

After competing as a merged football team for several years, Medina will be going back to playing solo next fall.

Medina has played as a merged team with Lyndonville for eight years and also with Barker for the past two seasons.

However, low participation numbers from both Lyndonville and Barker of late have led Medina to opt to return to playing alone.

This past fall Lyndonville had only 2 varsity and 3 JV players on the team and Barker just 4 on the varsity and 3 on the JV.

“The low participation numbers just didn’t make it practical to continue,” said Medina Athletic Director and varsity football Coach Eric Valley. “We are confident we have the numbers to go it alone.”

Medina and Lyndonville will continue to have merged teams for boys and girls soccer and cross-county.

Over the past eight years the Medina-Lyndonville sports merger agreement has seen several other changes depending upon need and situation.

Medina hosted Lyndonville athletes for merged track teams for several years but when numbers improved Lyndonville returned to having its own track teams.

In girls soccer Medina hosted Lyndonville players for a short time as a Medina/Lyndonville squad but over the last two years Lyndonville has served as the host school for a Lyndonville/Medina team.

The big beneficiary of the football decision looks to be Roy-Hart which has been hampered by low numbers of late and this past fall fielded only a small varsity squad with no JV or modified teams.

Now Roy-Hart is in talks to merge with Barker and Lyndonville in order to gain enough players for the Rams to be able to continue their football program at either the 11 or 8 man level.

“I think it could work out well for everyone,” said Valley.

Interestingly, Roy-Hart and Barker previously played together as a merged football team for several years and the two schools still field a merged wrestling squad.

Medina site makes an upgrade and gives used glidescope to health center

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Kaitlyn Miller, Emergency Room director at Medina Memorial Hospital, and Emergency Room physician Dr. Joseph De James discuss the hospital’s donation of a glidescope to the Virgin Islands. De James has also worked for 19 years at a health center in the Virgin Islands, where he will deliver the medical equipment.

MEDINA – When the category five Hurricane Irma hit the Virgin Islands in 2017, many of the country’s health resources were destroyed.

Thanks to a doctor who works in the Emergency Room at Medina Memorial Hospital, a health center in the country will receive some much-needed medical equipment

Dr. Joseph De James, who not only works in the ER at Medina Memorial Hospital, has also worked at the Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center in the Virgin Islands for 19 years.

Recently, Orleans Community Health received a grant from New York State to purchase a new glidescope, which according to Cindy Perry, director of education, marketing and outreach, is a device used for airway management in emergency situations.

De James will deliver the donated glidescope to the health center in the Virgin Islands.

“It will be a lifesaving piece of equipment,” De James said.

Rebuilding the health system’s resources has been a difficult challenge for the Virgin Islands after the devastation left by the hurricane, the doctor said. Most of the economy is based on tourism that they are slowly rebuilding. After losing continual access to health care and support networks, there has also been a spike in ER visits. The donation of this equipment will help the residents of the island, as well as tourists, De James explained.

FRIENDSHIP – A Newfane man was killed on Wednesday morning in Allegany County after a collision with a truck hauling cattle, State Police said today.

John Shaw, 32, of Newfane was eastbound driving a 2007 Ford Econoline at about 8:30 a.m. on I-86 eastbound in the town of Friendship. State Police said Shaw went from the driving lane into the passing lane and struck the front bumper of a 2000 Peterbilt tractor trailer hauling 32 cows.

Both vehicles left the roadway striking a ditch then a tree. Shaw was ejected and pronounced deceased at the scene.

Nine cows also were killed in the accident.

NYSP Collision Reconstruction Unit and NYSP Commercial Reconstruction Unit assisted in this investigation, which is ongoing, State Police said.

Congregation will continue to have events at fellowship hall, hold services at Millville

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Rev. Sara Merle, pastor of the United Methodist churches in Knowlesville and Millville from 2000 to 2005, attended a deconsecration service for the Knowlesville church building on Saturday. That service was a chance for people to say goodbye to the building and reflect on friendships and major life moments through the church.

KNOWLESVILLE – The congregation at the former Knowelsville United Methodist Church gathered on Saturday to deconsecrate the church building on Knowlesville Road.

The building needs capital improvements – a new furnace and handicapped accessibility, and is for sale. Saturday’s service declared the site is no longer and church building and has been released “for any honorable use.”

The congregation continues to use the fellowship hall across the street for Sunday school and events, including its popular pie shop, apple festival and fish fries.

The congregation also is part of the United Methodist Church of Abundant Harvest, which holds its services at 11 a.m. on Sundays in Millville.

The church at 3622 Knowlesville Rd. is for sale. It needs some capital improvements that church members found daunting.

Saturday’s service was like a reunion, with former church pastors coming back for the special service.

Sara Merle was the church pastor from 2000 to 2005. One of her first duties as pastor in Knowlesville was blessing the church’s beef booth, which church volunteers have continued to run during the Orleans County 4-H Fair for a week in late July.

She praised the church for its outreach ministries, and creative ways to connect with the community. Merle, who now attends a church in Hilton as a parishioner, said she is grateful for the chance to lead the Knowlesville and Millville congregations for the five years.

“It only enhanced my journey of faith,” she said.

Chris Wylie was the church’s pastor beginning in 2013. He led efforts to bring multi-media technology into the Millville site and pushed for the pie shop at the Knowlesville fellowship hall. Wylie, who has cerebral palsy, guided the Knowlesville and Millville congregations into a merger, effective Jan. 1, 2015, as the United Methodist Church of the Abundant Harvest.

Wylie now lives in Lewiston.

“Sometimes with ministry you don’t know where God will take you,” he said. “Ministry isn’t about the location where you are, it’s about the people coming together.”

Erica Wanecski shared how the church has long tried to build people’s faith while having fun.

“Throughout the years they’ve had their arms open to the community in a wonderful way,” she said. “It’s a building we won’t have anymore. But we’re going to go on with our arms open like we have through the years.”

Phil Lilley was married at the Knowlesville church about 30 years ago. He said the church has offered many children’s programs and activities for the community.

The congregation also has been fortunate to have so many “fantastic pastors,” he said.

Brenda Busch spoke during the service. She lives close by the church and has been attending frequently since 2005.

“I wanted to find a church where I feel comfortable,” she said. “Here everyone is friendly.”

Lorraine Luckman said the church has been part of her life for many years. Two of her children were married at the church building.

“It was always family,” she said about the congregation. “I just felt at home in that building.”

The Rev. Garry McCaffery, who became pastor July 1, acknowledged it can be difficult for a congregation to say goodbye to a building that feels like a home. He said the Knowlesville site has “provided refuge and hope for God’s people.”

The congregation will continue to carry out a noble mission.

“God continues to bless, continues to move and work among the people who gather in this place,” he said.

About 50 people attended the deconsecration service at the Knowlesville fellowship hall for the church building across the street.

The read the following declaration of purpose:

“The time has come for this congregation of Christ’s holy Church, under God’s leadership, to take leave of the church building. It has been consecrated for the ministry of God’s Holy Word and Sacraments. It has provided refuge and comfort for God’s people. It has served well our holy faith. It is fitting, therefore, that we should take our leave of this consecrated house, lifting up our hearts in thanksgiving for this common store of memories.”

The group then read this declaration of deconsecration:

“The building located at 3622 Knowlesville Road, having been consecrated and named the United Methodist Church of the Abundant Harvest, Knowlesville location, formerly known as the Knowlesville United Methodist Church, together with the land on which it stands and all objects remaining in it, we now deconsecrate and release for any honorable use. We declare that it is no longer the place of meeting of a United Methodist Congregation.”

Robin Watts said the church is a welcoming community.

Nate Johnidas, an acolyte, extinguishes the candles at the alter. He spoke during the service and thanked the church members for their support over the years.

“I’m thankful to everyone who helped me along the path of my life,” he said.

Funds also approved for lake dredging, canal bikeshare program

File photo: Lyndonville native Robert Smith wants to turn this block on Main Street, including the Webber Building at left, into a café, hotel and retail shops.

LYNDONVILLE – Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced $761 million in economic and community development funding today in the ninth round of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.

The funding in Orleans County included $500,000 towards the redevelopment of Main Street building in Lyndonville, $40,000 for a bikeshare program along the canal, and $62,500 for a dredging plan for harbors in Orleans, Niagara, Monroe, Cayuga and Wayne counties.

• The $500,000 for the Lyndonville Gateway Anchor Revitalization will assist in the renovation of 29 South Main Street, a mixed-use anchor project in the village’s downtown.

Robert Smith, a Lyndonville native who works as a financial advisor in California, has plans to turn vacant Main Street structures into a café, a six-room hotel and retail shops at the former Pennysaver building.

Smith will replace windows so they aren’t mismatched, and make other façade improvements, including new steps and doors.

Smith lives in Palm Springs, Calif. He returns to Lyndonville to see family. He is tackling the project to help his hometown. He also thinks the project will be a financial success.

• The state funding also includes $40,000 to the Orleans County YMCA to establish biking, snowshoeing and kayaking classes, and “meet-ups” on the Erie Canal and at the Oak Orchard River.

It will place racks of “bikeshare” bikes in the community to be borrowed by YMCA members outside of club activities at no cost or by other community members for a nominal fee. Bike racks will be located in the villages of Medina and Albion around the canal, according to the announcement from the state.

• The state is also providing $62,500 for a Lake Ontario Shared Regional Harbor Dredging Program.

Niagara, Orleans, Cayuga, Wayne, and Monroe counties have joined together to form the Lake Ontario Regional Dredging Management Council to collaboratively and cost effectively manage the dredging of 19 harbors located along the Lake Ontario shoreline.

Funding will advance preliminary planning, legal, engineering, permitting, and community outreach costs associated with developing a framework for implementation of the 2014 Regional Dredging Management Plan.

To see the full list of projects funded by the state through the Regional Economic Development Council process, click here.

You’re here checking the site, so you know: Orleans Hub is a vital resource for our community. Day in and day out, we share information and insights that matter to those who live and work in the towns, villages and hamlets of our county. Local advertisers help make the Hub possible, and so can you.

Donate today to keep Orleans Hub healthy and accessible to all. Thank you!

Press Release, U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and U.S. Representative Paul Tonko (D-NY-20) today announced that their amendment to raise and extend the federal funding cap for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor to $14 million has been included in the soon-to-pass end of the year budget package.

This is an increased funding cap of $2 million, without which, the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor would have no longer been eligible to receive federal funding. Instead, following the members’ successful push, the Erie Canalway will continue to receive annual appropriations to help preserve this historic corridor and promote tourism and economic development throughout the region.

“The Erie Canal is a crucial economic engine for tourism in Western New York, not to mention one of the state’s greatest attractions and most impressive features. It’s incumbent on all of us, elected officials, residents, and tourists alike to preserve the history and beauty of the Erie Canal for the long-term future, so that it can be enjoyed by generations of New Yorkers and Americans to come,” said Senator Schumer. “That’s why I urged my colleagues in Congress to raise and extend the funding cap for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, allowing it to continue receiving the federal support it needs to thrive. More than ever, we have to make sure our local governments and communities in Upstate New York have the resources required to protect treasures like the Erie Canal.”

“The Erie Canal is one of New York State’s most important historic treasures. The legacy of the canal helps drive millions of dollars for Upstate New York, promoting tourism for the communities along the corridor,” said Senator Gillibrand. “It was a mistake for Congress to leave this historic waterway, which connects communities from Glens Falls to Buffalo, at risk of losing its federal support, which is why I’ve been fighting to raise and extend the funding cap for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. I’m proud that our amendment to do just that has passed the Senate, and will continue to fight to make sure the Erie Canal can be preserved for generations to come.”

“Our Erie Canalway connects us and future generations with the stories and places of the past that have shaped who we are as Americans,” said Congressman Tonko. “Not only does the Canalway provide us with an incalculable historical and cultural value, it delivers a significant economic return by bringing tourism and commerce across our region. I was proud to work to get this provision in the House Appropriations package, and am overjoyed that this raise in the funding cap will be signed into law so that we can continue to invest in and preserve this unique, national treasure.”

Congress established the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor in 2000. The corridor spans 524 miles and 23 counties across the full expanse of Upstate New York, following the historic routes of the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego, and Champlain Canals.

The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, in partnership with the National Park Service and numerous local, state, and federal partners, works to preserve and share the Erie Canal’s extraordinary heritage, to promote Upstate New York communities as a tourism destination, and to foster vibrant communities connected by the waterway through historic preservation, conservation and recreation, education, and community development.

Approximately 3.2 million New Yorkers live in the communities within the corridor, and a 2016 economic analysis found that the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor had an annual economic impact of $307.7 million in Upstate New York.

Congress has imposed cumulative funding caps on the amount of funding National Heritage Areas can receive over their lifetime, but also has the authority to increase the caps when they are about to be reached. Although the expiring statuary caps for many national heritage corridors were extended in the Lands Package earlier this year, the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor was left out of the cap extension. The members previously led a push to ensure Congress raises and expands the funding cap for the Erie Canalway to preserve its legacy.

Provided photos

ALBION – The Self Advocate All Stars of Orleans County invited Orleans County Sheriff Randy Bower to the group’s Christmas party on Monday at the Tim Hortons in Albion.

Jonathan Doherty, leader of the Self Advocate All Stars in Orleans County, presents a card and posterboard to Bower, thanking him for his efforts with the group. Bower has donated some of his campaign funds to the group to help pay for taxis and transportation so they can attend concerts and other special events.

Bower twice has been the keynote speaker during a regional conference in Niagara Falls for the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State.

Bower is retiring on Dec. 31 after four years as sheriff and nearly 30 years as a public safety dispatcher.

Sheriff Bower and several members of the Sheriff’s office attended the party at Tim Hortons with the All Stars, including the trio in front: Robert Greer, Jonathan Doherty and Mike Woodward.

The posterboard includes photos of Bower with the All Stars, including on June 27 when the sheriff spoke to about 300 people at the Niagara Falls Convention Center. It was attended by self advocates and their supporters from across all of Western New York and the Finger Lakes.

Bower has tried to raise public awareness about the transportation challenge for people with developmental disabilities and others who cannot drive their own car, especially in a rural county like Orleans where there is limited public transportation.

The Self Advocacy All Stars have been pushing for more transportation options so the group can be more independent and civically engaged.

The Self Advocate All Stars formed in Orleans County in 2006. The local group made Bower an honorary member in 2015. Bower was paralyzed in a car accident when he was 18.

The All Stars advocate for people in the community with disabilities. All Stars include residents who live at home with their families, in apartments with supportive services or in Arc residential homes.

ALBION – Two people who had a role in the overdose death of a Clarendon man on June 1 were each sentenced to up to 4 years in state prison today by Orleans County Court Judge Sanford Church.

Logan DiPilato, 28, and Kelly Hagberg, 31, of Holley were sentenced for criminally negligent homicide (1 ½ to 4 years in state prison) and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree (2 ½ years in prison). The sentences will be served concurrent or at the same time.

District Attorney Joe Cardone told the judge that prison was warranted in the case due to the defendants putting fentanyl into the community, knowing the drug was highly dangerous. Cardone said their actions were “reckless.”

Hagberg admitted to providing fentanyl to DiPilato, who then sold four bags of it to Mark Kinsey, 35, which resulted in a fatal overdose.

“I’m so sorry for what my actions have done,” Hagberg said at her sentencing this afternoon in County Court. “If I could take it back I would.”

Hagberg said she has been sober the past five months and that time has shown her just how destructive her lifestyle was.

Logan DiPilato also apologized during his sentencing in the morning. He said he has been battling drug addiction for several years.

“Absolutely I feel so regretful for my actions against Mark Kinsey and his family,” DiPilato said at sentencing. “There is nothing I can say to bring rest to his family.”

Public defender Joanne Best said DiPilato has felt the pain of losing a loved one to an overdose. His brother, Dylan DiPilato, was 31 when he died suddenly on April 11.

Both Logan DiPilato and Hagberg have no prior felony convictions. Best, the public defender, said Logan is determined to break the cycle of addiction.

“He has always been extremely empathetic and sympathetic,” Best said about his remorse for Kinsey’s death.

Leigh Kinsey and her husband Chuck Kinsey are Mark’s parents. In a statement to the court, Mrs. Kinsey said Hagberg and DiPilato both deserve a life sentence in prison.

She said the loss of their son has been devastating to his parents, siblings, friends and the community.

Mark had returned home with his parents the last five weeks of his life while in recovery.

“He had many personal struggles and challenges over the 35 years of his life, and he was in recovery and finding a new direction for his life,” Mrs. Kinsey said. “He was not using, he was gaining weight and working a steady job as a cook.”

She said Hagberg and DiPilato knew Mark was vulnerable, trying to fight his addiction.

“We are all part of the community of recovery from substance use disorder,” Mrs. Kinsey said. “No one is exempt. This is a national epidemic, well publicized in the news. Each one of us has a responsibility to help each other in recovery. To take advantage of someone in recovery by selling them fentanyl is a betrayal of that responsibility and the community.”

She called it murder to sell fentanyl disguised as heroin to someone struggling to maintain his recovery.

“Our family has a life sentence – a life without our dear Mark, his precious smile, infectious laugh, and loving heart,” she said. “There is not been a day since June 1, 2019 where he have not grieved and cried. We are in grief counseling and will continue to be for a long time. This is our sentence.”

Judge Church gave Hagberg and DiPilato the maximum through a plea deal, rebuffing a suggestion from Best for a sentence of probation or the Willard drug treatment program in the state prison system.

“You knew it was fentanyl and you knew it was dangerous,” the judge told DiPilato. “There has to be penalties for this conduct especially when it leads to someone’s death.”

The judge had similar words for Hagberg, faulting her for putting a lethal drug in the community.

In addition to the prison sentence, DiPilato and Hargberg will both have 1 year of post-release supervision.

The Kinseys also asked for $12,000 in restitution for their son’s funeral expenses. That request was withdrawn because Judge Church said the request for restitution wasn’t made as part of the plea agreement on Oct. 17.

New York’s two senators say the U.S,. Senate now has an obligation for a “full and fair trial” on the whether President Donald Trump should be impeached on charges of obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

The House of Representatives approved impeachment of the president on Wednesday, only the third time a president has been impeached. None of the Republicans in the House voted for impeachment.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, the leader of the minority conference in Senate, issued this statement on Twitter:

“The impeachment of a president is a solemn and serious moment for our country. At the start of a trial in the Senate, all senators will swear an oath to render impartial justice. The American people deserve that the Senate conduct a full and fair trial.”

New York’s junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, issued this statement following the impeachment vote in the House:

“As a senator, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and to faithfully discharge the duties of my office. This includes holding the president accountable for bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Now that the House has formally charged President Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of justice, the Senate will do its constitutional duty to try the president for these alleged crimes. I will enter the proceedings with one purpose: to find the truth and deliver justice. It is incumbent on all of us—Democrat or Republican—to cast aside partisanship, consider the evidence marshalled by the House, and make an impartial judgement on whether to acquit or convict the president.

The facts laid out by the House are disturbing. According to an admission by his own chief of staff, President Trump withheld military aid to an ally, currently engaged in warfare with Russia, in an effort to extract political favors for personal gain. Although President Trump has done everything in his power to stonewall the House’s investigation, numerous nonpartisan military and career professionals have provided testimony relating this alleged abuse of power.

History will remember those who stood up for our values, our country and the rule of law, as well as those who enabled the degradation of our democracy. I intend to be in the former.”

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday signed legislation (S.5079-A/A.1859-A) – or the Zombie Property Remediation Act of 2019 – allowing municipalities to better address zombie properties that are plaguing their communities.

The new law will authorize local governments to compel mortgage lenders to either complete a mortgage foreclosure proceeding or to issue a certificate of discharge of the mortgage for any abandoned property, allowing local government officials to deal with these properties that decrease surrounding property values and put on a strain on municipal resources.

“Zombie properties are plaguing communities all across our state, driving down property values and burdening our taxpayers,” Governor Cuomo said. “By making it easier for local municipalities to deal with these abandoned and unmaintained properties, we are helping to preserve homes and protect the quality of life in our neighborhoods.”

Thousands of abandoned properties are blighting communities throughout the state, and zombie properties – abandoned homes that have been foreclosed upon by a bank and are not tended to by anyone – are complicating the efforts of local government officials to deal with these properties.

Zombie properties can sit in legal foreclosure limbo for years, sometimes deteriorating to the point that the buildings must be demolished while the mortgage lender fails to complete the foreclosure process. This new law will make it easier for municipalities to reclaim and redevelop zombie properties in order to return them to the property tax rolls.

This new law goes into effect immediately.

Senator James Skoufis said, “Zombie properties across New York State continue to plague our main streets, are dangers for first responders, and make code enforcement an even more difficult task than it already is. This law will equip municipalities with a real tool to better hold big banks accountable to our communities, clean up our neighborhoods, and strengthen our property values.”

Photos by Tom Rivers: St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Medina is shown on Dec. 21, 2014 during the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. The service will be held again this Saturday at St. Mary’s.

MEDINA – It was 10 years ago when Aaron Grabowski, music director of Holy Trinity Parish (St. Mary’s Church), decided something was badly needed to draw the community together at the joyful and spiritual season of Christmas – something to celebrate the true meaning of the season and bring people back from the brink of rampant commercialism.

So began what has become a growing and cherished annual tradition in Medina, a “Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.”

“As I’ve said many times in the past, I think people are hungry for this kind of spiritual respite at Christmastime, and more so with each passing year,” Grabowski said. “In a restless world, this evening of Christmas music and scripture brings a measure of peace and hope. I know for many, it annually revives the true spirit of the season. It does for me, too. That’s why we continue to do it.”

The festival, first held on Christmas Eve in 1918 in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, England, is a liturgical program consisting of nine Scriptural readings telling the story of the birth of the Messiah, Grabowski explained. The program is also interspersed with seasonal choral music. Over the past 100 years, it has become much beloved world-wide and is celebrated in thousands of parishes around the globe at Christmastime.

Provided photo: Aaron Grabowski, organist at St. Mary’s Church in Medina, will play the church’s historic organ at the 11th annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.

The local ecumenical event has been hosted by Holy Trinity Parish for the last 10 years at Medina’s historic St. Mary’s Church. This year’s event will take place at 7 p.m. on Dec. 21, with a prelude at 6:30 p.m., featuring the pipe organ, string quartet and harpsichord.

This year, as every year, a free will offering will benefit the community food pantry at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.

“Every year, the need is especially great at community food pantries during Christmastime,” Grabowski said. “The generosity of those who attend Lessons and Carols greatly helps to replenish food stocks that sustain those in need. Again, Lessons and Carols helps us to open our hearts and live the true meaning of Christmas.”

Helping people to regain the spirit of Christmas through scripture and music is the goal of the event, said Chris Busch, president of Orleans Renaissance Group, which supports the concert.

“This year’s musical offerings promise to fill the hearts of all in attendance with the joy of the season,” Busch said.

The 2019 Festival Choir will once again feature voices from the Genesee Chorale – 16 in all. The Batavia-based Chorale under the director of Ric Jones of Medina, is widely known across Western New York. The choir will be accompanied by the massive pipe organ in St. Mary’s, along with the Greycliffe String Quartet, a Buffalo-based string ensemble under the direction of Paul-Joseph Struckmann.

The quartet will also be featured during the prelude with two selections, “Riu Riu Chiu,” arranged by Marshall Fine, and movements “Sarabanda and Giga” from the “Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 5 No. 7 for Violin and Harpsichord” by Arcangelo Corelli.

St. Mary’s Church in Medina will host the 11th annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. The event is free, but a free will offering benefits the community food pantry at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Music selections this year include “Once in Royal David’s City,” “Past Three O’Clock,” “The Lord at First Did Adam Make,” “The Holly and the Ivy,” “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “Low, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” “What Sweeter Music,” “A Maiden Most Gentle,” “How Far is it to Bethlehem,” “Gesu Bambino,” “While Shepherds Watched their Flocks,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “All Bells in Paradise,” “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

In addition to the Greycliffe String Quartet, the prelude will feature three selections by Grabowski on the pipe organ, a harpsichord selection by Grabowski and two movements by Struckman on the violin and Grabowski on the harpsichord.

Scripture readers for the event include Ryder Jones from St. Peter’s Evangelical Church, Sophia Goyette from Holy Trinity Parish, Patricia Worrad from St. John’s Episcopal Church, Marc Smith from St. John’s Parish in Lockport, Regina Simon from Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Lyndonville, David Schubel from Trinity Lutheran Parish in Medina, James Punch from Holy Trinity Parish, Vicar Rick Mollenkopf-Grill from St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Rev. Bernard U. Nowak, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish.

The event is family friendly, open to all and free of charge, Busch added.

Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the concert.

State Sen. Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, who is running for the 27^thCongressional District, has issued a statement following the House vote to impeach President Donald Trump.

“Today’s vote by House Democrats to impeach President Trump marks the sad completion of a process over three years in the making,” Ortt said. “Since election night in 2016, Democrats have set out to overturn the will of the American people and remove our democratically elected president. The use of impeachment as a partisan campaign tool by Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Nadler, and Congressman Schiff is an embarrassment and should sit uneasily with any American. I fear for the precedent that this sham impeachment will have on American democracy going forward.

“Throughout this process, the residents of New York’s 27th Congressional District have been without a voice in Washington to call out this sham attack on our president. It is time for Gov. Cuomo to end the political games and to call a special election so our community can finally have someone in Congress fighting for our conservative values and President Trump’s agenda.”

MEDINA – Although he has always had a full-time job, opening a fine crafts gallery has been a dream of coppersmith Timothy Dunn of Albion for a long time. This year, his dream came true when he acquired space at 419 Main St. in Medina and opened American Craftsmen Gallery.

Dunn, 48, was born in Albion and still lives near Albion with his partner Jackie and their son Ethan, 12. He always thought he wanted to be a cartoonist and attended Genesee Community College in Batavia to pursue his career. That took a detour, however, when he chose to take a craft fundamentals class.

This wall hanging called repousse, which also features a clock, was crafted out of copper and is on display at coppersmith Timothy Dunn’s new fine crafts gallery in Medina.

“The professor told me if I wanted to play with clay, go to one side of the class, but if I wanted to learn metal to go to the other side,” Dunn said. “I didn’t want to dry my hands out working with clay, so I chose the other side.”

Dunn chose to make a chalice out of copper for his semester project, and when the professor took him by the arm and marched him through the halls holding up his chalice while declaring to everyone, “My student made this,” Dunn knew his career choice had been made.

“My head just exploded and all ideas of drawing were gone,” Dunn said. “My professor was a potterer and said he couldn’t help me if I wanted to continue working with metal. He suggested I transfer to Brockport, where I met Thomas Markusen of Kendall. He taught me everything I know about copper – how to make it, how to display it and how to pack it up to take to a show.”

After graduation, Dunn worked for Markusen at his studio in Kendall for 15 years. Dunn doesn’t sketch his design before he starts working on a piece. He said when he begins working with copper, he takes a piece of tubing, sheet or rod and just starts forming it.

Dunn has always held a full-time job, in addition to his crafting with copper. He worked for Sigma at the Olde Pickle Factory and has been at Sigma/Baxter for 10 years. He has done hundreds of craft shows over his more than 20 years as a coppersmith, where he says he sees fellow craftsmen frantic to sell their wares, because that is their only income.

“I always thought I’d open a gallery, and I didn’t know if I was ready now, but this space became available and it is just what I was looking for,” Dunn said. “I was going to a copper shop in East Aurora one day when I drove through Medina and saw the ‘For Rent’ sign in the window. I stopped and got the phone number and called Bill Bixler, the building owner. I told him I wanted to see the space and that I was 100 percent sure I wanted it.”

Dunn is committed to making a visit to his gallery a pleasant one. When a customer opens the door, soft Christmas music is playing and the light smell of cinnamon pine cones fills the air. A hand-crafted candy dish always has candy in it – Christmas candy for this time of year.

Dunn runs the gallery alone, while maintaining his job at Baxter as a senior technician mechanical engineer.

“I know others are very capable, but my mentality is if I don’t do it myself, it isn’t done right,” Dunn said.

Gallery hours are 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, 1 to 6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

An assortment of lamps with copper bases are among the items coppersmith Timothy Dunn has created for his new fine crafts gallery in Medina.

Items in his gallery include a lot of copper items, such as lamps, vases, bowls, candle holders and wall hangings; a lot of wood, including cutting boards, spoons and a chess set; block prints; pottery (even concrete pottery); handmade candles; glass orbs; pewter; and area rugs.

Dunn is also one of the elite “Roycrofters.” The Roycroft was a communal arts, business and crafts colony founded in 1895 in East Aurora by Elbert Hubbard. The Roycroft Artisans became well-known for their pottery, furniture, metalwork and hand-printed, tooled leather books which exemplified the principles of quality, beauty and the worthwhile life.

Timothy Dunn is shown here with displays of some of the 20 crafters whose work he sells.

The Roycroft closed in 1938, but inspired by the Roycroft’s principles, the Roycroft Renaissance was born in 1976 and a new community of independent artisans was established.

To become a RoyCroft Renaissance Artisan, an artist must submit his/her work to a jury comprised of master artisans. Only artisans whose work exemplifies certain criteria are awarded the use of the RR mark. An artisan must be juried annually to demonstrate continued excellence and growth.

Dunn is displaying work in his American Craftsmen Gallery by 20 artisans from throughout the United States, including half a dozen local crafters from Medina, Gasport, Barker, East Aurora and Rochester. Most of the items he buys from them, rather than sell them on consignment. Everything in his gallery is hand made by fine crafters.

He is hoping to line up other fine crafters, especially someone who works in glass.

He admits the most fun he’s having is building and creating displays for the merchandise.

Dunn is also thrilled to be doing business in Medina, although he is an Albion native.

“I am awed about what is happening on Main Street in Medina,” he said. “If Medina isn’t ready for a fine crafts gallery, it soon will be. Medina is only going to get better.”

Dunn doesn’t mind having his cell phone posted on the door of his gallery, and he welcomes calls for viewing from anyone at any time. His number is (585) 729-5539, or he may be reached by e-mail at timothy@americancraftsmengallery.com.

Holley, Clarendon, FHM and Kendall improve response to day-time calls

HOLLEY – An emergency call during the workday hours often is difficult for volunteer fire departments locally and nationally to quickly have a crew on duty.

Leaders of fire departments in the Eastern Battalion of Orleans County – Clarendon, Holley, Fancher-Hulberton-Murray, and Kendall – have picked what is typically the busiest day of the week for calls and now have a dedicated crew on duty at the Holley fire hall. They will respond to any call on the east side of the county – the towns of Clarendon, Murray and Kendall.

“The volunteer fire service is hurting across the country,” said Kevin Dann, a captain with the Holley Fire Department. “This is what we can to solve the problem – for one day.”

Dave Smith, front, and Kevin Dann check a Stokes basket, which they would attach to a rope on the new Holley ladder truck.

The departments started to staff the fire hall on Wednesdays for the first time on Aug. 7. Department leaders looked back on calls the previous two years to find the busiest day for call volume on a weekday. They found Wednesdays had the most calls.

Since August, there have been firefighters at the Holley fire hall from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Initially their territory was the Clarendon, Holley and FHM fire districts, but it expanded to include Kendall in October. Clarendon and Holley firefighters provide most of the manpower so far, but FHM and Kendall also have been on duty.

The first 17 weeks of the program have shown much faster response times, said Bob Freida, Clarendon’s assistant fire chief.

Before August, it would take 7 to 9 minutes from when a call was dispatched to have a crew at the fire hall and a truck out the door. Now, a truck is out of the firehall in an average of 1 minute, 34 seconds from when a call is dispatched, Freida said.

It was taking about 12 minutes to have fireifghters on the scene of a call, from when it was dispatched. Now, it’s taking an average if 4 ½ minutes from when a call is dispatched to when firefighters are on scene with a truck.

“I truly believe this is making a difference,” Freida said today.

Bob Beisang, on ladder, and Fran Gaylord are testing the pick device on Holley’s new fire truck.

Freida cited an Oct. 7 call for a structure fire on Groth Road in Murray, in the Fancher-Hulberton-Murray fire district. A grouo of firefighters were already in the Holley fire hall when the call came through dispatch. They were on scene at Groth Road in 7 minutes. They quickly put out the fire. The residents in the house were able to go back in to stay after two days.

“On an average day that probably would have been a full-blown working fire,” Freida said. “But we were able to keep it to a minimal fire.”

The Eastern Battalion learned from a cooperative effort in Broome County and Onondaga County, where fire departments have volunteers in the fire hall on what are usually busy days.

Most of the calls are for EMS, and the firefighters want to be able to help people as quickly as possible.

“This is what we have to do to protect the community,” Dann said. “Being a small town in a small community, we have to work together or else the job won’t get done.”

Dann works full-time as an emergency medical technician for the Ridge Road Fire District. He will spend several hours on duty in Holley when his schedule allows. Other firefighters move around vacation days to be available on Wednesdays.

Dann and Freida said the eastern battalion may try to expand having a dedicated crew in the firehall on other days. Besides the Wednesdays, the fire department leaders will mobilize firefighters to be at the firehall if there is bad weather that will likely result in many calls for service, especially during high wind events.

Fran Gaylord, right, and the firefighters practice lifting a Stokes basket, which is like a stretcher.  In back from left are Kevin Dann, Dave Smith, Bob Beisang and Bob Freida. When they aren’t responding to a call, the firefighters to training drills, fire safety checks and clean equipment.